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| Iraq |
| Top Shiite clerics in Iraq silent on Iran unrest |
| 2009-07-04 |
| [Beirut Daily Star: Region] There is no place outside Iran that has closer links to Tehran's ruling establishment than Iraq's holy Shiite city of Najaf, where the silence during Iran's post-election crisis says much about the deep complexities of their cross-border bonds. "Simply put, the whole affair does not concern Najaf," said Sheikh Ali al-Najafi, son of and spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Bashir al-Najafi, one of the city's four top Shiite clerics. "We will not interfere in the internal affairs of a dear, next door neighbor." The four - who include Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani - have remained quiet on the upheavals in Iran since the disputed presidential election June 12. The reasons have to do with both religion and politics. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, lived here in exile for 16 years. Najaf also is the world's oldest and foremost seat of Shiite learning, and the Imam Ali shrine attracts hundreds of thousands of Iranian visitors every year. A short distance away from his shrine lives Sistani, who came to Iraq more than 50 years ago but has retained Iranian citizenship. Despite the deep ties between the clerical establishments in Najaf and Iran, there are important differences. The Najaf strain of Shiite teaching emphasizes that top clerics should be background figures - though influential - on most political affairs. They did not speak out even during the crackdowns on Shiites by Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1990s. Nor have they spoken publicly about US accusations that Iran has been aiding Shiite militias in Iraq as part of indirect pressure on American forces and the US-backed government in Baghdad. Iran's Islamic system, by contrast, bestows all main powers on the non-elected Shiite theocracy. There had been expectations that the top Najaf clerics could break their traditions and publicly comment on the unrest - appealing for calm or even coming to the defense of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the protests over claims that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election was rigged. But any sign of interference in Iran's affairs by the Najaf clerics, particularly Sistani, could prove costly at a time when many Iraqis fear that Iran will try to broaden its influence in their country as the Americans reduce their military presence. |
| Posted by:Fred |