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Modernity And Tradition In The Islamic Movements In Iraq: Continuity And Discontinuity In The Role Of The Ulama

Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Wntr, 2001 by Keiko Sakai

DURING THE DECADE AFTER THE GULF WAR, the opposition forces in Iraq have received worldwide attention focusing on possible future leaders after Saddam's regime. Among the various groups and organizations receiving such attention, those representing Islamic organizations are numerous. The perception of the US administration regarding these Islamic political organizations, however, is to recognize them as representatives of Shi'i Muslims residing mostly in southern parts of Iraq. This notion is borne out by the choice of a Shi'i high 'ulama as one of the three members of the Leadership for Iraqi National Congress, which is obviously supported by the US administration, the two other Leadership members being a Kurdish nationalist and a Sunni ex-military officer. [1] It is also common for outside observers to divide Iraq into three districts -- Kurdish, Arab Sunni and Arab Shi'i, represented by Kurdish nationalists, Arab nationalists, and Islamists. Each of the three areas is regarded as an integrated ethnic-like unit which in turn tends to damage the cohesion of the State of Iraq.

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Such a perception poses the following questions; (1) Is the Shi'I community integrated into a kind of regional independent power against Sunni society? (2) Do Islamic organizations represent the Iraqi Shi'i community? Regarding the first question, here we find many scholars who deny this possibility. This is quite a different position from their Kurdish counterparts within the opposition movement, who constantly demand autonomy -- though not independence -- and recognition as a national entity. No exclusive Shi'I political party has claimed independence nor autonomy separate from Sunni society. [2] As for the second question, we may break it down as follows; (1) Is the Shi'i population represented exclusively by Islamic organizations? (2) Do Islamic political organizations represent Shi'i interests only? The historical facts seem to deny the former question -- the large percentage of Shi'I membership in the Iraqi Communist Party and the Ba'th Party in its early stages, as well as representation within other secular political parties.

In this article I will discuss the latter question, analyzing the basic ideology of each Islamic group, formation of its political organization, and its socio-cultural background. Here, I especially focus on the universality of the Islamic thought of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the founder of most Islamic political movements in Iraq. Despite the trans-sectarian/universal factor of his ideas, however, it cannot be denied that the Islamic political activities based on his teachings have not extended much beyond the Shi'i community. If we do not premise a priori ethnically-independent Shi'i society in Iraq, what has confined Iraqi Islamic movements only to the Shi'i community? What kind of social and political boundary lies beneath sectarian differences? What caused the gap between its ideology and the actual sphere of its activities?

To answer these questions, I will briefly observe the history of al-Da'Wa Party established on the basis of al-Sadr's thought, and compare it with other Islamic organizations and its offshoots.

THE SOCIO-POLITICAL BACKGROUND OF THE FOUNDATION OF AL-DA'WA PARTY

Hizb al-Da'wa al-Islamiya (al-Da'wa hereafter) was established at the end of 1957 in Najaf, based on the Islamic thought of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. Recent analysis shows that the following forerunners affected the emergence of al-Da'wa; [3] (1) The reform movements of madrasa in the 1930s, led by Muhammad al-Muzaffar; (2) Islamic movements in Sunni society such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb al-Tahrir; (3) Islamic movements in Shi'i society in Iraq such as Munazzamat al-Shabab al-Muslim [4] and Hizb al-Ja'fari. These socio-political circumstances encouraged the foundation of the political party among the Shi'i population in Iraq.

The direct motivation for establishing al-Da'wa was, however, the serious decline of the roles of the 'ulama (religious intellectuals) and hawza (academic circle) in the process of secularization of the judicial, education and social welfare systems within the modern state system. Establishment of al-Da'wa was a clear reflection of the 'ulama's fears vis-a-vis the rising tide of Communism and other secular developments in Iraq -- fear against isolating umma from Islam, as Murtada al-'Askari describes, [5] -- especially in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Grand maria' Muhsin al-Hakim was also one of those 'ulama who felt strong anxiety regarding the future of Islam and argued the necessity to re-establish its hawza and marja'iya. Various attempts to stimulate religious and cultural activities had been tried, such as the formation of Jama'at 'Ulama, and the publication of the journal al-Adwa'. Muhsin al-Hakim, as a grand marja', tried to reinstate and reform his marja'iya, reestablishing the 'ulama's netw orks by sending wakils (representatives) of marja' to various area, and strengthening youth activities in Islamic rituals such as mawkib al-talaba (students' march).

Modernity And Tradition In The Islamic Movements In Iraq: Continuity And Discontinuity In The Role Of The Ulama

Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Wntr, 2001 by Keiko Sakai

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