Shiite Contest Sharpens In Iraq

The clashes prompted Sadr to impose the freeze on his militia's operations. He also signed a peace agreement with Hakim, although tensions remain high.

In Karbala alone, Iraqi security forces have detained more than 400 of Sadr's loyalists, including commanders and fighters. In contrast to Najaf, once-pervasive images of Sadr and his father have all but disappeared from many neighborhoods.

"Now there is no Sadr trend in Karbala, except us," said Ayad Abu Ali, the guard at the Sadr office. "Everyone has fled."

The Supreme Council, he said, "dominates in Karbala," but the soldiers on his street were loyal to the Dawa party, led by Maliki. Under heavy U.S. pressure, Maliki distanced himself this year from his political benefactor, Sadr, and shifted closer to Hakim. The Dawa party is also competing with Sadr and Hakim to guide the nation's Shiites, although it lacks a militia and a strong popular base.

Senior Supreme Council leaders and Dawa party officials denied that the arrests of Sadr's followers were politically motivated. "There's no truth to this," the Supreme Council's Qubanchi said.

Aqeel al-Khazaly, Karbala's governor and a Dawa member, said that of the 400 arrested, 120 were convicted by a court of participating in a militia-related attack and an additional 120 were released. "We're not targeting a political party by itself," he said.

Reaching Out

In recent weeks, sunflower-yellow posters have surfaced around Karbala and Najaf advertising a contest for the best Koranic handwriting.

"Fourteen thousand people have entered so far," said a smiling Hassan al-Hakim, the general supervisor of the Shahid al-Mihrab Foundation and a nephew of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

Seeking to change the image of the Supreme Council, the foundation has spent millions on building mosques and elementary schools, caring for orphans and providing aid to 65,000 poor or displaced families. It has also funded trips to Iran for Shiite pilgrims and bankrolled one of Iraq's largest mass weddings, with more than 1,000 couples each receiving as much as $800 cash, a bed, new clothing and household goods.

"We are trying to present Iraq with a moderate, middle vision," said Hassan al-Hakim, who wore gray and black clerical robes like his uncle. "We respect the elites, but we want to reach everyone."

That could prove difficult. The Supreme Council's links to both Iran and the Americans have eroded popular support. Voted into the government as part of the ruling Shiite alliance in 2005, the movement is also blamed for not improving basic services or boosting the economy. Even members of the Shiite business elite, core Hakim supporters, are grumbling.

"We elected Abdul Aziz al-Hakim because he was one of us," said Abu Ali, a merchant near the Imam Ali shrine who asked that his nickname be used. "But has his coalition done anything for the people?"