I. Islamic Parties

- Shia Groups and Leaders -

 

Dawaa Party

Founded in the 1950s, the Daawa Party is one of the two biggest Shia political parties and the oldest of the Shia Islamist movements in Iraq.
A series of attempts to assassinate Saddam Hussein and some of his ministers led to the group's members being harshly suppressed. Eventually, it split into several factions.

A senior Daawa figure, Sheikh Mohammed Nasseri, returned to southern Iraq from exile in Iran shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein, as part of an attempt by the party to re-establish itself after years of clandestine existence.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the party spokesman, was appointed one of the two vice presidents in the Interim government established in June 2004. Al-Jafaari is the Prime Minister in the Provisional government that took office recently.

SCIRI

The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), is one of the two main Iraqi Shia parties.
Although members of the movement have criticised US officials for not giving Iraqi leaders more authority, SCIRI has remained committed to the US-led politicies in Iraq.

Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, SCIRI's former leader, opposed Saddam Hussein from exile in Tehran before returning to Iraq in May 2003. Giving the body much-needed legitimacy among Iraqi Shias, the ayatollah offered qualified support to the US-appointed Governing Council.

Ayatollah al-Hakim was among about 100 people killed in a massive car bombing in the Shia holy city of Najaf in August 2003.

After the ayatollah's death, his brother, Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, has taken over as leader of SCIRI. On the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, he held SCIRI's only seat but has not been included in the Interim government.

Adel Abdel Mahdi, Senior Sciri official, however, was appointed finance minister in the Council of Ministers. He is also a Vice President in the current Provisional Government.

The Party's has an armed wing - the 10,000 strong Badr Brigade. In September 2003, after coalition officials banned party militias, the brigade was renamed the Badr Organization. The Organization, funded by Iran for many years, is still responsible for "maintaining security and stability" according to SCIRI's current leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

Photo taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the prime marja, or spiritual reference, for Shia Muslims everywhere. One of only five living grand ayatollahs, he is also the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq.

Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Ayatollah iwas forced to spend long time under house arrest. During this period Ali al-Sistani avoided overt political activity, for which he has been criticized by younger and more radical Shia leaders like Moqtada al-Sadr.

Ali al-Sistani represents the conservative mainstream of Iraqi Shias. The latter reject the idea of Iranian-style theocracy and favor a separation between politics and religion.

During the first few months after the war, Ayatollah al-Sistani rarely made political statements and many times urged his Shia followers not to take up arms against the Coalition forces.

However, he rejected a US plan allowing for the transfer of sovereignty to an unelected provisional government in June 2004.
" We want free elections and not appointments," he said.

When it took office, the elderly cleric gave his cautious approval to the new caretaker government, although he called on it to prove its efficiency.

Moqtada Sadr

Photo taken from http://iraqelect.com/index.php/archives/category/photos/

Mixing Iraqi nationalism and Shia radicalism, Moqtada Sadr is a figurehead for many of Iraq's poor Shia Muslims. By some of his opponents, he is seen as an inexperienced impatient radical whose goal is to dominate Iraq's most revered Shia institutions by force.

Before the US-led invasion in Iraq in March 2003, Moqtada Sadr was virtually unknown outside the country. After the collapse of Saddam rule, a network of Shia charitable institutions founded by his father was revealed. During the first weeks after the US-led invasion, followers of the young cleric distributed food in the poor Shia suburbs of Baghdad.

Sadr's militia group, the Mehdi Army, was established in In June 2003 in opposition of coalition arms controls and promising to protect the Shia religious authorities in the holy city of Najaf.

Unlike more moderate clerics such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Moqtada Sadr calls on Shia spiritual leaders to play an active role in shaping Iraq's politics.
Moqtada Sadr is strongly against the presence of foreign troops in Iraq and has led uprisings against US forces centred on Najaf.

Although at one point he seemed to be interested in taking part in the political process, Sadr's supporters turned down an invitation to take part in a national conference to select a National Council.

 

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