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The Popularity of the Hashd in Iraq
Posted by: Renad Mansour Monday, February 1, 2016 | http://carnegieendowment.org/
Many of Iraq’s Shia are taking up arms to
fight the self-proclaimed Islamic State. However, rather than enlisting
with the Iraqi military via the Ministry of Defense (MOD), they are
opting to join paramilitary groups under the umbrella of the Popular
Mobilization Forces (PMF or al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), which has
become the single largest ground force combating Islamic State fighters
in Iraq. Despite Human Rights Watch’s accusation
that some groups under the umbrella, such as the Badr Brigades, League
of the Righteous (Asaib ahl al-Haq), and Imam Ali Battalions are
carrying out widespread and systematic human rights violations, the PMF
has maintained its popularity and legitimacy among the Shia base. A
recently published poll showed that 99 percent of Iraqi Shia support the PMF in its fight against the Islamic State.Posted by: Renad Mansour Monday, February 1, 2016 | http://carnegieendowment.org/
As a consequence, the number of recruits rushing to enlist with the
PMF is substantial. According to various claims from well-informed
sources in Baghdad, more than 75 percent of men ages 18 to30 residing in
the Shia provinces have signed up. Although most of these recruits are
reservists who will not fight, the mere volume is indicative of the
PMF’s support in that region.
The sheer extent of such numbers would typically indicate some form of conscription. However, there is no such formal mandatory recruitment in place. The PMF is merely guided by Ayatollah Sistani’s al-wajib al-kifai fatwa, which itself very carefully restricts recruitment to only as many as needed to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State. Yet, a PMF administrator in Najaf told the author that more than enough recruits have joined. They are having no trouble attracting members who come from a diverse set of social classes and geographic regions. According to him, the only distinguishable group that is not joining is university students.http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=62638&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRons6TKZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIITsp0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
The sheer extent of such numbers would typically indicate some form of conscription. However, there is no such formal mandatory recruitment in place. The PMF is merely guided by Ayatollah Sistani’s al-wajib al-kifai fatwa, which itself very carefully restricts recruitment to only as many as needed to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State. Yet, a PMF administrator in Najaf told the author that more than enough recruits have joined. They are having no trouble attracting members who come from a diverse set of social classes and geographic regions. According to him, the only distinguishable group that is not joining is university students.http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=62638&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRons6TKZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIITsp0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
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