BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Friday that he would suspend the movement he leads for one year, citing \u201ccorruption\u201d among some of his followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A group within his Sadrist movement, which has dubbed itself the \u201cOwners of the Cause,\u201d believes that al-Sadr is Imam Mahdi, a Shiite religious leader said to have vanished more than 1,000 years ago and who is expected to return leading an army of the faithful to defeat evil in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, Iraq\u2019s Supreme Judicial Council announced that an investigative court had ordered the arrest of 65 alleged members of the \u201cOwners of the Cause,\u201d which it described as a disruptive \u201cgang.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, al-Sadr said, \u201cI want to be a reformer for Iraq, and I cannot reform the Sadrist movement.\u201d He added that he will freeze all activities of the movement \u2014 except for religious activities such as Friday prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Sadr resigned from politics last August, following a nearly yearlong deadlock in the formation of a new Cabinet. His party won the largest share of seats in the October 2021 parliamentary elections, but not enough to secure a majority government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Sadr\u2019s refusal to negotiate with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals and his subsequent exit from the talks catapulted the country into political uncertainty and volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After al-Sadr announced his resignation from politics, hundreds of his angry followers stormed the government palace and clashed with security forces. At least 15 protesters were killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Sadr had won a mass base of followers, many of whom hail from Iraq\u2019s poorest sectors of society, with nationalist rhetoric and promises of reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of his supporters were first followers of his father, a revered figure in Shiite Islam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr says he will suspend his movement for one year, citing \u201ccorruption\u201d among some followers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1355],"class_list":["post-73585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QFMMON3UGBAFFL7UGSHEX34RRM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2023\/04\/14\/populist-iraq-cleric-al-sadr-suspends-movement-citing-corruption\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n