Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
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Template:Politics of Iraq The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is an Iraqi political party; its support comes from the country's Shi'a Muslim community and from their fellow religionists in neighbouring Iran. Prior to August 2003, SCIRI was led by Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim; its current leader is the ayatollah's brother, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. SCIRI is Iraq's most powerful political party.
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim was killed in a car bomb attack in the Iraqi city of Najaf on August 29, 2003. The car bomb exploded as the ayatollah was leaving a religious shrine (Imam Ali Mosque) in the city, just after Friday prayers. At present no group has admitted responsibility for the attack, although many believe it is sectarian violence.
The party was founded in 1982 after the near annihilation of the Islamic Dawa Party after the latter's failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein. It was largely based in Tehran. During the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranians considered the SCIRI as the government of the Islamic Republic of Iraq. The SCIRI ideology was closely based on that of Iran's Ruhollah Khomeini, and was far closer to the Iranian model than al-Dawa, with the SCIRI supporting control of government by the ulema, arbiters of Islamic law.
With the fall of Saddam after the 2003 invasion of Iraq the SCIRI quickly rose to prominence, working closely with the other Shi'ite parties. The party leaders toned down many of the party's positions and committed it to democracy and peaceful cooperation. SCIRI's power base is in the Shi'a-majority southern Iraq. It still has an armed wing, the Badr Brigade, with an estimated strength of between 4,000 and 10,000 men. Its Baghdad offices are based in a house that previously belonged to Ba'athist Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
It joined the United Iraqi Alliance list for the general election on January 30, 2005 (see Iraqi legislative election, 2005), but filed separate lists in some governorate council elections held on the same day (see for instance Ninawa governorate council election, 2005).
In 2005 reports becan to appear that the Badr Corp, the military wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was engaging in the beating and murder of Iraqi gay and transgender citizens [1].
External links
de:Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq ko:이라크 이슬람혁명최고위원회 ja:イラク・イスラム革命最高評議会