Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite Muslim leaders, was buried in the holy city of Najaf on Saturday, three days after his death cast more uncertainty over Iraq’s turbulent politics.
Hakim, 59, a popular cleric who headed the powerful Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), died on Wednesday in Tehran, where he was being treated for lung cancer.
He was buried beside his elder brother Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim, who was killed in a 2003 bombing that was claimed by al-Qaeda. Hakim took charge of ISCI from his brother.
PHOTO: EPA
Thousands of Hakim’s supporters in black or white robes thronged streets beside a motorcade carrying his coffin to the burial site.
They waved green flags and held banners. One read: “Goodbye, Abu Ammar,” an affectionate name for the cleric.
Some prayed, others beat their heads and chests with their hands in a traditional mourning ritual. One of his aides placed his trademark black turban on the car’s roof.
Supporters carried his coffin, wrapped in a green shroud to the Imam Ali Shrine, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites. He was interred in a cemetery about 1.5km away.
“Iraq has lost someone who can never be replaced,” 39-year-old government employee Ali Mohammed Abbas said. “He was a national and religious figure and a guide for all Iraqi people.”
ISCI last Monday said it would lead a new, mostly Shiite alliance to compete in January’s national polls without Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s small Dawa party, raising questions about possible disunity amongst Iraq’s Shiite majority.
Hakim’s son, Ammar al-Hakim, who has been groomed to take over ISCI but may yet face internal leadership challenges, has urged those outside the new alliance to join it.
ISCI was founded in Iran in exile during the rule of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. It has close ties to Iran’s rulers.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in Iraq: “[Hakim’s] death is a loss for the political process. His eminence made sacrifices to liberate Iraq from dictatorship.”
ISCI derives much support from the Hakim family name, revered among Shiites for its lineage of scholars and sacrifice in the face of assaults by Saddam and other violence. Saddam killed eight of Hakim’s brothers and many more of his family.
ISCI and Maliki’s Dawa party swept to power in 2005 polls as part of a broad Shiite coalition, but over the past year wrangling over alliances has intensified.
Violence has fallen overall in Iraq, but a spike in major attacks in the past month is expected to continue ahead of the polls and as US forces prepare to withdraw by the end of 2011.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of