Bassem Mroue of the Associated Press reported yesterday that the U.S. led Coalition Provisional Authority has temporarily shut down al-Hawzah, a weekly newspaper run by Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq. Mr. Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority have determined that newspaper contains articles designed to provoke instability and incite violence against the coalition forces, and that the operations of the newspaper will be suspended for sixty days.

In response to the closure, over a thousand supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr staged a demonstration near the newspapers offices.  

Hussam Abdel-Kadhim, 25, who participated in the demonstration, claimed that what is happening now is what used to happen during the days of Saddam. No freedom of opinion. It is like the days of the Baath.”

Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan and author of Sacred Space and Holy War, which examines the history of Shiite Islam in Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf, responded to the incident by stating:
  
“There is a real question as to whether cracking down on the newspaper like this will make things better or worse. Since Muqtada has a tight network of mosque preachers throughout the south, he is perfectly capable of getting out his views without a newspaper, through the sermons of his lieutenants. Likewise, he gets quoted in Iran-based Arabic language television and radio broadcasts.”

Now that the newspaper has been shut down, will those that want to hear the message of Muqtada al-Sadr increasingly turn towards mosques for their political dialogue? And, if so, what will Mr. Bremer do then? Trying to limit the rash of violence is all well and good, but by stripping Iraq of legitimate public forums of political discourse, such as a newspaper, Mr. Bremer may well be driving those hungry for political dialogue increasingly towards religious centers. And that, I doubt, is what Mr. Bremer wants.  

Mimi Hanaoka