Editing Muqtada al-Sadr (section)

==Opposition to US presence==
=== 2003 ===
Shortly after the US-led coalition [[Invasion of Iraq|ousted Saddam Hussein]] and his Ba'ath regime, al-Sadr voiced opposition to the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]]. He subsequently stated that he had more legitimacy than the Coalition-appointed [[Iraqi Governing Council]]. He granted his first major Western television interview to [[Bob Simon]] of ''[[60 Minutes]]'', in which al-Sadr famously said "Saddam was the little serpent, but America is the big serpent."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1694593/|title="60 Minutes Wednesday" Muqtada al-Sadr's Battle Against the U.S. (TV Episode 2003)|publisher=IMDb|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

In May 2003, al-Sadr issued a [[fatwa]] that became known as the ''al-Hawasim'' (meaning 'the finalists' – a term used to refer to the looters of post-invasion Iraq) ''fatwa''.<ref name="Cockburn 130">Cockburn, p. 130.</ref> The fatwa allowed theft and racketeering on the condition that the perpetrators pay the requisite [[khums]] to Sadrist imams,<ref name="Erik A. Claessen 2010 143">{{cite book|title=Stalemate: An Anatomy of Conflicts Between Democracies, Islamists, and Muslim Autocrats|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38444-8|page=143 |author=Erik A. Claessen|edition=illustrated|chapter=6}}</ref> saying that "looters could hold on to what they had appropriated so long as they made a donation (khums) of one-fifth of its value to their local Sadrist office." The fatwa alienated many older members of his father's movement,<ref name="Erik A. Claessen 2010 143" /> as well as mainstream Shiites,<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Phil|title=Criminals, Militias, and Insurgents: Organized Crime in Iraq|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Strategic Studies Institute|isbn=978-1-58487-397-6 |page=234|chapter=7}}</ref> and the Shia establishment and property-owning classes from the Sadrists.<ref name="Cockburn 130" /> However, the fatwa strengthened his popularity among the poorest members of society, notably in [[Sadr City]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Filiu|first=Jean-Pierre|title=Apocalypse in Islam|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-26431-1|page=147|edition=illustrated|author-link=Jean-Pierre Filiu}}</ref> It has been claimed that the original fatwa was actually issued by Sadr's advisor [[Kazem al-Haeri|Grand Ayatollah Kazem Husseini Haeri]], and that al-Sadr was simply loyally issuing the same instruction.<ref name="Cockburn 130" />

Al-Sadr is suspected in [[United States|US]] news media of having ordered the assassination of rival [[Shia Islam|Shia]] leader [[Abdul-Majid al-Khoei]] in 2003, a charge he denies and which remains unproven.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khoury|first=Nabeel|date=16 May 2018|title=Iraq: The reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/iraq-the-reinvention-of-muqtada-al-sadr/|access-date=12 October 2021|website=[[Atlantic Council]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== 2004 ===
{{main|Iraq spring fighting of 2004}} 
In his 2004 sermons and public interviews, al-Sadr repeatedly demanded an immediate withdrawal of all US-led coalition forces, all foreign troops under [[United Nations]] control, and the establishment of a new central Iraqi government, not connected to the Ba'ath party or the [[Ayad Allawi|Allawi]] government.

In late March 2004, American authorities ([[759th Military Police Battalion|759th MP Battalion]]) in Iraq shut down Sadr's newspaper ''[[al-Hawza]]'' on charges of inciting violence. Sadr's followers held demonstrations protesting the closure of the newspaper. On 4 April, fighting broke out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra. Sadr's Mahdi Army took over several points and attacked coalition soldiers, killing dozens of foreign soldiers, and taking many casualties of their own in the process.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/02/iraqi-cleric-sadr-announces-retirement-20142167325224542.html |title=Iraqi cleric Sadr retires from politics|publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref> At the same time, Sunni rebels in the cities of Baghdad, [[Samarra]], [[Ramadi]], and, most notably, [[Fallujah]], staged uprisings as well, causing the most serious challenge to American control of Iraq up to that time.

During the [[First Battle of Fallujah|first siege of Fallujah]] in late March and April 2004, Muqtada's Sadrists sent aid convoys to the besieged Sunnis there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.juancole.com/2007/01/muqtada-al-sadr-and-sunnis-mickey-kaus.html|title=Muqtada Al Sadr And Sunnis Mickey Kaus|publisher=Informed Comment|access-date=11 December 2014|date=4 January 2007}}</ref>

[[Paul Bremer]], then the US administrator in Iraq, declared on 5 April 2004 that al-Sadr was an outlaw and that uprisings by his followers would not be tolerated.<ref name=bremer>{{cite news |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=9514 |title=Bremer Brands Muqtada Sadr an Outlaw |publisher=Middle-East-online.com |date=5 April 2004 |access-date=2 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010055450/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=9514 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

That day, al-Sadr called for a [[jihad]] against American forces. To do this he needed to gain temporary control of [[Al Kut]], [[An Najaf]] and the suburb of Baghdad named after his grandfather, [[Sadr City]]. On the night of 8 April, his [[Mahdi Army]] dropped eight overspans and bridges around the Convoy Support Center Scania, thus severing northbound traffic into Baghdad.{{Citation needed|reason=can't find this info available in the other sources linked to this article|date=June 2017}} The next day his militia ambushed any and every convoy trying to get in or out of [[Baghdad International Airport]], known to the soldiers as BIAP. This led to the worst convoy ambush of the war, the [[2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush|ambush of the 724th Transportation Company (POL)]], which resulted in eight [[KBR (company)|KBR]] drivers killed and three soldiers killed. One was [[Matt Maupin]], who was initially listed as the first American soldier missing in action. These series of attacks demonstrated an unexpected level of sophistication in planning. The Mahdi Army knew it could not win a head on fight with the United States military coalition and it took full advantage of a major American vulnerability by attacking convoy trucks that supplied the troops. BIAP was where the newly arrived [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)|1st Cavalry Division]] drew its supplies. The 1st Cavalry Division was replacing the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] in and around Baghdad.  The 1st Armored Division had already been deployed to Iraq for a year. [[United States Central Command|CENTCOM]] commander General [[John Abizaid]] decided to extend the Division beyond its 1-year deployment, for an additional 120 days, to use in the fight against the Mahdi Army.<ref name="stripes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/1st-armored-division-s-iraq-timeline-1.24297|title=1st Armored Division's Iraq timeline|access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="washingtontimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/jun/22/20040622-113720-3352r/?page=all|title=Army unit claims victory over sheik|work=The Washington Times|date=22 June 2004|access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref> On 11 April, the Mahdi Army launched an attack on the southwest wall at BIAP behind which several hundred trucks parked. By the end of April, the American 1st Armored Division had suppressed the Mahdi Army's uprising<ref name="stripes.com" /><ref name="washingtontimes.com" /> but al Sadr had achieved his goal of making it a significant resistance force fighting against the U.S. led coalition forces occupying Iraq.<ref>Donald Wright, ''On Point II; Transition to the New Campaign; The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, May 2003-January 2005'', Combat Studies Institute; Richard E. Killblane, ''Road Warriors'', unpublished</ref>

=== 2005–2006 ===
It is generally frowned upon in Iraq for clerics to actively participate in secular politics, and like the other leading religious figures, Muqtada al-Sadr did not run in the [[January 2005 Iraqi legislative election|2005 Iraqi elections]]. It is believed he implicitly backed the [[National Independent Cadres and Elites]] party that was closely linked with the Mahdi Army. Many of his supporters, however, backed the far more popular [[United Iraqi Alliance]] (UIA) of Grand Ayatollah Sistani.

On 26 August 2005, an estimated 100,000 Iraqis marched in support of al-Sadr and his ideals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=14419 |title=Iraqi factions firm against constitution |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=26 August 2005 |access-date=22 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930235814/http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=14419 |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref>

On 25 March 2006, Sadr was in his home and escaped a [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]] attack; this attack was disputed, as the ordnance landed more than 50 meters from his home.

Sadr's considerable leverage was apparent early in the week of 16 October 2006, when Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] ordered the release of one of Sadr's senior aides. The aide had been arrested a day earlier by American troops on suspicion of participating in kidnappings and killings.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/world/middleeast/21iraqcnd.html?ex=1318996800&en=a542d37a1dff56f9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Attack on Iraqi City Shows Militia's Power |first=Kirk |last=Semple |newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 October 2006 |access-date=22 October 2006}}</ref>

=== 2007 ===
On 13 February, several sources in the US government claimed that Muqtada al-Sadr had left Iraq and fled to Iran in anticipation of the coming [[2007 Baghdad crackdown|security crackdown]].<ref name="CNNgone">{{cite news |first=Jomana |last=Karadsheh |author2=Mohammed Tawfeeq |author3=Barbara Starr |title=U.S.: Radical cleric al-Sadr in Iran |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/13/iraq.main/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=13 February 2007 |access-date=14 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214001723/http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/13/iraq.main/index.html |archive-date=14 February 2007}}</ref> US military spokesman Maj. Gen. [[William B. Caldwell IV|William B. Caldwell]] reinforced this account on 14 February,<ref name="Postgone">{{cite news |first=Ernesto |last=Londoño |author2=Joshua Partlow |title=Iraqi Militia Leader Sadr in Iran, Say U.S. Officials |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/14/AR2007021400450.html?nav=hcmodule |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=14 February 2007 |access-date=14 February 2007 }}</ref> but a member of Iraq's parliament and an aide to al-Sadr have denied the claims.<ref name="CNNgone" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Jomana |last=Karadsheh |author2=Mohammed Tawfeeq |author3=Barbara Starr |title=U.S. insists radical cleric in Iran despite denials |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/14/iraq.main/index.html |publisher=CNN|date=14 February 2007 |access-date=14 February 2007}}</ref>

On 30 March it was reported that Sadr, through clerics speaking on his behalf, "delivered a searing speech ... condemning the American presence in Iraq ... [and] call[ing] for an anti-occupation mass protest on April 9."<ref name="070330-nyt">Edward Wong. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/world/middleeast/30cnd-Iraq.html?hp "Shiite Cleric Calls for Mass Protest Against U.S."], ''The New York Times'' (30 March 2007)</ref> This call to protest was significant in that, since the beginning of the [[Iraq War troop surge of 2007|American troop surge]] (which began on 14 February 2007), al-Sadr had ordered his "militia to lie low during the new Baghdad security plan so as not to provoke a direct confrontation with the Americans".<ref name="070330-nyt"/>

In a statement stamped with Sadr's official seal and distributed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf a day before the demonstration, on Sunday, 8 April 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr urged the Iraqi army and police to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerilla fighters to concentrate on pushing American forces out of the country. "You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your arch-enemy," the statement said.

On 17 April 2007, several ministers loyal to al-Sadr left the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that the withdrawal of these ministers had not weakened his government and that he would name technocrats to replace them soon.<ref name="IOl">{{cite news |first=Kawther |last=Abdul-Ameer |author2=Mussab Al-Khairalla|title= Government not weakened by Sadr pullout |url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20070417192855164C762706 |work=Independent Online (South Africa)|date=17 April 2007 |access-date=17 April 2007}}</ref>

On 25 April 2007, Sadr condemned the construction of [[Baghdad Wall|Azamiyah wall]] around a Sunni neighbourhood in Baghdad, by calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers"

On 25 May 2007, Sadr delivered a sermon to an estimated 6,000 followers in [[Kufa]]. Sadr reiterated his condemnation of the United States' occupation of Iraq and demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces, al-Sadr's speech also contained calls for unity between Sunni and Shi'a.<ref name="Associated Press">{{cite news <!-- |first=Ravi |last=Nessman [author not displayed] -->|title=Al-Sadr Calls for U.S. Pullout from Iraq |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-05/26/content_880760.htm |newspaper=China Daily |date=26 May 2007 |access-date=27 December 2007}}</ref> In June 2007, al-Sadr vowed to go ahead with a planned march to the devastated [[Al-Askari Mosque|Askariyya]] shrine in central Iraq, al-Sadr said the march was aimed at bringing Shi'is and Sunnis closer together and breaking down the barriers imposed by the Americans and Sunni religious extremists.

In a statement issued 29 August 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that an order to stand down for six months had been distributed to his loyalists following the deaths of more than 50 Shia Muslim pilgrims during [[Battle of Karbala (2007)|fighting in Karbala]] the day before. The statement issued by Sadr's office in Najaf said: "I direct the Mahdi army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed." The intention behind the ceasefire was thought in part to be to allow al-Sadr reassert control over the movement, which is thought to have splintered. "We call on all Sadrists to observe self-restraint, to help security forces control the situation and arrest the perpetrators and sedition mongers, and urge them to end all forms of armament in the sacred city," said the statement, referring to the 28 August clashes in Karbala. Asked if the unexpected order meant no attacks on American troops, as well as a ban on Shia infighting, a senior Sadr aide said: "All kinds of armed actions are to be frozen, without exception."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/30/wiraq130.xml |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Muqtada al-Sadr announces ceasefire in Iraq |first=Damien |last=McElroy |date=30 August 2007 |access-date=13 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317071257/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F08%2F30%2Fwiraq130.xml |archive-date=17 March 2008}}</ref>

=== 2008–2011 ===
{{main|Siege of Sadr City}} 
In March 2008, during the [[Battle of Basra (2008)|Battle of Basra]], the [[Sadr Movement]] launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/25/iraq.main/index.html |title=Peaceful Iraq protests spark clashes; 50 reported dead |publisher=CNN |access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

In August 2008, Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops is not established. "Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group," while another group called ''Momahidoun'' is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/al-sadr-orders-militia-to-disarm/ |title=Al-Sadr Orders Militia To Disarm|date=8 August 2008 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

In response to [[Israel]]i [[Gaza War (2008–09)|attacks on Gaza]], al-Sadr called for reprisals against US troops in Iraq: "I call upon the honest Iraqi resistance to carry out revenge operations against the great accomplice of the Zionist enemy."

On 1 May 2009, al-Sadr paid a surprise visit to [[Ankara]] where, in his first public appearance for two years, he met with [[Turkish President]] [[Abdullah Gül]] and [[Turkish Prime Minister|Prime Minister]] [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] for talks that focused on the "political process"<ref name=TZ090502>{{cite news|date=2 May 2009|title=Iraq's Sadr Meets Erdoğan|work=[[Today's Zaman]]|first=Servet and Süleyman Kurt|last=Yanatma}}</ref> and requested Turkey play a greater role in establishing stability in the [[Middle East]]. Spokesman Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi confirmed the nature of the talks that had been requested by al-Sadr and stated, "Turkey is a good, old friend. Trusting that, we had no hesitation in travelling here."<ref name=TZ090504>{{cite news|date=4 May 2009|title=Iraq's Sadr Meets Erdoğan|work=[[Today's Zaman]]|first=Çağri|last=Çobanoğlu}}</ref> After the meeting al-Sadr visited supporters in [[Istanbul]], where al-Obeidi says they may open a representative office.

In a press conference on 6 March 2010, ahead of the [[2010 Iraqi parliamentary election]], Sadr called on all Iraqis to participate in the election and support those who seek to [[Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (2007–2011)|expel US troops]] out of the country. Sadr warned that any interference by the United States will be unacceptable.<ref name="HA">{{cite web |url=http://hamsayeh.net/hamsayehnet_iran-international%20news994.htm |title=Iraqi Shia Leader Calls for U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq |access-date=4 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117124604/http://hamsayeh.net/hamsayehnet_iran-international%20news994.htm |archive-date=17 November 2010 |website=hamsayeh.net |date=7 March 2010 }}</ref>

On 5 January 2011, Sadr returned to the Iraqi city of [[Najaf]] in order to take a more proactive and visible role in the new Iraqi government.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011151418794320.html|title=Al-Sadr back in Iraq stronghold|publisher=Al Jazeera English|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref> Three days later, thousands of Iraqis turned out in Najaf to hear his first speech since his return, in which he called the US, Israel, and the UK "common enemies" against Iraq. His speech was greeted by the crowd chanting "Yes, yes for Muqtada! Yes, yes for the leader!" while waving Iraqi flags and al-Sadr's pictures. Subsequently, he returned to Iran to continue his studies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111872647305497.html|title=Al-Sadr calls on Iraqis 'to resist'|publisher=Al Jazeera English|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

By late 2011, it appeared that the United States would largely withdraw from Iraq, a demand that helped make Sadr a popular leader amongst supporters almost immediately following the invasion. Sadr also controlled the largest bloc of parliament, and had reached a sort of détente with prime minister Nouri al Maliki, who needed Sadrist support to retain his post.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/iraq-sadr-city-baghdad-sadeq-al-sadr-government|title=Iraq: Sadr a Rising Force in Iraqi Politics |publisher=Pulitzer Center |access-date=11 December 2014|date=19 October 2011 }}</ref>