11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Assassinations of senior Shia clerics in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23800]

"On July 20, Sheikh Abdullah Falaq al-Basrawi, a top aide of Shi'a Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was fatally stabbed in his office next to al-Sistani's home in Najaf. On August 2, unidentified gunmen killed Sheikh Fadel al-Aql, a deputy of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, near his home in Najaf. On September 1, shortly after evening prayers, unidentified gunmen in Basrah killed Muslem al-Battat, the imam and preacher of the al-Urwa Mosque, and an aide of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani."

Document(s): Open document

08.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Attacks of Sunni armed groups against Shia Muslims ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-seekers") [ID 22813]

"Sunni armed groups are held responsible for (suicide) attacks targeting Shi’ite-dominated ISF bases and recruitment centres, Shi’ite religious sites and gatherings (e.g. during the festivities of Ashura), as well as religious leaders and Shi’ite civilians at large. For example, on 3 February 2007, a suicide bombing hit a crowded market in Al-Sadriya, a predominantly Shi’ite district in Baghdad, leaving at least 130 Iraqis dead. A series of car bombs and mortar attacks in Sadr City, home to more than two million Shi’ites, on 23 November 2006 caused the death of over 200 persons and injured many more."

Document(s): Open document

30.01.2007 - Source: BBC News

At least 40 people have been killed in a wave of attacks across Iraq at the climax of Ashura, the most important Shia Muslim religious festival ("Iraq blasts kill Ashura pilgrims") [ID 19543]

"A suicide bomber killed 19 people at a mosque in Baladruz, north-east of Baghdad. In the same region, 11 people died in an attack in Khanaqin. In the capital, at least 10 people were killed by mortar fire in the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiyah. Ashura marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson in 680 AD. The festival has witnessed serious sectarian violence since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq."

Document(s): Open document

10.12.2006 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

According to police, unidentified gunmen today attacked the homes of 2 Shi'ite families in a mainly Sunni district of Baghdad, killing at least 9 people ("Iraq Violence Includes Targeting Of Two Shi'ite Families") [ID 18201]

Document(s): Open document

05.12.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

The years-old peaceful coexistence between members of different religions and sects in Baghdad is threatened with a battle underway between the two major Muslim sects to have their own territory in the city ("Sectarian violence tears Baghdad into two parts") [ID 18080]

Document(s): Open document

09.11.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

NATIONAL GUARD, US FORCES CLOSE IN ON SHIA CLERGYMAN ("original document") [ID 10260]

"(Addustour) - An official in Karbala police yesterday said a National Guard patrol backed by US forces had closed in on a Shia clergymen who opposes elections and arrested seven of his supporters. "The force surrounded Mahmoud al-Hasani's office," said the official who declined to give his name. "Seven of his [Hasani's] supporters were arrested but he was not there," the source said. Another source in the National Guard said four of those arrested were released but the others were being interrogated.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)"

Document(s): original document

28.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Latifiya: Sunni fighters threaten to kill Shiit muslims ("original document") [ID 10261]

"Shi'ite Muslims living in the volatile southern city of Latifiya have been thrown out of their homes by insurgents and told to go to the heavily Shi'ite city of Nasiriyah further south, Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) officials working on the problem told IRIN.

The fighters, who are Sunni Muslims loyal to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, sent messages to families in Latifiya telling them they would be killed if they didn’t move out, said Emad, a worker at the MoDM who asked that his last name and position not be publicised for fear that he would also become a target.

“When they saw the terrorists in their city, they were afraid,” Emad said.
“They saw the killing of six Shi'ite truck drivers in Fallujah six months
ago.”

Nasiriyah was seen as a safe place where some people had relatives, he said, adding that as many as 500 families may have moved there. Latifiya and neighbouring Mamoudia are about 70 km south of Baghdad.
Another road connects them directly to Fallujah, about 40 km west of the
capital where many residents are believed to be loyal to Saddam Hussein. Two French journalists kidnapped on the road near Latifiya in September have not been released - the area is considered too dangerous for foreigners to visit.

“The insurgents are trying to establish a Sharia [Islamic] state,
according to their understanding. Maybe now families will not be allowed
to move back to their homes in Latifiya,” Emad said.

Sharia law is sometimes used in Muslim countries to govern their civil
affairs. It is often considered more conservative than the laws of Iraq.
Some observers say that the fighters are foreigners who want to install a
more conservative form of Islam in Iraq.

The Iraqi Red Crescent, often one of the first agencies to deal with such
a crisis, had not yet heard about the apparent forced migration, Anas
al-Azawie, manager of the tracing department, told IRIN.

Fighting has worsened in Fallujah in recent weeks. Aid agencies have
stopped operations in the Fallujah area and are waiting to see the outcome of the situation. Interim prime minister Ayad Allawi recently threatened military action in the insurgent stronghold unless they handed over Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

US troops said that in the past two weeks they had rounded up more than
800 suspected insurgents from the area around Latifiya near Hilla.
Insurgents are believed to be using these cities because of their
connection with Fallujah and the so-called Sunni Triangle cities of Ramadi and Samarra where other pro-Saddam loyalists are thought to be holding out."

Document(s): original document

01.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Iraqi religious leaders: Shiit / Shi'a leaders ("original document") [ID 10532]

"Ali al-Sistani -- Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah. The leading religious authority among the Shi'a community in Iraq. Born in Mashhad, Iran, he moved to Iraq at the age of 21 to pursue his religious studies, and has remained there since. The septuagenarian al-Sistani Heads the Imam Ali foundation.

Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad -- Afghani-born grand ayatollah. Reportedly more moderate than al-Sistani, al-Fayyad advocates a separation of state and religion, and does not support the idea of the vilayat al-faqih, or rule of the jurisprudent, as found in Iran.

Bashir al-Najafi -- Pakistani-born senior Shi'ite grand ayatollah based in Al-Najaf. Remained in Iraq during Saddam Hussein rule. Al-Najafi's home has been attacked by militants at least four times this year.

Muhammad Sa'id al-Hakim -- Iraqi grand ayatollah based in Al-Najaf. Uncle of Shi'ite ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, who was assassinated in a car-bomb explosion in Al-Najaf in August 2003.

Sadiq Husayni Shirazi -- Iraqi grand ayatollah. Born in Al-Najaf, studied there and in Qom, Iran, where he is based. Sadiq Husayni is the younger brother of Ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi.

Kazim al-Husayni al-Ha'iri -- controversial Iraqi Shi'ite ayatollah based in Qom, Iran. The cleric returned briefly to Iraq after the fall of the Hussein regime. Muqtada al-Sadr asked al-Ha'iri to serve as his adviser and to head the Al-Najaf Hawzah (seminary) in April 2003. On 24 April, "Al-Mustaqbal" reported that al-Ha'iri represents "the point of convergence" between the al-Sadr current, the Al-Da'wah, and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). He reportedly also has strong relations with the religious authorities in Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon. Al-Ha'iri is staunchly anti-American and issued a fatwa in May 2003 saying it was lawful for Muslims to kill senior Ba'ath party officials. Appointed Muqtada al-Sadr as his representative in Iraq. Many Shi'a in Al-Najaf don't recognize his authority over Iraqis.

Muhammad Taqi al-Mudarrisi -- Born in 1945 in Karbala. Nephew of Ayatollah Hasan Shirazi; Head of the Islamic Action Organization and a SCIRI central committee member. His father was Muhammad Baqir al-Mudarrisi. His mother is from the al-Shirazi family (her father is Sayyid Mahdi al-Shirazi).

Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi -- Shi'ite cleric and former member of SCIRI (1982). Wants to form a United Islamic Front of Sunnis and Shi'a committed to establishing an Islamic state. He is secretary-general of the Iraqi Constituent Conference. Al-Khalisi has strong relations with the Muslim Scholars Association, a Sunni group. He has been extremely critical of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

Muqtada al-Sadr -- Controversial 31-year-old cleric of little theological training. Al-Sadr is the son of assassinated Shi'ite cleric Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr. Said to be responsible for killing of Washington-supported cleric Abd al-Majid al-Khoi in Al-Najaf on 10 April 2003. Al-Sadr was appointed "deputy and representative in all fatwa affairs" by Qom-based Iraqi cleric Kazim al-Ha'iri in late April 2003. His followers are known as the Sadriyun. Al-Sadr has emerged as one of the most popular Shi'ite leaders in Iraq in recent months, and appeals to the poor and disenfranchised, who are drawn to the cleric's charisma and anti-U.S. stance."

Document(s): original document

08.11.2003 - Source: Wadi e.V.

Conflicts between Shiites ("Irakische Flüchtlinge nach dem Regime Change - Vorläufige Einschätzung (überarbeitete Fassung eines Beitrags zur Asylfachtagung in Stuttgart-Hohenheim, September 2003)") [#17670],  [ID 10263]

"In den Städten Najaf und Kerbala sowie in den schiitischen Suburbs der Hauptstadt Bagdad ist es in den vergangenen Monaten wiederholt zu Auseinandersetzungen gekommen, in deren Zentrum die Rivalität zwischen schiitischen Gruppen steht. Wichtigster Akteur ist der Sohn des 1999 von irakischen Regierungskräften getöteten Ayatollah Sadr, Muhtader Sadr, der eine führende Rolle innerhalb der irakischen Schia für sich beansprucht, vom schiitischen Klerus jedoch nicht anerkannt wird. Die Gruppe von Muhtader Sadr rekrutiert sich vor allem aus dem Bagdader Stadtteil Sadr City (ehemals Saddam City), wo in den vergangenen Jahren immer wieder Aufstände gegen das Ba’thregime ausgebrochen waren. Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Sadr und anderen schiitischen Gruppen haben u.a. zum Mord an Ayatollah Khoy Ende April in Najaf geführt, einem als liberal geltenden Geistlichen, der aus dem Exil zurückgekehrt war."

Document(s): Open document

09.09.2003 - Source: International Crisis Group

Report focused on growing nationalism, religious polarisation, strengthened Shiite religious activism, increased power for locally-based groups and Iraqui shiism ("Iraq’s Shiites Under Occupation") [#15905],  [ID 10535]

Document(s): Open document

31.07.2003 - Source: Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

Muqtada al-Sadr and his Army of the Mahdi (Jaish al-Mahdi) ("original source") [ID 10539]

Background and the situation of the Sadrists after Saddam

Document(s): original source

11.07.2003 - Source: Le Monde Diplomatique

Flirt der USA mit den irakischen Schiiten - Falken und Füchse ("Flirt der USA mit den irakischen Schiiten - Falken und Füchse") [#16801],  [ID 10538]

"Die Beziehung zwischen den USA und den irakischen Schiiten, der Mehrheit im Land, könnte entscheidend dafür sein, ob die Bush-Administration ihre langfristigen Ziele am Persischen Golf erreichen kann. Ein höchst aktiver, aber auch unberechenbarer Partner der USA ist der Hohe Rat für die Islamische Revolution im Irak (Sciri), der mit der Badr-Brigade über einen bewaffneten Arm verfügt."

Document(s): Open document

07.2003 - Source: Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya

Report on differences among Iraqi Shia groups today: four religious-political trends competing for the leadership of the Shia population ("The Future of the Shia in Post-Saddam Iraq (Issue No.153)") [#15897],  [ID 10536]

Document(s): Open document