Juan Cole

Demonstration in Fallujah The arrest of a senior prayer leader in Fallujah sparked a protest Wednesday by 100 religious and tribal leaders. AFP says they shouted “Death to Americans, their spies and collaborators” as they made their way to the government offices. It was a small demonstration, but if it is true that they were […]

Demonstration Tuesday in Karbala AP reports that a demonstration was held by followers of Muqtada al-Sadr in Karbala on Tuesday to protest the closing of the al-Mukhayyam Mosque and the arrest of numerous followers of Muqtada there. On Wednesday the Shiite party, al-Da`wa, issued a statement condemning the recent violence in Karbala and urging that […]

Zogby Criticizes Cheney Use of Zogby Poll The Zogby polling group did a sounding in Iraq last month, some results of which were trumpeted by US Vice President Dick Cheney in an interview, in which he alleged that most Iraqis supported a US style government. The true percentage who took that position? 23%. Zogby complains […]

Dozens Demonstrate in Baghdad against Desecration of Koran It started with a minor incident. A female employee going into the Ministry of Petroleum had to subject to a daily search of her purse. But the US troops guarding the building on Tuesday wanted more, they wanted her to let trained police dogs sniff her purse. […]

Evangelicals in Congress seek to Shape Iraqi Constitution Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. have inserted provisions into the legislation that would authorize $87 bn. for Iraq, according to Knight Ridder. The legislation instructs the Coalition Provisional Authority to work to ensure that the new Iraqi constitution protects freedom of religion, especially […]

IGC moves Against Sadr Militia in Karbala The Interim Governing Council sent Iraqi police into the al-Mukayam mosque in the holy city of Karbala Tuesday to arrest armed militiamen loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. They were assisted by US troops, but it was good that the main steps were taken by Iraqis. Interior Minister Nuri al-Badran […]

Human Rights Watch: US killings of Civilians are not Investigated Human Rights Watch maintains that US troops have killed over a hundred Iraqi civlians over the past few months, but that the US military has investigated none of these killings. Meanwhile, in Falluja a family is alleging that US troops executed a family member while […]

Authority of Sistani versus Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq Alex Berenson argues in the NYT that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has much wider support among Iraqi Shiites than Muqtada al-Sadr, and that the latter has actually lost some enthusiasts through a set of recent missteps, including proclaiming a shadow government and trying to take over shrines […]

Armed Sadrists take Back their HQ near Basra Shaikh Murtada al-Hajjaj, the assistant head of the office of Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said that 100 Sadrist militiamen succeeded in taking back control of their headquarters in Shatt al-Arab, 3 kilometers south of Basra, from the Iraqi police and British troops that had occupied it last […]