AYATOLLAH SADR SAYS MARJAYA SHOULD STAY OUT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004306

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2015
TAGS: PINR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: AYATOLLAH SADR SAYS MARJAYA SHOULD STAY OUT OF
POLITICS


Classified By: CHARGE D,AFFAIRES DAVID M. SATTERFIELD FOR REASONS 1.4 (
b) AND (d).


1. (C) Summary. At an October 17 iftar, Ayatollah Hussein
al-Sadr told Ambassador Khalilzad that the Shia clerical
establishment (Marjaya) should not endorse any electoral
lists in the December 2005 elections. Al-Sadr warned the
Ambassador of the danger of Islamic extremism and said that
he favors cross-sectarian political alliances. Sadr also
complained about the Iraqi Security Forces' (ISF's) inability
to secure Iraq's borders. End Summary.

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The Dangers Of Extremism
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2. (C) Ayatollah Hussein al-Sadr told the Ambassador that
religion and politics should not mix. "If a religious man
enters politics, it spoils both of them," he said, adding
that the only role religion should play in politics is as a
spiritual "advisor to all." Al-Sadr noted that care should
be taken to make sure religion does not become a political
tool, for this opens the door to religious extremism. Islam,
he said, gives power to the people, not political leaders.
Accordingly, he argued, the Marjaya should only encourage
other Iraqis to participate in the political process. The
Ambassador agreed that involvement in politics would benefit
neither the Marjaya nor Iraq's political process.


3. (C) Al-Sadr continued by saying that religious extremists
are trying to divide Iraqi society. It is necessary, he
said, to build an Iraq that is "bigger than the sects," in
which Iraqis of all stripes can live and work together. The
best waQto do this, he said, is to build cross-sectarian
political alliances, which would eventually lead to
cross-sectarian political parties. Iraqis must think of
themselves as Iraqis, not as Kurds or Shia or Sunni Arabs.

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Ayad Allawi: Man Of The People
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4. (C) According to Sadr, the best person to lead such an
alliance would be Ayad Allawi. Allawi, Sadr said, would be
capable of bringing together Iraqis from across the political
spectrum. If sectarian parties are elected, Sadr warned,
then whole ministries would "belong" to a sect. This, he
warned, is one of the biggest drawbacks of the current Iraqi
government.

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Broken Borders
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5. (C) Sadr complained that ISF are not adequately equipped
or trained and are therefore unable to protect Iraq's
borders. He said that as a result, Saudi Arabia had to
station 30,000 Saudi troops along its border with Iraq in
order to protect Iraqis. The Ambassador countered that
building an Iraqi army from scratch will take time and that
good progress has been made.
Satterfield