VZCZCXRO7818
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3701/01 3291254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241254Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0520
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003701 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KISL IZ
SUBJECT: KARBALA RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: PREPARATORY LEVEL 
 
REF: A. BAGHDAD 3651 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD 2492 
 
This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified; not for Internet 
Distribution. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Karbala has seven Islamic preparatory 
academies, whose all-male students often go on to attend one 
of the 21 religious schools comprising the Hawza, or seminary 
center, in Najaf.  The academies provide free education to 
their students, some of whom also receive room and board. 
Entry is competitive, although one of the academies 
guarantees placement for boys whose families provide 
substantial endowments.  End Summary. 
 
Shi'a Seven 
----------- 
 
¶2. (U) As an adjunct to our primer on the nature and 
structure of Karbala's religious authority (ref A), we 
provide the following report on religious education in the 
province.  We canvassed a variety of contacts, official and 
unofficial, religious and secular, in its compilation.  We 
have eschewed sourcing attributions for the sake of brevity. 
 
¶3. (U) There are seven Islamic preparatory academies in 
Karbala Province.  All are primary- or secondary-level 
institutions that inculcate their exclusively male pupils 
with the fundamentals of twelver-Shi'a Islam.  Each school 
was either founded by or is affiliated with an ayatollah or 
other senior Iraqi Shi'a religious figure; all but one of the 
latter are members of the Marja'iyah -- or theological 
authority -- presided over by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. 
 Graduates from these academies often, but not always, go on 
to attend one of the 21 religious schools comprising the 
Hawza (seminary center) in Najaf. 
 
Top-Drawer 
---------- 
 
¶4. (U) The smallest and most prestigious of the seven 
academies -- and consequently the most difficult to enter -- 
is the al-Husayniyah Kindergarten operated by al-Sistani's 
Karbala office.  It is the only one of the seven without 
boarding facilities.  Its 60 students come from the cream of 
provincial society and almost always subsequently attend 
religious boarding schools in Najaf.  Although tuition is 
free, wealthier parents are expected to contribute to a 
scholarship fund that enables a handful of middle-class boys 
(generally the sons of clerics) to attend the academy.  Imam 
of the al-Husayn Shrine Shaykh Abd al-Mahdi al-Karbala'i 
formally is in charge but delegates day-to-day operations to 
a headmaster. 
 
¶5. (U) Second in prestige is the al-Abbasiyah Academy.  As 
with the remaining academies, it is a grades 1-10 school that 
accepts Iraqi boys from all levels of society whose parents 
are "good Muslims" and who demonstrate an aptitude for 
religious study.  Approximately 300 students attend, 
two-thirds of whom are boarders.  Funded entirely by 
contributions to the al-Abbas Shrine, the academy is directed 
by Ahmad Jawad Nour al-Safi, the shrine's imam. 
 
Mid-Level 
--------- 
 
¶6. (U) Four academies comprise the middle tier of religious 
schools in Karbala.  Less selective than the al-Husayniyah 
Kindergarten and the al-Abbasiyah Academy, they are 
tuition-free but permit parents of under-qualified boys to 
enroll their sons on a probationary basis in consideration 
for non-refundable endowments.  The Sayyid al-Shaheed Academy 
and the Faqih Husayn al-Sadr School are affiliated with 
Ayatollah Husayn Isma'il al-Sadr, imam of the Mukhayam 
Mosque, who also administers several of Najaf's 21 religious 
schools.  With nearly 500 students each, they are the largest 
of the academies in Karbala.  They also reputedly are the 
most liberal in terms of doctrine; al-Sadr -- no relation to 
Muqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters controlled the Mukhayam 
Mosque during 2003-04 -- is known as a proponent of dialogue 
and reconciliation. 
Qand reconciliation. 
 
¶7. (U) Karbala's Scientific Knowledge Academy is affiliated 
with several religious schools in Najaf operating under the 
auspices of the al-Shirazi Library, whose namesake -- 
Ayatollah Mohammad ibn Mahdi al-Shirazi -- died in 2001. 
Many of its 267 students are Iraqis of Persian descent.  It 
is administered by Husayn al-Amri, director of the al-Shirazi 
office in Karbala, under the supervision of Sadiq Husayni 
al-Shirazi, the late Ayatollah's brother.  The Imam al-Qa'im 
Academy has approximately 375 students.  Their studies are 
supervised by Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi, who also 
 
BAGHDAD 00003701  002 OF 002 
 
 
runs at least one religious school in Najaf. 
 
Bottom Rung 
----------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Radical cleric Mahmoud al-Hassani al-Sarkhi, who is 
not a member of the Marja'iyah, established the al-Sarkhi 
Islamic Institute in 2005.  At 103 students, the academy is 
Karbala's second-smallest.  The poor reputation of its 
founder makes it by far the least-prestigious, but admission 
is guaranteed if parents provide hefty endowments. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Formerly a student of Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq 
al-Sadr -- Muqtada's father, who was assassinated in Najaf in 
1999 -- al-Sarkhi has alienated many here by claiming to have 
communed with the Hidden Imam (ref B) and by asserting 
theological preeminence over al-Sistani.  His vociferous 
opposition to the U.S. presence in Iraq, criticisms of 
Iranian influence, and condemnation of erstwhile ally Muqtada 
also have drawn flak, while deadly clashes between his 
now-defunct militia -- known as Husayn's Army -- and Iraqi 
and coalition forces in 2006 produced warrants for his 
arrest.  Al-Sarkhi remains in hiding.  The Institute is run 
by his former spokesman, Haider al-Abadi, who is not the 
Da'wa Party-affiliated Iraqi Council of Representatives 
member of the same name. 
 
¶10. (SBU) (Note: Although in hiding for the past three years, 
on November 21 Sarkhi issued a strongly written fatwa urging 
his followers to participate in the upcoming provincial 
elections. End note.) 
CROCKER