Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=6/17/03

TYPE=DATELINE

NUMBER=7-37562

TITLE= IRAQ SHIITES

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

TELEPHONE=(202) 619-2443

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=PAT BODNAR

CONTENT=

DISK: DATELINE THEME [PLAYED IN STUDIO, FADED UNDER DATELINE HOST VOICE OR PROGRAMMING MATERIAL]

ANNCR: In Iraq, as U.S. troops are stepping up their efforts to rid the country of forces loyal to ousted President Saddam Hussein and American officials wrestle with the details of reconstruction, Shiite Muslim clerics are taking a more active political role at the grassroots level. Correspondent Laurie Kassman has recently returned from Baghdad, and takes a closer look at the emerging voice of a community that was silenced for three decades under Saddam Hussein's iron grip on power.

LK: ///SOUND OF PRAYERS AND CHANTING ///

Iraq's Shiite Muslims chant their support for Islam and for Islamic unity in Iraq during Friday prayers at a holy Shiite shrine in Baghdad.

The religious cleric leading the prayers calls for protection of religious rights. Sheik Ra-ed al Qadim al Sa-adi also denounces Saddam Hussein for closing religious schools and restricting Shiite Muslim prayers.

RAED: ///Arabic and fade///

I made a similar speech during Saddam Hussein's rule, he says, and I was put in jail. I later escaped to Syria where I stayed for five years.

LK: The mere fact that Sheik Ra-ed could preach at all on Friday is another example of Iraq's newfound freedom.

Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Shiite Muslim leaders were not allowed to conduct traditional Friday mid-day prayers. Worshippers were not allowed to pray in the courtyard and street outside the mosque. They could not put up pictures of their leaders or the green flag of Islam.

Today the streets of Baghdad are filled with green Islamic banners and pictures of revered Shiite religious leaders. The poor Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, known under Saddam Hussein's rule, has been renamed Sadr City after a popular Shiite cleric who was murdered four years ago, along with his two sons.

In the early 1980s, before waging war against neighboring Iran, Saddam Hussein executed tens of thousands of Shiite Iraqis, accusing them of joining a religious party with ties to Iran's Shiite Muslim leadership.

SADR ///sound of chanting and fade to Sadr Arabic and fade ///

Sayeed Hussein el-Sadr is the leading Shiite cleric in Baghdad's Kadhimiya area, home to a holy Shiite shrine. He insists whatever government is elected in Iraq must protect the civil and religious rights of the Shiite community. Shiite Muslims account for 60 percent of Iraq's population of 25 million.

U-S officials have expressed concerns that Iraq's Shiite clerics want to expand that influence to set up an Islamic theocracy, like the one next door in Iran, its predominantly Shiite neighbor.

LK Iraqi-born Middle East analyst Laith Kubba, who runs the International Forum for Islamic Dialogue dismisses fears that Iraq's Shiite leaders take orders from Iran.

KUBBA It's quite complex how Iranian politics would affect the Iraqis but I would say the majority of Iraqis at the moment, especially the Shias, are so much Iraqi-centered. They would like to put their own house in order and there is no doubt that a number of Iraqis who lived in Iran would bring some influence in Iran's favor. But I would also argue that there are a large number of Iraqis who would live in Iran who will come to Iraq and maybe argue strongly against or warn against theocracy.

LK Mr. Kubba cautions that misreading the motivation of Iraq's Shiite leaders could lead to what he calls 'bad politics'.

John Esposito, who runs the Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding in Washington, says U-S and other Western leaders have underestimated the need of the Shiite community to reestablish its identity.

ESPOSITO I think we underestimated the dynamics of religion in politics in Iraq. As we had in other countries historically and the potential role of Shia religious leaders. Thus we were unprepared for the religious and cultural revival that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government. We failed to recognize the need to understand, take seriously and cultivate relations with Shia leaders and groups, especially those in exile.

LK Mr. Esposito suggests that Western leaders also under-estimated the need of Iraq's Shiite community to ensure its protection under any future government.

ESPOSITO We were unprepared for a bid by Iraqi Shiites for a major role in post-war Iraq and their bid to determine the nature of the new government, in particular the relationship of religion, faith and cultural identity.

LK Law professor Mishkat Momen in Baghdad says she is not surprised that Shiites want a role in deciding Iraq's future government after three decades of persecution. Mrs. Momen herself is the daughter of a mixed Sunni-Shiite marriage.

MOMEN I do not think many of them really want an Islamic state, although they demand it. They do not know what they want. They have this in mind either imperialism or Islamic state. What is better? An Islamic state is something they know and trust.

LK She says the Shiite community will want to make sure its does not fall victim again to whatever government takes over.

Middle East expert Laith Kubba agrees the Shiite bid for a voice in Iraq's future is not necessarily a push for political control.

KUBBA It's a faith and its shared by different ethnic groups and hence one needs to go beyond the use of the word Shia to understand that 60-65 percent of the population. Some of them are tribal, urbanized and rural. Others are very much from urban Shia families who have been very prominent in Iraqi politics and religious centers and communities and families.

LK Mr. Kubba predicts that economic and social issues will probably count more than religion in defining Iraq's new government structure.

KUBBA In general, Iraqi Shia have neither developed a political agenda or have a clear leadership at the moment. They will rally as they have always done if things go bad. They will rally toward religious leaders and religion. If things get better, they'll move away from religious leaders and I think build up modern politics.

LK Still, many Iraqis, including some Shiite Muslims, are raising concerns that some politically ambitious religious scholars in Najaf are starting to plant the seeds for an Islamic government, using religious sermons and mosque activities as the conduit for their message. They worry that some religious leaders could also take advantage of any clumsy handling by American advisors of Iraq's political transition and growing frustrations with the U-S military presence.

Some religious leaders already are testing the political waters. Adel Abdul Mahdi is spokesman for the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a leading Shiite group headed by Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al Hakim who has returned to Iraq after two decades of exile in Iran.

MAHDI What we estimate is (this is) not the time now for an Islamic state. People are tired. People just came from 35 years of oppression. They are coming from under the water, they need a breath. We have to give them time to think everything over.

LK The Supreme Council has been working with other exiled Iraqi political groups to help shape Iraq's future government.

LK In the political void that has followed the U-S led war in Iraq neighborhood mosques have set up local councils to provide food and basic supplies and some law and order through a volunteer security force. Now young, energetic clerics are expanding their newfound voice to encourage stricter adherence to conservative religious rules. Security squads from neighborhood mosques in Baghdad and cities in the predominantly Shiite south now are demanding that liquor stores close their doors, movie theaters censor the films they show and women in general cover up.

LK Shiite Politician Adel Abdul Mahdi does not rule out the possibility that Iraqis could someday choose an Islamic government. He points to Turkey as an example where an Islamist party was voted into power after years of strict secular rule.

MAHDI We do not need that decisions are taken in Washington. They should be taken in Baghdad by Iraqis, and we will take into consideration our interests national, regional and international.

LK For now, most analysts agree Shiite leaders are simply enjoying the freedom to exercise a political voice that was silenced for more than three decades.

SOUND ///FADE UP CHANTING AND UNDER SIGNOFF///

For Dateline, I'm Laurie Kassman.

MUSIC: [Arabic Music "Double Edge", 5:38.9]