To his supporters, Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr is a young leader wise beyond his years. His detractors see him as an inexperienced and impatient radical who aims to dominate Iraq's most revered Shia institutions. The youngest son of Muhammad Sadiq Sadr - a senior Shia cleric assassinated in 1999, reportedly by agents of the Iraqi Government - Moqtada Sadr was virtually unknown outside Iraq before the US-led invasion in March 2003. The collapse of Baathist rule revealed his power base: a network of Shia charitable institutions founded by his father. In the poor Shia suburbs of Baghdad, Moqtada Sadr's followers patrolled the streets and distributed food during the first weeks following the invasion.
He is thought to be in his late 20s or early 30s - a young leader in a society which considers age and experience essential to religious authority. His sermons urge the application of Islamic law while appealing to Iraqi national pride. In contrast to "quietist" clerics such as Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Moqtada Sadr calls on Shia spiritual leaders to play an active role in shaping Iraq's political future. And unlike the former exiles who head the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), he opposes co-operation with the US. He greeted the formation of Iraq's new Governing Council with a call for an alternative government, chosen by the authorities of the Hawzah, or Shia seminary. He also announced the formation of an "al-Mahdi Army", a volunteer force pledged to defend the Shia religious authorities in the holy city of Najaf. Followers Thousands of demonstrators claiming to represent the new army took to the streets in July 2003, after hearing reports that he had been arrested by US forces. Just two days after the fall of Baghdad, his supporters were accused of killing Abdul Majid al-Khoei, a moderate Shia leader who had worked with the British and US Governments from exile. And Shia clerics in Kuwait claimed Moqtada Sadr's followers had "besieged" the house of Ayatollah Sistani. Moqtada Sadr strongly denied any role in attacks on Al-Khoei and Ayatollah Sistani. In remarks broadcast by Al-Jazeera TV, he denounced the attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. And he condemned the assassination soon afterwards in Najaf of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim. |
