Noticed by foreign policy / milblog The Adventures of Chester, MEMRI has posted part 3 of their series on the Iraqi elections: The Islamist and Terrorist Threats.

The approaching elections in Iraq have pitched against each other the most senior Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and Osama bin Laden. Al-Sistani has called on his followers to vote en masse and decreed that those who boycott the elections are "infidels." His picture appears on election placards in most Iraqi provinces indicating his support for the elections. In a video aired on Al-Jazeera TV,in what appears to be a response to al-Sistani, Osama bin Laden warned against the participation in elections: "Anyone who participates in these elections … has committed apostasy against Allah." [...]