] A violent power struggle has broken out among the ] Shi'i leadership in Iraq, centred around the holy ] city of Najaf. ] ] In the latest instance, armed radical groups have ] surrounded the house of Iraq's top Shi'i Muslim cleric ] Ayotollah Ali Sistani in the holy city of Najaf, giving ] him 48 hours to leave the country. ] ] "Armed thugs and hooligans have had the house of ] Ayatollah Sistani under siege since Saturday. They have ] told him to either leave Iraq in 48 hours or they would ] attack," a senior cleric, Kuwait-based Ayatollah ] Abulqasim Dibaji said. . . . ] "This is the biggest catastrophe. Total terror reigns in ] Najaf," said Dibaji. "Najaf is a main centre of learning, ] like Oxford in England. It has more than 1,000 years of ] history." ] ] Dibaji said the house was surrounded by members of ] Jimaat-e-Sadr-Thani, a splinter group led by Moqtada Sadr, ] the 22-year-old son of a late spiritual leader in Iraq. ] ] "Moqtada wants to take total control of the holy sites in ] Iraq," Dibaji said. Senior Shi'i leaders have blamed ] Jimaat-e-Sadr-Thani for orchestrating Thursday's killing ] of Khoei, who was assassinated at the Imam Ali shrine just ] days after returning from exile in London to help Iraq make ] the transition to democracy. I have been looking hard for some sort of visual chart that shows the relationships between the various Shi'ite groups and Ayatollahs and clerics, but haven't had any luck. If anyone else spots one, please meme it? |