Muqtada al-Sadr

Muqtada al-Sadr (Arabic: مقتدى الصدر, romanized: Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974)[3] is an Iraqi Shia Muslim cleric, politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement[4] and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had previously led during the American military presence in Iraq, the "Mahdi Army." In 2018, he joined his Sadrist political party to the Saairun alliance, which won the highest number of seats in the 2018 and 2021 Iraqi parliamentary elections.[5]

Muqtada al-Sadr
al-Sadr in Tehran, 2019
Leader of the Sadrist Movement
Assumed office
5 December 2003
Preceded byMohammad al-Sadr
Personal details
Born (1974-08-04) 4 August 1974[1]
Najaf, Iraq
Political partySadrist Movement
Other political
affiliations		Saairun[2]
Residence(s)Hanana, Najaf, Iraq

Titles

He belongs to the prominent al-Sadr family that hails from Jabal Amel in Lebanon, before later settling in Najaf. Sadr is the son of Muhammad al-Sadr, an Iraqi religious figure and politician who stood against Saddam Hussein, and the nephew of Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr. He is often styled with the honorific title Sayyid.

His formal religious standing within the Shi'i clerical hierarchy is comparatively mid-ranking. As a result of this, in 2008 Sadr claimed for himself neither the title of mujtahid (the equivalent of a senior religious scholar) nor the authority to issue any fatwas.[6] In early 2008, he was reported to be studying to be an ayatollah, something that would greatly improve his religious standing.[7]

Family

Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of a famous Iraqi Shi'a cleric, the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. Both were revered for their concern for the poor.[8][9]

Muqtada is a citizen of Iraq; his great-grandfather is Ismail as-Sadr. Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, Muqtada al-Sadr's father, was a respected figure throughout the Shi'a Islamic world. He was murdered, along with two of his sons, allegedly by the government of Saddam Hussein. Muqtada's father-in-law was executed by the Iraqi authorities in 1980. Muqtada is a cousin of the disappeared Musa al-Sadr, the Iranian-Lebanese founder of the popular Amal Movement.[10]

In 1994, Sadr married one of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's daughters.[11] As of 2008, he had no children.[11]

Political positions

Muqtada al-Sadr gained popularity in Iraq following the toppling of the Saddam government by the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.[12] Sadr has on occasion stated that he wishes to create an "Islamic democracy".

Sadr commands strong support (especially in the Sadr City district in Baghdad, formerly named Saddam City but renamed after the elder Sadr). After the fall of the Saddam government in 2003, Muqtada al-Sadr organized thousands of his supporters into a political movement, which includes a military wing formerly known as the Jaysh al-Mahdi or Mahdi Army.[13] The name refers to the Mahdi, a long-since disappeared Imam who is believed by Shi'as to be due to reappear when the end of time approaches. This group periodically engaged in violent conflict with the United States and other Coalition forces, while the larger Sadrist movement has formed its own religious courts and organized social services, law enforcement and prisons in areas under its control.[14] Western media often referred to Muqtada al-Sadr as an "anti-American" or "radical" cleric.[15]

His strongest support came from the class of dispossessed Shi'a, like in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Many Iraqi supporters see in him a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation.[16] The Mahdi army was reported to have operated death squads during the Iraqi Civil War.[14]

In a statement received by AFP on 15 February 2014, Sadr announced the closure of all offices, centers and associations affiliated with Al-Shaheed Al-Sadr, his father, inside and outside Iraq, and announced his non-intervention in all political affairs, adding that no bloc will represent the movement inside or outside the government or parliament.[17] Several times he has called for all paramilitary groups recognised by the Iraqi state to be dissolved after the complete defeat of ISIL and that all foreign forces (including Iran) then leave Iraqi territory. He surprised many when he visited the crown princes of both Saudi Arabia, for the first time in 11 years,[18] and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017 and earlier and was criticized in some Iranian circles.[8] In April 2017, he distinguished himself from other Iraqi Shiite leaders in calling on Iranian-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down and save the country from more bloodshed.[9] Sadr's efforts to strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq mirror those of former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.[18]

Muqtada is widely suspected of ordering numerous assassinations against high-ranking Shi'ite clergy, including a 2003 bombing of the house of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim,[19] and the 10 April 2003 murder of Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Majid al-Khoei at a mosque in Najaf.[20] On 13 October 2003, fighting broke out in Karbala, when al-Sadr's men attacked supporters of moderate Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani near the Imam Hussein shrine.

Opposition to US presence
Muqtada al-Sadr (center) with his father Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr (left)

2003

Shortly after the US-led coalition ousted Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath regime, al-Sadr voiced opposition to the Coalition Provisional Authority. He subsequently stated that he had more legitimacy than the Coalition-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. He granted his first major Western television interview to Bob Simon of 60 Minutes, in which al-Sadr famously said "Saddam was the little serpent, but America is the big serpent."[21]

In May 2003, al-Sadr issued a fatwa that became known as the al-Hawasim (meaning the finalists – a term used to refer to the looters of post-invasion Iraq) fatwa.[22] The fatwa allowed theft and racketeering on the condition that the perpetrators pay the requisite khums to Sadrist imams,[23] saying that "looters could hold on to what they had appropriated so long as they made a donation (khums) of one-fifth of its value to their local Sadrist office." The fatwa alienated many older members of his father's movement,[23] as well as mainstream Shiites,[24] and the Shia establishment and property-owning classes from the Sadrists.[22] However, the fatwa strengthened his popularity among the poorest members of society, notably in Sadr City.[25] It has been claimed that the original fatwa was actually issued by Sadr's advisor Grand Ayatollah Kazem Husseini Haeri, and that al-Sadr was simply loyally issuing the same instruction.[22]

Al-Sadr is suspected in US news media of having ordered the assassination of rival Shia leader Abdul-Majid al-Khoei in 2003, a charge he denies and which remains unproven.[26]

2004
Main article: Iraq spring fighting of 2004

In his 2004 sermons and public interviews, al-Sadr repeatedly demanded an immediate withdrawal of all US-led coalition forces, all foreign troops under United Nations control, and the establishment of a new central Iraqi government, not connected to the Ba'ath party or the Allawi government.

In late March 2004, American authorities (759th MP Battalion) in Iraq shut down Sadr's newspaper al-Hawza on charges of inciting violence. Sadr's followers held demonstrations protesting the closure of the newspaper. On 4 April, fighting broke out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra. Sadr's Mahdi Army took over several points and attacked coalition soldiers, killing dozens of foreign soldiers, and taking many casualties of their own in the process.[27] At the same time, Sunni rebels in the cities of Baghdad, Samarra, Ramadi, and, most notably, Fallujah, staged uprisings as well, causing the most serious challenge to American control of Iraq up to that time.

During the first siege of Fallujah in late March and April 2004, Muqtada's Sadrists sent aid convoys to the besieged Sunnis there.[28]

Paul Bremer, then the US administrator in Iraq, declared on 5 April 2004 that al-Sadr was an outlaw and that uprisings by his followers would not be tolerated.[29]

That day, al-Sadr called for a jihad against American forces. To do this he needed to gain temporary control of Al Kut, An Najaf and the suburb of Baghdad named after his grandfather, Sadr City. On the night of 8 April, his Mahdi Army dropped eight overspans and bridges around the Convoy Support Center Scania, thus severing northbound traffic into Baghdad. The next day his militia ambushed any and every convoy trying to get in or out of Baghdad International Airport, known to the soldiers as BIAP. This led to the worst convoy ambush of the war, the ambush of the 724th Transportation Company (POL), which resulted in eight KBR drivers killed and three soldiers killed. One was Matt Maupin, who was initially listed as the first American soldier missing in action. These series of attacks demonstrated an unexpected level of sophistication in planning. The Mahdi Army knew it could not win a head on fight with the United States military coalition and it took full advantage of a major American vulnerability by attacking convoy trucks that supplied the troops. BIAP was where the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division drew its supplies. The 1st Cavalry Division was replacing the 1st Armored Division in and around Baghdad. The 1st Armored Division had already been deployed to Iraq for a year. CENTCOM commander General John Abizaid decided to extend the Division beyond its 1-year deployment, for an additional 120 days, to use in the fight against the Mahdi Army.[30][31] On 11 April, the Mahdi Army launched an attack on the southwest wall at BIAP behind which several hundred trucks parked. By the end of April, the American 1st Armored Division had suppressed the Mahdi Army's uprising[30][31] but al Sadr had achieved his goal of making it a significant resistance force fighting against the U.S. led coalition forces occupying Iraq.[32]

2005–2006

It is generally frowned upon in Iraq for clerics to actively participate in secular politics, and like the other leading religious figures, Muqtada al-Sadr did not run in the 2005 Iraqi elections. It is believed he implicitly backed the National Independent Cadres and Elites party that was closely linked with the Mahdi Army. Many of his supporters, however, backed the far more popular United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) of Grand Ayatollah Sistani.

On 26 August 2005, an estimated 100,000 Iraqis marched in support of al-Sadr and his ideals.[33]

On 25 March 2006, Sadr was in his home and escaped a mortar attack; this attack was disputed, as the ordnance landed more than 50 meters from his home.

Sadr's considerable leverage was apparent early in the week of 16 October 2006, when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the release of one of Sadr's senior aides. The aide had been arrested a day earlier by American troops on suspicion of participating in kidnappings and killings.[34]

2007

On 13 February, several sources in the US government claimed that Muqtada al-Sadr had left Iraq and fled to Iran in anticipation of the coming security crackdown.[35] US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell reinforced this account on 14 February,[36] but a member of Iraq's parliament and an aide to al-Sadr have denied the claims.[35][37]

On 30 March it was reported that Sadr, through clerics speaking on his behalf, "delivered a searing speech ... condemning the American presence in Iraq ... [and] call[ing] for an anti-occupation mass protest on April 9."[38] This call to protest was significant in that, since the beginning of the American troop surge (which began on 14 February 2007), al-Sadr had ordered his "militia to lie low during the new Baghdad security plan so as not to provoke a direct confrontation with the Americans".[38]

In a statement stamped with Sadr's official seal and distributed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf a day before the demonstration, on Sunday, 8 April 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr urged the Iraqi army and police to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerilla fighters to concentrate on pushing American forces out of the country. "You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your arch-enemy," the statement said.

On 17 April 2007, several ministers loyal to al-Sadr left the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that the withdrawal of these ministers had not weakened his government and that he would name technocrats to replace them soon.[39]

On 25 April 2007, Sadr condemned the construction of Azamiyah wall around a Sunni neighbourhood in Baghdad, by calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers"

On 25 May 2007, Sadr delivered a sermon to an estimated 6,000 followers in Kufa. Sadr reiterated his condemnation of the United States' occupation of Iraq and demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces, al-Sadr's speech also contained calls for unity between Sunni and Shi'a.[40] In June 2007, al-Sadr vowed to go ahead with a planned march to the devastated Askariyya shrine in central Iraq, al-Sadr said the march was aimed at bringing Shi'is and Sunnis closer together and breaking down the barriers imposed by the Americans and Sunni religious extremists.

In a statement issued 29 August 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that an order to stand down for six months had been distributed to his loyalists following the deaths of more than 50 Shia Muslim pilgrims during fighting in Karbala the day before. The statement issued by Sadr's office in Najaf said: "I direct the Mahdi army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed." The intention behind the ceasefire was thought in part to be to allow al-Sadr reassert control over the movement, which is thought to have splintered. "We call on all Sadrists to observe self-restraint, to help security forces control the situation and arrest the perpetrators and sedition mongers, and urge them to end all forms of armament in the sacred city," said the statement, referring to the 28 August clashes in Karbala. Asked if the unexpected order meant no attacks on American troops, as well as a ban on Shia infighting, a senior Sadr aide said: "All kinds of armed actions are to be frozen, without exception."[41]

2008–2011
Main article: Siege of Sadr City

In March 2008, during the Battle of Basra, the Sadr Movement launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army.[42]

In August 2008, Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops is not established. "Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group," while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.[43]

In response to Israeli attacks on Gaza, al-Sadr called for reprisals against US troops in Iraq: "I call upon the honest Iraqi resistance to carry out revenge operations against the great accomplice of the Zionist enemy."

On 1 May 2009, al-Sadr paid a surprise visit to Ankara where, in his first public appearance for two years, he met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for talks that focused on the "political process"[44] and requested Turkey play a greater role in establishing stability in the Middle East. Spokesman Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi confirmed the nature of the talks that had been requested by al-Sadr and stated, "Turkey is a good, old friend. Trusting that, we had no hesitation in travelling here."[45] After the meeting al-Sadr visited supporters in Istanbul, where al-Obeidi says they may open a representative office.

In a press conference on 6 March 2010, ahead of the 2010 Iraqi parliamentary election, Sadr called on all Iraqis to participate in the election and support those who seek to expel US troops out of the country. Sadr warned that any interference by the United States will be unacceptable.[46]

On 5 January 2011, Sadr returned to the Iraqi city of Najaf in order to take a more proactive and visible role in the new Iraqi government.[47] Three days later, thousands of Iraqis turned out in Najaf to hear his first speech since his return, in which he called the US, Israel, and the UK "common enemies" against Iraq. His speech was greeted by the crowd chanting "Yes, yes for Muqtada! Yes, yes for the leader!" while waving Iraqi flags and al-Sadr's pictures. Subsequently, he returned to Iran to continue his studies.[48]

By late 2011, it appeared that the United States would largely withdraw from Iraq, a demand that helped make Sadr a popular leader amongst supporters almost immediately following the invasion. Sadr also controlled the largest bloc of parliament, and had reached a sort of détente with prime minister Nouri al Maliki, who needed Sadrist support to retain his post.[49]

Post-US withdrawal

2011–2020

On 5 January 2011, Sadr returned from Iran, to Najaf, having spent four years out of the country after vowing never to return unless the American military forces left.[50] Prior to his arrival in Najaf, he had been instrumental in the formation of the 2011 Iraqi government.

Following the US withdrawal from Iraq, Sadr continued to be an influential figure in Iraqi politics, associated with the Al-Ahrar bloc, whose Shi'a factions are still at war with not only the government but also the Sunni factions.[51] However, whereas during the war al-Sadr was known for advocating violence, in 2012 he began to present himself as a proponent of moderation and tolerance and called for peace.[52][53] According to Britannica, "although Sadr himself was once an image of Iraqi Shiʿi militancy, he came to see sectarianism as a source of dysfunction and corruption in government and began steering his supporters away from sectarianism."[54]

In February 2014, Sadr announced that he was withdrawing from politics and dissolving the party structure to protect his family's reputation.[55]

However, later in 2014, he called for the formation of "Peace Companies", often mistranslated "Peace Brigades", to protect Shia shrines from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[55] In June, these Peace Companies marched in Sadr City.[56] In addition to guarding shrines, the Peace Companies participated in offensive operations such as the recapture of Jurf al-Nasr in October 2014.[57] They suspended their activities temporarily in February 2015,[57] but were active in the Second Battle of Tikrit in March.[58]

Sadr is considered a populist by Western observers.[59][60] In 2015 he entered into an alliance with the Iraqi Communist Party and other secular groups "under an umbrella of security and corruption concerns", both long-standing issues of daily life in the country.[12] In March 2015, Sadr criticized the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, saying that "It [Saudi invasion of Yemen] is at odds with Islamic-Arabic unity".[61]

Supporters of Sadr's alliance in Liberation Square, Baghdad celebrating after a successful election campaign

On 26 February 2016, Sadr led a one million-strong demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest corruption in Iraq and the government's failure to deliver on reforms. "Abadi must carry out grassroots reform," Sadr said in front of the protesters. "Raise your voice and shout so the corrupt get scared of you," he encouraged the people.[62] On 18 March, Sadr's followers began a sit-in outside the Green Zone, a heavily fortified district in Baghdad housing government offices and embassies. He called the Green Zone "a bastion of support for corruption".[63] On 27 March, he walked into the Green Zone to begin a sit-in, urging followers to stay outside and remain peaceful.[64] He met with Abadi on 26 December to discuss the reform project he proposed during protests early in the year.[65] Following the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack in Syria on 4 April 2017, Sadr called for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down.[66][67] In July 2017, Sadr visited Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.[68]

In 2017 he condemned the Trump administration's open support of Israeli claims about Jerusalem and advocated the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad due to American announcements related to their forthcoming embassy move in Israel which he saw as a 'declaration of war on Islam.'[69]

In April 2018, Sadr wrote: "I am ready to intervene between the Islamic Republic (Iran) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to resolve some issues, even gradually, and that is for nothing but the best of Iraq and the region."[70]

In May 2018, Sadr's Sairoon electoral list won 54 seats in the first Iraqi parliamentary election since the Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq.[71][72] He rejected U.S. interference in the formation of the new Iraqi government, saying: "The U.S. is an invader country; we do not allow it to interfere" in Iraqi affairs."[73] In a country riven by sectarian tensions and regional politics, Sadr has transformed himself again: He has now positioned himself as an Iraqi nationalist; his newly formed Istiqāmah ("Integrity") Party allied himself with communists and smaller groups including Sunnis, secularists, liberals, and political independents; criticized, corruption, Iran's outsized influence in Iraq; and strongly criticized the sectarian nature of Iraq's politics.[74] Following the May 2018 elections the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and General Soleimani lobbied Sadr and others to forge a political coalition allied with Tehran.[75]

On 7 December 2019, an armed drone attack targeted Sadr's home in Baghdad. Sadr was out of the country at the time; the attack caused little damage and no casualties.[76]

After the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 and the Iraqi parliament's resolution favouring expulsion of US troops, the Iraqi Shia leader called for "the immediate cancellation of the security agreement with the US, the closure of the US embassy, the expulsion of US troops in a 'humiliating manner', and criminalizing communication with the US government".[77] Following the 8 January 2020 Iranian rocket attacks on US led military bases, however, Sadr held back and urged his followers not to attack U.S. elements in Iraq.[78]

On 25 December 2020, Sadr warned Iran and the United States not to involve Iraq in their conflict.[79]

2021–present

On 13 June 2022, 73 MPs from al-Sadr’s bloc resigned from parliament amid the 2022 Iraqi political crisis.[80]

On August 29, 2022, al-Sadr announced his retirement from Iraq politics and the closure of most of his offices and institutions.[81][82]

See also

References
  1. "بطاقة الناخب مقتدى الصدر". Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. Hamza Mustafa (18 February 2014). "Iraq: Sadrist resignations threaten new political crisis". Asharq Al Awsat. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  3. "بطاقة الناخب مقتدى الصدر". Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. Hroub, Khaled (28 May 2012). Political Islam: Context Versus Ideology. Saqi. ISBN 978-0-86356-883-1.
  5. "Pro-Iran groups seen losing Iraq election and firebrand cleric winning". NBC News. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  6. "Profile: Muqtada al-Sadr". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  7. Babak Dehghanpisheh (19 January 2008). "The Great Muqtada Makeover". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  8. al-Ali, Zaid (21 August 2017). "Post-ISIL Iraq: Decoding Muqtada al-Sadr's Gulf visits". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. Arraf, Jane (3 May 2017). "Muqtada al-Sadr: In Iraq, a fiery cleric redefines himself as nationalist patriot". CSMonitor. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  10. "Samer Bazzi – The Lebanese Armageddon in the New Iraq". Bintjbeil.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  11. Cockburn, Patrick (21 October 2008). Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq. Simon and Schuster. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4391-4119-9.
  12. Beaumont, Peter (14 May 2018). "Iraq elections: who is Muqtadr al-Sadr?". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  13. Adams, Henry (12 January 2005). "The U.S. Is Not Preventing Chaos in Iraq, It Is Creating It". United for Peace of Pierce County, WA. Archived from the original on 10 April 2005. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
  14. "The Mahdi Army: Turbans, Kalashnikovs and plans to ′slaughter′". Deutsche Welle. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  15. "Defining Muqtada". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  16. "Who's Who in Iraq: Muqtada Sadr". BBC News. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
  17. "REPORT: Key Shiite Iraqi cleric says he quits politics". Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  18. MEE staff (4 August 2017). "Muqtada al-Sadr 'bans anti-Saudi slogans from Iraqi streets'". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  19. IRAQ’S SHIITES UNDER OCCUPATION Archived 3 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, International Crisis Group, 9 September 2003
  20. Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq by Patrick Cockburn. Quoted in Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq by Patrick Cockburn. The Wild Card - A Review by Dexter Filkins
  21. ""60 Minutes Wednesday" Muqtada al-Sadr's Battle Against the U.S. (TV Episode 2003)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  22. Cockburn, p. 130.
  23. Erik A. Claessen (2010). "6". Stalemate: An Anatomy of Conflicts Between Democracies, Islamists, and Muslim Autocrats (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-313-38444-8.
  24. Williams, Phil (1 January 2009). "7". Criminals, Militias, and Insurgents: Organized Crime in Iraq. Strategic Studies Institute. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-58487-397-6.
  25. Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2011). Apocalypse in Islam (illustrated ed.). University of California Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-520-26431-1.
  26. Khoury, Nabeel (16 May 2018). "Iraq: The reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  27. "Iraqi cleric Sadr retires from politics". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  28. "Muqtada Al Sadr And Sunnis Mickey Kaus". Informed Comment. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  29. "Bremer Brands Muqtada Sadr an Outlaw". Middle-East-online.com. 5 April 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
  30. "1st Armored Division's Iraq timeline". Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  31. "Army unit claims victory over sheik". The Washington Times. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  32. Donald Wright, On Point II; Transition to the New Campaign; The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, May 2003-January 2005, Combat Studies Institute; Richard E. Killblane, Road Warriors, unpublished
  33. "Iraqi factions firm against constitution". Al Jazeera. 26 August 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  34. Semple, Kirk (20 October 2006). "Attack on Iraqi City Shows Militia's Power". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  35. Karadsheh, Jomana; Mohammed Tawfeeq; Barbara Starr (13 February 2007). "U.S.: Radical cleric al-Sadr in Iran". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  36. Londoño, Ernesto; Joshua Partlow (14 February 2007). "Iraqi Militia Leader Sadr in Iran, Say U.S. Officials". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  37. Karadsheh, Jomana; Mohammed Tawfeeq; Barbara Starr (14 February 2007). "U.S. insists radical cleric in Iran despite denials". CNN. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  38. Edward Wong. "Shiite Cleric Calls for Mass Protest Against U.S.", The New York Times (30 March 2007)
  39. Abdul-Ameer, Kawther; Mussab Al-Khairalla (17 April 2007). "Government not weakened by Sadr pullout". Independent Online (South Africa). Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  40. "Al-Sadr Calls for U.S. Pullout from Iraq". China Daily. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  41. McElroy, Damien (30 August 2007). "Muqtada al-Sadr announces ceasefire in Iraq". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  42. "Peaceful Iraq protests spark clashes; 50 reported dead". CNN. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  43. "Al-Sadr Orders Militia To Disarm". CBS News. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  44. Yanatma, Servet and Süleyman Kurt (2 May 2009). "Iraq's Sadr Meets Erdoğan". Today's Zaman.
  45. Çobanoğlu, Çağri (4 May 2009). "Iraq's Sadr Meets Erdoğan". Today's Zaman.
  46. "Iraqi Shia Leader Calls for U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq". Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). hamsayeh.net (7 March 2010).
  47. "Al-Sadr back in Iraq stronghold". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  48. "Al-Sadr calls on Iraqis 'to resist'". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  49. "Iraq: Sadr a Rising Force in Iraqi Politics". Pulitzer Center. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  50. Chulov, Martin. (5 January 2011). "Muqtada al-Sadr returns to Iraq after exile". The Guardian website Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  51. Frud Bezhan (19 August 2013). "Reports Of Muqtada Al-Sadr's Political Demise May Be Greatly Exaggerated". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  52. Eli Sugarman; Omar al-Nidawi (11 February 2013). "Back in Black: The Return of Muqtada al-Sadr". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  53. Mustafa al-Khadimi (13 March 2013). "The New Muqtada al-Sadr Seeks Moderate Image". Iraqi Business News. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  54. {{cite web|title=Mustada al-Sadr| url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muqtada-al-Sadr |access-date=30 January 2023
  55. Cassandra Vinograd (23 June 2014). "Anti-U.S. Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Retakes Stage Amid Iraq Turmoil". NBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  56. "Iraqi Shia groups rally in show of power". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  57. Loveday Morris; Mustafa Salim (17 February 2015). "Iraqi Shiite cleric recalls militiamen from fight against Islamic State". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  58. "Iraqi militia loyal to radical cleric al-Sadr joins fight for IS-held Tikrit". Global News. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  59. Issa, Philip (14 May 2018). "Early results in Iraq election favor populist cleric al-Sadr". Washington Post. AP. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  60. "Iraq's Fake Populism and Anti-sectarianism". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  61. "Iraq's Muqtada Sadr Warns S. Arabia to Immediately Halt Attacks on Yemen". Farsnews. 27 March 2015.
  62. "Shiite cleric Sadr leads 1 million man anti-gov't demonstration". Rudaw. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  63. "Iraq's Sadr spurns calls to drop sit-in over 'bastion of corruption'". Reuters. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  64. "Iraq's Sadr begins sit-in inside Green Zone, tells supporters to stay outside". Reuters. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  65. "Can public outcry in southern Iraq end Maliki's political ambitions?". Al-Monitor. 8 January 2017.
  66. "Sadr becomes first Iraqi Shi'ite leader to urge Assad to step down". Reuters. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  67. "Powerful Iraqi Shite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr calls for Assad to step sown following chemical attack". Newsweek. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  68. "Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr makes rare Saudi visit". Al-Jazeera. 31 July 2017.
  69. Frantzman, Seth J. (25 January 2017). "Iraqi Shia cleric Sadr condemns Trump, calls to liberate Jerusalem". Jerusalem Post Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  70. "Al-Sadr says ready to mediate for better Saudi-Iran relations". Iraqi News. 10 April 2018.
  71. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: TRT World. Iraq Elections: Kirkuk hopes to heal deep divisions. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  72. "Who Is Muqtada al-Sadr? The Big Winner of Iraq's Elections Who Attacked U.S. Troops". Haaretz. Reuters. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  73. "Muqtada al-Sadr Rejects Iran and U.S. Meddling in Formation of Iraqi Govt". Al Bawaba. 29 May 2018.
  74. "A Shia Cleric's Radical Vision for Iraq". The Atlantic. 11 May 2018.
  75. Abdul-Zahra, Qassim and Salaheddin, Sanan. (24 June 2018). "In about-face, Iraq’s maverick al-Sadr moves closer to Iran". AP News website Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  76. Rasheed, Ahmed; Jalabi, Raya (7 December 2019). "Rocket hits Iraqi cleric's home following deadly Baghdad attack". Reuters. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  77. Al Jazeera News. (5 January 2020). "Iraqi parliament calls for expulsion of foreign troops". Al Jazeera News Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  78. "Top cleric urges supporters not to attack US as Donald Trump says regime has backed down". The Telegraph. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  79. "Iraqi Shiite leader warns Iran, U.S. not to involve Iraq in their conflict". Xinhua. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  80. "Iraqi leaders vow to move ahead after dozens quit parliament". The Independent. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  81. "Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr announces 'retirement' from politics". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  82. "Iraq's Sadr announces resignation from political life". Al Arabiya English. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.