A Friday Sermon from Sadr
Ran into this from surfing earlier and it is worth passing on.
These are excerpts of the text from the Friday Sermon of Moqtada al-Sadr as delivered in a Mosque in Kufa and as reported by
United Press International
bq. Kufa has two exports of note: Kufa Cola, a popular local soft drink, and Moqtada Sadr, a popular Shiite cleric currently waging war against the U.S.-led occupation. U.S. officials have vowed to kill or capture Sadr, who is said to be hiding in the nearby city of Najaf, considered the seat of Shiite Islam and the location of its holiest shrine and many of its top clerics.
And more - this about his security:
Once outside the mosque -- which Sadr operates and where journalists have been told he might make an appearance despite his most wanted status -- there are scores of heavily armed men checking every vehicle and setting up a second ring of effective -- if somewhat shabby -- fortifications.
And the reason for shabby?
bq. But when the car is checked this time and the letter produced, the look on the young militiaman's face is clear and embarrassing:
He can't read. Another Medhi Army member is brought forward to check the document and turns out he's from Baghdad and knows the journalists.
Literacy rate there is what? 60%
And the other 40% are involved with these jokers...
And more:
bq. He then moves on to the root causes of all of Iraq's problems.
bq. "I blame (the American-appointed) Governing Council for all of these problems," he says in a flat monotone, leaving his only his words to supply his famous charisma. "And I will not be like them and behave like them, because they left Iraq under Saddam, but they also left their Islamic culture."
bq. "And I will not shake hands with them, because they have shaken hands with (U.S. President George) Bush, whose hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis."
Ahhh yes - root causes.
Self-examination would be an excellent place to start...
Posted by DaveH at April 24, 2004 12:57 AM