Iraq’s nascent democracy faces a new dilemma: whether or not to embrace the political comeback of a former militia leader. Muqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shia cleric, has launched a public relations campaign, rebranding himself as a voice of sectarian harmony. Should Iraqis welcome Sadr with open arms, or be wary of his new persona?
Sadr first made a name for himself as an erratic demagogue who stoked sectarian fighting and helped bring Iraq’s young democracy to its knees. From 2003 to 2008, Sadr’s Mahdi Army took up arms against successive Iraqi governments and committed widespread atrocities against the country’s Sunni minority, in addition to targeting U.S. installations and personnel until American forces left Iraq at the end of 2011.
Read Here – Foreign Affairs
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Posted in
Iraq and tagged
Baghdad,
Iran,
Iraq,
Islam,
Middle East,
Muqtada al-Sadr,
Nouri al-Maliki,
Politics,
religion,
Shia Islam,
Sunni,
Sunni Islam,
United States Armed Forces,
violence |