He is thought to be particularly concerned that Iraq's majority Shia might be disenfranchised again, just as they were after the uprising against British occupation in the 1920s. 'We want free elections and not appointments,' he said. He rejected a US plan allowing for the transfer of sovereignty to an unelected provisional government in June 2004. In the first few months after the war, Ayatollah Sistani adopted a quiet approach.Ĭoalition officials, aware of his influence, repeatedly praised him for his moderate views.Īyatollah Sistani rarely made political statements and has repeatedly urged his Shia followers not to take up arms against the occupation forces.īut in October and November 2003 the ayatollah became increasingly critical of the US political plans for Iraq. The Persian-born ayatollah represents the conservative and mainstream of Iraqi Shias - rejecting the model of Iranian-style theocracy in favour of a separation between religion and politics. The ayatollah went into hiding - but he since re-emerged to wield enormous power over Iraq's Shia majority. In April 2003, just after the fall of the regime, club-wielding members of the Sadr Group besieged Ayatollah Sistani's house, demanding that he leave the country and that he recognise Moqtada Sadr as a marja.

The low-profile approach he had to adopt to survive in Iraq has been criticised by younger, more radical Shia leaders such as Moqtada Sadr.

He spent long periods under house arrest but avoided overt political activity. He is one of only five living grand ayatollahs and the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq.ĭuring the regime of Saddam Hussein, the elderly cleric lived in uneasy stalemate with the status quo. The reclusive cleric left Najaf for the first time in years for heart surgery

Whispers from the East by Amie Ali