Sadr's
Men Wait For Martyrdom
By Rory McCarthy
12 August, 2004
The Guardian
In
a dirty alley on the outskirts of the old city of Najaf yesterday stood
a crowd of militia fighters - the newest volunteer among them a bright
young biology student called Ali.
He arrived seven
days ago, bringing his Kalashnikov and a willingness to fight for the
radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Around his head he wore a green,
silk bandanna - an emblem of martyrdom.
On his chest was
a green ammunition belt, filled with loaded magazines and rusted hand-grenades.
Written neatly on the belt was his name, address and telephone number.
"In case I die, so they can reach my family," he said.
Like all of the
fighters in this group on the front line, Ali, 26, came across country
from Amara, one of the several southern Iraqi towns where Mr Sadr's
Shia militia has fought in the past week, including yesterday when British
troops said 10 fighters were killed.
Most who take up
arms for the 30-year-old Mr Sadr are young and poor. A minority, like
Ali, are also well educated.
They revile Saddam
Hussein, who spent his time as leader persecuting them, but their eagerness
to fight now is largely born out of frustration that the war and occupation
has brought little material change to their lives.
Added to this is
their avowed religious conviction. "I came for the defence of Islam,"
Ali said. He and the other 20 or so fighters in his platoon describe
themselves as an "Islamic resistance".
The other Shia parties
hold little appeal for the fighters. "They just use Islamic slogans
to cover up what they are doing," said Ali. "Syed Moqtada
is a nationalist and he demands the right of the Iraqi people and the
rights of the poor. He is the only one who didn't betray the people
and cooperate with the Americans."
The fighters here in Najaf have rallied behind Mr Sadr, the scion of
a highly respected clerical family, because unlike all other major Shia
political leaders he has so far shunned involvement in the pro-American
governments.
Although his radicalism
is rejected by many middle-class Shias, he carries a broad appeal for
those looking for a revolutionary streak in the Shia faith in Iraq.
It was his father's
cousin, Mohammed Baqr al-Sadr, who began the activist, or "spoken",
school in Najaf's Shia clerical community, advocating an Islamic state
through revolution until he was killed in 1979.
Moqtada's father,
Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr also acquired a reputation as a social activist
until he was assassinated in 1999. Since last year's invasion his son
has sought to claim that activist's mantle too.
It is an appeal
that for months after last year's invasion the US and British occupation
authorities seriously underesti mated. Now Mr Sadr is leading his second
uprising in just five months.
For the past week
Najaf, site of the holiest shrine in the Shia faith, has been the focus
of the fighting, but there have been many clashes in Baghdad and in
southern towns that have thrown down a major challenge to the new Iraqi
government.
Ali and his colleagues
spent most of yesterday taking cover in the shade. From a window in
a building above them a sniper fired out a round every few minutes into
the Valley of Peace cemetery, just 100 metres away.
On the far side
of the vast cemetery are 2,000 US Marines, who have threatened to seize
control of the city. Last night their commander said his troops were
making the "final preparations" for an attack.
Occasionally a US
attack helicopter passed nearby and the fighters fired off rounds from
their machine guns and Kalashnikovs inexpertly. There were several command
wires leading out to bombs hidden in the cemetery, ready to ambush American
forces when they advanced.
The entire scene
was imbued with deep religious overtones and constant references to
the Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and a key figure in
the Shia sect. "Ali is with you," they said to each other
in greetings.
"Do you think
I aim when I shoot this thing?" one machine gunner said to another
fighter. "All these things are done by Imam Ali. All I have to
do is carry the thing and pull the trigger and he will help me with
my aim and bring down the helicopter. It is not me that does these things."
In an acknowledgement
of the sensitivity of the conflict, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, one of Iraq's
two vice presidents and leader of the biggest Shia party, the Da'awa,
yesterday said US troops should stop fighting in Najaf and leave the
job to Iraqi security forces. There was no sign of this yesterday.
The militia will
be waiting - galvanised by the words of Mr Sadr, who has urged the fighters
to continue even if he is killed or captured.
Every few hours
yesterday a cleric in the nearby gold-domed Imam Ali shrine, in the
heart of the old city, issued encouraging exhortations and just after
1pm the fighters pulled out sheets of cardboard, took off their ammunition
belts and headscarves and in turn knelt to pray. Then they sat in the
shade, eating grapes stored over ice in a coolbox.