] Majid al-Khoei, a Shia Muslim cleric, has been stabbed to
] death by a mob outside the Ali Mosque in Najaf today.
] Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor, left, explains the
] significance of his death.

] As a gesture of reconciliation, he arrived with Haider
] al-Kadar, the man who had previously held the
] responsibility for the shrine. Mr al-Kadar is widely
] disliked in Najaf because of his connection to Saddam
] Hussein's Ministry of Religion.
]
] "Mr al-Khoei's appearance with such as reviled figure
] appears to have inflamed one of the factions loyal to a
] different mullah, Mohammed Braga al-Saddar, which appears
] to have led to his death