Muqtada al-Sadr
Back in 1999, Grand Ayatollah Muhammed Sadiq al-Sadr and his two sons were assassinated on orders from Saddam Hussein. Having founded a political Islamic movement in the late 1950s, the Grand Ayatollah was revered by the neighborhood that now bears his name.
The only surviving son, Muqtada al-Sadr, is believed to be in his mid-30s. With little religious education and many details of his past unknown, al-Sadr gained strong social clout in Iraq by virtue of bearing his father’s last name. Described as a maverick young cleric, al-Sadr led numerous anti-US demonstrations against the “invaders,” and assembled the menacing, ruthless Mahdi army from the poor and desperate Shiite population.
Al-Sadr’s followers are fiercely loyal. When Sayyed Abdel Majid al-Khoei, a rival of al-Sadr’s, was hacked to death by a mob in 2003, al Sadr loyalists made clear their intentions to propel al-Sadr to power whatever the cost. By early 2004 Sadr's followers elevated him to the rank of hujjat al-Islam—a “Sign of Islam,” the third-highest rank in the Shi’i clerical chain of command.
Al-Sadr’s movement is reportedly modeled after the alarmingly violent Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Mahdi Army
The Mahdi army is the militia wing of The Active Religious Seminary, fighters headed by rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Once believed to include 5,500-7,000 trained combatants and active participants, heavy recruitment in regions like Sadr City push the membership estimate to more than ten thousand guerillas.
Ongoing fighting around the capital has progressively involved al-Sadr's army. In early April 2004, the Mahdi army attempted to occupy and gain control of police stations and government buildings in Baghdad, engaging coalition forces in battle using small arms and RPGs. The guerillas are also blamed for attacking British troops in Basra, assaulting the governor’s office and firing RPGs at coalition headquarters.
The Mahdi Army survives with help from neighboring Iran. Money has been transferred from Iran to al-Sadr since 2003 in an attempt to settle an Iraqi Shiite power struggle in Karbala. To help prepare elements of the Mahdi Army, Iran's Revolutionary Guard has allegedly set up rebel camps and training centers along the border.
Over the past two years, Muqtada al-Sadr has slowly lost control over the thousands of armed men who once followed his command. Vicious “death squads” have spawned from al-Sadr’s movement, operating outside the scope of even the founding father’s control.
