The Hindu 

Friday, Sep 26, 2003  

Islam filling Iraq's ideological vacuum

By Atul Aneja

NAJAF Sept. 25. Alarmed by the possibility of sectarian violence, key Iraqi
Shia and Sunni organisations have established active contacts with each
other to prevent such an outbreak. There was an imminent threat of the two
communities clashing last month on the day that the leading Shia cleric,
Mohammad Baqr Al Hakim was assassinated in Najaf.

Incensed Shia youths were set to go on a rampage on the streets, but were
effectively prevented from doing so by Husayn Al Sadr, a leading Shia cleric
in Baghdad's Kadhamiya district. Iraq has a majority Shia population, but
the Shias have been historically denied political power. Shia youths, after
the fall of the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein, are clamouring for
political assertion and appear to be increasingly attracted to a radical
brand of Islam.

Support for the firebrand cleric, Muqtada Al Sadr, especially in the Sadr
city, a huge Shia-dominated slum area of Baghdad, is perceptibly rising. The
group is also making inroads in other Shia-dominated cities such as Al Kut.
Despite its strong criticism of Iran, Muqtada Al Sadr's group is suspected
to be having ties with hardliners in Teheran and is said to be under the
influence of Kazim al-Hussein al-Hairi, a religious leader based in Qom.
The top Shia cleric, who heads the Hawza or the collegiate authority based
in Najaf that exercises global influence among Shias is the Grand Ayatollah
Ali Sistani. Many in the streets of Najaf are of the view that the reported
differences between Ayatollah Sistani and Muqtada Al Sadr are highly
exaggerated, manageable and reconcilable. In other words, radical Shias and
others like Ayatollah Sistani who belong to the "quietist school" and do not
wish that leading Shia clerics should get involved in politics, have
linkages with each other, which have not broken down.

Ironically, the radical Shias are showing a remarkable awareness of the
negative consequences of sectarian clashes, and how these could pull Iraq
apart. Muqtada Sadr's group is in active contact with Ahmed Al Qubasy, a
leading Sunni theologian based in the United Arab Emirates and his brother,
Mohammad Al Kubasy. Sheikh Ahmad Al Qubasy was earlier a professor of
Islamic studies in Baghdad University before he had to go onto exile in
Dubai.

Mustapha Yakubi, the spokesman for Muqtada Al Sadr told The Hindu that
Sheikh Ahmed Qubasy had visited Muqtada Al Sadr in Najaf after the collapse
of the Saddam Hussein regime and the two leaders are in touch with each
other and are determined to prevent Sunni-Shia clashes. With the collapse of
Ba'athism, Islam appears to be filling Iraq's ideological vacuum.

While the picture is far from clear, an increasing number of Shias are now
looking at forming an Islamic state in Iraq. "It may not be possible that
Iraq is based on the Iranian model but the centrality of Islam in our lives
should be recognised by a new Iraqi constitution", Mr. Yakubi said.

Hinting that Islamic jurists should play a leading role in running the
country, he added that "educated people" among Shias and Sunnis have to come
together and unite.

Disillusionment with the U.S. occupation is fast growing, but analysts here
say that Shias are not yet in a mood to directly confront the occupiers or
launch an active Islamic resistance movement against them.

However, while they wait and watch, at least till the new constitution is
formed and elections held, preparations are underway to build a network with
Sunni groups in case the occupation forces deny Shias dominant political
access.

In Mr. Yakubi's view, "Our leaders, both Sunni and Shia, think that there
should be peaceful solutions to problems. Otherwise we have to make a
suggestion towards Jehad."

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