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| Iraq |
| Anti-US cleric rallies recruits for Islamic army |
| 2003-07-31 |
| EFL Around 10,000 young men have come forward to join an "Islamic army" in the holy city of Najaf, according to Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery cleric who is trying to become the unchallengeable leader of Shia opposition. Mr Sadr has denounced the country’s US-appointed governing council as a puppet. Opposition to the Americans in the Shia south remains largely peaceful, although volatile, but hints of potential trouble are growing. (gleefully writes the al-Guardian) Few cities welcomed the fall of Saddam Hussein more enthusiastically than Najaf, and few of its powerful clerical dynasties were more delighted than the Sadrs - Saddam had killed two of their ayatollahs. It is in this devout environment that the 30-year-old Muqtada al-Sadr is taking advantage of the reputation of his father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was killed in 1999 along with one of Mr Sadr’s older brothers. Riding his dad’s coat tails. Mr Sadr has been putting pressure on the Americans using the Shia tradition of mass demonstrations, of the kind which helped to bring down the Shah of Iran in 1979. In a recent sermon, held in the nearby mosque of Kufa, he urged volunteers to come forward and join an Islamic army. He called it the "army of al-Mahdi", the so-called "hidden imam" who disappeared in AD874 and is expected to return one day, like a messiah, to save the world. So does that mean it’s a "hidden" army? In the following week’s sermon, according to Mr Sadr’s spokesman, Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji, the cleric was able to thank the 10,000 volunteers who had come forward. So did they all show up at once, or did they sign up one at a time? Anybody seen them? Oh, I forgot, it’s a "hidden" army. Exactly what kind of force Mr Sadr has in mind remains obscure, since he is wary of courting arrest by US forces. "I can’t say what weapons the army will have," Mr Khafaji said. "It will not fight with sticks, and it is not just a large crowd of protesters. It is an army." "Trust me, I’m a cleric." As a crowd of young men, many in Shia turbans, milled about in an anteroom, the spokesman added: "Muqtada wants them to get out of the cities, but not out of Iraq now. Having troops in the cities frightens people. For the time being Muqtada is not considering calling for jihad against the US occupation. We want to prove we are peaceful if they are peaceful." We’re very peaceful. You’re still breathing, aren’t you? At the US marine base on the edge of Najaf, Colonel Christopher Conlin said Mr Sadr was "an immature kid, manipulated by others". He pointed out that there have been no fatal attacks on US troops in Najaf or any cities in the Shia south. He is also happy that the protests which racked Najaf last week have died down. Nearly two weeks ago, several thousand people gathered in the city in response to a call from Mr Sadr on local TV claiming the Americans had surrounded his house and were about to arrest him. Col Conlin said there had been more US troops on the streets only because of an unannounced visit by the US deputy secretary of state for defence, Paul Wolfowitz. He subsequently sacked the TV director for incitement and broadcasting untruths. "There were no protests this weekend," the colonel added. "It was because the city’s respected citizens and the town council told people not to do it. The last thing the other clerics want is having people create trouble." Col Conlin said many people who attended protests last week were from the poor and largely Shia areas of Baghdad where Mr Sadr’s father set up extensive mosque-based welfare systems in the 1990s, as Iraq was suffering from sanctions. They also included Sunnis bussed in from Falluja, Mosul and Tikrit. Bussing in protestors from out of town, huh. Wonder where they learned that? Mr Sadr’s murky relationship with Iran is also causing the US concern. He was given a high-level welcome in Tehran three weeks ago, although the Iranian authorities say they are trying to restrain him. Sure you are. In the streets around the Imam Ali shrine, opinions of Mr Sadr are divided. Some deplore the splits in the Shia community. "Most demonstrators are not from here," said Thu-al-fiqar Mohammed, who runs a mobile phone shop. "They see we have stability and order and are just trying to sow confusion." Can’t have stability and order without holy men in turbans running things, it sez so in the book. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 Please, please let them organize their little "army". Let them all gather together in one place, in their nice new uniforms. Let them have their parades, their medals, their little game. One step out of line, though, and three AC-130's will run figure-8's across their formation. Those that are left will be allowed to leave, and tell their bretheren exactly what happens when you kick a tiger in the teeth one time too many. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-1 12:28:46 AM |
| #7 This guy sounds like the Jesse Jackson of Iraq... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-7-31 10:39:50 PM |
| #6 Stevey....you are so delusional. 1 JDAM at his next big Nurenburgshia rally, and his long run is over. And what are the Shiitaki gonna do about it...demonstrate some "Rage of the Arab Street" that has us shakin' in our boots? |
| Posted by: Watcher 2003-7-31 6:39:39 PM |
| #5 Sadr is not a threAT TO American soldiers . Our trooops are well trained. But Sadr is 22-32 years old and is in Iraq for the long run.His followers are the new young generation. Sistani is very old and will not be around for long. American soldiers will eventually leave Iraq no matter what ( boys gotta come back home).After that we will have a Sadr who will after 'studies' be a fully fledged Ayatollahs with weighty Fatwas. And there will be no one to stop him, no America,no Saddam, no Baathists no nothing. It will just be Ayatollah Sadr and his fanatic numerous followers and a weak puppet regime in Iraq that is linked together by a strong rope of sand. Folks brace yourselves for Gulf War three...the next republican presi will sell us a war telling us Sadr is a clear and imminent danger to us ahahahahaa....time will tell |
| Posted by: stevey robinson 2003-7-31 5:43:25 PM |
| #4 I think this little Sadr fella just needs a hug, a muffin and repeated kidney punch's until he relax's |
| Posted by: wills 2003-7-31 4:31:44 PM |
| #3 Spec ops should snatch that guy during the night and put him on ice before he riles things up out of control. |
| Posted by: Bill 2003-7-31 4:30:30 PM |
| #2 Man, for jihadis, those are some tough requirements. Since Sadr's an Arab, 10,000 is a joke, and he won't even miss a beat if later it turns out it was 100. S'okay, He's a Muslim - better yet, a Holy Man. The "truth" is just a tool. I wanna say the answers are zip, zilch, and nada, but there are many many stupid people - and a disproportionate number are Iraqi - which are predominately Shi'a... Just for fun... "I'll take Sucker Bets for 1,000, Alex!" (Alexadenon reads the 3-part answer, "1- The actual number of...") "What are 1000, 100, and zero?" |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-31 3:03:54 PM |
| #1 Okay, let's now take bets on the following: 1) The actual number of "volunteers" (remember, according to the Muslim mindset, we are still bogged down in fierce fighting somewhere south of Basra). 2) The number of the volunteers who are actually Iraqui. 3) The number of these ferocious Muslim warriors who would actually face an American soldier in combat, as opposed to those throwing away their weapon and running in another direction while rapidly stripping off uniform items at the sound of a round being chambered in an M-16. |
| Posted by: Hodadenon 2003-7-31 2:40:00 PM |