A shield from war for Iraq
Under threat of being caught up in the Iran-Israel conflict, Iraqis listen to a revered cleric offering advice on the benefits of integrity.
A census-taker asks questions of a family in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 20. The census, the first national one since 1987, is designed to unite the country.
Reuters
In early November, one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the Middle East, the Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a rare guidance to his home country, Iraq. It came soon after reports that neighboring Iran might use militias under its control in Iraq to rain missiles and drones on Israel.
His advice? That the Iraqi people, especially their “informed elites,” must exercise more “competence and integrity” in governance and improve the rule of law in fighting corruption. His most specific message, however, was that any arms in Iraq – notably those of the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq – must be held exclusively under the authority of the elected government in Baghdad.
Iraqis still have a “long path” ahead to achieve all of this, stated Mr. al-Sistani, who has long been a proponent of civic peace and secular democracy. “May God help them in this endeavor.”
His guidance has echoed across Iraq, a country trying hard not to get caught up in a low-boil war of retaliatory attacks between Israel and Iran. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has pleaded with Iran not to use Iraqi soil in the conflict. He has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia on military cooperation. And he has tried to rein in the pro-Iran militias.
The ayatollah’s broader message is that Iraq can enjoy a protective shield if its people “do their best to secure a better future for their country, one where everyone enjoys security, stability, advancement, and prosperity.”
Shoring up a country’s “integrity,” to use his word, has often helped a country defend itself from the actions of nearby aggressors. In the face of Russian threats, Moldova has improved its democracy and unity. So has the Philippines after China encroached on its territory. Like Iraq, Jordan has struggled for unity so that it does not become “the theater of a regional war,” as King Abdullah II has warned.
Mr. al-Sistani, known by the title marja (guide), does not believe clerics should rule, as they do in Iran. In his Shiite-majority country, he sees his role as supporting the people to live up to their civic and religious ideals. Right now, during the crossfire of a violent conflict around them, Iraqis need the armor of integrity. Sometimes the best deterrence is invisible.