A lot of Shi`ites in Lebanon and beyond were displeased with my article about the sectarianism of Hizbullah. Many wrote to me displeased with my strong criticisms of Sistani. Several asked me to explain my denunciation of Sistani. I will say this: you may research the archives where I have written a lot about Sistani. I am not castigating all Iraqi Shi`ites of course: and I know that there are Shi`ites in Iraq who are opposed to the American occupation and who are supporters of the Palestinians. I never do wholesale denunciations of sects, despite what my enemies claim. Some Iraqis write to me, including groups that are involved in opposing the occupation. But the major Shi`ite sectarian parties: Da`wah and its reincarnations, Badr militias, and the rest in that lousy puppet government that is set up there are exactly tools of foreign occupation. But I fault Sistani more than anyone: he is the key legitimizer of the occupation. If Sistani were to have issued a ruling against foreign occupation and against the puppet government and against the sectarian divisions of spoils, the plot to fragment Iraq along sectarian lines would have been foiled. Sistani is a horrible figure in the contemporary history of the Arab world, and my animus toward him will only increase, with every new death in Iraq.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sistani
A lot of Shi`ites in Lebanon and beyond were displeased with my article about the sectarianism of Hizbullah. Many wrote to me displeased with my strong criticisms of Sistani. Several asked me to explain my denunciation of Sistani. I will say this: you may research the archives where I have written a lot about Sistani. I am not castigating all Iraqi Shi`ites of course: and I know that there are Shi`ites in Iraq who are opposed to the American occupation and who are supporters of the Palestinians. I never do wholesale denunciations of sects, despite what my enemies claim. Some Iraqis write to me, including groups that are involved in opposing the occupation. But the major Shi`ite sectarian parties: Da`wah and its reincarnations, Badr militias, and the rest in that lousy puppet government that is set up there are exactly tools of foreign occupation. But I fault Sistani more than anyone: he is the key legitimizer of the occupation. If Sistani were to have issued a ruling against foreign occupation and against the puppet government and against the sectarian divisions of spoils, the plot to fragment Iraq along sectarian lines would have been foiled. Sistani is a horrible figure in the contemporary history of the Arab world, and my animus toward him will only increase, with every new death in Iraq.
