Few if any people will have heard of Moqtada al Sadr. Yet he is the man that controls Iraq. A man with his own army, a man with the power to influence both Britain and America, a man completely above the law. At times he uses his power to support national rebellion, and sends out his militia to fight the ‘invaders’. At other times he appears charitable and compromising, seeking for himself a new official political role. As many as 30 MP’s in the new Iraqi government are already under his control. Even more chillingly, out of respect for both his family and himself, the Shi’a district of Baghdad ‘Saddam City’, has been renamed ‘Sadr City’.
Just four years ago Moqtada al Sadr was firmly in the shadows, as the War against Iraq began. The outcome of the War in Iraq was never in doubt. Despite many reports of its failings, the war was well planned and well executed. British and American troops with far superior weaponry fought an Army with no faith in its leaders, or in its ability to win.
The real question was never how to win the war, but who would control the country after it
The end to the war in Iraq can be dated to the iconic image of the scene in Ferdows Square, when a triumphant crowd gathered and tried to pull down the gigantic statue of Saddam Hussein. When the attempt failed, in a brilliant PR stunt the US forces brought up an armoured vehicle to finish the job. The world watched as the crowd jumped up and down on the statue, beating it with their shoes and bare fists. Iraq was free of its dictator.
Just one year later the scene in Ferdows square was alarmingly similar to how it had been before this display of democracy, but instead of Saddam’s statue, there was a giant portrait of a shi’ite cleric. Moqtada al Sadr.
Thought to be in his mid 30s, Moqtada boasts both a clear and distinct lineage that can be traced directly to the Prophet Muhammad. He had become popular amongst the poor Shi’a areas due to his family’s work in distributing food for those in need. Three months into the invasion of Iraq his actions suddenly began to become much more sinister. Moqtada’s first act was to form his own army, the Mehdi army, despite the fact that this was in complete defiance of laws created by the British and American troops.
There is much argument about the real strength of the Mehdi army, its numbers estimated anywhere from 2000-20,000 men. Some say they are little more than thugs, while others report they are armed with RPG’S and machine guns. What is known is that they are fiercely loyal to Moqtada; many can be seen marching in step through Baghdad on parades chanting his name. During the years that followed, this army would be blamed for numerous uprisings, executions, and killings of American and British soldiers.
Moqtada’s next step was to start up his own newspaper, al-Hawzah. The US authorities claimed that Moqtada used this newspaper to incite anti-US violence both in Iraq, and across the Islamic World. Moqtada now had a vehicle to spread his message globally, and called out for violence against the Coalition forces. People finally started to know the name, Moqtada al Sadr.
At this point it is wise to ask why Moqtada had been allowed to do all this, without being stopped by the American or British Governments. The reason is that the amount of violence in Iraq was spiraling out of control. There were already in excess of 600 attacks a week towards coalition forces. The British and American Governments could not afford to act in any way that could incite more violence, stability was there only concern. …. and so Moqtada was ignored.
It wasn’t until April 5th 2004 that Paul Bremer, then the US administrator, officially announced that the uprisings by Moqtada would no longer be tolerated. By then it was too late. Moqtada had grown so powerful that any attempt to arrest or kill him ended in a truce, due to the horrendous casualties inflicted on allied forces by his supporters. It now seemed Moqtada was above the law. This was confirmed when it was discovered that an Iraqi judge had issued an arrest warrant for Moqtada on charges for murder, but these had been kept secret and no action had ever been taken.
Over the next years Moqtada’s power and control over Iraq grew stronger. In 2006 the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the release of one of Moqtada’s senior aides. This was despite the fact that the aide had been arrested hours earlier by American troops on both kidnapping and murder charges. There had been no trial, or any chance for evidence to be shown.
On December 30th 2006, Moqtada again revealed the level of influence he had. Men loyal to him somehow managed to sneak through security checks and film Saddam’s execution. That film eventually ended up on both the television and internet. Saddam Hussein’s lawyer goes as far as claiming that Moqtada himself was present. Whether this is true may never be known; certainly his supporters were there. Moments before his execution Saddam finished reciting a prayer with the words, ‘Peace be upon Mohammed and his holy family’. It was at this point that two of the guards added, ‘supporting his son, Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada’.
It must have been at this point that Saddam realized that any fear or control that he had over the country was now ended. If there was ever a sign that Saddam no longer held the heart of the people, this was it. He had been replaced, by a new leader, possibly one that could cause more problems to the Western World than he had himself.
Even as the noose was placed over Saddam’s head, there were cries of, “long live
Moqtada al Sadr”. One Kurdish newspaper Netkurd went even further by suggesting that Saddam’s executioner was Moqtada himself. Certainly if you compare photos of Moqtada with this unknown man, they do appear very similar. Netkurd also records the final words that came out of Saddam’s mouth, “Moqtada al Sadr”.
Saddam is now long gone, the country seems ever closer to civil war, and it is still an environment where Moqtada can engender more and more support. Naomi Klein writing in The Nation has called Moqtada and his supporters “the single greatest threat to U.S military and economic control of Iraq.” .There are two directions Moqtada can take, one towards rebellion, and the other towards being part of an official Iraqi government. The most powerful nations in the world are waiting breathlessly, and hopefully, for him to make that choice.
Bruce Dearborn Walker wrote,
You make this guy sound like a hero, when he is actually just another would-be fascist muslim dictator. He is frantically on the make, sucking up to one Iranian group, then another, then trying to ally with various Iraq groups, including both terrorists and the criminal groups that Saddam freed before the end. No one trusts him because he is so obviously willing to sell out his own people, and his own people are so low on the scale that they have no one else to trust. Think al Sharpton with a private army. (and no, that wasn’t a typo.) He has consistently opposed the civilizing forces of both America and Iraq, by supporting the murder of those willing to compromise with others. I was very dissappointed when Bush did not back up his then man on the spot (don’t remember the name, he only lasted a couple of months) who wanted to take Sadr out after Sadr was complicit in the assassination of another Imam who supported the US. This also signaled to possible American supporters that they would not be protected, or even avenged, and has made it much harder for Bush to operate properly in Iraq. The American army learned painfully and at much cost how to deal with Muslim “activists” in the Phillippines in the early part of the 20th century, evidently those lessons have been forgotten.
Of course, then everybody would have been screaming about Bush the murderer. But then, they are doing that anyway. The majority of Iraqis that I read think that Sadr is criminal scum, and no longer trust Bush to do the right thing. They put up with Saddam for 30 years, but at least Saddam was competent. Sadr is not. And Bush isn’t listening to those on his staff that are.
Link | June 3rd, 2007 at 2:48 am
Shaun Apple wrote,
There’s no doubt there’s a lot to the ongoing story in Iraq that most of the population is totally unaware of regarding. Too bad most people don’t care.
Love Across Borders Publishing
http://www.loveacrossborders.com
Link | June 3rd, 2007 at 8:11 am
Richard wrote,
I agree that arresting Moqtada when the American and British forces had the chance would probably have been the most sensible thing to do. But then his case is not unique, there are many clerics and citizens who have committed crimes that will not face justice, simply because the fear of the reaction to there arrest is just too great.
Moqtada seems to care only for power and popularity and not at all for his country.
Link | June 3rd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Eric wrote,
“Few if any people will have heard of Moqtada al Sadr.”
Are you serious? People who haven’t heard of al Sadr haven’t been paying attention to the news for the last five years.
Link | June 4th, 2007 at 12:12 am