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