|
Screams
as shards of glass and debris ripped through hundreds of Iraqi
Muslims as they exited the Imam Ali Mosque in the holy city of
Najaf. Limbs were strewn, dozens of cadavers caught under the
debris from the blast which killed Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer
Al-Hakim, one of Iraqi Shiites’ most popular religious
leaders.
At
press time, 85 other worshippers were killed and some 300
wounded in the blast, which was immediately blamed on
Saddamists, or Saddam loyalists.
Iraq
Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi, also head of the Iraqi
National Congress, blamed Saddam and refused to allow for
speculation or suspicion that anyone else could be behind the
attack.
“These
are the same people who killed de Mello [UN Coordinator for
Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq],” he told CNN.
Shiites
in Najaf and Kerbala, however, believe it is impossible that any
Muslim would desecrate the Imam Ali Shrine.
“This
is the act of Israelis and the White House,” screamed a young
Shiite cleric to an Al-Jazeera TV crew.
“Muslims
wouldn’t do this, but Jews definitely would.”
The
“assassination,” as many Shiites are calling it, is a
deathblow on several fronts, whether it was an attack by Saddam
loyalists, a result of inter-Shiite rivalry, or a crime by a
foreign power. (Many Iraqis privately admit that a bitter
conflict is brewing between the elder clerics, who have called
for restraint and patience, and the younger, more riled and
militant clerics. Al-Hakim was revered by both Shiites and
Sunnis as a moderate, temperate religious leader.)
Firstly,
the bombing underscores the incapacity of US forces in Iraq to
bring some semblance of order and security to the ravaged
country. A thousands-strong demonstration which followed the
bombing bitterly criticized and blamed the Anglo-American-led
coalition for failing to protect Iraqis. Chalabi also hinted
that the US was to blame (he earlier blamed the US for the
attack on the UN compound last week). US legitimacy and
credibility in Iraq has all but perished. The Bush
administration seems to be well aware that Iraq is quickly
becoming a quagmire; they have called on the United Nations and
the international community to assist in the rebuilding and
policing of Iraq.
Secondly,
the attack is a blatant insult to Muslims around the world. The
Imam Ali Mosque was built in 977 AD and is believed to house the
tomb of the Imam himself. Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s
cousin, was killed shortly after being declared Caliph of the
Muslim nation. The slaying set in motion a 1400-year rivalry
between Shiites, supporters of Imam Ali, and Sunnis who believed
other political contemporaries should have retained the
Caliphate.
Shiite
and Sunni sensitivities have no bearing on the fact that an
attack on Muslim worshippers in a mosque is considered an attack
on Islam itself. The fact that this attack occurred on “
America
’s watch” is likely to spawn a new wave of anti-Americanism
and charges that the
US
invasion of
Iraq
was really the first phase in a broader war on Islam.
Thirdly,
Iraqis already living in instability and lawlessness will now
further fear the specter of sectarian violence, whether it is
Shiite versus Shiite, or the much dreaded Shiite versus Sunni.
The sectarian composition of the Iraqi Governing Council and the
sectarian composition of
Iraq
’s ministries has already worried many Iraqis that a sectarian
war is looming over the horizon.
“
Iraq
is finished, the
Iraq
we knew is dead, gone,” said Omayma, an Iraqi housewife in
Smiths Falls
,
Ontario.
“They
[Iraqis] have nothing, but despair and terror to look forward
to. Damn Bush for doing this to us,” she said.
Firas
Al-Atraqchi is a Canadian journalist of Iraqi heritage. Holding
an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has eleven years
of experience covering Middle East issues, oil and gas markets, and the telecom industry. You can
reach him at firascape@hotmail.com.
|
