PRT KARBALA: TENSIONS MOUNT DURING COUNTDOWN TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000224 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL PTER IR IZ SUBJECT: PRT KARBALA: TENSIONS MOUNT DURING COUNTDOWN TO ARBA,IN COMMEMORATION Classified By: OPA DIRECTOR GRETA HOLTZ for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) PRT KARBALA: TENSIONS MOUNT DURING COUNTDOWN TO ARBA,IN HOLIDAY TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL PTER IR IZ ¶1. (U) This is a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Karbala reporting cable. ¶2. (C/NF) SUMMARY. Dissension is mounting in the Shi'a religious community in Iraq's south following a reported decision from the Iraqi Commission on Shi'a Religious Endowments (Awqaf) to cease most live broadcasts of sermons in Karbala in the run-up to the Arba'in commemoration. All but Ayatollah al-Sistani's two representatives at Karbala's shrines appear to be affected by the ban, which went into effect at the beginning of the month of Muharram. Karbala's government and security officials fear resistance or clashes at checkpoints as a result of Shaykh Abd al-Hamid al-Muhajir's inflammatory messages, which sometimes encourage pilgrims to bypass or force their way through checkpoints. The upcoming elections, the controversy over banning more than 500 candidates from the ballot under the terms of the Accountability and Justice Law, the ban on live sermons, and Muhajir's fiery rhetoric are creating a potentially volatile mix that only adds to the already immense security and logistical challenges of managing a throng of between three and five million passionate pilgrims during this commemoration period. END SUMMARY. LIVE SERMON BROADCASTS STOPPED BEFORE HOLIDAY... -------------- --- ¶3. (C/NF) PRTOffs learned from a local businessman with ties to senior provincial political figures that the Iraqi Commission on Shi'a Religious Endowments (Awqaf) ordered the cessation of live broadcasts of sermons from Karbala's shrines from the beginning of the month of Muharram, due to increased concerns of violence in Karbala during Arba'iniyah. (NOTE: This Shi'a commemoration ) Arba'iniyah - includes a walking pilgrimage drawing visitors to Karbala beginning on/about January 28 and culminates on the 40th day ) Arba'in - after Ashura which this year is on February 6. END NOTE) ¶4. (C/NF) The ban was not imposed on Karbala's two representatives of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani ) the Ayatollahs al-Safi and al-Karabala'i. The order appeared to come after several messages critical of government services during Ashura were delivered by orators at the shrines, including Ayatollah Mortadha al-Qazwini, one of five ayatollahs resident in Karbala. PRTOffs independently confirmed this report with sources close to Ayatollah Qazwini and were told the delayed broadcasts allowed the sermons to be censored for parts deemed "inappropriate." ¶5. (C/NF) The source close to Ayatollah Qazwini told PRTOffs that Qazwini did not respond directly to the ban but that many of his supporters protested against this censorship, while other speakers outside the shrines defended his right to a live broadcast. The source also said that no explanation had been offered for the double standard applied for shrine vice non-shrine orators. (COMMENT. Qazwini is in his late seventies or early eighties, and can appear very emotional and even senile at times. END COMMENT) ...PROMPTED BY CONCERNS ABOUT INCENDIARY MESSAGING -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C/NF) Mohammed Sadiq al-Hir (strictly protect),president of Karbala's Hotel and Restaurant League, also expressed concerns to PRTOffs about the daily religious broadcasts of Shaykh Abd al-Hamid al-Muhajir, a Karbala-born cleric who broadcasts daily to the faithful from a mosque in Amara in Qbroadcasts daily to the faithful from a mosque in Amara in Maysan province via the satellite television channel Al-Anwar. Muhajir, who travels regionally and broadcasts from multiple locations throughout the Gulf, seems to sometimes reside in and receive funding from the Shi'a community in Kuwait. He is described to PRTOffs as one of the most popular religious broadcasters in Iraq's Shi'a south. ¶7. (C/NF) Al-Muhajir, whose incendiary messages have reportedly been an on-going irritation for Iraqi government and religious officials for some time, was reportedly banned from Karbala's shrines by Ayatollah al-Sistani for provocative messages contributing to discord during the height of Iraqi sectarian strife in 2006 and 2007. His latest messages from his mosque in Amara have encouraged Iraqis to "rebel" against the government for the "disrespect" it is demonstrating through the live broadcasting ban and from Iraqi Security Force security procedures that prevent or delay entry to the holy shrines. According to Hir, this has caused concern for provincial government and security officials who fear resistance or clashes at checkpoints during Arba'iniyah as a result of al-Muhajir's inflammatory comments which have sometimes encouraged pilgrims to bypass or force their way through checkpoints. COMMENT: HEIGHTENED WORRIES OF VIOLENCE -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) PRT civilian and military contacts in Karbala seem much more concerned about the possibility of violence or terrorism during the upcoming Arba'in commemoration than any other recent religious holiday we can remember. HILL