page_title: Muqtada al-Sadr
section_title: 2011–present
hierarchical_section_title: Muqtada al-Sadr / Opposition to the US presence / 2011–present
caption_attribution_description: فارسی: با پایان یافتن چهارمین دوره انتخابات پارلمانی جمهوری عراق، کار شمارش آرا آغاز و مردم هوادار ائتلاف‎ها و جریانات مختلف سیاسی عراق نتیجه این رویداد را دنبال می‎کنند. بامداد دوشنبه ۲۴ اردیبهشت ۱۳۹۷ به وقت تهران، برخی هواداران احزاب و جریانات سیاسی خصوصا حامیان ائتلاف سائرون نیز با حضور در خیابان‎های بغداد پایتخت عراق به شادی و پایکوبی پرداختند.
context_page_description: Muqtada al-Sadr is an Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a Shia militia that is a reformation of the previous militia he led during the American military presence in Iraq, the Mahdi Army. There were reports on 7 December 2019 of an armed drone attack on Sadr.
context_section_description: On 5 January 2011 al-Sadr returned from Iran, to Najaf, having spent four years out of the country after vowing never to return unless the American military forces left. 
  Prior to his arrival in Najaf, he had been instrumental in the formation of the 2011 Iraqi government and six years later condemned Trump government open support of Israeli claims about Jerusalem and advocated the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad due to American announcements related to their forthcoming embassy move in Israel which he saw as a 'declaration of war on Islam.' 
  Following the US withdrawal from Iraq, al-Sadr continued to be an influential figure in Iraqi politics, associated with the Al-Ahrar bloc, whose Shi'a factions are still at war with not only the government but also the Sunni factions. However, whereas during the war al-Sadr was known for advocating violence, in 2012 he began to present himself as a proponent of moderation and tolerance and called for peace.
  In February 2014, al-Sadr announced that he was withdrawing from politics and dissolving the party structure to protect his family's reputation.
  However, later in 2014, he called for the formation of "Peace Companies", often mistranslated "Peace Brigades", to protect Shia shrines from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In June, these Peace Companies marched in Sadr City. In addition to guarding shrines, the Peace Companies participated in offensive operations such as the recapture of Jurf Al Nasr in October 2014. They suspended their activities temporarily in February 2015, but were active in the Second Battle of Tikrit in March.
  
  Sadr is considered a populist by Western observers. In 2015 he entered into an alliance with the Iraqi Communist Party and other secular groups "under an umbrella of security and corruption concerns", both long-standing issues of daily life in the country. In March 2015, Sadr criticized the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, saying that "It [Saudi invasion of Yemen] is at odds with Islamic-Arabic unity".
  On 26 February 2016, Sadr led a one million-strong demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest corruption in Iraq and the government's failure to deliver on reforms. "Abadi must carry out grassroots reform," Sadr said in front of the protesters. "Raise your voice and shout so the corrupt get scared of you," he encouraged the people. On 18 March, Sadr's followers began a sit-in outside the Green Zone, a heavily fortified district in Baghdad housing government offices and embassies. He called the Green Zone "a bastion of support for corruption". On 27 March, he walked into the Green Zone to begin a sit-in, urging followers to stay outside and remain peaceful. He met with Abadi on 26 December to discuss the reform project he proposed during protests early in the year. Following the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack in Syria on 4 April 2017, Sadr called for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down. In July 2017, Sadr visited Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
  In April 2018, Sadr wrote: "I am ready to intervene between the Islamic Republic (Iran) and Kingdom Saudi Arabia to resolve some issues, even gradually, and that is for nothing but the best of Iraq and the region."
  In May 2018, al-Sadr's Sairoon electoral list won 54 seats in the first Iraqi parliamentary election since the Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq. He rejected U.S. interference in the formation of the new Iraqi government, saying: "The U.S. is an invader country; we do not allow it to interfere" in Iraqi affairs. In a country riven by sectarian tensions and regional politics, Sadr has transformed himself again: He has now positioned himself as an Iraqi nationalist; allied himself with communists, Sunnis, and political independents; criticized Iran’s outsized influence in Iraq; and strongly criticized the sectarian nature of Iraq’s politics. Following the May 2018 elections the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and General Soleimani lobbied al-Sadr and others to forge a political coalition allied with Tehran.
  After the assas
caption: Supporters of Sadr's alliance in Liberation Square, Baghdad celebrating after a successful election campaign
exif: {}