Striving for leadership (Al-Sadr, Al-Sistani, et al.)

[gottaB]

When Muqtada Al-Sadr, the young Shia leader, was asked this week by the Lebanese As-Safir daily about what he thought of the stand taken by the various Shia forces regarding the military confrontation between Al-Mehdi army -- his militia -- and the US-led occupation forces, he declined to answer. Instead, he described the various kinds of religious marjaiyyah (the highest ranking religious authority) which exist in today's Iraq.

"There are three," he said. "That which consciously chooses not to implicate itself in the political situation and that which has allied itself with the Americans -- those I cannot describe as marjaiyyah. The third, however, maintains an honourable nationalist stand, but doesn't necessarily share our views."

Al-Sadr's statement underlined what many observers believe are signs of tension between him and the various Iraqi Shia groups. Observers say that the tension reflects a struggle over who truly represents Iraq's Shia. The standoff with the occupation forces in Najaf and Karbala also sheds light on the complicated web of relations between what Al-Sadr claims to represent in Al-Hawza Al- Natiqa -- the vocal seminary -- and the traditional, quietist seminary of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. The failure of Iraq's different political forces -- particularly that of the Shia -- to impose a peaceful settlement has, in the view of some observers, exposed this ambivalence.

As the fighting in Najaf and Karbala continued to claim more Iraqi lives and to bring life in the two holy cities to a standstill, Iraqi Shia figures speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly played down speculations of a possible schism within the Shia political spectrum. Some insisted that while all Iraqis agreed on "the endgame" -- the need to end the occupation of Iraq -- it was more the means towards achieving that goal that was the real cause of the rift.

Striving for leadership....

[gottaB]

1. Juan Cole ads...

"There was also more fighting in the other holy city, Najaf. Al-Hayat reports that Muqtada al-Sadr met with local tribal chieftains from Najaf and its environs, who gave him a letter asking his forces to vacate the holy places of Najaf. The letter threatened that if he did not do so voluntarily, the tribes are strong enough to kick him out."

Heavy Fighting in Holy Cities.