The Rise of Ayatollah Moqtada al-Sadr

What is the fiery Iraqi cleric doing in Qom, Iran?

BY BABAK RAHIMI | JULY 27, 2009

When Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was a young seminary student during the country's Baathist era, he preferred playing video games to attending theological courses. Now several years and a U.S. occupation later, that same Sadr is a major Iraqi political figure, studying to become an ayatollah at Shiite Islam's most prominent religious center of Qom, Iran. Sadr reportedly resides in Tehran and travels weekly to the Iranian shrine-city to study major works of Shiite jurisprudence under an unknown but certainly high-ranking cleric. He will exit his studies as a mujtahid, or learned scholar, with the recognized ability to issue religious decrees.

Behind this remarkable transformation -- from disinterested student to occupation-opposing cleric to serious scholar -- are big ambitions. And if all goes according to plan, Sadr will have a golden opportunity to return and take Iraq's political stage by storm.

Our story begins in the summer 2007, when Sadr first dabbled in getting the extra credentials. The idea came after an outbreak of violence between Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Badr Organization, another armed Shiite group, in Karbala. Soon afterward, Iraqi police intervened and Sadr called a cease-fire, suspending his militia's activity. He went underground for security reasons. Soon thereafter, he left for Iran.

Calling for calm and heading for Qom were calculated moves; both assured his Shiite partners that he was willing to restructure his forces for the sake of Shiite unity -- at a time when U.S. (or Israeli) forces seemed poised to consider military conflict with Iran. The cease-fire was welcomed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest ranking Shiite scholar in Iraq, who had earlier met with Sadr to try and calm Mahdi Amy splinter groups. Tehran, too, had an interest in containing Sadr's movement. The cleric's move to Iran allowed Iranian hard-liners to monitor him even while encouraging Sadr to become an ayatollah -- through religious circles with close ties to Tehran.

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Becoming an ayatollah (literary "Sign of Allah") requires three cycles (halaqat) of scholarly training. The seminary student aims to reach the "age of responsibility," (qabl bulughi sin at-taklif), an intellectual-moral stage after which he is qualified to be an independent judge. Such a state of scholarly adulthood implies the ability to form opinion (rayi) on both spiritual and practical matters. There is no formal hierarchy among Shiite clerics, so graduate "degrees" come in the form of a letter, signed and stamped, acknowledging the mujtahid's permission (ijaza) to practice scholarly judgment (ijtihad). The letter affirms his maturity and integrity as a recognized scholar.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

 

Babak Rahimi is assistant professor of Iranian and Islamic studies program for the study of religion in the department of literature at the University of California, San Diego.

SABABA03

8:04 PM ET

July 27, 2009

Well well well.

Mr. Rahimi,
Thanks for the article about the long road ahead for Moqtada become "ayatollah" (something like a Professor in academics). So, do I understand that, after 21 years of studying 1300 year old manuscripts, he still would not be contributing to better understanding between various societies. Bring peace and harmony among mankind.One wonders, how many Iraqis this gentleman is going to teach, so they can meet the economical, social, and environmental challenges laying ahead of them - particularly to the people who need it the most.?

Agha shomah Be-bakh-shitt, You will have to forgive me for being bold on this subject. A side from the lofty social standing, and almost absolute authority to which religion clerics enjoy, what else he will be doing to improve the lives of the 2M shi'tes living in Muqtadar city, under extreme poverty and luck of basic education.

It seems that, had he spent 1/2 of that time to become a doctor of Medicine, to cure deceases. Professor of Economics, managing Iraq's burgeoning economy, or a professor of computer science (you wrote he loved to play video games), to push Iraq into the forefront of developed countries, it could be by far better use of his time.

Had he stayed with his "studies" of computer video games, and hone his skills as formidable player, who knows, he could have reached the level as that "Ayatollah" - bring him fame and adulation from the rest of the (video playing) world.

 

JWING

10:17 AM ET

July 29, 2009

A Survivor

If nothing else Sadr is a survivor. Despite all of his mistakes and screw-ups he's still around. The big problem with him is that his legitimacy is based upon the street and his militia. The major Shiite parties and the U.S. both tried to get him to become a politician, but then he screwed up by pulling all his ministers out of the cabinet, automatically giving up all the political power he had just gained, and opening him up to attacks by the U.S. and then Maliki's security forces. He's never been able to figure out how to give up his beginning and turn it into a real political future. In the process his movement has splintered again and again and again. His militia has been disbanded and now Special Groups and Iran are running around still carrying out attacks, and he's cooped up in Qom, where there's a lot of speculation his movement is highly restricted by Tehran. That being said, his movement had mixed results in the 2009 elections and joined ruling coalitions with Maliki in a few provinces, and looks to be rejoining with him and the Supreme Council in the United Alliance. Let's see whether he'll do any better this time if he gets any power in a new government. I would bet he'd blow it again.