Word: hakim
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When Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim succumbed to lung cancer on Aug. 26, his death could have left Iraq's largest Shi'ite political party in turmoil - if it weren't for a son that had been long groomed to take his father's place. Ammar al-Hakim was confirmed as the Iranian-backed SIIC's next leader this week and will begin his work promoting Shi'ite policies throughout the country. With elections expected in January and U.S. troops beginning their Iraq drawdown, the country stands at a critical point. Al-Hakim's ascent...
...year-old wears the black turban of those who claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad. From the age of 9, he would address thousands of Shi'ite faithful at mosques and religious festivals in Iran, where his family was exiled in 1979 by Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime. Al-Hakim was educated in Iran's theological colleges...
...While in exile, al-Hakim's uncle and father formed the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (formerly the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) during the Iran-Iraq War. Al-Hakim's father returned to Iraq in April 2003, a year after the U.S. invasion, and the SIIC quickly rose to prominence there...
...Since his father's diagnosis of lung cancer in May 2007, the younger al-Hakim has been in charge of the party's day-to-day activities. He has worked to create a "strategic alliance between Najaf and Washington." Najaf, about two hours south of Baghdad, is the holiest city for the world's Shi'ites, who make up 60% of Iraq's population...
...Hakim's Shaheed al-Mihrab Foundation has erected 400 mosques in Iraq since 2003 and has opened a chain of schools in Najaf. The foundation also recruits people to the SIIC by paying for marriages, giving gifts and cash to newlyweds and offering free education at the schools...