Eloquent Incoherence

As if the situation in Iraq couldn’t get any worse, Iraqi and American forces say they foiled an assassination plot targeting Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other Shi’a religious leaders. 250 fighters were killed in the operation. The plot was apparently part of a broader attempt by a militia to gain control of the city of Najaf, home of the Imam Ali Shrine. The plot was timed to coincide with Ashura, a holy day on which the Shi’a stage public processions to mark the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) grandson Hussain.

When I first heard this news, I figured it was just another instance of Sunni extremists attacking the Shi’a on their holy day. But the plot was apparently the work of a group called the Jund as-Samaa (”Soldiers of Heaven”), some kind of messianic cult. This was the first instance I’ve heard of an Iraqi insurgent group (or resistance movement, depending on your perspective) being referred to by the media as a cult. According to CNN, the group contained both Shi’a and Sunni elements, and its leader (who was killed in the fighting) claimed to be the Mahdi, a messiah whom Muslims believe will emerge near the end of time to restore peace and justice in the world (although both the Shi’a and the Sunnis believe in the concept of the Mahdi, the idea figures much more prominently in Shi’a thought). I can’t seem to find much more information about this particular group or why they wanted to kill Sistani; all the media reports I’ve read are vague on the matter. It’s certainly a bizarre and alarming turn of events. The fact that this movement was able to attract hundreds of followers is an indication of how desperate the situation in Iraq has become; apparently, some Iraqis have taken the ongoing violence as a sign of the apocalypse.

In any event, I’m glad the plot was foiled. Sistani is the highest-ranking Shi’a religious leader in the world. Unlike the Sunnis, the Shi’a have a tightly-structured, hierarchical system of religious authority similar to Catholicism. Sistani’s assassination might have plunged the entire region into all-out war, and would have exacerbated Shi’a-Sunni tensions across the Muslim World. Sistani is also one of the few voices of reason in the ongoing struggle for Iraq’s future, and his assassination would have dealt a tremendous blow to the prospects for peace in Iraq any time soon.

People in Luckanow, a village in the Indian province of Bihar, are renaming their children Saddam Hussein in honor of the “martyred” Iraqi dictator.

(Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein during a visit to Baghdad in 1982)

Now that Saddam is gone, we should reflect on where his power came from and what responsibility those who supported him bear for his atrocities. These thoughts should influence how much we trust our leaders when they wage wars and make enemies and friends in the name of “freedom” and “democracy”.

(courtesy of Abu Sinan)

According to news reports, Saddam Hussein was executed at 6:00 AM this morning. State-run Iraqiyya TV is reporting the execution with the byline, “Saddam’s execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq’s history.” With that sentiment, I agree. Saddam was a brutal tyrant who will surely not be missed (especially by the Shi’a and the Kurds). Unfortunately, the darker period that has followed it–that of the American occupation–has no end yet in sight.

Reflecting on the war, Saddam’s fall, and the current situation, I’m reminded of the maxim that pervades much of classical Sunni political thought: “sixty years of tyranny are better than one night of civil strife.”