Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Text of Sadr's statement on mobilizing against the Iraq-US security agreement

Moqtada al-Sadr published the following statement on Sadrist websites:

How pleased I am and gladdened, with the issue of two fatwas, one written and the other oral, ruling out the agreement or security treaty between the oppressive power, and I mean by that the occupation, and the current government of Iraq. Because now it is incumbent on me not to stand with my arms folded, as I was before the issue of these their blessed fatwas, and I am obliged to do what I can to support them via the people, to the extent I am able, and to the extent I have earned any esteem among the beloved people of Iraq, who do not exhaust me, nor do they exhaust the marja'iyya; rather we propose to issue directives and orders, some to the people, and some to the specialists. To wit:

1--Inform the people about each clause of the agreement, and the extent of the damage it will cause

2--Unified parliamentary and political movement to bring together all of the blocs and the other political party trends against this agreement

3--Information escalation to be organized by a group that specializes in just that

4--Demonstrations after Friday prayers each Friday, in all areas of Iraq, each [to participate] in his own area, until further notice, or until such time as the government puts an end to the [idea of the] agreement

5--Undertaking a referendum if the government agrees to that, and if they do not, then an announcement by the Offices of the Martyr Sadr within and outside Iraq, in coordination with the other movements against the agreement of a million-signature petition

6--Organization of Iraqi delegations to be sent to:
(a) Countries of the region, and particularly neighboring countries, for support for the people of Iraq, and standing with them against the agreement;
(b) Some western countries along with the UN, the Organization of the Islamic Council, the EU, and so on, as long as they are not participants in the occupation

7--Renewal of the popular, political--indeed religious--demand for the departure of the occupation forces, or for a schedule for their withdrawal.

8--Warning the government not to sign the agreement because it is against the interests of the Iraqi people; and informing the government that signing the agreement is not in its own interests either

9--Activating the role of the clerical Hauza and asking it to stand against this agreement in whatever way they deem appropriate
It seems that the initial reference to two fatwas, one written and one oral, refer to the statement of Ayatollah Haeri (summarized and linked to here), and to the reported oral statement(s) by Sistani in opposition to the agreement. This seems to have been a minimum requirement Sadr felt had to be met before he could mobilize people as agent of the Marja'iyya, giving this religious weight, rather than acting on his own. The ninth point, however, suggests that although Sistani may have orally given the go-ahead, there aren't current plans for any specific ongoing role for the Marja'iyya in this. It seems clear the timing, coming one day after Nasrullah's liberation-day speech in Beirut, has some significance too.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

About point 8: Sadr knows the 'government' was set up by the occupation for nothing other than conquest. Yet he talks as if it could be a means of liberation!

He confines himself to "Green Zone legal" measures throughout but only a few days ago he talked about open war against the occupation.

Mao said the masses are the real makers of history. Again, we will see what the Iraqi masses make of Sadr.

-One who doubts Sadr

1:34 PM  
Blogger badger said...

You are not alone in having doubts, onewhoDoubts. But just because something is not correct according to doctrines we are already familiar with, does that mean it is bad, or does it just mean we are not familiar with it?

3:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, Badger, there is a lot about Iraq that is unfamiliar to us in western countries. But in the United States one can become familiar with the imperialists. They will leave Iraq only when they are driven out by force.

Some people say they "work from within for change." That's a doctrine too. All I've ever seen is that the "worker from within" becomes part of the system.

Moqtada has thirty seats in the Green Zone "parliament" and his people are still running his ministries. In spite of all the differences he looks familiar to me - a fast-talking politician with a patronage machine.

Mao had a doctrine that the people are more powerful than imperialism. He didn't make it up in his head. He led a people's war to destroy the Japanese occupation of China and win national liberation. There are people in Iraq today who do essentially the same. Mao also studied Marx and Lenin. You don't figure this stuff out all by yourself.

There are doctrines and there are doctrines. You have to reject the false ones, but you can't get along without the ones that are right.

-one who doubts Sadr

2:30 PM  

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