According to a number of sources, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has openly opposed the projected long-term security agreement between Iraq and the United stated. This followed a warning against the agreement by the communist party of Iraq and a large number of other Iraqi parties and personalities, as was reported by www.Iraqshabab.com in Arabic today 26.05.08
The 20-article agreement planned for signature between Al-Maliki and the US allowing the US to establish military bases and giving immunity to US personnel in carrying out attacks, arresting or killing Iraqis. Feeling the heat of the overwhelming Iraqi rejection, US ambassador, Ryan Crocker changed gear and announced in Najaf and Kerbala, on 25.05.08, that the US doesn’t want to impose the agreement but it was requested by the Iraqi government. Many have almost given up on Al-Sistani but it is to his credit that he refused to meet, let alone shake hands with the American occupiers. One must wait and see the reaction of Al-Maliki who has been negotiating with George Bush disregarding that occupied Iraq is not in a position to sign agreements with the barbaric American occupiers.
Pro-British Iraqi king and the British-installed client regime signed an agreement with the British empire allowing it to maintain two air bases in Shoaiba, near Basra and in Habania, west of Baghdad. There was one clause in the agreement that prohibited the British forces wearing military uniforms outside their bases. In 1920, the Iraqi Shiites led the uprising against the British presence disregarding the overwhelming superiority of the British firepower.
In 1958, General Abdul Kareem Qassem, killed the entire pro-British royal family and their client regime of Nuri Al-Saeed. General Qassem gave the British forces fortyeight hours to vacate their bases or be annhiliated. The Iraqis will never accept a foreign military presence in the country, let alone soldiers of pro-Israeli and anti Muslim Zionised Christians.
Both these are currently occupied by the British and the Americans.
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has been reluctant to issue a fatwa (edict) calling for an armed Jihad against the Crusaders currently occupying Iraq because he supported the political process that meant to end the brutal occupation without further bloodshed.
But his position may change 180 degrees if the Americans and their client regime don't clear out of Iraq by the end of 2009.
Al-Sistani realised the real intention behind the US-UK attacks on Basrah and on Al-Sadr city and made his views known to Al-Maliki. He is also against the on-going American-Kurdish operations in Mosul against Iraqi nationalists in the city.It seems Al-Sistani patience has been stretched to the limit by the practices of brutal American occupation.
Islam is the only force that can rally the masses against the on-going Zionised Christian crusade against Muslims. The more Bushlomo (s) push the more ground they lose to Al-Qaeda.
All Muslims from all walks of life inhabiting the area between Nigeria and the Philippines were shocked hearing and seeing on TV that the Holy Koran was desecrated before being used for target practice by a group of US snipers in occupied Iraq. All religious aiuthorities feel that it is their duty to end the criminal, immoral and brutal occupation of Iraq by the later-day American barbarians. Al-Sistani and other members of Iraqai Hawza (religious council) can't remain silent any longer. The desecration of the holy Koran will turn out to be the straw that broke the back of the hated American occupation.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
وصف العلامة السيد محمد حسين فضل الله الاتفاق الامني المزمع توقيعه بين بغداد وواشنطن بالاتفاق بين الذئب والحمل.
واضاف فضل الله، ان امريكا تهدف الى اضفاء صفة الشرعية والقانونية لاحتلالها العراق ما يوفر الغطاء لاعتقال اي من العراقيين بتهمة الارهاب.
وقال ان من شأن هذا الاتفاق منع محاكمة اي جندي امريكي في العراق مهما كانت اساءته او جريمته مستشهدا بقيامها بسحب الجندي الامريكي الذي جعل القران الكريم هدفا لرصاص بندقيته.
كما اشار فضل الله الى ان واشنطن تهدف عبر وجودها العسكري في العراق الى الضغط على كل من سوريا وايران مشددا على ان الاتفاق المذكور ليس من مصلحة الشعب العراقي.
وكان المرجع الديني العراقي آية الله السيد علي السيستاني قد رفض بشدة الاتفاقية الامنية الاستراتيجية التي تنوي الحكومة العراقية عقدها مع الاحتلال الامريكي.
وقال مصدر مقرب من آية الله السيستاني يوم السبت ان الاخير جدد تاكيده بانه "لن يسمح بتوقيع مثل هذا الاتفاق مع المحتل الاميركي ما دام حيا".
واضاف المصدر، "ان آية الله السيستاني كان قد اعرب عن اعتراضه عقد الصفقة خلال لقاء مع رئيس الوزراء نوري المالكي في مدينة النجف الاشرف يوم الخميس".
وكان المرجع الديني اية الله السيد كاظم الحائري اكد بدوره يوم السبت رفض الحوزة العلمية في العراق عقد الاتفاقية الامنية بين الاحتلال الاميركي والحكومة.
ودعا اية الله الحائري الحكومة العراقية الى عدم التوقيع على الاتفاقية، وقال ان الحوزة لن تعترف بشرعية هذه الاتفاقية، وانها لن تكون ملزمة لاحد، معتبرا ان الاحتلال يهدف الى تقنين وجوده غير المشروع، والعبث في امن البلاد ومواطنيه والاستمرار في نهب ثروات العراق.
وتفيد التقارير بان الحكومة العراقية تعتزم التوقيع على اتفاقية امنية طويلة المدى مع الولايات المتحدة، تسمح لواشنطن باقامة قواعد عسكرية دائمة في البلاد وتمنح مواطني الولايات المتحدة الحصانة من الملاحقة القضائية.
يشار الى ان مسودة الاتفاقية الامنية بين العراق والولايات المتحدة تم اعدادها من قبل الاميركان في يناير2008 ووقعه الجانبان في 17 مارس 2008 ومن المقرر ان يتم الاتفاق النهائي عليها في اوائل يوليو 2008.
Translation:
Description scholar Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah security agreement to be signed between Baghdad and Washington agreement between the wolf and pregnancy.
He added Fadlallah, that America intended to legitimize its occupation and legal Iraq provides cover for the arrest of any Iraqis on charges of terrorism.
He said that this agreement would prevent the prosecution of any American soldier in Iraq whatever the women or doing his crime, citing the withdrawal of the American soldier who make the Quran a target for his rifle bullets.
Fadlallah also pointed out that Washington aimed through its military presence in Iraq to put pressure on both Syria and Iran, stressing that the said agreement is not in the interest of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi religious authority, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani has rejected the Convention strongly security strategy which intends Iraqi government held with the U.S. occupation.
A source close to Ayatollah Sistani on Saturday renewed his affirmation that the latter that he "would not be allowed to sign such an agreement with the U.S. occupation as long alive."
The source added that "Ayatollah Sistani had expressed his objection to the deal during a meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday."
The religious authority, Ayatollah Kazem Al Hairi Mr. confirmed on Saturday refused to turn scientific shrine in Iraq holding Security Agreement between the U.S. occupation and the government.
He called on Ayatollah Al Hairi Iraqi government not to sign the Convention, said that the estate will not recognize the legitimacy of this Convention, and that it would not be obligated to anyone, contending that aims to legalize the occupation and the quality of the illegal, and tampering with the security of the country and its citizens and to continue to plunder the riches of Iraq.
It is reported that the Iraqi government intends to sign the long-term security agreement with the United States, allowing Washington to establish permanent military bases in the country and grant U.S. citizens immunity from prosecution.
It should be noted that the draft Security Agreement between Iraq and the United States had been prepared by the Americans in January 2008 and signed by the two sides on March 17, 2008 is scheduled to be final agreement in early July 2008.
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Powerful Iraqi cleric flirting with Shiite militant message
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press WritersThu May 22, 2:48 PM ET
BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.
The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.
But — unlike al-Sadr's anti-American broadsides — the Iranian-born al-Sistani has displayed extreme caution with anything that could imperil the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The two met Thursday at the elderly cleric's base in the city of Najaf south of Baghdad.
So far, al-Sistani's fatwas have been limited to a handful of people. They also were issued verbally and in private — rather than a blanket proclamation to the general Shiite population — according to three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf.
All spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Al-Sistani — who is believed to be 79 or 80 — has not been seen in public since a brief appearance in August 2004, shortly after returning from London for medical treatment for an unspecified heart condition. But his mix of religious authority and political clout makes him more powerful than any of Iraq's elected leaders.
For American officials, he represents a key stabilizing force in Iraq for refusing to support a full-scale Shiite uprising against U.S.-led forces or Sunnis — especially at the height of sectarian bloodletting after an important Shiite shrine was bombed in 2006.
It is impossible to determine whether those who received the edicts acted on them. Most attacks — except some by al-Qaida in Iraq — are carried out without claims of responsibility.
It is also unknown whether al-Sistani intended the fatwas to inspire violence or simply as theological opinions on foreign occupiers. Al-Sadr — who has a much lower clerical rank than al-Sistani — recently has threatened "open war" on U.S.-led forces.
The U.S. military said it had no indications that al-Sistani was seeking to "promote violence" against U.S.-led troops. It also had no information linking the ayatollah or other top Shiite clerics to armed groups battling U.S. forces and allies.
A senior aide to the prime minister, al-Maliki, said he was not aware of the fatwas, but added that the "rejection of the occupation is a legal and religious principle" and that top Shiite clerics were free to make their own decisions. The aide also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Fatwas are theological opinions by an individual cleric and views on the same subject can vary. They gain force from consensus among experts in Islamic law and traditions.
In the past, al-Sistani has avoided answering even abstract questions on whether fighting the U.S. presence in Iraq is allowed by Islam. Such questions sent to his Web site — which he uses to respond to followers' queries — have been ignored. All visitors to his office who had asked the question received a vague response.
The subtle shift could point to his growing impatience with the continued American presence more than five years after the U.S.-led invasion.
It also underlines possible opposition to any agreement by Baghdad to allow a long-term U.S. military foothold in Iraq — part a deal that is currently under negotiation and could be signed as early as July.
Al-Sistani's distaste for the U.S. presence is no secret. In his public fatwas on his Web site, he blames Washington for many of Iraq's woes.
But a more aggressive tone from the cleric could have worrisome ripples through Iraq's Shiite majority — 65 percent of the country's estimated 27 million population — in which many followers are swayed by his every word.
A longtime official at al-Sistani's office in Najaf would not deny or confirm the edicts issued in private, but hinted that a publicized call for jihad may come later.
"(Al-Sistani) rejects the American presence," he told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to media. "He believes they (the Americans) will at the end pay a heavy price for the damage they inflicted on Iraq."
Juan Cole, a U.S. expert on Shiites in the Middle East, speculated that "al-Sistani clearly will give a fatwa against the occupation by a year or two." But he said it would be "premature" for the cleric to do so now.
Between 10 and 15 people are believed to have received the new fatwas in recent months, the Shiite officials told the AP.
Most of those seeking al-Sistani's views are young men known for their staunch loyalty to al-Sistani who call themselves "Jund al-Marjaiyah," or "Soldiers of the Religious Authorities," according to the Shiite officials.
Al-Sistani's new edicts — which did not specifically mention Americans but refer to foreign occupiers — were in response to the question of whether it's permitted to "wage armed resistance," according to the two Shiites who received them.
Al-Sistani's affirmative response also carried a stern warning that "public interest" should not be harmed and every effort must be made to ensure that no harm comes to Iraqis or their property during "acts of resistance," they said.
"Changing the tyrannical (Saddam Hussein) regime by invasion and occupation was not what we wished for because of the many tragedies they have created," al-Sistani said in reply to a question on his Web site.
"We are extremely worried about their intentions," he wrote in response to another question on his views about the U.S. military presence.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army twice revolted against U.S. forces in 2004. It has since periodically attacked U.S. troops and battled them for seven weeks in Baghdad this year.
In perhaps another sign of al-Sistani's hardened position, he has opposed disarming the Mahdi Army as demanded by al-Maliki, according to Shiite officials close to the cleric.
Disarming the Mahdi Army would — in the views of many Shiites — leave them vulnerable to attacks by armed Sunni factions that are steadily gaining strength after joining the U.S. military fight against al-Qaida.
"Al-Sistani would love Muqtada (al-Sadr) to disappear but he will not break the community by openly going against a popular Shiite cleric," said Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. "If he orders militias disbanded and a car bomb again kills many Shiites, he will be held responsible."
The Return of Iraq's Ayatollah
By MARK KUKIS/BAGHDAD
Sun May 25, 10:25 AM ET
High-profile visits by political figures are relatively rare in Najaf, the quiet holy city in southern Iraq where Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani lives. Sistani, the most venerated Shi'ite religious leader in the country, shuns the limelight. But it fell his way last week nonetheless when Iraqi Prime Ministry Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared in Najaf separately within days of each other. It raised questions whether Sistani is making a comeback as a voice in political decision-making in Iraq.
For years Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr have seesawed with each other as Iraq's two main Shi'ite power players. In the early days of the occupation, Sistani's call for calm undoubtedly allowed American troops to avoid fierce resistance to their presence in southern Iraq. But Sistani's repeated appeals for peace lost their weight as sectarian violence rose in Iraq, with Sadr leading the Mahdi Army militia in an inexorable year-long quest for Shi'ite revenge following the bombing of a revered shrine in Samarra in early 2006. As a result, Sadr, a mere cleric, towered as the most powerful Shi'ite figure in Iraq, eclipsing the more senior Sistani's prestigious status as ayatollah. Sistani became a voice in the wings on Iraq's political stage as the country's armed factions, including the U.S. military, warred through 2006 and 2007. Now with the situation quieter, and Sadr politically weakened following his military clash with Maliki, Sistani seems poised to renew a larger political role for himself.
Maliki's visit Thursday to Najaf, where he met with Sistani, seemed to be acknowledgment of just that change in status, one that the Ayatollah did not appear to shrink from. "Sistani emphasized that everything should be done to get back total sovereignty on all levels," said Sheik Abdul Mehdi al-Karbala'e, who summed up Sistani's meeting with Maliki in a speech to Shi'ite follower attending Friday prayers in Karbala.
The comment was a not-so-subtle warning by Sistani to Maliki and American leaders as they negotiate a long-term bilateral agreement that will spell out conditions for a U.S. presence in Iraq beyond next year, when the current U.N. mandate ends. A number of contentious issues, such as the presence of permanent U.S. military bases and the ability of U.S. forces to arrest and detain Iraqis, remain unresolved. Crocker, who did not meet with Sistani, was in Najaf to meet with local leaders but he addressed how the talks over the bilateral security agreement were shaping up. "We are in negotiations, and when that negotiation ends there will be an agreement," said Crocker, who spoke in Arabic addressing the local press corps. "That came as a wish of the Iraqi government."
Crocker, who said he had been to Najaf only once before, visited amid speculation that Sistani is losing patience with the U.S. presence in Iraq. In recent days, there have been reports that Sistani has been quietly issuing religious edicts, or fatwas, calling for the armed resistance to U.S. forces. Such a move by Sistani would essentially mark a reversal of his passive cooperation with the U.S. enterprise in Iraq to date. However, Sistani's aides deny the reports. "Nothing like that came from the office of the ayatollah," said Hamid al-Kahfaff, a spokesman for Sistani in Najaf.
Both Maliki and Crocker stand to gain by keeping Sistani happy and supportive of their political efforts, since hopes that Sadr would drop the renegade routine dissipated as the Mahdi Army battled with government forces across southern Iraq and Baghdad in the last two months. With Sadr on the outs, Sistani rises again as a kind of godfather figure whose silence can be interpreted as tacit support, particularly when leaders such as Maliki are seen as consulting him. Sistani maintained his usual silence as Crocker wrapped up his visit to Najaf Saturday. But there is little doubt about the renewed strength of his hand in Iraq. View this article on Time.com
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