Sadr: Back to School, Iran Style

Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist political current and commander of the Mahdi Army, has decided to eschew politics in favor of hitting the books in a bid to rise up the ranks of the Shia religious establishment. Sadr’s move comes as the violence in Iraq has reduced dramatically and U.S. and Iraqi security forces have been targeting the “rogue” elements of his fracture militia. Currently, Sadr holds a low ranking clerical position in the Shia religious establishment. This prevents followers from turning to him for religious advice, and forces them to turn to more senior ayatollahs for guidance. Sadr himself seeks to become an ayatollah, but is adopting the Iranian strain of theocratic Shia Islam known as wilayet al-faqeeh. “The concept was adopted Iran’s Khomeini, but carries little support among Iraq’s Shiite religious hierarchy,” the Associated Press noted late last week. Sadr often portrays himself as an Iraqi Shia nationalist and attacks Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, Iraqi’s most influential Shia cleric, for his heritage. But Sistani rejects Iran’s theocratic version of Shia Islam. “Sistani supports an Islamic state that is compatible with elections, freedom of religion, and other civil liberties,” the Council of Foreign Relations stated in a profile. Earlier this year, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which is run by Sadr rival Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, dropped the “Revolution” from its title and stated it would turn to Sistani for guidance in a clear effort to distance itself from Iran. Sadr’s decision to embrace the Iranian wilayet al-faqeeh along with his decision to withdraw from the political scene comes as the surge is having a significant impact on reducing the violence and sidelining al Qaeda and the Iranian-backed militias. While many reports indicate Sadr is attempting to reestablish control of his militia, Sadr appears to have decided it would benefit him to withdrawal from the political scene and deepen his relationship with the Iranians. Many commentators wish to distance Sadr from the Iranians, but his acceptance of the Khomeinist style of theocratic Islam tells more about his relationship with Iran than any statement put out by Sadr’s press flacks.