Washington Post: Iran is leading a campaign to acquire the site of the highest Shiite authority in I

2019/05/07 09:39

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Baghdad today _ follow-up



A US newspaper reported in a report published on Monday (May 6, 2019) that Iran is leading a campaign to acquire the site of the highest Shiite authority in Iraq.



The Washington Post reported that "Iranian religious leaders are moving to expand their influence on the Shiite Islamic institution in Iraq in a gamble aimed at dominating the largest religious gathering in Iraq," indicating that "the Iranian campaign appears more visible in the city of Najaf where the headquarters of reference , Has schools and charities funded by it, built well-established mosques and established relations with religious scholars in an effort to undermine the local religious authority that has long been a well-deserved authority. "



"Iraqi political figures say that clerics with ties to Iran are promoting their own approach to Shiite religious jurisprudence through the city's religious schools, and are maneuvering to install one of their followers as the highest religious authority in Iraq." "It's a big propaganda poster for Sheikh Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Backed by Iran to take over the post before he dies, is still affixed to the walls of the city of Najaf. "



"Iran wants to hijack and acquire Najaf," said Ghaleb Shabandar, an Iraqi analyst and former Islamist politician, who 

wants a reference in Iraq to control his movements.



She pointed out that the Iranian creep in Najaf is facing resistance and rejection by the city's architects, and therefore may lead to resentment among the Shiites of Iraq. 

Many Iraqis are fed up with Iran's far-reaching influence. Iran's initiative to expand its religious influence is complementary to its growing efforts to impose political, military and economic dominance in Iraq, which Washington and Tehran are competing for a foothold.



Hundreds of thousands of Iranians travel to Najaf annually to visit the shrine of Imam Ali, where she funded Iran and helped with a project to expand the courtyard, which included the construction of a museum, library and study halls for students of religious sciences in a separate annex. 

"The Seal of the Prophets," is the name of an engineering company funded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that was involved in the project.



Iranian tourists spend huge sums of money on visits to the Najaf markets, and shop and restaurant advertisements are often written in Farsi, and store shelves are full of Iranian religious pamphlets, helping Iran fund other services, including medical clinics and support for visitor services. 

There is even an Iranian company contracted to raise waste. "



On the other hand, Iran also pays salaries to religious students through offices run by Iranian clerics and their associates, and sometimes used to recruit Iraqis to fight in the popular crowd, but Iranians are not widely welcomed in Najaf , As there is concern among Iraqis that Iran is seeking to take over the position of religious authority, and the post is now occupied by the reference Ali Sistani, who pays special attention to the independence of Iraq and always stand against any Iranian intervention, and also opposes the principle of the mandate of the jurist pursued by Iran. 

Sistani has always supported an advisory role for clerics in the country. "



He said that Sistani has influence in Najaf and beyond, and follow his fatwas of millions of Iraqis, which included, among other things, the legitimacy of participation in the elections as well as the carrying of weapons against the militants and urged, as Sistani welcomed by all observers of the Iraqi affairs, Strengthening Najaf's independence and helping to overcome the most violent chapters of sectarian warfare in the country.



"If Sistani dies there will be a major conflict over his place, including clerics with ties to Iran," said Imad al-Shara, a former estate student who is now an IWPR researcher in Iraq. "Tehran tried to spread its influence in Najaf by establishing relations With influential clerics, Najaf was weakened by that, 

but no one can rule Najaf from outside Najaf. "



He explained that Iran had tried to achieve this trend previously. 

A decade ago, Supreme Religious Leader Ali Khamenei sent the Shahroudi cleric to his place of birth in Najaf to open an office and build a network of followers. Those close to him say he traveled to Iraq in 2012 with the goal of becoming the highest religious authority of Iraq, A gamble that would have strengthened Iran's hold on Najaf.



"When Shahroudi came to Iraq he was preparing himself to become the religious reference to Iraq after Sistani's death," the Washington Post quoted an aide to Sistani, who declined to be named, as saying.



Sheikh Jassem al-Mandalawi, one of Shahroudi's followers, said that "he was not welcomed by the Iraqi clerics as he had hoped and therefore decided to leave Iraq," according to the newspaper.



The newspaper quoted Sheikh Khalid al-Baghdadi, a close cleric of Sistani and a resident of Najaf, as saying: "Sistani had a major role in maintaining peace and enhance security and stability in Iraq 

This was his goal from the outset 

According to the" Washington Post "



When asked about Iran's attempts to promote its followers in Najaf, al-Baghdadi replied: "The Iranians have no authority here, 

there is no authority that they impose on us."



Source: Washington Post



 





Baghdad today - Nineveh



The deputy of the province of Nineveh Falah Hassan Zaidan, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, of interventions by political figures to impose their will in the process of naming the new governor. 

"We reject the interventions of some political figures such as Khamis al-Khanjar," Zaidan said in a statement







Baghdad today - follow-up

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The reason for Washington's decision to send a force to the Middle East is due to heightened risks to US troops in Iraq by Iran and its allies, senior US officials said.



The two officials, who asked not to be named,







Baghdad today - Baghdad



MP of the Alliance for Reform and Reconstruction Hassan Khalati, said the file to terminate the work of the agency postponed until the completion of the completion of the ministerial cabin and pass the candidates of the four ministries vacant.




Khalati said in an interview with (Baghdad Today), "The Prime Minister






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