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2 INTERVIEW Resistance, not
terror The Grand
Ayatollah Ahmed Alhasani al-Baghdadi
Ahmed Alhasani al-Baghdadi is one
of the grand ayatollahs, the highest in the
Shi'ite hierarchy. In religious terms he has
followers among Shi'ites in Iraq and abroad, but
since 2003 he has been renowned for his opinion of
rejecting the presence of the US forces in Iraq.
He also refuses to take part in the political
process in Iraq under the occupation. He has more
than 30 published books that are available to view
(in Arabic) on his website
www.alsaed-albaghdadi.com, with the best known
being Authority
and
the Shi'ite Religious Institution in Iraq, The
Islamic Manifesto and Thus Spoke
Albaghdadi.
The grand ayatollah is not
easy to meet. He doesn't stay in one place for
more than one day. He is always on the move
because he and the people around him think he is
targeted by the Americans for his opinions, which
are supportive of the military resistance in Iraq.
He spoke to Munthir Alkewther in Najaf.
Munthir Alkewther: What
do you think of the resistance in Iraq?
Grand Ayatollah al-Baghdadi:
In the name of Allah and from him we seek help.
There is a demagogic propaganda against the
national and Islamic practical and political
resistance, which asserts that [the resistance]
targets and kills children, women and old people.
Those who carry this propaganda are forgetting
that the world is becoming a village and there is
a difference between resistance and terror.
Resistance is the right to fight in order
to kick out the occupiers from the Islamic
homeland. This opinion is based on the Koran and
the correct teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. It
is also based on international law according to
the Geneva Conventions. Terrorism, on the other
hand, is what targets the infrastructure and
popular areas, and this is one of the biggest sins
from an Islamic point of view.
MA: Does this mean you
support the resistance carrying guns to enable
them to attack the American and British troops?
Al-B: There should be no
doubt about it. People have the right to free
their countries from any occupation; even
President [George W] Bush in a speech condemned
terrorism in Iraq and complimented the resistance
when he said, "If my country was occupied, I would
have fought."
MA: Are you
demanding that the Americans leave immediately or
gradually?
Al-B: I repeated
many times: the Americans should be removed
immediately from Iraq, but after I found that all
the people who are resisting the occupation were
asking for a timetable for the Americans to leave,
then I accepted the principle of having a
timetable. Even if the Americans' claims come true
and a civil war broke out in Iraq, then that
should not be a big issue, because as Iraqis we
will reach an agreement in the end.
MA: What is the alternative
you suggest to the Americans and the Iraqi
government, which you describe as American agents?
Al-B: When the Americans and
their agents leave we will establish an advisory
council to have people with differing political
opinions from this nation. We give the Americans a
period of two years to leave, then a constitution
has to be written by people who are specialized in
law, and then this constitution is submitted to
the Iraqis for their approval.
MA: Giving the differing
opinions of Iraqis, how can you ensure the
gathering of this advisory council?
Al-B: The Americans were
imagining that the Iraqi people would throw roses
on their tanks, but they were surprised by the
fierce resistance. Then they replaced their
military governor, Jay Garner, with Paul Bremer,
who achieved the idea of politically dividing
Iraqis into sects and races. This resulted in
chaos, destruction and killing of people because
of their identity and because of their
non-identity. As a result of these genocides, we
as Iraqis will reach an agreement.
MA: What do think of the
main Iranian attitude when it comes to Iraq?
Al-B: As an Iraqi, I don't
want anyone to intervene in my [internal] affairs
because Iraq has sovereignty, and if an agreement
happened between the Americans and our brothers
the Iranians, we would ask the Iranians to demand
from the Americans that Iraq is Arab, the
withdrawal of Americans according to a two-year
maximum timetable, and we demand full independence
for Iraq. We have good relations with the Iranians
because they support freedom movements all around
the world, particularly against American hegemony.
If the Iranians took those three conditions, they
will save the whole area from Americans plans.
Now we find the new racist American wall
to be built in Baghdad as the beginning of the
division of Iraq into states. They are
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