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

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44490)	8/29/2003 5:24:56 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Who was Ayatollah al-Hakim <car bomb blast in the Shiite holy city of Najaf Friday that killed at least 17 people, including prominent Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, and wounded more than 200. > Ayatollah al-Hakim came from a powerful and respected family that has played a prominent role in the religious and political life of Shias in Iraq and Iran since the 1950s. His father, the late Grand Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim, was the spiritual leader of the Shia world between 1955 and 1970 and served as mentor to the uncompromising founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. As a young man, Ayatollah al-Hakim joined opposition efforts against the Baath regime in Iraq and was a protégé of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr, who was executed by the Baghdad government in 1980. He then fled to Iran. Ayatollah al-Hakim has written tracts on human rights and "the freedom of the individual within the rules of the Islamic Sharia". When asked about the role of religion and the state, he offers an ambiguous answer. "We believe there is no separation between politics and religion, because religion guides politics for the benefit of the people," he told the Guardian in an interview before the war. "But we must distinguish between extremist elements that would seek to impose religion. We want to concentrate on the spirit of religion, on its morals." Radical Shiite clerics Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim was poised to fill the post-Saddam power vacuum, under him Iraq could have become a Shia version of Taliban-era Afghanistan: an anarchic collection of fiefdoms run by extremist warlords happy to host training camps for terrorist organizations. He was the commander of the Badr Corps, a bearded Islamic cleric who devoted his life to toppling the Baath regime in Baghdad. He was imprisoned and tortured as an opposition leader in Iraq during the 1970s, Ayatollah Sayed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim had a reputation for military acumen and an affinity for mixing religion with politics. He after fall of Baghdad made the statement that "Coalition forces are welcome in Iraq as long as they help the Iraqi people get rid of Saddam's dictatorship, but Iraqis will resist if they seek to occupy or colonise our country," Ayatollah al-Hakim had a hands-on role in commanding his estimated 10,000 to 20,000 troops, who were under the supervision of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards. During the 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq conflict, the well-equipped Badr troops conducted intelligence gathering and infiltration behind enemy lines. At the end of the first Gulf War, the Badr Corps played an instrumental role in the uprising against Saddam's regime and suffered heavy casualties when the rebellion failed and US air power never materialised. Analysts in Tehran say the Badr Corps' main military goal was to crush Iran's nemesis, the Mujahedeen Khalq Organisation (MKO), a guerrilla group of Iranians who fell out with Tehran in the early days of the 1979 revolution and allied themselves with Baghdad. But the Badr Corps' political wing, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) carry more importance for Iraq's future. SCIRI until today headed by Ayatollah al-Hakim was considered the best-organised opposition group and expected to have a major role in any post-war government. Living in exile in Tehran until fall of Baghdad, Ayatollah al-Hakim owed much to the conservative Shia clerics ruling Iran who have funded his organisation and militia. In return, Iran hoped to assert its influence in a post-Saddam Iraq, through Ayatollah al-Hakim where more than 60% of the populations are Shia. Collected from Guardian newspaper article..