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Mix-Ansicht- Two of Islam's most sacred cities could complicate the allied advance - Reikianer, 03.04.2003, 07:24
Two of Islam's most sacred cities could complicate the allied advance
-->Posted on Wed, Apr. 02, 2003
Holy sites in harm's way
Two of Islam's most sacred cities could complicate the allied advance.
By Scheherezade Faramarzi
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran - With U.S. forces at the gates of Karbala and Najaf, there is growing fear that any damage to the gold-domed shrines of the two holiest Shiite Muslim cities could inflame Shiite feelings worldwide, particularly in Iran.
Although overwhelmingly Shiite Iran has expressed concern about possible damage to the shrines, few analysts expect Tehran to be drawn into the war. Iran opposes the invasion of Iraq, its foe in an eight-year war in the 1980s, but has declared itself neutral.
Much as they dislike and distrust Saddam Hussein, Iranians also have troubled relations with the United States and worry U.S. influence in the region would be cemented if Washington toppled Hussein, replacing him with a U.S.-friendly regime.
U.S. forces launched a ferocious barrage of missiles late yesterday on positions outside Karbala, about 55 miles southeast of the capital, Baghdad, and circling warplanes bombed targets in the area. Karbala is home to the tombs of the prophet Muhammad's martyred grandson, Imam Husayn.
Other U.S. units fought to isolate Najaf - the resting place of Muhammad's son-in-law, Imam Ali, 100 miles south of Baghdad - and to prevent attacks on U.S. supply lines. Ali's shrine, with its silver-covered tomb, ceramic ornamented walls, and resplendent golden dome and minarets, is considered a landmark of Islamic art.
Najaf and Karbala are centers of pilgrimage for Iraq's Shiite majority and Shiites in Iran and elsewhere. Each year, large numbers of Iranians make pilgrimages to the two cities. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, spent 14 years of his exile in Najaf after being expelled from Iran in 1964.
"Intensifying military actions, killing civilians, and attacking holy sites in Iraq will increase hostility and therefore extremism in the region," Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi warned this week."The world does not see that America and Britain are going to bring peace and democracy for Iraqis by hitting them with heavy bombs."
Analysts say the Iranian government can do little more than protest if the holy shrines in Iraq are damaged or even destroyed in U.S. military actions.
"The extent of the outcry would depend on whether the Americans attack the shrines intentionally or not," said Sadeq Ziba-Kalam, a Tehran University professor."The rage would be more muted if it's unintentional and America apologizes to the Shiites and to Iran."
What happens around Najaf and Karbala in the coming days may be decisive in any future relationship between the Shiites and the Americans. The U.S. military has declared the cities"no targets" and only to be fired at in self-defense.
Saddam Hussein - a Sunni in a country where Sunnis have long politically dominated the Shiite majority - may try to provoke U.S. troops to attack the holy sites and thereby alienate the Shiite population, which has not embraced them as liberators.
Contrary to U.S. and British expectations, Iraqi Shiites have not rebelled against Hussein as they did, with U.S. encouragement, as the 1991 Gulf War ended. In 1991, the Americans left the rebels to face Hussein's forces alone, and they were slaughtered. This time, distrustful Shiites are holding back.
<ul> ~ PhillyInquirer</ul>
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