Pilgrims
Threaten Jihad Against American Forces
By Kim Sengupta
in Karbala
The Independent
24 April 2003
The Shia pilgrimage
to Karbala, one of the most potent and symbolic in recent Iraqi history,
took on a strident political and martial note yesterday with demands
for the establishment of an Islamic state and threats of a jihad against
the "American occupiers".
The one million
people commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of
the Prophet Mohamed, were not only determined to take part in the rites
banned by Saddam Hussein and his Baathist predecessors, but also to
lay their claim for a Shia-led government.
Yesterday, the
final prayers of the festival were different from the days that have
gone before, with thousands of young men arriving from the cities of
a de facto Shia confederacy, which is already taking shape.
The young men
left their Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers in their vehicles out
of respect, they said, for the holiness of Karbala.
But later, covered
in blood from flagellation with chains and knife wounds they had ritually
and frenziedly inflicted on themselves they roared their desire to avenge
Ayatollah al-Sadr, murdered by the regime in 1999, and fight for a free,
Islamic Iraq.
The show of
strength was not aimed solely at the Americans or the Sunnis they accuse
of oppressing them under the rule of the Baath party. Schisms have also
began to appear among the Shias: the followers of the late Ayatollah
Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr who now follow his son Muqtadar
are lining up against Ayatollah al-Hakim, who now runs Karbala, and
Ayatollah Ali Hamid al-Sistani, in Najaf.
Two Shia leaders,
Abdul Majid al-Khoeli and Haidar al-Khalidar, have already been killed
in the internecine strife at Najaf.
Ayatollah Hakim,
who was supposed to address the pilgrims, failed to turn up. He was
warned, said his followers, that he may be attacked.
The US military
said they had foiled a plot by "a gang of five Baathists and a
member of al-Qa'ida" to blow up two mosques in Karbala. Captain
Jimmie Cummings said the plan was to carry out the attack during the
pilgrimage.
The pilgrims
included Shias from Iran. Bookstalls carried out a busy trade in tracts
from Ayatollah Khomeini and hardline religious leaders in Iran who have
called on Iraqis to expel the US military from their country.
In sermons,
imam after imam called on Iraqis to take the destiny of the country
into their own hands, and the Shia to take their "rightful place"
in deciding how the country should be governed Some of the crowd carried
banners saying "Bush equals Saddam", "Down USA"
and "Yes, Yes, Islam".
Representatives
of the Hawza, the Shia religious body based in Najaf, which is said
to be co-ordinating the takeover of the administration of towns and
cities by clerics, were present among the crowd.
One member,
Abbas Nahidi, said: "Our job is to ensure that the people get the
message of the Hawza. They should listen and act as our wise leaders
advise. We are talking to all our people in our cities to plan the action.
"The Hawza
believe there should be elections so people can decide who should govern
us. We want an Islamic state. We do not want to be ruled by any foreign
powers including the United States."
Abbas Mohammed
and Ali Faraya Hamid, two teachers from Kut, said an Islamic administration
has already been set up in their city. Mr Hamid said: "The Americans
did nothing after the Baath fled, so the religious leaders have started
to run things. We are following what the Koran has taught us. We do
not need foreigners to tell us what to do."
Rashid Mutanar
Rahim, a former soldier, rolled up the sleeve of his left arm to show
a long scar. "I got that fighting in the first Bush war. I finished
with the army because I hated Saddam. But I am prepared to take part
in a jihad now against our American occupiers. I know dozens of people
who feel the same way."
Yusef al-Hababi
agreed."We are all prepared to take part in the jihad to throw
out the Americans. Look at the way they conducted this war."