Understanding Muqtada Al-Sadr
To prepare yourself for the rest of this post, this article is a must-read (subscription required, but it's free). It goes into detail on Muqtada Al-Sadr's organization in Iraq, the Madhi Army, which is a large and violent militia - Shiite in nature, financed and encouraged by Iran, and which controls a number of seats in Parliament. In some of the poorer areas of Baghdad, primarily Sadr City, it is the only true governing authority. I have stated in a prior post that the Madhi Army is kind of an infant Iraqi version of Hezbollah - i.e. a terrorist group which has a political wing and also performs various social services to boost its popularity. This is an extremely effective methodology for a terrorist group to follow - so much so that Al Qaeda in Iraq is rumored to be attempting to do the same.Muqtada Al-Sadr is one of the most influential men in Iraq. If Americans know of him at all, they think of him as simply a "thug" or a "firebrand". True enough, but I would like to delve a little deeper than that, courtesy of an excellent background article in the Middle East Quarterly by Nimrod Raphaeli. I will present a short synopsis below, but it will essentially not be my words.
A member of one of Iraq's most prominent religious families, Muqtada Al-Sadr is a man who saw his grandfather, father, and two of his three brothers assassinated by the Saddam Hussein regime. His one remaining brother buried himself in religous studies, leaving Al-Sadr (at a young age) to assume responsibility for his widowed mother and the widows of his two brothers who were slain. He lived under a constant threat of death prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the author speculates that the cumulative effect of these traumatic events coupled with the stress of being watched constantly by the secret police may have led to his radicalization.
His father was a leading religous authority figure, a status which Al-Sadr has been unable to acquire. However, he is still wildly popular because of his name and his rhetorical skills.
Followers of Al-Sadr, possibly including Al-Sadr himself, carried out two murders in the early days of Iraq's liberation from Saddam Hussein which sent shock waves throughout the Shiite Islamic world. The first was the assassination of the son of one of the most revered Shiite religous scholars on the planet. The father was the teacher of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the most influential man in Iraq, and the son was considered a rising star in the Shiite community. The second was the murder of another prominent figure, the keeper of the keys to the tomb of Imam Ali (one of the most holy figures in Shiite Islam).
An arrest warrant was issued for Al-Sadr, but it was not acted upon by the American authorities. This was by far the best chance that Iraq and America would have to undercut the Al-Sadr problem before it got out of control, and they completely squandered the opportunity.
In April 2004 Al-Sadr's followers attempted to take over Najaf, Karbala, and Kufa, causing a huge amount of fighting between his militias and coalition forces. Eventually the situation was defused by Al-Sistani (the only man with the power and influence to do so), with both sides withdrawing from Najaf.
There is a huge split between the majority of Iraqi Shiites, who have a strong interest in developing a successful peaceful democracy in Iraq, and Al-Sadr's followers (the Mahdi Army). In addition, tremendous animosity exists between Al-Sistani and Al-Sadr. Although Al-Sistani is far more influential and powerful at the moment, he is not immune to political posturing - as evidenced by his anti-Israeli statements during the recent war with Hezbollah. He made those statements so as not to lose political ground to Al-Sadr, who went so far as to pledge troops openly to Hezbollah.
It is important to understand that Iraqis are not united around Al-Sadr at all, and he is not truly representative of the Shiites at all. However, he has enough support from Iran and from his militia to wield a considerable amount of influence. His organization is a direct and existential threat to Iraqi democracy, and will turn into another Hezbollah if it is not stopped.
I will end with some good news (hat tip: Belmont Club):
Iraqi and US forces will conduct operations in Baghdad's Sadr City, a bastion of Shiite militia fighters, as part of the ongoing security crackdown, a US military spokesman said. Major General William Caldwell said operation Together Forward launched on June 14 would eventually move into Sadr City, a stronghold of the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and a hotbed of anti-US fervour.
posted by JM @ 5:47 PM
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