Where in the hell...

[Donkey]

Is Muqtada al Sadr?

Is he laying low? Did he do stuff in the recent elections? Is he pulling puppet strings?

The western media has apparently forgotten about him entirely.

[andrewl]

Originally Posted by Donkey

Is Muqtada al Sadr?

Is he laying low? Did he do stuff in the recent elections? Is he pulling puppet strings?

The western media has apparently forgotten about him entirely.

Seems like he was given a pretty good incentive to lay low.

Andrew

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Donkey

Is Muqtada al Sadr?

Is he laying low? Did he do stuff in the recent elections? Is he pulling puppet strings?

The western media has apparently forgotten about him entirely.

One can only speculate that our belovedly liberal and warmongering western media doesn't like losing on issues and they lost it completely on Iraq (wrong on every account). Sadr beat them in the PR game and forced the US to withdrawl and they don't like that one little bit.

However, I did stumble upon a couple of comments over the last week or so about how Sadr's chubby little fingers are still in the pot. Apparently, he's been playing peacemaker over there, keeping a lid on the simmering civil war and trying to singlehandedly convert the country to democracy.

Sadr apparently has been pushing the notion that "voting is the most legitimate form of protest". Judging by what is being reported as a surprisingly high/record turnout for the elections, we may well infer that Sadr is as influential as ever.

Sadr voiced an expectation that his informal political faction would hold 30% of the seats after the vote.

Please note that Sadr and his movement are legally banned from Parliament and the election (which was a Malaki/US-backed initiative). Ergo, Sadr and the Sadrists are not on the ballot. But they will be in Parliament.

[Michael]

Western media hasn't entirely ignored Sadr...

Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric whose followers fought against the American military and Mr. Maliki’s government, urged Iraqi Shiites to vote.

Mr. Sadr allied with the Iraqi National Alliance, which appeared to have fallen behind the other largely Shiite coalition, the State of Law, led by Mr. Maliki.

On the eve of the vote from Iran, where he is said to be studying to become an ayatollah, Mr. Sadr seemed to accept Iraq’s political process. “Participation in the election,” he said, “is a sort of political resistance.”

Source: NYTimes

[Michael]

And interestingly enough... the Wiki-page on Sadr reports that he is presently studying to become an ayatollah.

Originally Posted by Wiki

Muqtada al-Sadr's formal religious standing is comparatively low, at a mid-ranking Shia religious rank, perhaps reflecting his young age. However, in early 2008, Al-Sadr was reported to be studying to be an ayatollah, which would greatly improve his religious standing and strengthen his position vis-a-vis non-Sadrist Shia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muqtada_al-Sadr

This is the first I've heard of Sadr seeking ayatollah rank. Look out Iraq, Sadr is going to own the fucking place.

[Michael]

And here is a tidbit from December 2009...

- After long silence, Muqtada Al-Sadr is back, campaigning for the election with a statement asking his “special forces” (Liwaa Al-Youm Al-Mawoud” = “Judgment Day Brigade” (formed after signing SOFA) to intensify their attacks on the American forces and avoid civilians, stressing on the ban of any negotiations with the occupation.

The interesting in his letter is that he calls the split group “Asaib Ahil Al-Haq” to return to main Sadrists movement last year Muqtada Al-Sadr forbid his followers to contact Asaib group.

Source

Alive and obviously doing fine.

[Donkey]

interesting. And encouraging from a peace-perspective, in my opinion.

I remember boldly telling one of my teachers that al Sadr would be running the show either directly or indirectly inside of ten years. I do hate to be wrong.

[Non Sequitur]

You know, I actually think that this could be promising news. At least the man is saying the governmental process is legitimate in some form. It's by no means perfect, but it's not horrible either.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Non Sequitur

You know, I actually think that this could be promising news. At least the man is saying the governmental process is legitimate in some form. It's by no means perfect, but it's not horrible either.

Sadr has since the US invasion of Iraq been the ONLY leader that has consistently supported the idea of democracy and opposed theocracy.

As I've said all along, Sadr is the by far the most interesting fellow in Iraqi politics - and probably one of the most intelligent and successful. It is indeed quite likely that he will continue to dodge CIA assassins and outlive most of the contemporary crop of aspiring dictators.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Donkey

interesting. And encouraging from a peace-perspective, in my opinion.

I remember boldly telling one of my teachers that al Sadr would be running the show either directly or indirectly inside of ten years. I do hate to be wrong.

I think Sadr is well on track for this. He will NOT run the show directly as that is totally against his own professed rules of how the politic system should operate.

But the bottom line is that Iraq has been dancing to Sadr's tune all along, though no one will admit this. Sadr called the insurgency into creation, and he was the one that tamed it. Sadr said 'Yanqui go home" and forced the signing of the SOFA. Now Sadr says 'vote' and they go vote in record numbers.

The man is a force to be reckoned with.