US Marines of the 1st Division listen to a briefing at a base outside Fallujah

By Samir Hadad, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, November 7 (IslamOnline.net) – As American and Iraqi troops are gearing up to storme restive Fallujah, the city’s religious and clannish character stands as an invincible bastion for the invading troops.

The clannish character with its machismo, bravery and daring initiatives and an exemplary religious harmony are, in effect, the key words for months of unabated resistance of the US occupation troops.

"Fallujah enjoys this clannish character, which manifests itself in traditions like vendetta," Abul Dirdaa, a Fallujah resident, told IslamOnline.net.

"Additionally, the city’s people have this great sense of self-esteem, preferring death to bowing to the US troops."

The people of Fallujah see resistance against the occupation troops as part and parcel of their Islamic duties.

A cohort of 26 prominent Saudi scholars have defended resistance against the occupation forces in Iraq as a legitimate right, prohibiting cooperation with the occupiers and collaboration against resistance groups.

"What really fanned resistance was the US mishandling of the situation since the very beginning with pre-dawn raids and arrests of dozens of clan chieftains," added Abul Dirdaa, who only spoke under a nickname.

Previous attempts by the overwhelming firepower of the US occupation troops to break the staunch stamina of Fallujah fighters have proved futile so far.

An American offensive in April claimed the lives of at least 700 Iraqis, mostly women and children, and left 1,500 others injured.

Tens of thousands have fled the 350,000-strong city in fear of greater bloodshed.

On Saturday, November 6, US warplanes and artillery destroyed several civilian and resistance areas in the flashpoint.

Rock and Hard Place

Iraqis fleeing Fallujah fearful of an imminent American attack

Abul Dirdaa said that the people of Fallujah find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

"They fear the overwhelming firepower of the US occupation troops, who will very much likely apply the collective punishment policy, or the indiscriminate fire from ill-experienced resistance fighters.

"We urge resistance fighters to take the fighting to the city’s outskirts."

Many side streets off the main east-west road cutting through Fallujah have been barricaded with cement blocks and sandbags to guard the fighters' movements against US snipers.

The fighters have also set up various positions in deserted and destroyed parts of the rubble-strewn city, but they only show up there when US war planes strike or shelling starts.

US commanders estimate there are 2,000 to 2,500 fighters in the city and its surrounding areas along with another 10,000 men who could join the fight.

At least 12,000 troops, including four US military brigades and one Iraqi brigade -- are ringing the city.

The Iraqi brigade is named after Mohammad Al-Shahwani, the director of the intelligence service, who helped make up and train the some 500-strong special force.

The force is working separately from other brigades. Its members are on the American payroll and receive elite Marine training.

Now, they are awaiting a go-ahead from interim Prime Minister Allawi, who is desperate to crush pockets of resistance ahead of January national elections.

Allawi said on October 31 the standoff entered its "final phase."

"If we cannot solve it peacefully, I have no choice but to take military action. I will do so with a heavy heart."

Negotiations between the US-backed interim government and delegates from the town collapsed in mid-October after Allawi threatened the city with invasion if it did not surrender Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

The Fallujah people have repeatedly maintained that they did not harbor  the wanted man.

City Make-up

Sheikh Omar Said, a senior scholar, said the city is basically made up of three religious currents: Sufism, Muslim Brotherhood and the Salifism.

"These currents are working in tandem as they were united by the occupation nightmare."

The city is run by the Mujahedeen Shura Council led by influential imams and mosque preachers, including Abdullah Al-Janabi, Zafir Al-Obeidi and Omar Hadid.

Hailed as the City of minarets and mosques, Fallujah is home to around 100 mosques though it is relatively small in area.

The Grand Mosque is one of the oldest and biggest mosques in the city and is overlooking the Euphrates.

Fallujah’s mosques have been unusually deserted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year as people either fled the city or kept to their homes.

Fallujah is also made up of four main clans: Zawbaa, Al-Jamilat, Bu Eisa and Al-Mahameda in addition to secondary ones like Tamim, Bani Kabis, Al-Fayad, Al-Aneen and Al-Raween.

"Most of these clans are Sunni Muslims who originally hail from the Arab Peninsula," Abdul Malik Mahmmoud Al-Ani, a clan leader, told IOL.

The city itself is located on the Euphrates at Al-Anbar province near Al-Habinia Lake. Its rugged terrain stretches over 96 square kilometers.

According to Sheikh Abdul Majid Al-Tamimi, the city was founded in 1804 and was named Fallujah due to steep roads carved by river erosion.