Is an Iraqi muslim state inevitable?

[donco6]

Really, that's my entire post in a nutshell: Is it inevitable, regardless of what we do in Iraq, that they will one day inagurate a muslim religious state?

[Junkdrawer]

1. Looks to me like "someone" is instigating a blood war...

among the Shiite factions. Divide and Conquer.

[K-W]

2. Id say it depends on the 2004 election

If Bush stays in power the odds against them having any kind of non-puppet state get pretty slim.

[donco6]

3. But even so, . . .

. . . even if Bush (god forbid) wins again in 2004, I wonder if there's anything we can do to avoid it.

I mean, there are millions of them, and they are influenced daily by clerics, religious friends, family, etc. The only Americans they see are holding guns in their faces. Which would you trust?

[Blue_Chill]

4. Well the guy they blew up today

was a considered Moderate. He'd been arguing with the more extremists that wanted a Islamic state. And just like all extreme religious groups they will kill to have their way.

[Junkdrawer]

5. HAKIM WANTED AN ISLAMIC STATE...

Find me one article prior to today that says he was a friend of the US occupation or that he didn't want an Islamic state.

[Aidoneus]

8. his actions dictate that

there's more to him than the shallow view you seem to have run across, though I agree that labelling him as a "moderate" is improper, and is based soley on his recent collaboration with the occupation authorities.

[Junkdrawer]

10. I wonder WHY the concerted effort to paint this guy as a moderate...

Every article I've read, prior to today, paints the guy as an agent of Iran. Perhaps if the headlines read:

"Chief Opponent to Secular Rule Killed in Blast",

too many people would ask who was behind it. But if the headlines read

"Iraqi Shiite Moderate Killed in Blast",

the blame seems to fall on "Saddam loyalists".

[Blue_Chill]

9. wha?

The dude was killed and he was not as extreme as some others. What do you think the big bad US did it?

[Junkdrawer]

11. What are you basing his being a "moderate" on???

Here's what I'm basing my opinion on:

Shiite presses for Iraqi theocracy

Najaf, Iraq — Some 15,000 Iraqis cheered as a Shiite Muslim cleric who led the largest anti-Saddam Hussein movement visited one of the Shiites' holiest shrines Monday after returning from more than two decades in exile.

At the Shine of Imam Ali, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim vowed to help rebuild Iraq and rejected U.S. domination over the country.

"We will never accept humiliation," Ayatollah al-Hakim told the crowd. "All tribal, ethnic and religious groups should unite under the banner of Islam to preserve independence, avoid differences, and build a free Iraq."

…

Ayatollah Al-Hakim's group is the closest Iraqi Shiite political grouping to Iran, which has raised concerns in the Bush administration. Washington opposes any Iranian-style theocracy taking control in Iraq.

More…

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030512.whshii512/BNStory/International

Just Google "Hakim Theocracy"

[Aidoneus]

7. ...

he and the Najafi school have fought for several decades to have an Islamic state in Iraq and the region, and now some western liberals overnight turn the shahid into a "moderate".. granted, his role in the last few months has been to collaborate with the invaders and thus stifle potential resistance to the occupation for the time being, but at least some knowledge into his background should be known before such labels are thrown around (labels that are fake and based on their use to US interests anyway, but that's a whole other discussion)..

[Jacobin]

6. oNLY IF THE IRAQIS GET TO DECIDE

[sushi]

12. Yes, I think so

Most of them are devout Muslims, so in a free election, that Bush wants them to have, the majority will definitely vote for a Muslim state. What's wrong with that? It is their country and their choice. As long as they don't attack other countries.