Muqtada al-Sadr
|
Hujjat al-Islam Muqtada al-Sadr مقتدى الصدر |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
August 12, 1973 Najaf, Iraq |
| Residence | Najaf, Iraq |
| Nationality | Iraqi |
| Citizenship | Iraq |
| Movement |
Sadrist Movement Al-Ahrar Bloc |
Muqtada al-Sadr (Arabic: مقتدى الصدر, translit. Muqtadā ṣ-Ṣadr; born 12 August 1973) is an Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and militia leader. He is the leader of a political party, the Sadrist Movement and the leader of Saraya al-Salam, a Shiite militia that is a reformation of the previous militia he led during the American occupation of Iraq, the Mahdi Army.
Muqtada al-Sadr is one of the most influential religious and popular figures in Iraq, despite not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.
He is of the prominent Sadr family originating from Jabal Amel in Lebanon but later settled in Najaf, his father-in-law being Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr. He is often styled with the honorific title Sayyid.
Western media often refer to Muqtada al-Sadr as a "anti-American" or "radical" cleric, but his formal religious standing is comparatively low, at a mid-ranking Shia religious rank perhaps reflecting his youth, and he claims neither the title of mujtahid (the equivalent of a senior religious scholar) nor the authority to issue fatwas. But in early 2008 he was reported to be studying to be an ayatollah, which would greatly improve his religious standing.
Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of a famous Iraqi Shi'a cleric, the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr.
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Wikipedia