Juan Cole

Al-Hakim: “Fix Date for Elections!” az-Zaman: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) has said that the date for elections in Iraq should now be fixed. He preached on the holy day of the 10th of Muharram, which commemorates the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn, grandson of the […]

Sunnis Donate blood to Shiites Az-Zaman: In the Sunni city of Fallujah, mosque officials with microphones urged citizens to donate blood to the victims of the bombing at Kazimiyah. In in the Sunni district of Azamiyah in Baghdad, where the bridge was blocked that leads over the river to the Shiite quarter of Kazimiyah, appeals […]

Iranian VP Condemns al-Qaeda as force behind Ashura Bombings America Political Enemy, Shiism Ideological Enemy, of al-Qaeda Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Iranian Vice President for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs, at his Persian Weblog, Webnevesht, blames al-Qaeda for the bombings in Karbala and Kazimiyah, as Tarek al-Issawi and Hamza Hindawi note. Abtahi writes: “Around noon today during […]

The Bombings at Kazimiyah and Karbala The day of Ashura’ is the holiest in the calendar of Shiite Islam, commemorating the brutal martyrdom of the Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. In many ways, the tradition of Shiite mourning of this “passion” is similar to that witnessed in Mel Gibson’s recent film. For […]

IGC Approves Interim Constitution The Washington Post reports that the Interim Governing Council finally approved the Fundamental Law it has been working on, on Monday. It will be signed Wednesday after the holy day of Ashura’ or the 10th of Muharram. The WP article is celebratory, and quotes a Chalabi aide as representing the “Shiites.” […]

Disturbances in Kirkuk (AFP/ az-Zaman): Tension gripped the northern city of Kirkuk Monday after armed clashes betwen Kurds and Turkmen. There have been a number of violent incidents lately. On Saturday, 92 Turkmen returned from Baghdad after having protested the marginalization of their ethnic group. There was celebratory fire on their arrival on Saturday night, […]

US Permits Iraq Oil pipeline to Iran The Financial Times reports that the Interim Governing Council has concluded an agreement with Iran to build a pipeline across the Shatt al-Arab. The US civil administrator, Paul Bremer, is said to have approved the plan. The US has faced severe financial problems in Iraq, slowing the rebuilding […]

Thousands of Sadrists Demonstrate in Kirkuk AFP reports that nearly 2000 members of the Army of the Mahdi, the militia headed by young Shiite radical Muqtada al-Sadr, demonstrated in Kirkuk on Saturday. The demonstration coincided with a general strike by the city’s approximately 300,000 Turkmen residents. Even the police stayed home. Ibrahim Khayyat at al-Hayat […]

Sistani’s Representative in Karbala Rejects Referendum on Provincial Council> ash-Sharq al-Awsat/ AFP: Shaikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbala’i, the representative in Karbala of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, rejected the suggestion by another cleric that the provincial council appointed by CPA official John Berry be submitted to a referendum. He said that an appointed council is by its […]