quote:The U.S. military said Iraq's senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who had been held under house arrest by the government, had ordered local people in a "fatwa" (edict) not to interfere with the U.S.-led invasion troops.
quote:In London, the Shi'ite Al Khoei foundation confirmed the ayatollah's new ruling and said that until now his followers had been "confused" over whether to fight the U.S forces.
quote:U.S. military sources said one of the two brigades of the 101st Airborne in Najaf had been in negotiations with Sistani about how to govern Najaf in the absence of pro-Saddam forces.
"I think he realized we really are here to help Iraqi people," one source said.
[ April 05, 2003, 06:13 AM: Message edited by: First of Two ]
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
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posted
Just a clarification, the Shi'ites are the moderates while the Sunnis are the radical fundamentalists, right?
If that is the case, I wouldn't be surprised. If it is the reverse, then something is really wrong here.
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To put it simply, Sunni Muslims believe that after the death of Mohammad, caliphs should have been chosen by the will of the community as a whole, while Shi'a Muslims believe that the line should have descended to the Prophet's son-in-law, Ali.
The split, in other words, is largely due to the political question of who would run the Islamic empire post-Mohammad, though this is not the sole difference between them.
Sunnis are by far the largest Muslim sect. (I think 90% of all Muslims are Sunni.) Saudi Arabia is Sunni. So is Afghanistan. Wahhabism, which is the Islamic fundamentalism popular among, say, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, is from the Sunni side of things. Iran is Shi'a. So are a sizable number of Iraqis.
At any rate, just what Shi'a clerics are saying seems to depend on when and who you ask.
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posted
The above article is referred to in this part of my article:
quote:A Reuters correspondent in Baghdad just one week ago saw a fatwa issued by Sistani still pinned to the door of a main Shi'ite mosque in the capital saying Iraqis would "stand together against any invasion."
of course, given
quote:Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, ... had been held under house arrest by the [Iraqi] government
his change of position is not surprising. Looks as though the first edict was made under some duress.
(Of course, the second might have been as well, but the mention of Sistani conducting negotiations sort of belies that assumption - after all the Iraqi government isn't known for negotiating.)
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
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posted
It should also be pointed out that "Shi'ite" Muslims are not necessarily "shite" Muslims, despite the thread title.
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