Many Sunni Muslims diverting anger from Israel to Iran
- From: "Alan" <notforpublicconsumption@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 09:09:07 -0500
Many Sunni Muslims diverting anger from Israel to Iran
By Nancy A. Youssef
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Since results from Iraq's national assembly election
trickled out this week showing that Shiite Muslims -many backed by
neighboring Iran - would dominate the new parliament, Sunni Muslims have
begun to ask: Is Israel really Iraq's enemy, or is it neighboring Iran?
Sunnis are often not comfortable talking openly about Israel, especially in
a region where most Arabs won't refer to it by name and blame Israel for the
conflict with the Palestinians. But privately many said Israel has not done
anything lately to harm them; Iran has.
Apparently the memory of Iraq's eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s and
the more recent attempts by Iran to influence Iraq's majority Shiite
population have overwhelmed recollections of Israel's 1981 bombing of a
French-built nuclear reactor near Baghdad.
Many Sunnis here say that Iran sent money and fake ballots across the border
to support the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance slate. Now that the
slate likely has won over a third of the parliament seats, many worry that
Iranian influence is here to stay.
"I think that Iran is more dangerous to Iraq than Israel because of the
assassinations that the Iranians have been doing. I think Israel would have
been more merciful," said Added Hamid Hashim, 30, referring to recent
killings of prominent Sunnis, even though there is no proof that Iranians
were involved. "I hated Israel before the war, but now I hate Iran even
more."
Added Mustafa Mohammed Kamal, 58, a retired schoolteacher: The Iranian
interference in the election "was very clear and that makes Iran the number
one enemy of Iraq. The Iranians have many supporters in Iraq. Israel is an
enemy, but they are not as egregious."
During Saddam Hussein's time, the Sunni Muslim dictator was considered one
of the most outspoken and active supporters of the Palestinians. Indeed, he
paid some families of Palestinian suicide bombers up to $25,000 as a reward.
Of course, Iran was no friend of Saddam, who launched an attack on Iran in
September 1980 that touched off a war in which up to a million soldiers and
civilians may have died.
Mithal al Alusi just ran a campaign for a seat on the new parliament while
calling for stronger ties between Israel and Iraq, and appears to have won a
seat.
In May 2004, al Alusi publicly admitted to visiting Israel the year before
and faced repeated assassination attempts apparently provoked by the visit.
His only two sons were assassinated in January because of his support of
Iraqi-Israeli cooperation, he said.
But he said that some Iraqis are warming to a stronger relationship with
Israel, in part because they are frightened of Iran's influence.
"They are afraid of Iran's extremist political system. If Iran were a
democracy, they wouldn't be afraid," Alusi said. "We don't have border
problems with Israel. We don't have historical problems with Israel," just
Iran.
U.S. officials have said that Iranian political groups have funneled money
into Iraq trying to influence the Dec. 15 elections. Gen. George Casey,
commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said earlier this month that Iran was
"putting millions of dollars into the south to influence the elections."
One of Iraq's most fanatical opponents to Iran, Mujahedeen of Iran, claims
that Iran pumped $84 million into Iraq's December elections, although no one
has verified that number.
"We have always argued that Iran is the problem. The Iranian status in Iraq
is a mass occupation," said Hossein Madani, a political representative of
the group. "If you don't want to deliver Iraq to Iran on a silver platter,
you need to do something soon."
For many Shiites here, the alliance with Iran is natural. Besides sharing a
border, Iran is the largest and most powerful Shiite-dominated government in
the world.
In the Shiite-dominated south, political parties often serve Iranian-made
pastries at their events, women wear Iranian-made jewelry and markets offer
an array of Iranian products, such as potato chips and photo albums.
Residents there are unapologetic about their allegiance, but they said they
are loyal to Iraq first.
"I don't think there is an Iranian interference in Iraq or in the
elections," said Balasim Rizoki Jassim, 28, a Shiite supermarket owner. "I
think they can be our friends."
Alusi believes Sunni politicians sometimes stoke fears of Iranian influence
to galvanize their base, which is struggling to define its place in the new
government.
A year ago, they would have used Israel to scare up votes, he said.
*************************************************************************
Knight Ridder special correspondents Mohammed al Awsy and Wail al Hafith,
and Knight Ridder correspondent Leila Fadel contributed to this report.
.
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