From the New York
Times, a report of a Friday sermon by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani:
* * *
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the
influential Shiite cleric, on Friday urged vigilance against Western political
interference in Iraqi affairs but stopped short of opposing the American-led
military campaign against the extremists of the Islamic State.
“All political leaders of the country
must be aware and awake to prevent the external assistance against the Islamic
State from becoming an entrance to breach Iraq’s independence,” Ayatollah
Sistani said. “Cooperation with the international effort shall not be taken as
a pretext to impose foreign decisions on events in Iraq, especially military
events.”
His carefully balanced comments, in
a statement read by his spokesman at Friday Prayer in the Iraqi city of
Karbala, underscored the challenge facing the United States and its allies in
their efforts to push back the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, without
bolstering or antagonizing rival Shiite factions. . . .
In recent days, a handful of other
Iraqi Shiite leaders or militias with closer ties to Iran have made statements
expressing more wariness or opposition to the American-led military efforts,
and American officials have said the Iranian proxies may be seeking to remind
the Western states that Tehran, too, should be taken into account. On Friday,
the Iraqi cleric Moktada al-Sadr, another influential voice with ties to Iran,
called for a demonstration in Baghdad on Saturday to protest a potential
incursion by American ground forces.
But Ayatollah Sistani, considered
both independent and uniquely popular here, was more judicious. While he warned
Iraqis to guard against foreign interference, he also appeared to endorse the
idea that foreign help may be required to successfully engage the Sunni
extremists.
“Iraq may be in need of assistance
from its friends and brothers to combat black terrorism,” Ayatollah Sistani
said. But he insisted that for Iraq, “preserving its sovereignty and
independence must be the most important thing and must be taken into
consideration.”
He also appealed for intersectarian
solidarity in the fight against the extremists by specifically urging support
for Dhuluiya, a Sunni town that has held out for months against a siege by the
Sunni extremists. “Our brave Iraqi forces should help and defend Dhuluiya,” he
said, “because its people are our brothers and they are the sons of our
country.” . . .
* * *
David D. Kirkpatrick and Dan Bilefsky, “Iraqi
Cleric’s Speech Strikes a Balance,” New York Times, September 19, 2014
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