Will the return of Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani secure a peaceful end to Najaf's siege, asks Omayma Abdel-Latif "What you are doing is risky. That shrine might not be around much longer," said one US commander operating in Najaf when approached by an American journalist to get security clearance to visit the Imam Ali Mosque earlier this week. To many Iraqis, those words only lend credence to the prevailing perception that US occupation forces and their proxies in the interim Iraqi government have, since the beginning of the Najaf standoff, put little faith in a peaceful solution. Crushing the rebellion of the young Shia leader Moqtada Al-Sadr and liquidating his forces was, therefore, their endgame despite conciliatory rhetoric. On Wednesday, the Bush-Allawi joint venture moved closer towards achieving this goal as US forces advanced further on the Imam Ali Mosque. They were reported to be only 20 metres away from the shrine taking positions around the mosque. But only hours before the US was due to launch what its commanders described as "the final offensive", news of an imminent return to Iraq of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has revived hopes of sparing the city from a ruthless military onslaught. Sources close to Iraq's top religious authority confirmed to Al-Ahram Weekly on Wednesday that the 73-year-old Al- Sistani was returning to Iraq "to put an end to the bloodshed there". "Only Sayyid Al-Sistani is able to put an end to the agony and suffering of Najaf and the Iraqi people," Murtada Al-Kashmiri, Al- Sistani's representative, told the Weekly in a telephone interview from London. While Al-Kashmiri was reluctant to reveal Al-Sistani's exact plans upon his return, he nonetheless pointed out that a call will be made to all Iraqis to join Al- Sistani on his way back to the holy city "to act as human shields to defend our holy Najaf". For centuries, Najaf has been a centre of Shia learning. The city derives its prominent status also from being the burial ground for many of the revered figures of Shiism, including Ali Ibn Abi Taleb who is Islam's fourth guided caliph and cousin of the Prophet Mohamed. Al-Sistani, who left Iraq earlier in August shortly after the fighting broke out in the city, recently underwent a heart operation in a London hospital. As of the time the Weekly went to print, Al- Sistani himself had not issued a statement calling on his followers to flock to Najaf, but Al-Kashmiri said that "millions of Iraqis are expected to heed their marjei 's call, once made". It is not yet clear whether Al-Sistani's surprising return to Najaf will disrupt US plans to raid the Imam Ali shrine or rather speed up US-led military action in clearing the shrine of Al-Sadr supporters. Meanwhile, the Najaf siege enters its third week with the city witnessing yet another round of failed talks, broken promises and shattered hopes. A deal between Al-Sistani's representatives and Al-Sadr followers to hand over the keys of the Imam Ali shrine to Al-Sistani's followers has faltered leaving little hope left for a peaceful end. If Al-Sistani's return might present difficulties to forces poised to expel Al- Sadr it is almost certain to prove embarrassing for the Iraqi government which, according to Iraqi observers, miserably failed to avert a military showdown in a place loaded with symbolism and sacred to Islam's Sunnis and Shia. Mixed messages coming from Iyad Allawi's ministers have only complicated the situation. The Iraqi premier's olive branch, which he extended to Al-Sadr at the beginning of the week, was counter-balanced with threats of liquidation and arrest by Defence Minister Hazem Al-Shallan on Tuesday. Meanwhile, for the US occupying forces, it was business as usual as they continued to conduct low-level attacks through the week, raising questions about who was actually in charge of the situation on the ground. Iraqi observers speaking to the Weekly argue that the Najaf battle is a test for how much sovereignty the interim Iraqi government wields. "There is a widespread sense of alienation from the Iraqi government and resentment at the US occupation," Jaber Habib, an Iraqi analyst told the Weekly. "In a symbolic way," he added, "Najaf is about who truly represents the will of the Iraqi people." Habib points out that Iraqis feel let down by all the parties involved in the conflict. Allawi's three-month government, according to Habib, has failed to keep a safe distance from its American backers. "Allawi bowed to US demands to finish off Al-Sadr, regardless of the costs involved," said Habib. Laith Kubba, a Washington-based Iraqi analyst, argues that the Iraqi government -- by design or by fault -- made things worse for itself when it chose to target Al-Sadr. "There are those within this government who want to pursue a tough policy, but addressing a hard political player like Al-Sadr by use of violence is wrong," said Kubba. Al- Sadr's militia, according to Kubba, should disarm but so should all other militias in Iraq. Although initial reports said that Al- Sadr followers welcomed Al-Sistani's return, at the time of going to press there was no formal response from Al- Sadr himself, who has not made any public appearances. Al-Sistani supporters privately accuse the young Al-Sadr of forcing the religious seminary in Najaf into this confrontation against the US occupied forces and the Iraqi government. Al-Sistani, who has proved to be a crucial player in post-occupation Iraqi politics, has maintained his reserve in criticising the US occupation. Many Iraqis were disappointed by Al-Sistani's absence from Najaf at a time when the city was under attack. His return on Wednesday might, however, prove a turning point in the battle for the survival of the holy city, raising hopes that the Imam Ali shrine will remain -- as it has for over one thousand years until Bush walked into Iraq -- intact and in place. (see p.5)
