August 25, 2006
BUT SELF-DEFENSE IS A HUMAN RIGHT:
Sadr's Militia and the Slaughter in the Streets (Ellen Knickmeyer, 8/25/06, Washington Post)
The Mahdi Army is the militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, now one of the most powerful figures in the country.The death squads that carry out the extrajudicial killings are widely feared but mysterious. Often, the only evidence is the bodies discovered in the streets. Several commanders in the Mahdi Army said in interviews that they act independently of the Shiite religious courts that have taken root here, meting out street justice on their own with what they believe to be the authorization of Sadr's organization and under the mantle of Islam.
"You can find in any religion the right of self-defense," said another commander, senior enough to be referred to as the Sheik, who was interviewed separately by telephone. Like the others, he lives and works in Sadr City, a trash-strewn, eight-square-mile district of east Baghdad that is home to more than 2 million Shiites. They spoke on condition that their names not be revealed and that specific areas of Sadr City under their control not be identified.
"The takfiris , the ones who kill, they should be killed," said the Sheik, using a term commonly employed by Shiites for violent Sunni extremists. "Also the Saddamists. Whose hands are stained with blood, they are sentenced to death."
"This is part of defending yourself," the commander said. "This is a ready-made verdict -- we don't need any verdict."
Before Feb. 22, when the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra unleashed a wave of sectarian killing and retribution, U.S. authorities and others believed the primary force behind Shiite death squads was the Badr Brigade, the militia of another large Shiite organization, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. But since the bombing, the Mahdi Army appears to have taken the lead in extrajudicial trials and executions, according to Joost Hiltermann, a project director in Jordan for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
One of the ways in which folks dehumanize the Shi'a is to be outraged that they defend themselves. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 25, 2006 8:29 AM
I'd argue that there is little evidence of Grace in either wing of Islam, hence the never-ending cycle of killing.
To state this isn't "de-humanizing." In fact, it is utterly human.
To really stir up the hornets nest, put the Pope on Iraqi TV saying that for the Middle East to heal, both sides must ask for, and then offer, forgiveness.
Posted by: Bruno at August 25, 2006 9:15 AMNor, obviously, in Secularism, Christianity and Judaism, since we're there killing Muslims. It's our cycle too.
Posted by: oj at August 25, 2006 9:33 AMAl-Sadr wants an independent power base so he can be the next government. This is less about self defense than his intent to use Iranian backing to put himself in charge. One should not confuse legitimate self defense with warlordism.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at August 25, 2006 11:58 AMHe's the most likely head of government when Iraq divides into three states, as the primary defender of the Shi'a in Baghdad he should be.
Posted by: oj at August 25, 2006 12:07 PMConfusion to the enemy: go to it.
Posted by: Lou Gots at August 25, 2006 2:11 PMIf Mookie is the likely Shi'a top political dog, then he's following Ruhollah Khomeini instead of Ali Al-Sistani, with predictable results.
Better to give him the express turban removal now.
Posted by: jim hamlen at August 27, 2006 12:10 AMKhomeinism didn't work.
Posted by: oj at August 27, 2006 12:35 AM