Full Release - IRmep

.Q IL
THE US AND SHI'ITE RELIGIOUS FACTIONS IN IRAQ*,563
that the supreme jurisprudent of Iraq would be a different person than the supreme
jurisprudent ofIran (among believers in the th~ory, a big debate has raged for over a
decade over whether Iranian Supreme Jurisprudent 'Ali Khamenei's authority extends
to aUShi'ites or is country-bound). Muqtada reaffirmed that he refused to cooperate
with the American administratio!l, but also declined to oppose'it. 66
June and July witnessed an- outbreak of fierce rivalry in Karbala between the
Sadr Movement and followers of Grand Ayatollah Sistani over the right to preach in
the mosque attached to the shrine of Imam Husayn, among the' more prestigious
venues in the Shi'ite world. An agreement was initially reached to alternate each
Friday, but then in e~rly July Muqtada issued a typically exclusivist decree that only
Sadrist clerics had the right to lead prayers. On July 4, the two factions came to blows
inside the shrine of the Imam, leaving the city polarized and tense. 6 1. In July, as well,
the Sadr Movement and SCIRI quarreled over the shrine of Imam 'Ali in Najaf..
In early JulY,Muqtada, who is said to be on the brink of being an independent
jurisprudent (mujtahid) and Object of-Emulation himself, also began being,critical of
his supposed mentor, Ayatollah Kazi1!l al·Ha'iri, for refusing to come ba,ck to Najaf
from Qom, and suggesting that he did not after aU recognize him as a superior. 68 For
his part, according to the Iranian newspaper Baztab, al-Ha'iri began backing off his
support for Muqtada, saying that offices dedicated to the memory ofSadr II should tie
closed except in Najaf, and that the activities of the Muslims should henceforth be
conducted under the shadow of. the quardian (Wafi) of the Muslims (i.e. al-Ha'iri
himselt).69 IfBaztab is to be believed, AI-Ha'iri was positioning himself to succeed .
to Sadr II and sideline Muqtada. He received some help, inadvertent or not, when on
July 16 Shaykh Muhammad Ya'qubi finally declared himself an Object of Emulation,
making formal the split of his al-Fadila group from the Muqtada loyalists.. His followers
demonstrated again~t threats ~o him in Najaf, though the Muqtada group maintained
that he had no local support and just brought in some'armed tribes~en to stage
the demonstration. Ayatollah Kazim al-Ha'iri is said to have blessedYa'qubi's schism,
saying he had the prerequisites for being an Object of Emulation. '
°
The movement o( Muqtada al-Sadr seems likely to survive this minor schism,
and it continued to show, great popular strength through late summer.. Sadrists appear
to have been involved in riots against Marine patrols in Karbala in late July, resulting
-66.' Hazim aI-Amin, "Arwiqatal-Hawzah fi at-Najaftadijj bi inqisamat:' [The Halls ofthe Hawzain
Najaf are Riven with Divisions"] AI-HaYlJt, June 27,2003. "
67. Hamza Hendawi, "Once Showcased as Example ofPeace, Holy Shiite City now Moving in
Opposite Direction:' Associated Press, July 15,2003.
68. AI-Amin, "Madina tahkumuha shabakat."
69. "Awj-giri-yiTanish miyan-i Sadri-ha va Majlis-i A'la:' ["Tensions Peak Between the Sadrists
adn SCIRI"] Baztab, July 13, 2003122 Tir 1384 at http://www.baztab.com(
index.asp?ID=9120&Subject=News
70. IIInshi'ab darSadriha," ["SplitAmong the Sadris"] Bazrab, July 16, 2003/25 "lir 13~4 at: http:/
Iwww.baztab.comlindex.asp?ID=9299&Subject=News; theYa'qubi schism, which began last spring,
is also reported by a)-Amini ,cMadina," andjournalist Nir Rosen in Najafkindly sent me an unpublished
report he had done on aI-Fadila. I am also grateful to Trudy Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer for
sharing inSights from her 3-week trip to Najafand other Shiite sites in May-June, 2093. -
1tlJ&'2OO3. 4:00 PM