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Sistani Un Must Not Legitimate Interim

Juan Cole 03/22/2004

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Sistani: UN must not Legitimate Interim Constitution

Reuters reports that Grand Ayatollah Sistani sent a letter to Lakhdar Brahimi, special envoy of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, demanding that the United Nations not endorse the interim constitution signed in early March by the Interim Governing Council.

These are the Sistani quotes in the article:

“The (Shi’ite) religious establishment fears the occupation authorities will work to include this law in a new U.N. resolution to give it international legitimacy . . . We warn that any such step will not be acceptable to the majority of Iraqis and will have dangerous consequences . . . This builds a basis for sectarianism. Consensus would not be reached unless there is pressure from a foreign power, or a deadlock would be reached that destabilizes the country and could lead to break-up . . .”

That a calm and cautious figure like Sistani is talking about the potential of the interim constitution’s approval of loose federalism to destabilize or even break up Iraq alarms me no end.

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About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

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Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


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