When the powerful Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr signed a document of understanding between his organization and another major Shi'a party, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), led by Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, al-Sadr indicated that he signed the agreement Friday, October 5 in Najaf, the Shi'a shrine city in southern Iraq where his offices are headquartered. However, IraqSlogger has obtained information that contradicts al-Sadr’s assertion of the time and place where he signed the document.
Both al-Sadr and al-Hakim dated their signatures the 23rd of Ramadan, 1428 in the Islamic calendar, which corresponds to Friday, October 5, 2007 in the Gregorian calendar. The agreement was announced Saturday by both Sadrist officials and by the SIIC.
However, well-placed sources inside the Sadrist organization told IraqSlogger that Muqtada al-Sadr was not in Iraq at all when he signed the pact with 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hakim, nor did he sign the document on Friday, as both men indicated.
Slogger's sources report that Muqtada al-Sadr traveled to Iran to see al-Hakim in Tehran. The two men met on Wednesday in the Iranian capital, the sources say, and al-Sadr returned to Iraq on Thursday.
Al-Hakim has been residing in Iran as he undergoes treatment for lung cancer.
Sadr was due to lead Friday prayers in Kufa, near Najaf, the sources added, but even though he had returned to Iraq the day before, Sadr did not appear. Slogger's sources could not identify the reason for the Kufa cancellation.
Sadr’s reported trip to Tehran last week to meet al-Hakim was not revealed to his followers, nor to many Sadrist officials, and above his signature, Muqtada al-Sadr indicated that he signed the document in al-Najaf al-Ashraf -- a common term indicating reverence for the city, home to the tomb of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shi'a Imam and the nephew and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad.
It seems that the Sadrist leader and top officials were keen to avoid the appearance that Sadr had traveled to Iran to meet with al-Hakim.
According to the document as released by both parties, 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hakim did not provide any indication as to the where he was when he signed the document, although he also gave the date corresponding to Friday, October 5, and not the Wednesday, October 3, date when IraqSlogger's sources report that the actual meeting occurred.
Over the weekend, Hakim received a delegation of Iraqi Kurdish leaders in Tehran at his Iranian offices, and broke the Ramadan fast with SIIC officials present in the Iranian capital, including 'Adil 'Abd al-Mahdi, the Iraqi Vice President and SIIC affiliate, according to the SIIC-affiliated Buratha News website.
Hakim's son 'Ammar, 36, has stood in as acting leader of the SIIC while he is in Iran. An unconfirmed report in the Iranian media last week claimed that al-Hakim had been “cured” of cancer.
Translated excerpts from the document, as released by both parties, appear below.
The document lists the purpose of the agreement as follows:
Under the auspices of the fragrant Ramadan air, and for the sake of consolidating the relations between the two currents, of the preservation of the higher Islamic and national interests, and of raising up the community and guiding it to security:
The document continues, listing the three points that the two parties apparently agreed to.
- The duty to preserve and respect Iraqi blood under any condition or scenario, and this because the violation of the sanctity of blood is contrary to all legitimate laws and morals, and preservation (of blood) is a duty.
- The mobilization of the institutions and the cultural, media, and communications associations of both partis for the sake of achieving a spirit of good will and rapprochement and forsaking anything that contributes to the alienation and animosity or undermines the principles mentioned in the document
- Formation of a joint high committee, with branches in each of the provindes, to work otward rapprochement and avoiding strife, and controlling the potential problems, and overseeing the implementation of what was presented (in the document).
The document is signed:
Najaf (al-Najaf al-Ashraf)
Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr
23 Ramadan 1428
Al-Sayyid 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hakim
23 Ramadan 1428
In the streets of Baghdad Shi'a areas of Kadhimiya, Sha'b, and Sadr City, locals expressed optimism to IraqSlogger over the freshly announced pact between the two rival factions, but also voiced skepticism over the durability of the truce, given that hostilities between the two groups have erupted in deadly open conflict throughout Iraq on many occasions of late.
