Iraq Shi'ites strike constitution deal with cleric(Grand Ayatollah Sistani)

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07341479.htm

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's interim constitution will be signed on Monday without changes to the text and despite the reservations of the country's foremost Shi'ite cleric, Shi'ite politicians said on Sunday.

"We will sign the interim constitution on Monday as it stands," Mohammed Hussein Bahr al-Uloum, the son and chief adviser to Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, the current president of the Iraqi Governing Council, told Reuters.

"We told (Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani) our interest is in signing the constitution," he added. snip

Sistani, a 73-year-old Iranian born religious scholar, has increasingly exerted his influence in politics in recent months. He has previously expressed objections to the U.S. timetable for handing back power, forcing the Americans to bring forward planned elections.

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[bemildred]

1. A tactical probe.

al Sistani wanted to see what would happen.

The "interim constitution" will stand only as long as
he says in any case.