Ayatollah urges party to reject draft constitution !!!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: Telegraph
September 24, 2005 Author: Adrian Blomfield

Basra lurched further towards religious extremism yesterday after the leader of one of the province's biggest political parties instructed his supporters to reject a draft constitution in a national referendum next month.

The unexpected announcement by Ayatollah Mohammed Yaqubi, head of the Fadhila party, has shocked British diplomats and raised fears that Basra could become the main focus for violence in the Shia-dominated south.

Mr Yaqubi's declaration came as the most revered Shia figure in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, signalled that he would endorse the constitution and indicated the possibility of a damaging split among Iraq's usually cohesive Shia majority.

Mr Yaqubi's apparent mutiny also risks turning Basra into a radical outpost, western diplomats warned.

"There has always been a small possibility that Basra could become something like the Fallujah of the south," a western diplomat in Baghdad said.

"I guess this brings that eventuality one step closer. The hope is that Sistani will persuade Yaqubi to back down."

A source in Basra's governing council, where a Fadhila-led coalition is just the biggest bloc, said Mr Yaqubi believed he had been marginalised by the Shia-dominated ruling coalition.

He added that many Fadhila members also wanted to see Sharia, or Islamic law, as Iraq's sole legal system.

The current draft proposes that Sharia should only be one source of legislation.

The new stance by Mr Yaqubi locks the ayatollah into a surprising alliance with his one-time rival, the fiery young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen took captive two SAS soldiers earlier this week.

Yaqubi and Sadr were rivals to succeed the latter's father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, one of the country's most respected clerics until he was assassinated in 1999.

Sadr's appeal is limited to the slums of Basra but he has a disproportionate influence on the southern capital's police force, thanks to a heavy degree of infiltration by his Mahdi Army, which twice rose up against US forces last year.

The new alliance will be an unwelcome development and suggests that Basra's governor, a member of Fadhila who has withdrawn his co-operation from the British, could prove increasingly intransigent in the future.

[Steeler [Crawler2]]

Why is it that these yahoos can't agree on anything?!?! Or at least except the idea of having a vote on it and negotiating a solution. It's almost as though they want this to end in civil war.

[Viking]

Mad Mac,
This is hapenning because your people removed the glue that was holding these diverse groups together by force. Now you are left with a huge task on your hands; if you givet hem the freedom to choose, the Shi'a will choose a theocracy, the Kurds will want their own region and the Sunnis want their "glory" days back. What to do?

[Steeler [Crawler2]]

We have provided them with the foundation for a democratic system of government. This is their chance, like 1993 was the chance for the Somalis. If they don't seize it, we will leave and they will kill each other with gusto.

[LionHeart-112]

They didn't ask for it.

Now they are playing your games.

[dhoonbe]

No one should listen to this ayatollah....his job is to teach islam, lead prayers, advice muslims about Islam... not instruct muslims what political plan to reject or endorse. His words make him seem a bellicose...and possibly casus belli.

[Steeler [Crawler2]]

Lion
You can play tjhe cards you are dealt wisely or not. Right now Iraq stands at a crossroads and the Iraqi people have two choices. The first is the path to civil society, the second is the path to civil war. They must choose, we can not choose for them. B!tching about woulda, coulda, shoulda, might make you feel good, but it doesn't change the simple fact that the Iraqis stand at the precipice.

[LionHeart-112]

Dhoonbe..are u saying that religion doesn't have a place in politics? Isn't telling which party to vote for an Islamic advice?

MADMAC--You cant choose for them? U are instructing them to do everything. They can't make any decisions while your people breath down their necks and tell them what to do and who to elect. The majority of the Iraqis want an Islamic government but why hasn't i happened?

[dhoonbe]

Lionheart-112,

The point is not that he can't advice muslims, its just that he is not the best person to do so. He is religious man, not politician. His words could start a civil war...I don't know about you but to me current situation is preferable to all out civil war. More death and destruction lies in wait for muslims then.

He should went about this differently, not add more fuel to the fire.

[LionHeart-112]

A lot of people depend on their Imaams for political decisions as well. Who's to say an Imaam can't get involved in political processes. Islam doesn't seperate Politics, economics, religion, social issues...If the Imaam is knowledgeable, he should be able to give you advice on all these matters.

[Steeler [Crawler2]]

Lion
The problem in Iraq is that you have two different sects competing here, with two different outlooks. On top of that, you have a non-Arab group in the country that is very wary of the Arab Sunnis. You say all the Iraqis want an "Islamic government" but even they can't tell you what this means. For each of them it will mean something different. You talk as if they were a monolithic group and we were in the way of their self-deterimination, when obviously that is not the case.