Al-Sadr Movement
Led by firebrand Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the movement has emerged as perhaps the most militant anti-American force in Iraq. Many members are young, disenfranchised Shi'a attracted by the cleric's charisma and firebrand style of preaching. Al-Sadr is the son of the late Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was gunned down, presumably by Saddam Hussein's men, along with Muqtada's two brothers, in 1999. Fiercely nationalist, al-Sadr's military wing, the Imam Al-Mahdi Army, has actively resisted U.S.-led occupation efforts; various tallies have put its numbers as several-thousand strong, although exact figures are presently unavailable. The Mahdi Army's mouthpiece is the "Ansar Al-Mahdi" newspaper, which is edited by Ahmad Al-Mutayri.
The Sadrist movement's influence declined during 2008. Muqtada al-Sadr's decision to cease Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) militant activity against government forces combined with aggressive Iraqi security force operations against JAM reduced the Sadrist's ability to use force to control and influence the population. In addition, during 2008 the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and the Dawa Party successfully undermined the Sadrist movement, limiting its ability to influence government decisions. In June 2008, Sadr announced his intention to prioritize his organization's cultural, religious and socio-economic outreach while reducing its emphasis on political and militant activity, likely in an effort to regain popular support. This effort was relatively successful, enabling the Sadrists to gain sufficient representation in Shia-dominated provinces to be a key partner in ruling coalitions in most southern provincial councils.
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