Demonstrations For Elections In Najaf

Juan Cole 02/21/2004

Demonstrations for Elections in Najaf

The Iranian news agency is reporting that thousands of demonstrators came out in the shrine city of Najaf in Iraq on Friday to demand early elections:

‘In Najaf, thousands of demonstrators clamored in the streets for elections, defying the United States and the United Nations. And Sistani’s representative in the holy city of Karbala, Sheikh Abdel Mahdi Al-Karbalai, defended the demand for early elections . . . “The Marjaiya (clerical elite) have demanded elections so that the Iraqi people, who have been shut out of the political leadership, will be represented,” Karbalai said.’

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page