Draft:Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr is an Iraqi Shia cleric and politician who is known as one of the leaders of the Shia in Iraq. He is the fourth son of Muhammad al-Sadr and the most well-known survivor of the Sadr family.
Biography
Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of Muhammad al-Sadr, one of the Shia maraji' in Iraq during the 1990s AD. His father, along with two of his sons, was assassinated and martyred during the rule of the Ba'ath Party led by Saddam Hussein. The lineage of the Sadr family traces back to the seventh Imam of the Shia, Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (AS). The Sadr family, who had settled in the Jabal Amel region of Lebanon, later migrated to Najaf in Iraq, and a group of them also went to Iran.
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Muqtada al-Sadr's father's cousin, was also severely tortured due to his struggle against Saddam Hussein and was later martyred. Musa al-Sadr, the former leader of the Shia in Lebanon who disappeared in Libya by Muammar Gaddafi, is also Muqtada's father's cousin. Muqtada al-Sadr's wife is the daughter of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and the couple has no children.
Withdrawal from Politics
On 29 August 2022, Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew from his political activities following a statement by Kazem Haeri and asked his supporters not to publish any slogans in his name. Following this withdrawal, Sadr's supporters stormed the Presidential Palace and the Iraqi Parliament. In the wake of this unrest, the Prime Minister of Iraq raised the alert level of all security forces in Baghdad to the highest level.
Riots After Withdrawal
The most important base of Sadr's supporters is located in the southern provinces of Iraq, especially in Sadr City, a Shia-majority neighborhood of Baghdad. After Muqtada al-Sadr's withdrawal from politics, his supporters took to the streets and plunged Iraq into chaos. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, asked Sadr to help calm Iraq after the creation of chaos and conflict, and to ask his supporters to return home, but Sadr rejected this request and, with silence, observed the clashes in the cities of Iraq, especially Baghdad. In the meantime, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he had gone on a hunger strike and would continue this strike until the end of the conflicts. He has also currently boycotted the upcoming 2025 AD Parliament elections in Iraq for some time and emphasizes non-participation in them.
See Also
References
- Biography of Muqtada al-Sadr, Borna News Agency Website, Publication Date: 8 Shahrivar 1401 (30 August 2022), Access Date: 14 Aban 1404 SH (5 November 2025).