Some See Hand of Former Governor Behind Muslim Clash in Afghanistan

The day of the riot began with a show of good faith between Islam's main branches. Sunnis and Shiites gathered for an Ashura holiday service in the blue-tiled, 800-year-old Friday Mosque. Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, the prophet Muhammad's grandson, is observed by both branches but is especially holy to Shiites, who mark the day with ritual self-flagellation.

But toward the end of the service, the goodwill evaporated.

Outside the mosque, a cry went up that several Shiites had just destroyed a sacred Sunni banner. No one has verified whether this actually occurred, but reaction was swift. Seemingly out of nowhere, hundreds of young Sunni men appeared wielding sticks and carrying posters proclaiming, "Death to the Shiites."

In the past, residents said, there had been little violence between Sunnis, who make up a majority of the population, and Shiites, who have strong ties with nearby Iran. Tensions increased six months ago when Karzai appointed a Shiite governor. The city was already on edge after a march by more than 10,000 residents protesting the publication in Europe of cartoons depicting Muhammad.

Other Sunni groups materialized and made their way toward Shiite camps. At some sites, Shiites were ready with grenades and Kalashnikov assault rifles. Shiite soldiers and police lent their weapons to Shiite civilians, witnesses said. Sunni authorities did the same for Sunni civilians. Vicious street fights erupted across the city.

As ambulances roared through the streets picking up victims, groups of men chased them to the city hospital, where the men beat arriving patients. The hospital's dingy corridors echoed with shouts and cries, and the staff was overwhelmed trying to treat more than 100 injured.

"A surgeon's hands are not supposed to shake," said Raoufa Niazi, the hospital director. "But mine were shaking."

Three patients died at the hospital that day; a fourth later succumbed to massive head injuries.

Several days later, a dozen patients were still hospitalized. Yar Mohammed, 22, a laborer, said he joined an attack on a Shiite camp when a friend told him about the desecration of the holy Sunni banner.

"If this happens 100 times more in the future, I will participate," he said, his stomach bandaged where shrapnel from a grenade had pierced his intestines.

But authorities said Mohammed was probably a pawn in a game that had far more to do with politics than religion.

"Ismail Khan just wants to show to the government that if he's not here, the situation will be like this," said Molwi Khudaidad Saleh, a Sunni cleric who leads Herat's religious council. "He is thirsty for the job of governor. But if the government appoints him, the people will not accept him in Herat. He's a very cruel guy. He's a killer."

Khan, who is in his late fifties, still has many supporters, and it is easy to see why. Herat is Afghanistan's most affluent city and a renowned cultural center. Its buildings gleam with new glass, parks dot the landscape and beggars are scarce.

Most of that is the result of Khan's three-year rule following the fall of the Taliban, when he used customs duty revenue from the border trade with Iran to rebuild the city of about a quarter-million people. He is also revered as the anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban commander who twice helped liberate Herat from repressive rule.

"He saved Herat. He saved the honor of the Herati people," said Abdullah Satari, 40, who sells cement.

Others see in Khan a ruler no less repressive than the Soviets or the Taliban. Human rights groups have frequently criticized him for abusive practices, and women's rights leaders say his reign was marked by restrictive religious edicts.

The current governor, Seyyed Hussein Anwari, was so disturbed by Karzai's appointment of Khan that he offered to resign. Meanwhile, Khan and the six other commissioners have been sifting through the facts and hearing from witnesses, though many Shiites said they were afraid to testify.

"He says he doesn't have any desire to be governor again," said Nader Ali Mehdavi, a Shiite cleric who is also on the commission. "But in the back of his mind, only God knows."