Sistani most popular Iraqi leader, US pollsters find
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Ayatollah Ali-al Sistani, who halted the three weeks of fighting in Najaf, is the most popular public figure in Iraq, says a poll which shows a deep undercurrent of respect for
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Description: Iraq&#39;s top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is reportedly successful in reaching a peace to end three weeks of violence between allied US and Iraqi government troops and militiamen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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Iraq&#39;s most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani, is in the southern city of Basra and will head to Najaf soon to try to resolve the crisis there, an aide says.
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The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) slate announced in Baghdad on Thursday is backed by the country&#39;s revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and now looks favored to win Iraq&#39;s first free election in decades, planned for January 30.
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NAJAF, Iraq -- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most respected Muslim cleric, returned to this beleaguered city yesterday and persuaded rebel leader Moqtada al-Sadr to end a bloody three-week standoff with US and Iraqi government forces.
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The candidate list endorsed by Iraq's top Shiite cleric is likely to emerge as the dominant political group in Sunday's election. But his followers said Monday they aren't looking to create a cleric-led Islamic state, and expectations are they won't be strong enough to govern on their own.
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Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq&#39;s foremost Shiite cleric, wants US-led military forces to leave Najaf and nearby Kufa as a condition for establishing peace with cleric Moqtada al
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric returned home from Britain on Wednesday to help broker an end to nearly three weeks of fighting in Najaf and is calling on his followers to join him in a march to reclaim the holy city, his spokesmen and witnesses said.    Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani return came as heavy fighting persisted in Najaf's Old City...
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BAGHDAD, Dec 9  - Iraq&#39;s majority Shiite Muslims on Thursday unveiled a broad alliance ahead of next month&#39;s key elections that is backed by their highest religious leader but which excludes radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
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Iraq&#39;s majority Shiites have unveiled a major alliance ahead of next month&#39;s landmark elections that is backed by their highest religious leader - but which excludes radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's top Shiite cleric returned to Najaf on Thursday in hopes of using the power of his popularity to bring an end to fighting in the holy city. U.S...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Thursday to a peace deal presented by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani to end three weeks of fighting in the holy city of Najaf, according to a top aide to al-Sistani.    Al-Sistani, the most influential cleric among Iraq's Shiite majority, reached the deal in direct talks with al-Sadr in the evening, only hours after making a dramatic return to Najaf...
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Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, returned to the country on Wednesday and urged Iraqis to march on the "burning city" of Najaf, where fighting is creeping ever closer to its sacred shrine.
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An alliance of Shi'ite Islamist groups  won the most votes in Iraq's election, but the percentage it  received -- 47.6 percent -- was lower than many expected,  according to the final vote tally released on Sunday.
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Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has sharply reduced his workload in recent months, raising new questions about the health of the aged leader and the prospect of a dangerous power vacuum without a clear and dominant successor.
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While calls mount among Sunnis to  postpone this month's Iraqi election, the reclusive Shi'ite  leader Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani is mobilizing thousands of  clerics to get out the vote.
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As the standoff in Najaf continues between Iraqi, US and coalition troops and forces under the command of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq&#39;s top Shiite