Word: cleric
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Hidden Hand Shi'ite cleric Sistani is the most powerful man in Iraq. Can he help bring democracy to the country...
Sistani proved his authority in August, when Najaf had sunk into chaos. As the fighting began, he abruptly quit the city to seek medical treatment abroad. The rumors started: Sistani was dying; Sistani was afraid; Sistani was losing influence to Muqtada al-Sadr, the brash young cleric whose militiamen were battling U.S. troops to a standstill. But on Aug. 26, as the Americans were on the verge of assaulting one of Iraq's most sacred Shi'ite shrines, Sistani showed he was still the Man. Straight from medical treatment for a heart condition in London, he was driven into Najaf...
...with a power vacuum at the top. The Shi'ite masses naturally looked to Sistani for direction, says Shahristani, and the ayatullah felt compelled by religious duty to step in. "He believes at a crisis time like this, the marja must guide the people," says al-Qurayshi. So the cleric who had shied away from politics all his life began to issue fatwas of profound political importance...
...proper military channels, and that the troops would remain under British command - and be home by Christmas anyway. Blair's backbenchers quieted down - for now. - By J.F.O. McAllister Fresh Charges BRITAIN Prosecutors in London charged radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on 16 counts, including allegations that he incited his followers to murder Jews and other non-Muslims. Abu Hamza, a former imam at a north London mosque, has been in detention since his arrest in May on a U.S. extradition warrant. The British indictment will now take precedence. On the Alert SPAIN Antiterror police asked Switzerland to extradite...
MIDDLE EAST IRAQ: Shi'ite cleric Sistani is the most powerful man in the country. Can he help bring...