Word: clericalism
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...most popular leader in Iraq, according to the ICRSS survey, was the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Also high up: Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a leader of the Shiite Dawa party named as one of two vice-presidents in the new administration, and Adnan Pachachi, the Sunni elder statesman and preferred presidential candidate of the U.S. who was offered the post but turned it down in the face of objections from some the Iraqi Governing Council...
...ARRESTED. ABU HAMZA AL-MASRI, 47, Muslim cleric accused by the U.S. of helping al-Qaeda and the Taliban; by British police acting on a U.S. extradition order; in London. The British citizen is wanted by the U.S. on 11 terrorism-related charges in connection with a 1998 hostage taking in Yemen, an alleged attempt to set up a terrorist-training camp in Oregon and other incidents. He could face the death penalty if extradited, but British officials have said that they will not surrender Abu Hamza unless the U.S. promises to waive capital punishment...
Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" The chants of the faithful drown out the gunfire around the mosque in Kufa. Thousands have gathered to hear Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq's best-known rebel cleric, lead Friday prayers. A fire fight is raging for control of a nearby bridge, between members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and U.S. forces. There's another battle up the road in al-Sadr's hometown, Najaf. As the mosque broadcasts reports of glorious victories over U.S. tanks, the worshippers seem unmoved by the fighting. "The U.S. troops do this every Friday," says one of the faithful, Sheik...
...sweeps out to his waiting convoy. "Turn your back to the mosque," a gunman orders a journalist as al-Sadr heads for his vehicle. Outsiders are not allowed to see which one he gets into. Al-Sadr's bodyguards and escorts race to their cars. One of them, a cleric in a turban and a long robe, totes a light machine gun and nods politely as he trots by. While the rest of the crowd disperses, the mosque loudspeaker system calls for blood donors...
...Baathists and the Sadrists competing at the ballot box than taking pot shots at it. And there's good reason to believe that can be achieved in the case of Sadr, at least, who has long embraced Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's demand for elections. The firebrand cleric has perfected the art of campaigning for Shiite popular support by attacking the Americans - the U.S. was late in recognizing that far from isolating him, American military action against Sadr was actually boosting his popularity. Current opinion surveys in Iraq find Sadr ranking second among Iraqi politicians in popular support with upward...