Once hated, is Sadr now ‘face of reform’ in Iraq?
IRAQIS are still haunted by memories of black-clad death squads roaming Baghdad neighbourhoods a decade ago, cleansing them of Sunnis as the country was convulsed by sectarian violence.
Many of the mass killings in the capital were done in the name of Muqtada al-Sadr, a cleric best remembered by Americans for fiery sermons declaring it a holy duty among his Shiite faithful to attack US forces. The militia he led was armed with Iranian-supplied weapons, and al-Sadr cultivated a strong alliance with leaders in Tehran, who were eager to supplant the US presence in Iraq and play the dominant role in shaping the country’s future.
Now, the man once demonised by the United States as one of the greatest threats to peace and stability in Iraq has come out as the surprise winner of this month’s tight elections, after a startling reinvention into a populist, anti-corruption campaigner whose “Iraq First” message appealed to voters across sectarian divides.
The results have Washington – and Tehran – on edge, as officials in both countries seek to influence what is expected to be a complex and drawnout battle behind the scenes to build a coalition government. Al-Sadr’s bloc won 54 seats – the most of any group, but still far short of a majority in Iraq’s 329-seat Parliament.
Even before final results were announced early on Saturday, al-Sadr – who did not run as a candidate and has ruled himself out as prime minister – had made clear whom he considers natural political allies. At the top of his list is Prime Minister Haider alAbadi, the moderate Shiite leader who has been America’s partner in the fight against Islamic State and whose political bloc finished third in the vote.
Pointedly absent from al-Sadr’s list of potential partners: pro-Iranian blocs, as he has insistently distanced himself from his former patrons in Iran, whose meddling he has come to see as a destabilising force in Iraq’s politics.
Early on Sunday morning, the prime minister met with al-Sadr in Baghdad. They discussed forming a government, and aides from both sides said the men saw eye to eye on prioritising the fight against corruption.
While al-Sadr has all the momentum going into negotiations over the governing coalition, there is no guarantee his bloc will be in power. And it is too early to tell what the election may mean for Iraqi stability or US national security goals. But the upset has clearly weakened the sectarian foundation of Iraq’s political system – and helped transform al-Sadr’s image from the paragon of a militant Shiite into an unexpected symbol of reform and Iraqi nationalism.
As the head of the Sairoon Alliance for Reform, al-Sadr presides over an unlikely alliance that pairs his pious, largely working-class Shiite base with Sunni business leaders, liberals and Iraqis looking for relief from the country’s long-simmering economic crisis.
For those joining the alliance, it was important to be convinced al-Sadr’s shift from Shiite firebrand to Iraqi patriot was sincere, and likely to last.
Late last year, the cleric began reaching out to groups outside his base with an offer to form a new political movement, and the embattled leftists and secularists – once his staunch enemies – faced a moment of reckoning.
“Let me be honest: We had a lot of apprehensions, a lot of suspicions,” said Raad Fahmi, a leader of Iraq’s Communist Party, which is part of al-Sadr’s alliance. “But actions speak louder than words. He’s not the same Muqtada al-Sadr.”
Islamic State changes everything
The change in al-Sadr was prompted by the political and security crisis set off by Islamic State’s takeover of large parts of northern and western Iraq in 2014, according to Sheikh Saleh alObeidi, al-Sadr’s spokesman. The ensuing violence led to an overwhelming shift in the public mood: a feeling that sectarianism was at the root of much of the country’s suffering.
Al-Sadr, the scion of an eminent clerical family, has portrayed his changed political philosophy in starkly pragmatic terms.
In his only extensive interview before the elections, given to his own TV channel, al-Sadr put forth a manifesto largely adopted from his new secularist allies. He said his goals were to put professionals – not partisan loyalists – into positions of power as a way to build national institutions that serve the people instead of political insiders.
“We have tried the Islamists and they failed terribly,” al-Sadr said, a rebuke that his aides said included his own movement. “So let us try another way in which the independent technocrat or independent Islamist or secular technocrat, whoever is best for the job, takes over a ministry and makes it productive. We should try that.”
Shifting roles
The first time many Iraqis heard the name Muqtada al-Sadr was soon after the Americans seized control of Baghdad in 2003. In the post-occupation chaos, al-Sadr emerged as a type of Robin Hood, deploying his militia to distribute food to the poor and defend Shiites against what many came to view as acts of US aggression.
Over time, respect for al-Sadr’s militia among many Iraqis turned to revulsion. Units became known for Mafia-style protection rackets, kidnappings and extortion, even in Shiite neighbourhoods. A growing backlash prompted al-Sadr to leave for Iran in 2007.
In 2008, while al-Sadr was still in Iran, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took decisive action. He ordered the Iraqi army to the city of Basra to stem militia violence there. An intense urban battle killed 215 militia members and wounded 600.
The blow sidelined al-Sadr for a time. He ordered his militia into hibernation, but pointedly never had his men disarm.