Al-Sadr Even Worse than We Thought?

Healing Iraq has up an interesting piece on Al-Sadr which claims that he may be even more of a thug and mobster than we here in the West have been lead to believe. Apparently, Al-Sistani - the most respected cleric in Shiite Iraq - while intervening to get his fellow cleric out of the Ali Shrine - is calling attention to an ancient treasury located inside which holds historical religious treasures.

This treasury which is located inside a safe locked basement beneath the shrine contains historical artifacts, priceless manuscripts and a significant amount of gold and gems. These have been gifted and donated to the shrine by Shia from all over the world for centuries. No one has ever dared touch that treasury except the family that holds the keys to the shrine. Radhwan Al-Rufai'i was forced to give over the keys to one of Sadr's aides last April...Sistani's office has been placing these obstacles on Sadr in response to rumours that a large part of the treasury has been stolen and possibly smuggled to Iran. If true, Sadr would be in a very bad position since he was practically responsible for the shrine's contents and would also expose him as the gangster he is.

If Al-Sadr has sent these priceless artifacts to Iran, it erases all doubt as to whose man he is and what his vision may be for a new Iraq. Here is hoping the Iraqis themselves are smart enough to realize that under Al-Sadr, their lives would quickly degenerate into a serfdom under Nuclear Iran.