Wanted Iraqi Shiite cleric barricades himself in holy mosque (Sadr)

KUFA, Iraq (AFP) - Iraqi Shiite radical Moqtada Sadr was barricaded inside a mosque in this shrine city as the US-led coalition announced a warrant for his arrest for the murder of a rival cleric last year.

Sadr was holed up inside the holy Kufa mosque, where centuries earlier the founder of Shiism, Imam Ali, was killed in 661 AD, even before the coalition announced a warrant was out for the defiant young leader.

"He will not be arrested, we will not allow his arrest, not by the Americans, not by the British and not by anyone else," Hazem al-Araji, director of Sadr's office in Kadhimiya, a Shiite district of the capital, told AFP.

"We will be human shields for his protection," he added.

Top coalition spokesman Dan Senor said Sadr's arrest warrant had been issued several months ago in connection with the murder of Abdul Majid Khoei, who had been flown in to Iraq by the coalition last year to act as a moderating force.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=afp/iraq_shiites_scene

nothing yet...!!! Islam never had an 'age of reason' or reformation in the church.. they don't think like we do... our soldiers are are screwed.. bush is a fool to think we could build a utopia in a dominantly Islamic country... divided by feudal tribes.. what a dumbass

Why is he afraid to come out and face his peers for a murder he may have committed? He is no better than that whacko in Waco that we served a warrant on. Why would sadr get a pass?

because he's trying to incite an insurrection...

US troops forcing their way into a mosque is going to make us look bad. That's his objective.

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The Shi'a, both radical and "moderate," are holding all the cards. We have squat. And we're surrounded.

I doubt that it would work. But if it did and he actually starved to death, he would be an instant martyr. And Iraq would explode -- the only law would be the religious law the theocrats imposed after the U.S. turned tail. This is PRECISELY one of the things the Bushistas were warned about before their stupid invasion: setting off a religious war, particularly with the Shia.

even i knew this would happen. saddam being ousted left a vacuum that could only be filled by some form of islamic republic.

what a massive blunder. where oh where is saddam when we need him?

Did you actually use the term pacify? This shit sounds more and more like the Vietnam war and its supporters.

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little about these people and their culture. From your over use of of the word jihadist as applied even to the civilians that protest (from your other enlightened posts), you probably know even less. If this judge you refer to was appointed in any way by our puppet government. It is very likely Iraqis won't trust him as you do. That is the important thing.

PS Save that "you're with us or against us" bullshit for right wing sites. We don't do that here.

who invades a sovereign nation without justification, kills without trial the sons of the dictator (and thousands of innocents), kidnaps and removes a democratically elected president( Haiti) and on and on? Pleeze! Lets not talk about respect for the law when we have an administration in charge of the US that believes itself to be above the law.

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occupying and invading forces?

That one?

The "democratic" government created, approved and installed by the Bushco? That one?

Just like the democratic government installed in S. Viernam?

Just like the "judges" installed by the Nazis. Same foundation of authority.

Riiiiiight.

Don't forget to tell us all how much better Iraq is now without Saddam.

"But bunkerboy is NOT a Nazi, so stop saying that!"

I have not heard that. If you have a link to this information, please post it.

The US charges of murder against Al-Sadr are FALSE, and the judge that signed arrest warrant was with Saddam's secret police.

I remember the incident because it was widely discussed among policy wonks in the internet at the time (and I saved my bookmarks). Al-Khoei was not the target, but another other cleric who had been a Saddam supporter.

There was no murder here! It was a crowd that was outraged at seeing a cleric that had worked for Saddam's Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The judge that signed the arrest warrant against Al-Sadr was a member of Saddam's much feared secret police (Thanks to KurtNilsen for finding that article). The US is lying as usual.

Here are the two stories, one from the BBC dated April 10, 2003, about the incident in question. The other story is from The Guardian dated October 22, 2003, about Habboush, the former Mukhabarat officer that is working for Chalabi.

Shia leader murdered in Najaf
Thursday, 10 April, 2003

A senior Shia cleric working with coalition forces has been killed inside a mosque in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.
Abdul Majid al-Khoei returned to Iraq from exile in London only last week.

He was one of two Muslim leaders hacked to death outside the Ali Mosque, one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims.

The other was cleric Haider Kelidar, whom according to Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, had worked for Saddam Hussein's ministry of religious affairs.

<snip>

He (Khoei) had noticed Mr Kelidar coming under attack by a crowd and gone to help him - but was himself knifed. Both men died.

Other reports said crowds shouted abuse at the clerics, causing Mr Khoei to produce a gun and fire shots.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2936887.stm

Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder

Michael Howard in Baghdad
Wednesday October 22, 2003
The Guardian

Coalition and Iraqi officials are preparing an arrest warrant for the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr over his alleged involvement with the brutal murder of a rival cleric last spring, sources close to the Iraqi governing council told the Guardian yesterday.

The warrant, which has yet to be finalised, cites Mr Sadr for instigating a deadly attack on Abdel Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death by a mob in the Shia holy city of Najaf on April 10.

It is said to be signed by Tahir Jalil Habboush - a senior mukhabarat officer under the former regime who now works with the coalition authorities - and is based on the confessions of 23 men who were involved in the killing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1068114,00.html

* Pontius Bremer, the Governor of the Province of Eastern Iraq-Nam he was appointed by President Cheney (The real dictator in Americka.)

a democratic socilaist leader who nationalized the oil fields and the Brits and U$ didn't like that?
Give me a break!

Besides YOU?

If Waco had been under the occupation of a foreign force there under questionable legality, I might allow that you had a fair comparison.

But I will grant that this will have almost the same end that the Koresh thing did, with the exception that nobody in this country will be yelling for Bush and Ashcroft's heads like they did Clinton and Reno.

Sadr's no dummy. The phrase "Shot while attempting to escape" means the same in all languages.

in Iraq? :crazy:

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will the U.S. allow Iraq to extradite Chalabi to Jordan?

Will the U.S. allow Iraq to exercise any justice regarding American troops or civilians?

Dubya and his cronies to the Hague to stand trial for war crimes?

general amnesty!!!!!!! I'm not kidding, the story was up in the WMW a few weeks ago. Many members of the legislative branch (I forget what it's called) are adamantly against this because of his business dealings.
At the same time there were stories of "new evidence" clearing Chalabi, but I haven't seen any reports of that having come through...

Meanwhile, Abdullah is wheeling and dealing...Jordan is going to be involved in "electrification" of Iraq, extending its network that is already in Egypt and other countries in the region....

will be the most-horrid of theocratic law -- Sadrist law, whether issued by Sadr or in his name. Look, nobody here likes Sadr or what he represents -- the problem is that the Busheviks have just nominated him for Iraqi martyr, and may yet 'elect' him to that position.

What is the name of this judge? And give a link that sez all this stuff.

Was anyone respecting Islamic principles when the genocidal sanctions were reviewed and renewed several times for 12 years? Did anyone care about Islam when Iraqis were bombed to death during Ramadan with the bombs specifically marked “Ramadan gift?” Did anyone think about Islamic principles before invading and killing no less than 20,000 civilians on the basis of nothing but lies? Does anyone care about Islamic principles now that a murderous and dehumanising occupation is under way?


It takes us to two conclusions: 1. The same selective approach to Islam is used as a foundation for promoting “moderate” Islam. The principles that suite the global tyrants are picked and promoted, while those which hurt their global agenda are delegitimized. 2. Irrespective of Islam, the US and its allies are destined to reap Fallujah like fruits for the seeds they plant every moment through their horrific, illegal colonial war.

To blame resistance to the US enterprise on Islam or to put the blame of a people crossing limits in just retaliation on moral inferiority of Muslims is absurd. Was not the US government’s well planned release of video clips of bullet-riddled bodies of Saddam’s sons a gruesome spectacle? It was “justified” because the occupation authorities needed it to intimidate and demoralize Iraqi resistance.

There is nothing gruesome or un-Islamic in killing, terrorizing and incarceration of Iraqis as long as it is for completing the solemn task of pacifying Iraqis ­— a task which Israel could not do in the last 37 years on a much smaller scale.

Not many Americans are aware of what happened in Fallujah before the much publicized event. Jonathan Steele of the Guardian gives details of the brutality in the days preceded Fallujah event. “Rockets from helicopter gunships had punctured bedroom walls. Patio floors and front gates were pockmarked by shrapnel. Car doors looked like sieves. In the mayhem 18 Iraqis lay dead…It was the worst period of violence Fallujah has seen during a year of occupation.”

No one cared about Islam and Muslim culture when Steele described “the chaos the marines left after sleeping in house. Cupboards were ransacked, a computer had gone, and empty brown bags which once contained army rations littered every room. He was particularly upset at finding them in his teenage sister’s bedroom.”


more
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/April/5%20o/Weapons%20of%20Muslims'%20Destruction%20By%20Abid%20Ullah%20Jan.htm

An Iraqi judge appointed by the US backed governing council. I've got a lot of confidence this guy will probably disappear as soon as he's processed into the US occupation prison system.

His peers would be other Shia Clerics, not a puppet judge, even Suni Clerics would be peers. It doesn't matter, either way, if he's arrested he becomes a symbol of the heavy handedness of the US, if he's killed while being arrested, he becomes a martyr, and an even larger symbol, since he will have been killed in a Muslim Holy place.

As for Waco, that all could have been avoided, if the Feds had arrested Koresh in town. They had a warrant for him already, why
did they not confront him while he was alone, and in a position of
weakness. We'll never know, will we?

One last item, the Shia Cleric that was killed, was flown in from out of Iraq, he had been living in London as an exile. Guess who thought it was a good idea to bring him back, and then failed to provide the security he should have had. Can you say the Coalition, I'm sure you can!!!

this security was not allowed to accompany him into the mosque where he was killed -

n/t

The US charges of murder against Al-Sadr are FALSE, and the judge that signed arrest warrant was with Saddam's secret police.

I remember the incident because it was widely discussed among policy wonks in the internet at the time (and I saved my bookmarks). Al-Khoei was not the target, but another other cleric who had been a Saddam supporter.

There was no murder here! It was a crowd that was outraged at seeing a cleric that had worked for Saddam's Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The judge that signed the arrest warrant against Al-Sadr was a member of Saddam's much feared secret police (Thanks to KurtNilsen for finding that article). The US is lying as usual.

Here are the two stories, one from the BBC dated April 10, 2003, about the incident in question. The other story is from The Guardian dated October 22, 2003, about Habboush, the former Mukhabarat officer that is working for Chalabi.

Shia leader murdered in Najaf
Thursday, 10 April, 2003

A senior Shia cleric working with coalition forces has been killed inside a mosque in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.
Abdul Majid al-Khoei returned to Iraq from exile in London only last week.

He was one of two Muslim leaders hacked to death outside the Ali Mosque, one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims.

The other was cleric Haider Kelidar, whom according to Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, had worked for Saddam Hussein's ministry of religious affairs.

<snip>

He (Khoei) had noticed Mr Kelidar coming under attack by a crowd and gone to help him - but was himself knifed. Both men died.

Other reports said crowds shouted abuse at the clerics, causing Mr Khoei to produce a gun and fire shots.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2936887.stm

Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder

Michael Howard in Baghdad
Wednesday October 22, 2003
The Guardian

Coalition and Iraqi officials are preparing an arrest warrant for the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr over his alleged involvement with the brutal murder of a rival cleric last spring, sources close to the Iraqi governing council told the Guardian yesterday.

The warrant, which has yet to be finalised, cites Mr Sadr for instigating a deadly attack on Abdel Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death by a mob in the Shia holy city of Najaf on April 10.

It is said to be signed by Tahir Jalil Habboush - a senior mukhabarat officer under the former regime who now works with the coalition authorities - and is based on the confessions of 23 men who were involved in the killing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1068114,00.html

and thousands more who would take up arms to defend him, or to get revenge if he's killed; nor a majority of a country of his specific religious faith.

I don't like government by Ayatollahs, or any theocracy. But that's besides the point -- that being that the Bushistas have got the U.S. on the wrong side of a quagmire, and they haven't been able to walk on water the way they expected to.

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The Oklahoma City bombing took place precisely on the second aniversary of the Branch Davidian fiasco.

http://dc.yahoo.com/external/wjla/feature/19970418.html

to the US military? They are as likely to ship him of to some undisclosed holding cell (think Guatanamo) as to bring him before any sort of real criminal tribunal.

You talk about being above the law while asking him to surrender to an occupying army who have pretty much shat on any rule of international law in their rush to invade Iraq for increasingly dubious reasons.

We are the repressors of that country, right???? Not some unelected Iraqi like him!!!. Hell, he didn't invade the country, WE did, right, so that gives us the right to tell them what to do.'

Where does this asshat get off thinking that just because he's an iraqi and has a few followers that he can interrupt Glorious George's Gentle Crusade?Q?!?!??!?!!?

I'm am pissed at this interloper. He needs to be tried before a court of our appointed judges and shot!!!!

Thank you for pointing out his evil ways

/sarcasm

There is no government in Iraq. There is only the illegitimate "Coalition Provisional Authority."

If you see this as an actual concern about crime and not a bald political move to eliminate a popular political leader, you are quite a bit more naive than is healthy for even Americans. Please.

And to hear about "respect for the law" from people that cheer about the absolutely extra-judicial status of the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp is laughable in the extreme. You folks have abandoned the rule of law because you are so SCARED. You can't handle the law. For any American to lecture anybody on "respect for the law" has become an international joke.

an exile that has no connection to the people of Iraq.

of Saddams's henchmen.

"Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder

Coalition and Iraqi officials are preparing an arrest warrant for the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr over his alleged involvement with the brutal murder of a rival cleric last spring, sources close to the Iraqi governing council told the Guardian yesterday. The warrant, which has yet to be finalised, cites Mr Sadr for instigating a deadly attack on Abdel Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death by a mob in the Shia holy city of Najaf on April 10.

It is said to be signed by Tahir Jalil Habboush - a senior mukhabarat officer under the former regime who now works with the coalition authorities - and is based on the confessions of 23 men who were involved in the killing. "

From, the Guardian, Wednesday October 22, 2003

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1068114,00.html

Remember how Saddam got confessions from his prisoners?

The bulk of the evidence against Mr Sadr is understood to be based on confessions from 23 men arrested after the attack. Three are reported to have confessed to the stabbing while another 20 said they prevented Mr Khoei from seeking help while bleeding to death. Under questioning, they admitted receiving direct instructions from the young cleric, the source said.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1068114,00.html

The BBC account of the incident clearly shows that it was a mob that attacked one of Saddam's cleric. Al-Khoei was swept up by the mob's anger.

The other was cleric Haider Kelidar, whom according to Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera, had worked for Saddam Hussein's ministry of religious affairs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2936887.stm

An occupation appointed government has no legal authority to serve warrants.

Only when there is an elected and representative government can we be confidant that the warrant is legitimate and not political.

They have no court system the people have nothing more than a Govt Bureaucracy of Picked Venal Hand Puppets.

...to PERSONALLY "arrest" Sadr?

Bet that would go over like a wet fart at a funeral.

Thanks again, neocons, with a special thank you to Ralph.

Why not blame the 20,000+ Dems that voted for Bush in FL too?

And he was executed for it. How did that work out again? My memory fails me.......

this isn't going to get extraordinarily ugly... nah, no way...

Everything is going to be fine...

Arrest Warrant for Muqtada al-Sadr

Dan Senor in a briefing in Baghdad on Monday revealed that an arrest warrant had been issued months ago "by an Iraqi judge" and implied that it would now be served.

US television cable news is doing its best to obscure the real issues here.

1. They keep asking where Muqtada is and calling him a "fugitive." Muqtada announced that he is in his father's mosque in Kufa, and there is no reason to doubt this. He hasn't fled and his whereabouts are well known.

2. Talking heads both from Iraq and from the ranks of the US retired officers keep attempting to maintain that Muqtada's movement is small and marginal. One speaker claimed that Muqtada has only 10,000 men.

In fact that is the size of his formal militia. Muqtada's movement is like the layers of an onion. You have 10,000 militiamen. But then you have tens of thousands of cadres able to mobilize neighborhoods. Then you have hundreds of thousands of Sadrists, followers of Muqtada and other heirs of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr. Then you have maybe 5 million Shiite theocrats who sympathize with Muqtada's goals and rhetoric, about a third of the Shiite community. The Sadrists will now try to shift everything so that the 5 million become followers, the hundreds of thousands become cadres, and the tens of thousands become militiamen.

http://www.juancole.com/2004_04_01_juancole_archive.html#108119698951121964

"Small numbers" for Sadr's movement is not relevant. True cadre groups can always project way beyond their core members. The Bolsheviks were only a few thousands and yet seized all of Russia.

The Bushistas have created their own worst nightmare. Not to mention a nightmare for Iraq and for the world.

the "coalition" effort in Iraq has collectively jumped the shark

this situation much, much worse. Hopefully it's not too late for that, it should be attempted before the situation gets totally out of control.

all they have to do is order: (1) that U.S. troops enter the mosque and arrest him; or (2) that the mosque be bombed; or (3) that the mosque be surrounded and totally isolated. That will surely calm Iraq down. LOL!

Hey, Dubya, guess what: they brought it on!

If the US moves on him at this mosque, or even engages in a standoff, it seal Sadr's legacy as a martyr to many Muslims around the world, and will exponentially stengthen his movement in Iraq.

The US would be foolish to make a move against him at this time and under these circumstances.

Then again, the only solution to avert further disaster is to withdraw totally and immediately.

As far as the Shia are concerned, it's sort of THE mosque.

For Shiites, sending in the troops/police would be like storming the Vatican for Catholics, or seizing the Ka'aba for Muslims in general.

This'll be fun to sort out - NOT.

Cleric: Iraq's Sadr Turns Down Elders' Peace Appeal
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has turned down an appeal by Iraq's powerful Shi'ite Muslim establishment to renounce violence, an aide to a leading cleric said on Monday.

...

A Shi'ite religious source said Sadr has moved from Kufa to Najaf's Imam Ali shrine, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, and armed followers have closed off streets leading to the shrine.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040405/wl_nm/iraq_moqtada_appeal_dc&cid=574&ncid=1480

can only be exceeded in stupidity by having US troops enter the Holy Mosque at Mecca.

If U.S. troops surround the Imam Ali shrine, it will be mate. Talk about orchestrating the perfect background for martyrdom.

As to all your and others' wise council to bunkerboy and his gang of thugs - like that'll ever happen?

"Who cares what you think?" comes to mind.

On another note: Wonder where Crisco Johnny will get his oil if the supply is shut off - how will he EVER decide to meet-out justice without the "holy crude"?

To bunkerboy and his gang of thugs:

WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0! WE TOLD YOU S0!

So much for our multi-million "focus group" a year ago.

Perfectly wrong. Bush and his people have the reverse midas touch. Everything they touch turns to shit.

Now, all we need is for some US spokespeople to talk about their operation as a "crusade". Maybe have Gen. Boykin give some press conferences. That would make things run a bit smoother.

Quick history lesson: She ordered the storming of the Golden Temple (holy to Sikhs) and was later assassinated by Sikhs in her private body guard, even though their loyalty was thought to be beyond reproach.

Martyring someone in the holiest shrine extant is bad business to get involved in. Bremer better hope there are no Shiites within the Green Zone that can get to him, regardless of how loyal he might think they are.

not an individual claim.

This hereditary claim is one of the characteristics of the Shia faith.

The consequences of martyring a Shiite Muslim in their most sacred holy place can be expected to be similar to what the consequences of martyring a Sikh in their most sacred holy place were - intense resistance and possibly assassination of the offending political leader.

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I'd like to think that our leaders would understand what a strategic blunder it would be to storm the mosque and capture or kill the mullah. But, my guess is they will blast their way in and blow the spiritual leader of millions of Iraqi i's to bits in revenge for the slaying of four American mercenaries, men who clearly realized and accepted the risks of their work. (for $950 per day). This may prove to be the critical mass fuse that fully ignites this explosive situation.

him down hard .. he is doing nothing good for his countrymen !

That would be a very stupid thing. With his following, it would be the equivalent of hitting a hornet's nest with a baseball bat.

for a few stings ya kill the whole damn nest .. :)

Then while the hornets are too cold to fly and sting we take the nest down and peacefully toss it into the bonfire. No need to be brave and attack them while they can retaliate.

Starting with an illegal invasion to the oil rich heart of the middle east.

It's past time to get off the oil habit. If I was in charge I'd be looking for something better than oil to make things tick.

Would an immediate 48 hour withdraw back home to the states be the right thing to do?

they're gonna have to deal with him in some other way. Killing him him would be a bushiotic. Who's this "we"? Why don't you go and do it yourself since you seem to have the answer. Good luck.

I asked an innocent question. Why the attitude?

Am I wrong? And it wasn't an innocent question.

"Would an immediate 48 hour withdraw back home to the states be the right thing to do?"

You and I know that's impossible. Did you think I suggested this at any point?

Now...why the attitude against me? It looks like I'm on your side pal.

right wing lukers. I thought you were one of them.

I believe we need to pull back and let the UN take over. Over?

one of the ancient Korans after they splatter his brains on some of the ancient gold inlaid verses on the walls.
You are thirteen or fourteen, I hope. Please tell me you are not older than that?? Right???

he Hague

You are going to have to be more precise here, kiddo...

Mar 15, 2004

Shiite mosque under construction in Ghazalia, 25 kilometres (17 miles) west of Baghdad, was blown up overnight, and local residents blamed extremist Sunni Muslims. Four explosives charges caused massive damage to several cement pillars around a prayer room, and the dome that was to have been the centerpiece of the mosque lay in ruins.

http://www.sarawaktribune.com.my/publish/article_26694.shtml

The "holiness" of a mosque has historically been upheld only on the U.S. side. I haven't seen Muslim combatants show very much hesitation to either use them or abuse them.

You shoot someone and run into a church, the police come in after you and kill you there if they must. IN THE U.S.!!

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Fighting between Israeli troops and armed Palestinians erupted in Bethlehem late Tuesday with dozens of gunmen forcing their way into the Church of the Nativity, one of the holiest sites in Christianity.
Witnesses said there were dead bodies in front of the church.

"Can you imagine? Can you believe it? They are attacking the Church of Nativity, the Syrian Orthodox Church, and burn and demolish mosques," said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who remains under siege in his Ramallah headquarters, in an interview with Qatari television.

Israel accused the gunmen of shooting from inside the holy site, a charge the Palestinians denied.