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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44126)	5/1/2003 11:36:49 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Mob Says Cleric Must Go (Another master piece by Zack) <>It was hilarious to see an American reporter breathlessly exclaiming the level of resistance among the Iraqi Shi'ites by quoting a Sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet, and his threat to carry out suicide bombings against the Americans. As a fellow Sayyid (or more accurately Ahl-a-Bayt, people of the Cloak) I could only laugh at the man's position since I wonder where was he when Saddam was mowing down his co-religionists in the early 90's. Why weren't the Shi'ite Islamists, whose prominence seems to be growing, active against the tyranny of Saddam? The Shi'ite clerics of southern Iraq are experiencing a dangerous rift amongst themselves, which has already cost the life of a prominent Mullah\priest. Iraqi Shi'ism is fractured and does not have the centralising tendencies of Iranian Shi'ism (no doubt a cultural trait ultimately derived from Iran's imperial past). Iraq may have the sacred cities of Najaf and Kerbala, whose resplendent monuments host the remains of my long deceased ancestors and the central figures of Shi'ism however Iraqi Shi'ism does not have the equivalent of a Qom like in Iran. The Iranian priesthood is remarkable in its efficiency and organisation, with cities like Qom (originally an Arab garrison) wholly devoted to the training of priests. Shi'ism in Iran is a venerated institution and the Iranian Ayatollahs are like their predecessors, the Zoroastrian Magi. Iran has had a history of theocrats, with the pre-Islamic Sassanian Empire institutionalising Zoroastrianism as the state religion. To compare the dismal clashes of the clerics of the Iraqi Shi'ites with the smooth, hierarchical and organised Iranian Shi'ite order is ludricous. The Iranian Shi'ites were able to effectively organise a sedition against the Shah of Iran through the distribution of cassetes through each mosques. Iranian Shi'ism as a system existed parrallel to the state, and despite being a relatively recent import from Lebanon of all places, it has permeated every crevice of Persian and Azeri society. The Iraqi Shi'ite clerics couldn't even organise a proper resistance to Iraq despite the mass concentration of the population in a few key cities (the rebellion of the early 90's by the Shi'ites were largely secular) and they dare to claim that they will resist American authority. In fact Ayatollah Sistani is begging the Americans to stay and help him win the power struggle. The Shi'ite Islamists may threaten waves of suicide bombings however there is no need to fear them. <>It was hilarious to see an American reporter breathlessly exclaiming the level of resistance among the Iraqi Shi'ites by quoting a Sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet, and his threat to carry out suicide bombings against the Americans. As a fellow Sayyid (or more accurately Ahl-a-Bayt, people of the Cloak) I could only laugh at the man's position since I wonder where was he when Saddam was mowing down his co-religionists in the early 90's. Why weren't the Shi'ite Islamists, whose prominence seems to be growing, active against the tyranny of Saddam? Zachary Latif 17:15 (I do some research for Zack and use his facilites extensively) latif.blogspot.com