Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada Al-Sadr announced Friday that he would suspend the movement he leads for one year, citing “corruption” among some of his followers.
A group within the Sadrists, dubbing itself the “Owners of the Cause,” believes that Al-Sadr is Imam Mahdi, a Shiite religious leader said to have vanished more than 1,000 years ago, who is expected to return leading an army of the faithful to defeat evil in the world.
On Friday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that an investigative court had ordered the arrest of 65 alleged members of the “Owners of the Cause,” which it described as a disruptive “gang.”
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Al-Sadr said, “I want to be a reformer for Iraq, and I cannot reform the Sadrist movement.” He added that he will freeze all activities of the movement — except for religious activities such as Friday prayers.
Al-Sadr resigned from politics last August following a nearly yearlong deadlock in cabinet formation.—AP
