Sistani will be swept away with the US troops
Ayatollah Al Baghdadi released following statement on 28/9/2005:
It seems that all the open letters sent through the media to that “prominent religious authority in Najaf” haven`t succeeded in making him issue a fatwa to legitimize fighting the Anglo-American occupation, which has brought on Iraq so much death, destruction, and misfortune.
This is yet another terrifying precedent to be added to the record of that controversial figure in Iraq and the world [Sistani]. When an Arab, Muslim country is facing such a rapacious and arrogant invasion, shouldn`t that prominent religious authority have been the first to call us to rise in defence of Islam? This is an issue that doesn`t need exegesis or theological evidence; and being a defensive struggle [jihad], it doesn`t even need any fatwa to justify it. Yet, as the vast majority of Shia Muslims are not well-versed in the rulings of their own religion, they have forgotten this self-evident truth and turned to their prominent authority, in vain, for a fatwa to justify resisting the infidel occupiers.
But as Iraq is facing such a fateful historical challenge, Sistani doesn`t just confine himself to the role of a neutral observer. To the contrary, from the beginning he has chosen the side of his `Excellency` Proconsul Bremer, followed by the Governing Council, and now the “elected” provisional government. As numerous reports indicate, the man and his party [meaning SCIRI] are openly saying that the invasion armies came to liberate Iraq and put an end to its 80 years long undeclared state of civil strife! Sistani forgets that, from a Muslim perspective, nothing and no pretext can justify resignation to a foreign occupation, and nothing can justify the occupation of Muslim land. He forgets that any cooperation or even coordination with the infidels [the occupiers] is absolutely impermissible from a Muslim point of view.
From a theological standpoint, and in view of Sistani`s overriding influence on the Iraqi street, this man should bear the responsibility and the blame for [the presence of] the occupation armies in Iraq. He is yet to issue an edict calling for the expulsion of the occupiers, or even just declaring the `impermissibility` of their presence in Iraq. To the contrary, in every way Sistani has lent his support to the occupiers and to the elite sections of Iraqi society that are now engaged in `civil society organizations` financed by US and Israel. These organizations are preaching to us what Fukoyama`s theory about the `end of history` says. That a globalized capitalism has already won [the final battle], and that no one now can ever stand against its mounting tide! …
As this dirty political game is increasingly coming to the open, some opportunist preachers say that Sistani doesn`t actually know what is going on in his office and that he is being manipulated by his assistants and entourage.
But, for the record, there is no convincing evidence that this man stands outside [or beyond] the political game. To the contrary, he is a fully conscious player in the ongoing American scheme in Iraq. An unjust, obscene, godless and terrifying scheme to fragment Iraq, by way of federalisation and division, and to weaken it as a regional power. This man knows exactly what the rules of the political game being played are, and knows exactly what takes place outside his office [in Najaf]. At least he knew well enough for him to lend his boundless support to the political process and the January elections.
Sistani`s role in aborting the second uprising against the American troops in Najaf, middle and southern Iraq is the greatest evidence of his complacency in supporting the American project in Iraq. This project aims at the control of Iraq`s oil, the protection of Israel`s security and the establishment of military bases – all done as means to impose American hegemony on the region and the world.
However, thanks to the Iraqi resistance, the occupation has suffered a tremendous failure, and the decisive final battle is about to be won by Iraq and Iraqis. Indeed, all Arabs and Muslims. The mercenaries of the occupation and those with suspect patriotic and religious allegiances have already begun worrying over the prospect of an American withdrawal (as Rumsfeld said in his last visit in Baghdad, this may already start by the end of the year)!
Guess what Sistani would be doing then [when the American troops withdraw] and what his new role would be!
Excerpt translated by Wael Philip
