"Al Sadr's Supporters Pray" More than 10 thousand Iraqis, who are supporters of Muktada Al-Sadr, pray as they protest the closing of his newspaper, Al-Hawza, in front of the Convention Center in Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday, April 2, 2004.
In Iraq, a 'perfect storm' - A perfect storm for whom?
BAGHDAD – The US closure of an irregularly published newspaper with just 5,000 readers seemed a tiny moment in the struggle for stability in Iraq. But the March 28 move to close Al Hawza, controlled by militant Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, now looks like the edge of a violent storm.
...Similarly, the US coalition hardly anticipated that the closure of just one of 100-plus newspapers in Baghdad would form the genesis of a Shiite revolt in half a dozen cities around Iraq.
Oh, I think Bush/Cheney and Bremer knew exactly how to insite riots and create a Civil War that only Iran could come to the rescue to end. I think they knew exactly what they were doing when they closed an innocuous newsprint published by a son of a powerful former Ayatollah and mentored by the one Grand Ayatollah with the most influence among the Shia. I believe Bush and Cheney targeted Sadr for exactly the effect that would follow.
Pro-Sadr weekly newspaper reopens in Iraq
Jonathan Steele in Baghdad
Monday July 19, 2004The Guardian
An Iraqi newspaper closed in March by the US occupation authorities, sparking protests and an armed uprising that led to hundreds of deaths, has reopened, it emerged yesterday.
The next edition of the weekly, which supports the radical Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, could appear within days.
"We were waiting for instructions from Najaf [Mr Sadr's headquarters] and now we will come out again next week," Ali Yasseri, the editor of al-Hawza, told the Guardian last night.
The occupation authorities closed the paper on March 28 for 60 days, saying it had violated regulations banning incitement to violence.
But it was not clear that the paper's content in its final issue was any more radically critical of the occupation than earlier issues, against which the authorities had taken no action.
The closure seemed intended to reduce Mr Sadr's influence. At the same time the Americans published an arrest warrant for the cleric for alleged involvement in murder.
Both moves led to street demonstrations by hundreds of Shia Muslims in central Baghdad. This in turn led to heightened US military patrols in Sadr city, the huge district full of jobless young people where Mr Sadr counts most of his followers.
Armed clashes erupted, which led to a full-fledged uprising that lasted for two months and spread to Najaf, Kerbala, Kut and other southern cities.
Hundreds died but the cleric's support went up in every public opinion poll, as he was seen as a champion of independence.
The prime minister, Ayad Allawi, put out a statement yesterday announcing the paper's reappearance, indicating this was a mark of his respect for press freedom.
