NAJAF, Iraq — Shiite clerics still make their rounds, pilgrims continue to pay homage, and street stalls conduct a vigorous business in Koranic pamphlets and posters of ayatollahs past.
But the veneer of tranquillity in this spiritual capital of the Shiite Muslim world is deceiving: A sense of insecurity and apprehension is prevalent in the wake of the car bombing outside the shrine of Imam Ali that killed 121 people, including esteemed cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr Hakim.
"Certainly, Najaf is targeted," said Mayor Haydar Mayali, a 36-year-old civil engineer deeply immersed in rebuilding tasks when the bombing on Aug. 29 shifted his focus almost completely to security. "Our clerics must be protected."
In fact, Hakim's assassination was only the latest in a string of attacks against religious figures since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. At least one other prominent cleric has been killed and several others targeted, authorities say. Bodyguards with Kalashnikovs and walkie-talkies now cluster around well-known holy men, whose mobility has been severely limited.
...
"People are nervous, and they wonder what might happen next," said Saad Fakhir Deen, who runs a bookstore a block from the gold-domed shrine to Imam Ali, spiritual founder of the Shiite sect. "We have lived through a lot in Najaf, but the killing of our clerics is something we cannot tolerate."
...
"There is too much instability now: We must put an end to it," Brig. Maithar Qaragholi, the Najaf police commander who heads the new force, said as he surveyed the shrine area from his white sedan a few hours before Friday prayers. "The people of Najaf cannot live with this sense of uncertainty."
...
"Not long ago, I wanted to make a statue here of President Bush — even bigger than Saddam's statue," said Maitham, 54, a retired city planner. "But now there's no chance of that. Things had better improve soon."(more)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-najaf15sep15,1,7665658.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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