It beggars belief that some people actually think Sistani has issued fatwas that condone attacks on the US forces in Iraq. The man who tacitly approved the US invasion in the first place and who conveniently decided to go to London for medical reasons at a time when the US and Iraqi armies overwhelmed the Mehdi Army in Najaf has now suddenly become "militant". Or so we are told.
As Sistani was coming out of the plane in London, an aide rushed towards him nervously and said "Your moving too fast" to make it seem that he is in desperate need of medical attention and to reassure his followers that he did not come to London because of the pre-planned attack on Najaf, where Sistani lives. Of course when word spread about this phenomenal "coincidence" Sistani overcompensated by returning to Najaf while it was still being attacked by the US and Iraqi forces, much to the annoyance of the US and Iyad Allawi who, after unsuccessful attempts at pleading with Sistani's son Mohammed Ridha to give him more time to cleanse Najaf, slammed the phone so hard he broke his hand.
Sistani constantly dodges in and out of politics (somewhat reluctantly) because he feels forced to act in the best interest of Iraq (e.g calls for elections). Sistani absolutely loathes politics, in London, when he asked me what I plan on studying I said "Politics", he shock his head in dismay and said "Politics is no good, politics killed your father and it is going to kill you".
When push comes to shove he feels obliged to enter the political fray, but to issue a fatwa saying killing members of the foreign occupiers is legitimate just isn't Sistani and it is therefore not surprising that these dubious "fatwas" have come from anonymous sources who claim Sistani spoke of his approval at attacking foreign troops in private. Sistani is extremely vague when it comes to these sensitive issues and we only hear from officials who have met him who tell us what happened behind the closed doors. Sistani, his son and his office never say anything, so don't hold your breathe for a comment from them.
Juan Cole is certain that a 'expulsion fatwa' from Sistani will "restore the respect for the grand ayatollah in the Shiite south, which has slipped as a resentful population has turned to the Sadr Movement" as if his respect in the south has been compromised by a 35 year old Moqtada who has far less religious credentials than his son. The type of people who follow Sistani are not the same as those who follow Sadr, and that is something Dr Cole's friend Patrick Cockburn seems to understand. Juan Cole goes on to say "Sistani's two likely successors, the Afghan Ishaq Fayyad and the Pakistani Bashir Najafi, may have different views than Sistani on this matter" not realising that the most likely successor is actually Mohammed Saeed Al-Hakim.
If "The" Fatwa does come from Sistani, it would have a massive impact on the future of Iraq, that much is pretty straightforward and acknowledged by all, but when will such a fatwa be issued? Bearing in mind the blood that will be shed and the chaos it will cause, I think never.
10 comments:
Thanks for this post. Much appreciated.
I don't understand all this controversy about this fatwa, it's clearly made-up.
Haider, it's really frustrating that most people don't even know how does one of the most prominent men in Iraq speak, could you describe to us the voice of Sistani? is his Iraqi accent perfect?
Thanks Akhoia Haider (if I have your permission to call you Akhoia) for your insights.
any response to Juan Cole's latest:
http://www.juancole.com/2008/05/sistani-opposes-sofa-al-maliki-advisor.html
Does Sistani support anti US sanctions?
Abbas, Sistani speaks standard Arabic (fusha) with a heavy Persian accent.
Akhoya Anand, I don't know about the 'no soup for you' policy but I wouldn't be surprised if it is true. Juan Cole seems to be confused, Sistanis aide in Kerbala has denied these bogus fatwas but Dr Cole is certain this does not contradict the private fatwas Sistani issued.
It makes you wonder if Cole was present at the time these fatwas were given. It is disappointing that a man like Cole does not see these "fatwas" for what they are, a complete hoax.
Your welcome Bill.
"Politics", he shock his head in dismay
aww he sounds like my grandmother lol
but seriously thanks for clearing this up when I first read it I'm like f*** me Iraq's in enough s***
Gold.
Much appreciated for the post. It all makes sense.
Regards
B
Thanks for this post, Hayder. You are lucky to have befriended Sistani.
Hayder,
Thanks for clearing that up. It's been interesting to watch the Iraqi blogosphere respond quickly to correct that article. Iraq Pundit, Nibras Kazimi, and you have helped us out here. In the past, it would have been difficult to challenge the veracity of that article -- the newspapers themselves controlled the "letters to the editor." Today, everything has changed, and for the better in my estimation. While newspaper editors are still powereful, we've seen a much-needed check to their stranglehold on the flow of information. We can get your opinion right here without waiting for a journalist to call you up and interview you.
*
eye raki dont najafi and fayadh have more religious credentials than hakeem
Yeah Jeffrey the more information out there the better.
Anon, up to the point of "kharij" (stages are typically 5 years "muqadimat"/foundation, 5 years "sudooh"/intermediate and 10 years "kharij"/advanced) studies its relatively easy to measure a scholars rank, it depends on how many years hes studied and under who, but after that (and in the case of Grand Ayatollahs) it becomes vague, if everyone agreed on who ranks "higher" we wouldn't have more than 1 Grand Ayatollah.
So if you ask Fayadh followers who is ranked higher they would obviously say Fayadh otherwise they wouldn't be following him. It's all a matter of opinion but Juan Cole doesn't even mention Hakim, which is surprising.
Post a Comment