According to this BBC article, Muqtada Sadr is losing his thin veneer of religious legitimacy supplied by Ayatollah Haeri in Iran. Unlike Sistani, Haeri has been giving Muqtada support religiously for his activities. I’m not sure what to make of his about face, except perhaps to make it easier for him to be more active in Iraq, either directly or through other proxies. On the surface, this is an important development, because if every Ayatollah now denounces the attacks on US and UK troops, it theoretically becomes easier to isolate those Shi’ah, and to a certain extent Sunnis, who do carry out attacks. I’m hopeful that the attacks in Sadr city will settle down, and more importantly that the city itself will be less likely to serve as a launching ground for others in Iraq.
Related Posts
Shi’ism and Modern Politics
This post is not the one on Shi’ism I promised below, but it is still related to Shi’ism. Roy Mottahedeh has a great piece on the nature of the Shi’ah groups in Iraq. Juan Cole has a short summary of the relationship amongst Shi’ah groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. Both men are incredibly knowledgeable and extremely lucid writers. While both are predominantly political, they do give a surprisingly good idea of the religious landscape as well.
US Military
I don’t write much about the military, because it’s not something I know much about. I prefer to stick to policy. I rely on Dawnsinger and Father Jake to bring some of their experiences and knowledge to the table. I’ve recently run across two more blogs that deal much more directly with military affairs. One is Groundhog Day, although his coverage is more irregular. The other is Blackfive, who is dedicated to covering military concerns – and the Cubs. Blackfive is an admitted conservative, but he has recently welcomed lefties. I do believe it is possible criticize government policy while…
Conspiracy Theories
As I’m writing this, I see someone else had a similar idea. So I’m watching CNN yesterday, Aug. 10, and I hear Christiane Amanpour say that many young Muslims in the West believe that 9/11, 7/7, and now the new attacks on planes were plots by Western governments in order to start a war with Islam. O Muslims in the West, are you stupid? Either: 1. The West has the wherewithal to plot such destructive events against their own people, including American and British Muslims, and the ability to keep it secret, but not so secret that we can’t figure…