Al-Sistani rejects bid for bloc of moderates

The Washington Post ^ | 12/24/06 | Nancy Trejos and Saad Sarhan

[jamese777]

Iraq's most revered Shiite Muslim cleric has rejected calls for a U.S.-backed effort to form a bloc of moderate Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders to isolate extremists in the government, Shiite leaders said yesterday.

Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the dominant Shiite coalition in parliament, said they discussed the bloc with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a two-hour meeting at his home in Najaf yesterday.

U.S. leaders say that such a bloc, proposed by national security adviser Stephen Hadley in a leaked Nov. 8 White House memo, would dampen the influence of firebrand Shiite cleric and militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr by bolstering his political rivals.

Al-Sistani's endorsement of the proposal was considered critical. But during the meeting, Shiite leaders said, al-Sistani called on them to keep the 130-member United Iraqi Alliance intact.

“Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is against any coalition that might weaken the United Iraqi Alliance,” said Hasan Suneid, a Shiite lawmaker with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party.

Al-Maliki and the Dawa party, part of the United Iraqi Alliance, have been unenthusiastic about the proposal from the beginning because they believe that isolating al-Sadr would exacerbate tensions.

Al-Maliki is beholden to al-Sadr, who supported his bid to become prime minister.

Late last week, spokesmen for al-Sistani denied media reports that he had tentatively approved the coalition and said he was neither supporting nor opposing it and was interested simply in keeping Shiites united.

Basher al Assadi, a deputy to al-Sistani, said the cleric “has not given his blessing to the new alliance because it is not complete, as other forces have been excluded from it.”

Abdul Karim al-Inazi, another member of the Dawa party, said the leaders do not want to exclude al-Sadr from the political process. Al-Sadr controls 30 seats in parliament.

[sure_fine]

how do they expect to ever get a democracy going if they keep checking with religious leaders for an OK?

skru the religious leaders, they are 90% of the problem to begin with

[mcshot]

Geez talking to these guys does real good.
Expect lots of wonderful things with the Dems in charge. sarc/


I like the convincing effect of high explosives and aimed weaponry.

[cripplecreek]

This religios leader is the guy who convinced the shiites to vote against a islamic government. Sistani is hard to read and leaving Mookie alive seems to have stripped him (sistani) of a lot of his power.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Sistanis previous appearances as a "moderate secular" regarding the Govt-to-be was just Taqqiya type posturing so as to allow the shia in Iraq to consolidate their power and logistics.....Bremer and Senor et all got chumped and got out while the gittin' was good.

[SolidWood]

Sistani is not stupid and knows exactly that now the likelihood of a premature withdrawal by the US has risen dramatically. There will be no one standing between the Sunni Insurgents and the Shias, and so he wants to ensure that the only force able to defend Shias (the Mahdi "Army"), with the same dirty methods as the Insurgents, is kept within the greater Shia coalition.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

---

The word "al-Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's
beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a
time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from
physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be
"Dissimulation."

http://www.al-islam.org/ENCYCLOPEDIA/chapter6b/1.html

SISTANI -- APRIL, 2006:

"I will not be a political leader any more," he told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters." snip

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/03/wirq03.xml

[McGavin999]

Ah, but you notice that nothing has really been said. There is no blessing, there is no participation in politics. The only comments are coming from people who are interpreting his words as they want them interpreted and his spokesman is merely clarifying that they aren't quite correct.

Facinating.

[SolidWood]

Yes I do notice that. Maybe I should have chosen my words better. I tried to say that I wouldn't be surprised if he really prioritises intra-Shia unity before Iraqi Unity, for the reason mentioned.

That being said, I am aware that each faction tries to twist and spin everything to their favors. That's hardly surprising.

I sincerely hope that we don't abandon the scene and the main Iraqi faction get their act together.

[McGavin999]

I have had a lot of faith in Sistani right from the start. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because I really do have hopes for the Iraqis, maybe it's because they deserve a break and a kindly cleric would be a great start. A leader who will actually lead them OUT of the wilderness instead of into it.

[SolidWood]

So far Sistani indeed played largely a positive and constructive role, and he deserves praise for that, but I would never trust a Muslim cleric blindly. He made it possible for Al-Sadr to leave the siege alive, which was one of the biggest blunders in this war.

Also it was especially disheartening when the real pro-Western cleric Khoei, was murdered by the Islamist thug Al-Sadr. And Al-Sadr still is alive.

On a more optimist note, here is a previous thread on a especially outspoken pro-western Shia cleric, who is also Member of the Iraqi Parliament:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1737075/posts

[okie01]

The only comments are coming from people who are interpreting his words as they want them interpreted and his spokesman is merely clarifying that they aren't quite correct.

Facinating.

Not unlike Japan and the Emperor.

[McGavin999]

Thank you for that, and I too wonder what would have happened if Sadar hadn't killed Al Khoei