NAJAF, 16 April 2003 — Iraq has to be governed by Iraqis, the leading Shiite dignitary in the country, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, said yesterday through his son.
“Our country must be governed by its people, by its best children,” Mohammed Reda Ali Sistani said for his father, who refuses to talk directly to journalists. “It is for Iraqis to choose who governs; we want them to control the country.”
Ayatollah Sistani remained inside his house in this Shiite city south of Baghdad, after gunmen told him Sunday to leave the country.
The gunmen were said to be from the same group that hacked to death prominent pro-Western Shiite scholar Sayyed Abdul Majid Al-Khoei in Najaf on Thursday.
The killing came just a week after Khoei returned to the city from London with the help of US forces who invaded on March 20, amid reports of power struggles among the Shiites, a majority in Iraq.
“For as long as those who submit to the Najaf Hawza (religious school) have influence, we can expect them to be threatened,” the son told AFP. “These events are regrettable; we are going through a bad period in this town which is one of the most sacred in the world.”
Mohammed Reda said his father was not seeking “any post” in the new Iraqi government. “Those who submit to Najaf do not interfere in these affairs,” he added referring to the “wise men” of the school.
The 73-year-old ayatollah has even stopped granting his daily two-hour audience to visiting foreigners, faithful or colleagues.
A crowd of 1,500 men came to his house yesterday, as they did on Monday, to offer “protection.”
Kneeling in the middle of a large sparse room lit by neon strips, Mohammed Reda, dressed in black turban and robe and surrounded by other religious figures, stressed that his father had “no contact” with US forces. “The Americans are welcome but I don’t think that it’s a good thing that they stay for long.” “There is no longer law. Most weapons have been stolen by hoodlums. All Iraqis must be protected, not only his excellency Sistani.”
A Kuwaiti Shiite scholar, Mohammed Baqer Musawi Al-Muhri, on Monday openly accused the followers of Muqtada Al-Sadr, the 22-year-old son of Mohammed Sadeq Al-Sadr, a senior Shiite authority assassinated in 1999, of threatening Sistani.
Sadr was unavailable for comment yesterday, also for “reasons of security,” but members of his entourage denied the accusations. “They are lies,” Sheikh Adnan Al-Shahamani said.
