A Wahhabi sheds his disguise

[Rose Siding]

BAGHDAD -- When Rifa'at Jassem told his parents the path he had chosen, his mother wept and his father raged, his classmates jeered, family friends grew distant. At 14, he set aside his love for soccer and began learning the skills of an underground resistance network.

The last three months have brought a curious flowering for Jassem, now 24. He shed his disguise, setting aside plaid shirts and slacks for the short tunic of his true faith. Today, he answers the question directly, with an innocent and gentle smile: Yes, he is a Wahhabi.

It was the American defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime that enabled the Wahhabis to emerge from decades of oppression. Yet, US policymakers now say they are concerned that Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia are attempting to influence events in Iraq, most immediately by carrying out attacks on American soldiers. A more long-term worry, in post-9/11 Washington, is that the austere Wahhabi fundamentalism that inspired Osama bin Laden will draw a large following in the chaotic atmosphere of Iraq.

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The young men, meanwhile, are waiting for direction. Jassem spends his days loading food in the market, and dreams of a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. He has begun to feel an intense hatred of America, and calls attacks against American troops ''regal.''

''I don't feel freedom even now. This feeling has been replaced by a deeper and uglier feeling of being occupied,'' Jassem said, with a mild smile. ''There will be a time when Wahhabis will no longer be a minority in Iraq. This time is starting now.''

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