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Cleric's Public Withdrawal Raises Concerns In Iraq

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By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, The Associated Press

Published: February 8, 2008

BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has sharply reduced his workload in recent months, raising new questions about the health of the aged leader and the prospect of a dangerous power vacuum without a clear and dominant successor.

Any change in al-Sistani's role or reach could have far-reaching consequences for Iraq and the United States, which consider the Iranian-born cleric as perhaps the most powerful figure in Iraq and a vital stabilizing force in the oil-rich Shiite heartlands of southern Iraq.

The most worrisome scenario is that, as al-Sistani's vast clout possibly wanes, the majority Shiites could further splinter into factions that could rattle Iraq's Shiite-led government and boost militias openly hostile to Washington.

Such an upheaval also would strike a direct blow to U.S. goals in the coming year: shoring up the government and its security forces while trying to consolidate military gains against Sunni insurgents led by al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Sistani, whose exact age is not known but who is thought to be 79 or 80, has not been seen in public since a brief appearance in August 2004, shortly after returning from medical treatment in London for an unspecified heart condition. Even behind the scenes, however, his mix of religious authority and political sway make him more powerful than any elected leader in Iraq, including the president and his prime minister.

Recently, al-Sistani has noticeably lightened his schedule, according to a range of officials interviewed by The Associated Press.

They include well-connected clerics, lawmakers and employees at al-Sistani's office. Their accounts offer a portrait of al-Sistani in his twilight. They said al-Sistani, who does not grant media interviews, has turned over many duties and decisions to his son, Mohammed Redha, who also is his most trusted aide.

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