Militia, Shiite Leaders Bicker Over Shrine

NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in control of a revered Shiite shrine at the center of the crisis in Najaf on Saturday, as they bickered with top Shiite religious leaders over how to hand the holy site over. Despite the standoff, Najaf remained largely calm Saturday. Occasional explosions shook the city, but the violence was at a far lower level than fierce fighting that raged in the city earlier this week.

The violence in the city and a threatened government raid of the mosque risked inflaming the nation's majority Shiites and undermining the interim government's efforts to bring stability to the country and gain legitimacy for itself. The crisis appeared on the verge of resolution Friday with insurgents' surprising decision to remove their weapons from the Imam Ali Shrine, where they had been hiding, and turn the holy site over to top Shiite clerics. But the two sides were still debating how to arrange such a transfer Saturday.

Al-Sadr aides said they tried to hand the keys over to representatives of Iraq (news - web sites)'s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who refused to accept them, demanding the shrine be evacuated first. Sheik Ali Smeisim, a senior al-Sadr aide, said the militants wanted a delegation from al-Sistani's office to first inspect the shrine and make sure its treasures were intact, so that al-Sadr's followers would not be accused of stealing or damaging anything. Only then will the militants leave, he said.

Al-Sistani's aides say they will not send a delegation because of the security situation in the city."If the brothers in the office of ... al-Sadr want to vacate the holy shrine compound and close the doors and hand over the keys, then the office of the religious authority in Najaf will take the keys for safekeeping until the crisis ends," Sheik Hamed Khafaf, an al-Sistani aide, said from London where the cleric is undergoing medical treatment. "We cannot receive the shrine compound unless they agree to this formula." Another al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany, said earlier the keys had already been handed over, but later said that they had only offered to hand them over.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040821/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716

that doctor is like the medics at Abu Ghraib reported recently for helping the torture), I imagine the "bickering" has deeper roots than just a li'l squabble over the house keys.

This is very volatile.


The last report I read on google news had this quote on placards by Sadr's followers at the mosque:

"Where is the bullet that will grant me martyrdom?"

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6034863

These people are willing to lay down their lives for their beliefs and be blessed by God for it.

We should NOT be there. This is Fubar and OUR troops have been placed in harm's way by IDIOTS!