Word: sadr
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...disaster could provide fuel for efforts by Sunni opponents of the proposed constitution to court Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi'ite cleric who has twice led armed uprisings against U.S. troops. The base of his support is in the Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, home to one-third of Baghdad's population. If al-Sadr called on his poor Shi'ite followers to join Sunnis in opposing the charter, it is likely it would be defeated. Abdul Salam al-Qubaisi, spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars, a hard-line Sunni group, claims al-Sadr is working...
...succor was as surprising as it was welcome. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Adhamiya has turned into a safe haven for Sunni insurgents, earning the nickname "Baghdad's Fallujah." There's little love lost between Adhamiya and Sadr City, the giant Shi'ite slum whose residents made up the majority of the victims. At Adhamiya's ancient Abu Hanifa mosque, close to the Bridge of Imams, sermons routinely laud the jihadis who have been killing Shi'ite civilians and curse the Shi'ite-dominated government. Yet on Wednesday, the yellow-brick mosque became a makeshift triage station for emergency...
...time for politics," said Abdul Salam al-Qubaisi, spokesman for the radical Association of Muslim Scholars (A.M.S.). "This is the time to show that we are all of the same flesh, the same body." The A.M.S. and other Sunni groups were working with groups loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi'ite leader and uncrowned king of Sadr City. In an unprecedented gesture, the A.M.S. even invited Shi'ites to joint prayers on Friday...
...pilgrims and Sunnis remained united in one important aspect: they both blamed the tragedy on the Shi'ite-dominated government, which had failed to anticipate the number of pilgrims before the stampede, and made a hash of relief efforts afterward. Especially angry were Baghdad's Shi'ites; in Sadr City, mass funerals quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations. Dismissing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's announcement of a three-day mourning period for the victims as mere eyewash, many called for his resignation and for that of his ministers for defense and the interior...
...Sunnis oppose the constitution, but can only defeat it if two-thirds of voters in any three provinces vote against it. Sunni leaders are confident they can get the numbers in two?Anbar and Salah ad Din?but their hopes for the third, Baghdad, rest on Muqtada al-Sadr and his two million followers in Sadr City. The A.M.S.'s al-Qubaisi says his group is already working with al-Sadr to persuade Shi'ites to vote against the constitution. The relationships forged during last week's tragedy and the goodwill generated by the Sunnis of Adhamiya could yet yield...