SADRIST UNIVERSITY OPENS IN HILLAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000106

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2017
TAGS: PHUM PTER PGOV SOCI KISL SCUL IZ IR
SUBJECT: SADRIST UNIVERSITY OPENS IN HILLAH

REF: HILLAH 101

CLASSIFIED BY: Eleftherios E. Netos, Political/Economic Officer,
PRT Babil, REO Al-Hillah, U.S. Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. (U) This is a PRT Babil Cable.


2. (U) In yet another sign of their burgeoning strength in
Babil, the local branch of the Office of the Martyr Sadr (OMS)
recently opened the "Sadr Religious University" in Hillah. The
institution advertises itself as a religious center for higher
learning offering three "levels" of instruction (NFI). Tuition
in free. It is open to both genders and appears to seek recent
secondary school graduates who have yet to enroll in university
(post has no information on enrollment). Local staff report
that banners advertising the "university" appeared immediately
prior to the end of the school year and were displayed
prominently in front of the Babil office of the Department of
Education, and near a secondary school. Based in the Al-Askan
neighborhood, a Sadrist stronghold near the Al-Hillah Teaching
Hospital, the institutions's grounds thus far appear to consist
of only a single building which may have been a house.


3. (C) Comment: The opening of the Sadr Religious University is
yet another sign of the continued growth of the Sadrist presence
in Babil, which is fueled largely by the citizenry's widespread
discontent with the ISCI-dominated provincial government. At
the same time, the sight of the banners displayed directly in
front of the Babil office of the Department of Education betrays
the provincial leadership's efforts to appease the Sadr Current
(reftel). The creation of this "university" is another sign of
how the Sadrist provision of "services" to the general public is
creating a base of support which OMS hopes to mobilize in time
for provincial elections. End Comment.

NETOS