Wrap Various Friday Prayers Pro And Anti Saddam Demos

(20 Dec 2003)
Baghdad
1. Various men praying
2. Various of anti-Saddam Hussein demonstrators marching
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdalrahman Elshwelly, Manager of Sadir office:
"The men demand that Saddam Hussein be tried in court because he killed millions of Iraqi people. We have more than 2 million people and he must be killed in front of all Iraqis."
4. Demonstrators marching
Baghdad
5. Crowd chanting "Kill Saddam"
6. Various mid shot of crowd chanting
Najaf
7. Imam Ali Shrine mosque
8. Various of people sitting in the main square of Najaf in front of the mosque
9. People in the main square listening to Mullah Sadr Addin
10. Mullah Sadr Addin speaking from the stage
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mullah Sadr Addin:
"The era of despotism, the era of tyranny is finished and the era of the war against Islam in Iraq is finished."
12. Wide of Mullah Sadr Addin talking
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mullah Sadr Addin:
"It is a last chance for them (Saddam Hussein's Baath party) to leave the offices of the government, if they are still there. There is no chance for remnants of Baathists to stay in Iraq."
14. Wide of Mullah Sadr Addin talking
15. Sign reading: "The day of the arrest of the tyrant is a good day for Iraq"
16. More shots of people praying in the main square and shaking hands
Koufa
17. Entrance to the main square
18. People praying in the square
STORYLINE:
Friday prayers in Iraq saw many Shiite Muslim worshippers giving thanks for the capture of Saddam Hussein.
In Baghdad hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in the Shuala section after prayers for a rally calling for the execution of Saddam.
Demonstrator Abdalrahman Elshwelly said the protesters were calling for the US-captured Saddam to be "tried in court" for the killings of Iraqis during his regime.
In the mainly Shiite city of Najaf, Muslim clerics also welcomed the capture of Saddam Hussein during Friday prayers.
Many people in the southern Iraqi city loathed Saddam.
Images of the former dictator, disoriented and humbled in US custody this week, were a cherished dream come true.
Mullah Sadr Addin told fellow Shiites that the era of despotism, tyranny and the war against Islam in Iraq was over.
The future of post-Saddam Iraq could be decided in the ancient holy city of Najaf, which is a cross between an old university town and a vast burial ground.
It's also a place where spirituality and political power co-exist.
Elderly Shiite Muslim clerics hold sway in Najaf and they hope to shape a more tolerant and liberal version of clergy-ruled Iran, rather than the secular but Muslim Turkey.
But Saddam's capture and his eventual trial could close a painful chapter in the city's history, allowing it to focus on a future in which it has a key role to play.
Najaf's suffering, like other Shiite-dominated areas, began soon after Saddam's Baathists came to power in 1968, but things got worse when he became president in 1979. He jailed, executed or assassinated clerics and forced tens of thousands to leave Iraq.
In 1991, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of Najaf's Shiites were killed or disappeared when Saddam's army moved in to suppress a short-lived revolt.
In the eight months since Saddam's ouster, Najaf has cast off the shackles of Saddam's tyranny and virtually overnight transformed itself into an energetic place of learning and a magnet for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
Elsewhere, in Koufa, more Shiites celebrated Saddam's capture after Friday prayers.

Find out more about AP Archive: aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: facebook.com/APArchives ​​
Instagram: instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8d1c769515328777e1a2cdf64acbd809

Author

Ariyani

Como educador, estou profundamente engajado no desenvolvimento dos estudantes em ambiente escolar, adotando métodos pedagógicos que valorizam conexões genuínas e são movidos por inovação e fervor. É minha vocação guiar os alunos na jornada de se tornarem uma geração notável, empregando estratégias de ensino amplamente aclamadas por prestigiadas instituições acadêmicas ao redor do globo - events.zulekhahospitals.com