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Sistani, Sadr Followers Agree On Goal, Differ On Means
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Sadr
followers believe armed resistance is the only way to drive the
U.S.-led occupation out
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By
Nagem Salam, IOL Correspondent
BAGHDAD,
May 31 (IslamOnline.net) – The ongoing fighting in the two holy
Shiite cities of An-Najaf and Kufa between the Mahdi army of Muqtada
Sadr and the U.S. occupation forces has drawn mixed reactions from the
followers of the young Shiite leader and Grand Ayatolla Ali
Al-Sistani, though both Shiite camps are on board that the occupiers
must leave their country.
Spokespeople
representing both Sadr and Al-Sistani in the predominantly Shiite area
of Khadamiyah, expressed outrage at the fighting in the holy cities,
but differed in what they felt the solution to the crisis was.
Standing
outside the Sadr Mosque in Khadamiyah, 17 year-old cigarette vendor
Hamad Ali Abdullah is extremely angry about the U.S. forces
desecrating the holy cities in southern Iraq.
"We
will follow the teachings of Sadr, even if he is captured by the
Americans," he said, standing near his small shop which has a
poster of the firebrand scholar on one of the walls.
U.S.
overseer in Iraq Paul Bremer regarded last month Sadr as an "outlaw"
and posed a threat to Iraq’s national security.
Hamad
says he speaks for the majority of the followers of Sadr, who are
mostly young men.
A
generation, he said, who has known nothing but U.S.-led wars and
sanctions against their country.
"They
support Sadr for his relentless resistance to the occupation".
Sheikh
Mahmmoud, speaking at a small mosque inside Baghdad neighborhood Sadr
City, said that even if Sadr is arrested or assassinated by occupation
forces, he and other followers will not stop fighting the U.S.-led
occupation.
"All
of Iraq will be on fire if he is caught by the Americans," the
Sheikh said defiantly.
"I
was in Kufa Friday and American snipers broke the truce by killing a
man in his car."
About
20 of Sadr’s supporters, two U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi mother were
killed in overnight clashes near the city of Kufa as tension flared
again between U.S. occupation troops and Sadr despite a five-day
truce.
Mahdi’s
Registration
Men
were filing into the Sadr office on the main street of Sadr City,
signing up to join the Mahdi Army.
Most
of them were between 17-30 years old, and were enraged about the
fighting occurring in the southern cities as of state.
Abdullah,
who refused to give his last name while volunteering to join the
militia, said, "All of us are fighting now, no matter what
happens".
He
is now jobless as the U.S. "liberators" failed to bring
welfare and prosperity after the ouster of President Saddam Hussein.
In
this sprawling slum of over one million mostly Shiites, members of the
Mahdi militia continue to engage U.S. forces whenever they enter the
area, and remain expectant of further attacks by the U.S. military.
While
the office of Sadr was destroyed by U.S. forces recently, it has
already been rebuilt.
Sheikh
Hassan Al-Adari, a spokesman for Sadr, claimed that many of the people
killed in recent fighting in the area were civilians and said such a
massacre will only beef up resistance and feed anti-U.S. sentiments.
"It’s
normal to see people coming here from all over Baghdad to join us in
defending our country against the occupiers," he said.
"Especially when the Americans are killing civilians and
attacking our holy places."
U.S.
tanks took positions at the outskirts of the area, while within the
area fighters prepared for what they felt were more impending battles.
A
fighter wearing a facemask and carrying a machine gun said, "The
Americans are coming to attack us again, just as they are doing in
Najaf. We must protect our city."
"The
Americans are attacking the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf," said Abdul
Hassam, a shop owner.
"Everyone
here is extremely angry," he added.
A
mortar shell
hit Tuesday, May 25, Imam Ali mausoleum in An-Najaf with the
U.S. occupation forces and fighters of Sadr trading accusations over
the incident.
Another
man, who asked not to be named, said he will remain loyal to Sadr no
matter what the Americans do.
"He
is our leader, we will always follow him," said the man as he
smiled to his six-year-old daughter.
Imam
Ra’ad Al-Khadamy at the Sadr Mosque in Khadamiyah stated firmly that
he felt Sadr is entitled to do whatever he needs to do to defend
himself, and this included maintaining his militia, which the U.S.
military has insisted be disbanded.
"Today
is Jihad Day," he said. "We will kick the Americans out of
Iraq because of their scandalous behavior," in reference to the
highly publicized prisoner
abuse scandal.
"I
underline and underscore we are simply defending ourselves. But if the
U.S. soldiers stay here, we will kill them all, without
exception," he vowed.
Sadr
told his supporters Sunday to "terrorize
the enemy" as demonstrations were now pointless.
Sadr
declared jihad and urged his followers to take up arms against the
occupation, the first time by him to opt for armed resistance since
the end of the war to occupy Iraq on April 9.
Uneasy
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Sistani
reportedly prefers peaceful resistance
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On
the other Shiite side, Sistani’s followers maintain that the
peaceful resistance is the best solution to the current standoff,
though they agree with Sadr’s supporters that the U.S. occupation
must come to an end, sooner or later.
Two
brothers inside a furniture shop in the Khadamiyah neighborhood of
Baghdad, Walid and Ahmad Al-Mufhiah, discussed the consistent
statements of their leader, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani regarding the
fighting in the south of Iraq.
"Most
of his followers are uneasy now, because of the tactics of Sadr,"
said Walid.
"Why
should we fight now when the Ayatollah has asked us not to do
so," asked Ahmad.
"But
in time, if he calls for us to, every one of us will pick up a weapon
against the Americans," he added sternly.
Adel
Ibrahim Aziz owns a small jewelry store in the neighborhood, and has
complete faith in the decisions of Al-Sistani.
"My
friends and I will do whatever he asks us to," he states calmly.
"If he says to wait, we wait. But if he says it is time to fight,
all of us will fight, of course."
Inside
the air conditioned office of Al-Sistani in Khadamiyah, his spokesman
is highly educated, calm, and reserved.
Sheikh
Ali Al-Wa’adh, the spokesman for Al-Sistani, said the veteran Shiite
leader has offered to calm down the inflammable situation.
"We
hope that Sadr uses the right methods, and finishes these things with
peace," he said.
However,
he quickly added, "Yet we condemn the American treatment of
prisoners, their destruction in Iraq, and all of the bad things they
have done here."
He
believes that the Mahdi militia should pull out of An-Najaf, but said,
"There is no doubt that we blame the Americans for this. They
shouldn’t be in these holy places."
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