THE city's first airport is weeks away from opening, but already a bigger one is talked about. Land prices are soaring. Merchants say they don't remember business ever being so good.
Four years ago, Najaf was an urban battlefield, with US troops fighting Shiite militiamen loyal to the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Today, the Shiite holy city is a hot spot of a different kind, thanks to improved security, a free-for-all market economy –
and a direct link to the Shiite-led government.
Najaf may become the key to the ambitions for wider autonomy of the most powerful Shiite party – with far-reaching implications for Iraq.
The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council hopes to maintain its domination of Najaf's local government in provincial elections expected by early 2009. But its broader goal is a self-governing region in Iraq's Shiite south – with its oil wealth and important religious shrines.
Shiite rivals oppose such a move, fearing it would cement the Supreme Council's sway over Shiite affairs. Sunni groups, meanwhile, argue that a Shiite autonomous region would fall under Iranian influence and lead to the break-up of Iraq.
"We already are making every effort to win Najaf," said Ridha Jawad Taqi, a Supreme Council MP. "We may well make it the capital of a future region."
It's already getting a major facelift – even as plans to build new commercial towers and hotels in Baghdad remain little more than blueprints.
But in Najaf, the rumblings are real. Construction teams race to keep pace with millions of Shiite pilgrims who visit the shrine of the revered Imam Ali or bury their dead in the massive Valley of Peace cemetery.
Ahmed Redha, head of the state Investment Authority in Baghdad, estimated that £19 billion in projects are on the drawing board for Najaf and many will be undertaken by private companies. The plans call for luxury hotels and more than 200,000 housing units, he said.
It's all a far cry from 2004. Then, the city's cemetery and old quarter were front lines between US forces and Sadr's Mahdi Army militia until the Shiite clergy mediated.
A dramatic improvement in security has persuaded more Iraqis – as well as Shiites from abroad – to travel to Najaf.
Police patrols and checkpoints fill the city, but local authorities say they plan to greatly reduce the number of security forces on the streets by installing security cameras around the shrine and other busy parts.
The locals are happy to see foreign visitors returning, particularly Arabs from the Persian Gulf. "Everyone is doing good business," gold jeweller Aitan Abdul-Hussein said after he served two Iraqi women in his shop. "I sell a kilogram of gold every day. That used to be my monthly average a year ago."
The £27 million airport is giving everyone hope that even better days are ahead. A ceremonial opening took place in July and the anticipation of commercial flights has pushed land prices up by as much as 60 per cent, according to the airport's manager Karim al-Abdali.
The boom is strengthening ties between the Supreme Council – Sadr's main rival – and Najaf's merchant class, which takes pride in the city's famous entrepreneurial spirit. It is that spirit, say residents, that has cost Sadr support in 2004 when his militiamen controlled Najaf, driving visitors away and forcing businesses to shut down.
The full article contains 565 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
