)
Sources close to prominent Shi'a clerics in Najaf have expressed "surprise" at reports in the Western media which claim that Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has issued religious opinions suggesting support of armed resistance against the foreign forces in Iraq, going so far as to dismiss the reported rulings as "false," according to a report by an online Iraqi news agency.
Al-Malaf Press writes in Arabic that "Reliable, well-placed sources in the offices of four high-ranking Shi'a clerics in Iraq denied what was reported" regarding "fatwas" (religious opinions) issued by the Shi'a ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on the matter of armed resistance in Iraq against the foreign forces in the country.
The Associated Press reported earlier on Friday that it has learned that al-Sistani has privately issued verbal opinions that support the principle of armed resistance against foreign forces.
However, sources contacted by al-Malaf Press in Najaf expressed their "surprise" at the story, the agency writes, saying that their offices would have received copies of the fatwas, if they were true, by the regular channels by which other writs issued by the high-level cleric reach their offices. Alleged religious opinions transmitted by other channels are not considered true, the sources explained.
One source in the office of Muhammad Sa'id al-Hakim contacted by al-Malaf Press threatened to hold responsible those "airing false fatwas." The source said that fatwas that do not bear Sistani's seal or signature are considered false.
The same source told al-Malaf Press that the reports of the pro-resistance Sistani fatwas were "media stunts" intended to "effect confusion" among the Shi'a community.
Al-Malaf Press writes that in its efforts to track the fatwas it first contacted the office of Sistani himself, which refused comment on the report. The agency then passed to the office of Bashir al-Najafi and Muhammad al-Hakim and Ishaq al-Fayad, but could not find information from sources in these offices that confirmed the veracity of the reported fatwas.
Salah al-'Ubaydi, the spokesman of the Sadrist offices in Najaf, did not confirm or deny the reports of anti-Occupation fatwas circulating in the Western press Friday, but the agency writes that al-'Ubaydi did allege that the reports were an attempt "to redirect attention from the crimes that the American forces are committing against the followers of the Sadrist Current for resisting the occupation."
In contrast to al-Sistani, the Sadrist Current within Iraqi Shi'a, led by the young cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has in general been open about its view that armed resistance to the foreign presence in Iraq is legitimate.
Western reports
The Associated Press reports that Sistani "has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible."
The AP cites "three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf," all on conditions of anonymity. The agency also writes:
So far, al-Sistani's fatwas have been limited to a handful of people. They also were issued verbally and in private — rather than a blanket proclamation to the general Shiite population — according to three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf.
The writs "did not specifically mention Americans but refer to foreign occupiers — were in response to the question of whether it's permitted to 'wage armed resistance,' according to the two Shiites who received them," the AP also writes.
The full Associated Press story on the reported Sistani opinions is available here.
Al-Malaf Press also posts full text of a story from CNN Arabic on the reported Sistani fatwas. That report, available here on the CNN Arabic website, follows essentially the same story line as the AP report mentioned above in English, without citing any further sources.
