Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2006-06 Brothers or rivals? Iran and the Shi'a of Iraq Hunter, Robert C. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/2745 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS BROTHERS OR RIVALS? IRAN AND THE SHI’A OF IRAQ by Robert C. Hunter June 2006 Thesis Advisor: James R. Russell Second Reader: Abbas Kadhim Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2006 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Brothers or Rivals: Iran and the Shi’a of Iraq 6. AUTHOR Robert C. Hunter 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the loyalty of the Shi’a of Iraq. While some Sunni Arab leaders have recently accused the Shi’a of Iraq of pledging loyalty to Iran, in fact the Iraqi Shi’a are loyal to their own nation. The Shi’a have developed different identities in Iran and Iraq due to different historical legacies and patterns of conversion. Modern religious-based political activists in the two nations have responded to their different circumstances with different policies. Ba’athist Party programs that secularized Iraqi society collapsed in the wake of events in the 1908s and 1990s. Old sources of authority reemerged among the Iraqi Shi’i community in their wake. These sources, primarily religious and tribal leaders, asserted themselves after the American invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein. Shi’i leaders such as Sadr and Sistani have sought not to work in the interests of Iran, but in what they perceive as the interest of their own constituents. They share many interests with Iran, but have been willing to work with Americans. The thesis urges American leaders to see that Shi’a of Iraq as they are, not as Sunnis Arab leaders portray them, in order to avoid alienating the Shi’a and thus pushing them further toward Iran. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 5. NUMBER OF Iraq, Iran, Islam, Islamism, Shi’a, Shi’i, Sunni, insurgency, democracy. PAGES 163 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited BROTHERS OR RIVALS? IRAN AND THE SHI’A OF IRAQ Robert C. Hunter Captain, United States Marine Corps B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1996 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2006 Author: Robert C. Hunter Approved by: James R. Russell Thesis Advisor Abbas Kadhim, Ph.D. Second Reader Douglas Porch, Ph.D. Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis examines the loyalty of the Shi’a of Iraq. While some Sunni Arab leaders have recently accused the Shi’a of Iraq of pledging loyalty to Iran, in fact the Iraqi Shi’a are loyal to their own nation. Shi’a have developed different identities in Iran and Iraq due to different historical legacies and patterns of conversion. Modern religious- based political activists in the two nations have responded to their different circumstances with different policies. Ba’athist Party programs that secularized Iraqi society collapsed in the wake of events in the 1908s and 1990s. Old sources of authority reemerged among the Iraqi Shi’i community in their wake. These sources, primarily religious and tribal leaders, asserted themselves after the American invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein. Shi’i leaders such as Sadr and Sistani have sought not to work in the interests of Iran, but in what they perceive as the interest of their own constituents. They share many interests with Iran, but have been willing to work with Americans. The thesis urges American leaders to see that Shi’a of Iraq as they are, not as Sunnis Arab leaders portray them, in order to avoid alienating the Shi’a and thus pushing them further toward Iran. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................1 1. The Shi’a of Iraq: The New Alqamis? ...............................................1 2. The Status of the Shi’a in Iraq............................................................2 3. The Two Pillars of Shi’i Iraq: The United States and Iran..............2 B. PURPOSE.........................................................................................................3 C. RELEVANCE ..................................................................................................3 1. Major Debates about the Issue ...........................................................4 a. Arab Sunni Views of Shi’i Loyalty...........................................5 b. Western Views of Iran's Influence in Iraq ..............................6 2. Survey of Prior Work on the Question ..............................................7 D. RESEARCH QUESTIONS...........................................................................10 1. Main Question ....................................................................................10 2. Subordinate Questions.......................................................................10 E. MAIN ARGUMENT: IRAQI SHI’A ARE LOYAL TO IRAQ, NOT IRAN ...............................................................................................................10 F. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................13 1. Case Study: The Development of Shi’i Identity in Iraq .................13 II. THE ROOTS OF SHI’I ACTIVISM IN IRAQ AND IRAN .................................15 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................15 B. SHI’ISM IN IRAQ: A BRIEF HISTORY...................................................15 1. The Sunni-Shi’i Split..........................................................................15 a. The Succession and Ali...........................................................15 b. The Martyrdom of Husayn .....................................................16 c. The Twelfth Imam...................................................................17 2. The Persian-Arab Struggle for Mesopotamia .................................19 3. The Pattern of Conversion in Iraq ...................................................20 C. SHI’A ACTIVISM IN IRAQ ........................................................................23 1. First Incidents of Political Action.....................................................23 2. Period of Relative Quietism ..............................................................26 a. The Rise of Qom and the Decline of Najaf............................26 b. Shi’i Politics and Religion in the Modern Iraqi State ...........27 D. RESURGENT STIRRINGS OF SHI’I ACTIVISM...................................29 1. Mohammed Baqir Sadr, “The First Martyr” of the Sadr Movement; and the Roots of Hizb al-Da’wa al-Islamiyya .............29 2. Khomeini and Shi’i Activism in Iran ...............................................32 E. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................33 III. THE RISE AND DECLINE OF SHI’I ACTIVISM IN IRAQ AND IRAN .........35 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................35 B. SHI’I ACTIVISM IN THE 1970S ................................................................36 vii 1. The Death of Hakim and the Rise of Sadr.......................................36 2. Khomeini and Vilayat-i Faqih...........................................................36 3. Ba’athist Repression of the Islamists ...............................................37