By Qais Mizher
Monday, December 28, 2009; A09
KARBALA, IRAQ -- A group of 5,000 Iraqi Shiite demonstrators in the city of Karbala turned the religious observance of Ashura into a political protest against the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday, expressing wide-ranging criticisms as the country prepares for a critical national election in early March.
The protesters gathered outside the Imam Hussein shrine to greet the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who had descended on the city. "We don't vote for people who steal public money," the protesters shouted.
The anti-government overtones surrounding the religious holiday, banned under Saddam Hussein's regime, were a marked change from recent years.
After the U.S. invasion, the day had been embraced by the country's Shiite majority as a moment to express solidarity in their newfound political power and long-frustrated religious freedom.
This year, Ashura fell at the beginning of the campaign season for the March 7 national election, which is to decide the face of the Iraqi government during and after the U.S. withdrawal. Tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces were deployed on the streets to prevent possible violence that would further weaken the credibility of Maliki's government, which has been severely tested by a string of deadly bombings.
On Saturday in Baghdad, Shiite leader Amar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, offered thinly veiled criticisms of the government during a speech commemorating Ashura, comparing what he claimed were the struggles of Imam Hussein's fight against corruption to the present day.
Ashura is the day of mourning for Imam Hussein, the Shiite saint whose death in the 7th century sealed the rift between Sunni and Shiite Muslims over the succession of the prophet Muhammad.
"We can see that history is repeating itself. We can see the political money, temptations and seductions," Hakim said at the Kihlani mosque in central Baghdad. "Iraqi people don't want the promises to disappear after the elections. People will not obey any extortions."
The political potential of Ashura was exactly why Saddam Hussein had so feared it, according to Shakir al-Najjar, a 70-year-old poet who helped organize the protests in Karbala.
"We had believed that Maliki's government and most of the politicians were a part of us, and we used to support them, especially after they executed Saddam," he said. "But finally we discovered that they don't represent us, so we decided to protest against them for the first time on Ashura this year."
In Baghdad on Sunday, tens of thousands of pilgrims marched toward the al-Kadihmiyia mosque, braving the threat of bombings and violence, and shedding their own blood with cuts on their foreheads to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
"The politicians want to associate themselves with such a great leader as Imam Hussein," said 29-year-old shopkeeper Bajir Hassan.
Red Crescent tents were set up to deal with pilgrims who had passed out from loss of blood and dehydration.
Although Shiite pilgrims had been the target of multiple attacks over the past week, there was only one major bombing on Sunday, in Kirkuk, killing four pilgrims and injuring 18, according to police officials.
Mizher is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Michael Hastings contributed to this report.
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