


Muqtada al-Sadr

After the fall of Saddam, Muqtada al-Sadr, a charismatic Iraqi cleric who comes from a powerful clerical dynasty, emerged as one of the country's most talked-about Shi'a leaders. Al-Sadr is the son of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad al-Sadr, who was killed in 1999 by agents presumed to be working for Saddam Hussein, thus becoming one of the major symbols of Shi'a resistance to the former regime. Al-Sadr -- who was believed to be around 30 years old [though some sources claim he is in his early 20s] -- lived in the holy Shi'a city of Al-Najaf. The controversy regarding his age was most likely started by opponents of al-Sadr trying to undermine his legitimacy. Al-Sadr was one of the most vocal critics of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The leader of the Sadriyun Movement [Sadriun Movement], he insisted US troops should leave the country immediately and that Iraqis be given an opportunity to create an Islamic state if they choose.

For months Al-Sadr worked to remain at the forefront of Iraq's anti-government protests, a popular movement that swept across the capital and southern cities in October 2019, driven by demands for basic services, more job opportunities and an end to government corruption and foreign interference in Iraqi affairs. His followers provided support and at times a degree of protection to the civilian uprising.


In February 2020, seven protesters were killed and more than 150 wounded when clashes broke out between protesters and organised Sadrists in Najaf. The incident came just hours after al-Sadr called on his supporters to "come together to reveal the saboteurs and the nationalist pretenders by helping the security forces. "The blue hats have to pave the way for this with love, peace and compassion," he said. The men - nicknamed the blue caps after their signature headgear - are die-hard supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shia leader known for his mercurial temper and large, cult-like following which includes a well-armed militia.

Al-Sadr was born into one of the country's most prominent religious families in 1974, but his father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, did not intend for his seminary to be inherited by his son. Instead, he left it in the hands of a fellow scholar, who ultimately delegated the responsibility to Muqtada.

And while he inherited his father's followers, not everyone trusted that al-Sadr could live up to the Grand Ayatollah's iconic image. His volatile nature and poor academic record - young Muqtada did not complete his religious studies - were well known among the Iraqi public and many, including politicians, as well as neighboring Iran remained sceptical.





Qom-based Iraqi-born cleric Kazim al-Husseini al-Haeri with the administration of eastern Baghdad, according to "The New York Times" on 26 April. Al-Haeri reportedly issued a religious edict in early April that was distributed among Shia clerics in Iraq that calls on them "to seize the first possible opportunity to fill the power vacuum in the administration of Iraqi cities." "We hereby inform you that Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr is our deputy and representative in all fatwa affairs," Haeri's decree adds. "His position is my position." Thousands of people chanted their support for Muqtada al-Sadr as they went to hear him at the Friday prayers at a Najaf mosque.

Al-Haeri once had a close relationship with the Shia Al-Da'wah al-Islamiyah party, but split with the group because al-Haeri was excessively pro-Iranian and called for the party to respect the guidance of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Beirut's "Al-Mustaqbal" reported on 24 April. Al-Haeri is an advocate of Vilayat-i Faqih (Guardianship of the Supreme Jurisconsult), on which Iran's theocracy is based. Al-Haeri's involvement in Iraqi politics could have a profound impact. He is the point at which the Sadriyun (as supporters of al-Sadr are known), SCIRI, and Da'wah converge.


By early 2004 Sadr's followers had elevated him to the rank of hujjat al-Islam (a "Sign of Islam," or a "Proof of Islam," the third rank from the top in the Shi'i clerical hierarchy). He wrapped himself in a white funeral shroud, showing he is ready for death.

Thousands of Iraqis in Baghdad and the Shi'ite-populated cities of Al-Kut, Karbala, and Al-Najaf took to the streets in support of al-Sadr, while the cleric's outlawed Imam Al-Mahdi Army established control over government buildings and police stations in a direct challenge to coalition authority.


Muqtada al-Sadr has resided in Iran since 2007, where he was said to be working on his religious studies, with the reported intention of acquiring the status of Ayatollah. Sadr was frequently rumored to be returning to Iraq; as with the Hidden Imam, past reports of his imminent return have not come to pass. Sadr is often referred to as paranoid and distrustful, even of those in his inner circle, and has a known tendency to replace those he thinks have become too powerful and thereby pose a threat to his authority. Sadr maintains close financial and political ties to Iran.

Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Al-Sadr [1933-1999]

Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Al-Sadr, age 66, was killed in February 1999. The killings was part of an organized attack by the Iraqi Government against the independent leadership of the Shi'a community. The Government has not responded to Van Der Stoel's inquiries. In the aftermath of these killings, Saddam's Government increased repressive activities in the south and in other predominantly Shi'a areas to prevent mourning observances and popular demonstrations. In April 1999, the Government executed four Shi'a men for the al-Sadr slaying after a closed trial. Shi'a religious authorities and opposition groups objected to the trial process and contend that the four executed men were innocent. At least one of the four, Sheikh Abdul Hassan Abbas Kufi, a prayer leader in Najaf, reportedly was in prison at the time of the killing. The Shi'a press reported in January 1999 that he had been arrested on December 24, 1998. The three others executed with Kufi were Islamic scholar Ahmad Mustapha Hassan Ardabily, Ali Kathim Mahjan, and Haider Ali Hussain.





In the aftermath of the al-Sadr killing and subsequent repression, the Shi'a religious community remained in a precarious state. Many scholars at the Shi'a religious schools in Najaf reportedly were arrested, as were many of al-Sadr's religious appointees throughout the country. These restrictions and abuses had an adverse affect on the development of a new set of Shi'a leaders.


Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr [1933-1980]

The distinguished leader Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr was a co-founder of the Islamic political movement in Iraq established in the late 1950s, along with Sayed Al-Hakim and other scholars.

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the uncle of Muqtada al-Sadr, was born in the city of Kazimayn, Iraq on Dhil Qu'dah, 25, 1353 A.H/2.3.1933 CE. In early days of his childhood, he was deprived of fatherhood and brought up by his elder brother and bonored mother. He completed all hawzah (religious seminary) stages at the age of 25 in 1378 A.H/1958 CE. In the 1950s Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and other prominent clerics founded the Al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya (Islamic Call) party.

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Sadr proposed a "theory of the popular caliphate supervised by the religious authoritative Source. The theory holds that the people's political rights should be officially independent of the jurists and that the status of the jurists should be more liable to superintendence. On the executive level, the religious Source is selected by traditional methods, not by democratic elections." [SOURCE]

Sayed Al-Hakim's association with Ayatollah Al-Sadr continued after his release in 1979, when Ayatollah Al-Sadr was put under house arrest. Sayed Al-Hakim assumed the responsibility of conducting clandestine contact with Ayatollah Al-Sadr. Sayed Al-Hakim maintained a close association with Ayatollah Al-Sadr up to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Al-Sadr in 1980.

The Grand Ayatullah Martyr Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was executed on April 8, 1980. His execution aroused no criticism from the West, because Sadr had openly supported the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and because the West was distracted by the turbulence in Iran. Ayatollah Sayed Mohamad Baqir Al-Hakim maintained a close association with Ayatollah Al-Sadr up to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Al-Sadr in 1980.

Another un-related Islamic notable with the Sadr surname.

Hujjatul Islam Sayyid Musa Sadr [19 -1978]

The Shia's constitute nearly 50% of the Lebanese population. Sayyid Musa Sadr organised them and established numerous educational and vocational institutions for males and females for all age group. In 1967, he toured seven West African countries to see the conditions of Lebanese Shia's who had settled there. In 1969 he established the Supreme Council of the Shi'ite Muslims of Lebanon. in 1978, he went to Libya to discuss the Palestinian issue. The moment he set foot on the Libyan soil, he disappeared.

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Page last modified: 24-02-2020 18:24:26 ZULU