BAGHDAD –
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis on Friday heeded a call by an influential Shi’ite cleric to gather in a show of force for a mass prayer in the heart of Baghdad’s government zone. The meeting took place amid a growing political crisis that has strained the nation’s capital.
The powerful cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, had called on his followers across Iraq to pray inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, a heavily fortified area in the heart of the city that is home to government buildings and foreign embassies. They arrived and stayed outside in the scorching summer heat, with temperatures reaching 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius).
Meanwhile, in the southern holy city of Najaf, the head of the UN mission in Iraq, Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert, met with al-Sadr on Friday. She told reporters afterward that they discussed the importance of finding a solution to the political crisis.
Two Shiite officials with knowledge of the meeting said al-Sadr refuses to allow the formation of a new government with his rivals in the current climate. The officials did not provide further details and spoke on condition of anonymity, in accordance with regulations.
Friday’s mass prayer was the latest show of force by the cleric, whose political power derives from his strong base of popular support. The crowds stretched for miles, spilling into the streets outside the square.
Several people fainted after waiting for hours for the prayer to begin and were taken to hospital by ambulance.
Al-Sadr has used his large supporter base as a pressure tactic against his rivals after his party failed to form a government despite winning the most seats in federal elections last October. He abandoned efforts to form the next government in June.
His supporters gathered in front of the Victory Arch, a monument erected during the Saddam Hussein regime to commemorate the Iran-Iraq war and to hold military parades.
Farid Jaafar, 16, came from the southern province of Babylon to show his support for al-Sadr. His transportation was paid for by al-Sadr’s party. “I love Muqtada,” he said.
Keeping the prayer inside the highly restrictive zone closed to most Iraqis signals the power and influence of the cleric.
Last Saturday, thousands of his supporters stormed parliament in an attempt to derail attempts by al-Sadr’s Shiite rivals to form a government. Around 125 people were injured in the violence, most of them protesters and 25 members of the security forces.
Al-Sadr’s supporters camped inside parliament until he ordered them, after four days, to withdraw from the assembly building but hold a sit-in outside. He calls for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.
Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, an al-Sadr ally, signaled his support for early elections, saying the calls by clerics and their supporters “cannot be ignored.”
“We are in favor of moving forward with parliamentary and local elections within an agreed time frame,” he said in a statement.
Al-Sadr’s Shiite rivals in the Iranian-backed Framework for Coordination have said they would consider holding early elections in the event of a national consensus.
After the Friday prayer, many protesters returned to the site of the sit-in in front of parliament.