WASHINGTON -- Last week's destruction of a revered Shia shrine and the resulting riots may be the most disastrous event in Iraq in the past three years. It also has seriously jeopardized the U.S. push for a unity government and the possibility of an early withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Iraq experts say the destruction of the Askariya shrine in Samarra on Wednesday strikes at the heart of the Shia religion, which, more than the Sunni Muslim majority, puts a theological premium on its holy places. Askariya was among the holiest of all holy sites for Shias because two of their most important ancient religious leaders and their families are buried there. Also, the last great Shia religious leader is said to have disappeared at the shrine, and devout Shia Muslims believe he will reappear soon as their savior.
"This is a major psychological blow," said Vali Nasr, a Shia expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. "It's like the destruction of the Wailing Wall
to the Jews or St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican for Christians. Whoever did this bombing was going for the destruction of Shiism as a faith."
Even the most influential and moderate Shia leader in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called the Shia faithful into the streets to protect religious sites. Al-Sistani is credited with having persuaded the Shia not to fight the U.S. invasion nearly three years ago.
The militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, an upstart, radical Shia leader who controls one of the largest blocks in the new parliament, was heavily involved in retaliatory attacks on Sunni mosques, according to witnesses.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woiraq0226,0,2267764,print.story?coll=ny-leadworldnews-headlines
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