NAJAF MOSQUE SERMONS CRITICIZE COALITION, SUPPORT ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000386 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ KIS SUBJECT: NAJAF MOSQUE SERMONS CRITICIZE COALITION, SUPPORT ELECTION REF: A) HILLAH 0385, B) HILLAH 0384 CLASSIFIED BY: ALFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, AL-HILLAH, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Friday prayer speaker at the primary Sadrist mosque in Najaf blamed Coalition Forces for recent raids on a Sadrist cleric's home, accused them of desecrating the Koran and called for Ibrahim Jaafari to remain as Prime Minister. At a mosque affiliated with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI),the speaker emphasized the legality of the December 15 election. End summary. ¶2. (C) At the December 30 Friday prayers at the Sadrist Kufa Mosque in Najaf, Shaykh Ous Al-Khafaji criticized Coalition Forces for recent raids of the home and office of Sadrist cleric Ayatollah Ahmed Al-Hassani Al-Baghdadi. (Reftel B.) Shaykh Ali Al-Khaqani, who works in Al-Baghdadi's office, was among the more than 800 worshipers at the mosque. Al-Khafaji said that such "humiliation" of the Hawza would lead to an uprising against Coalition Forces to defend "Iraqi honor." The cleric also called for the release of prisoners held by Coalition Forces and criticized alleged desecrations of the Koran in Coalition-controlled jails. (Reftel A.) ¶3. (C) Commenting on political events, Al-Khafaji called for the re-appointment of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari to the same position in the new Iraqi government, saying that the appointment would support the Iraqi people and the orphans of the Baath Party. ¶4. At the SCIRI-affiliated Husseiniya Al-Fatamia, Najaf SCIRI Head Shaykh Sadr Al-Deen Al-Qubanji emphasized to the approximately 700 congregants that the December 15 elections were legal, they should not be repeated, and that complaints were based on the frustrations of those "rejected by the people." The preacher called for the speedy trial and swift execution of Saddam Hussein. And he juxtaposed the state of the provinces of Najaf and Anbar. Najaf was peaceful, prosperous and enjoying a period of reconstruction, Al-Qubanji told his worshippers. By contrast, Anbar, which he characterized as the source of terrorism, was a place of destruction and poverty. FONTENEAU