Moqtada al-Sadr Returns to Iraq-Nam

Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr is the leader of the Mahdi army, which fought against the US occupation back in 2004, and which led the Shi'ites during the horrific sectarian violence of 2005-2008 in Iraq-Nam. He holds the religious rank of hojatoleslam, a middle-level position within the Shi'ite faith. The honorific "Sayyid" means that he can trace his lineage back to the prophet Mohamed. His father was Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr. At 37 years of age, he represents the next generation of Shi'ite religious leadership in Iraq-Nam. He also represents a future that the US and its partners in the region want to avoid. That just became more difficult as yesterday he returned to his hometown of Najaf in Iraq-Nam after about 4 years of living in Qom, Iran.

The Green Zone government is trying to put a positive spin on his return. Falah al-Naqib, a Sunni member of parliament and former head of the Interior Ministry, told the media, "He should be here. It's better to have him here, where foreigners have less influence on him than if he stays in Iran or anywhere else." That reasoning would suggest it was better to have Napoleon in Paris than on St. Helena. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker, echoed those sentiments, "It is a good thing to have him back in the country. Why not? He's part of the political process, so now we must wait and see what he says." Abdul Hadi al-Hassani, a secular Shi'ite in Prime Minister Maliki's State of Law Party proclaimed, "Sadr's arrival will have a positive impact." Finally, Nada M. Ibrahim of the Sunni-majority Iraqiya bloc, which holds the most seats in parliament, said, "The history of Mr. Sadr in the last few years is that he has had a role in peace and helping Iraq." One wonders about the translations of the words "peace" and "helping" in that comment.

Meanwhile, the Americans are being realistic but cautious in their reaction. The current American ambassador, James F. Jeffrey, is under no illusions about the Sadrists. He notes they have not renounced violence for political ends "in practice or in theory," and Shi'ism has no philosophical problem with such violence. Back in 2004, a Bush administration spokesman in Baghdad called him a "a two-bit thug" in a news conference. On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley, referred to him as "the leader of an Iraqi political party that won a number of seats in the March 2010 election."

On his arrival, the hojetoleslam prayed at the shrine of Iman Ali, founder of Shi'ism, with scenes around him that reminded one of the Iranian mob outside the US embassy in 1979. He was quick to demand obedience from the crowd, issuing a seven line note that read in part, "The lack of discipline of some of you as I performed my religious rituals bothered me and hurt me. Please exercise discipline and refrain from excessive chants and pushing which harms me, others, you, your reputation and the reputation of the Sadr family." In other words, "quit acting like a bunch of yahoos because you're making it harder for me to take over."

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani is THE Shi'ite leader in Iraq-nam, and indeed, in the world. His will turn 81 this year. He has heart trouble, which was treated a few years ago in London but which seems to persist. Hojetoleslam al-Sadr is decades younger, and when the Grand Ayatollah passes on, it is hard to see any Shi'ite leader in Iraq-Nam other than him. This journal takes him at this word when he spoke to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei "I told him that we share the same ideology, but that politically and militarily, I would not be an extension of Iran." That describes the relationship between Mao's China and Stalin's Soviet Union; both were a problem for the West.

Tomorrow, the young cleric will deliver what a spokesman told the press will be "a very important speech." One expects he will position himself as leader of the Shi'ite underclass, opponent of the occupation (but a milder version than in 2004), and as a man above petty politics. His ambition is not to be ruler of the country but rather the one who rules the ruler -- an Arab version of Ayatollah Khomeini. The next act begins tomorrow.

© Copyright 2011 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

Kensington Review Home