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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Iraqi Cleric Says Again He’ll Quit Politics | Iraqi Cleric Says Again He’ll Quit Politics |
| (7 months later) | |
| BAGHDAD — Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who became one of Iraq’s most powerful political leaders, said he was withdrawing from politics and would no longer be represented in the Iraqi government or Parliament. | |
| In a statement released on his website Saturday, Mr. Sadr said: “I announce that I will not intervene in politics. No party represents us from now on in Parliament or in any position inside or outside the government.” He added that no one should claim to speak for his Sadrist Shiite party, the Ahrar bloc. | In a statement released on his website Saturday, Mr. Sadr said: “I announce that I will not intervene in politics. No party represents us from now on in Parliament or in any position inside or outside the government.” He added that no one should claim to speak for his Sadrist Shiite party, the Ahrar bloc. |
| The offices of his party will be shut down, he said, but the charities and educational groups he runs will remain open. | The offices of his party will be shut down, he said, but the charities and educational groups he runs will remain open. |
| On Sunday, hundreds of Mr. Sadr’s followers gathered near his office in Najaf, in southern Iraq, to urge him to reconsider, saying that they needed his voice in political affairs. | On Sunday, hundreds of Mr. Sadr’s followers gathered near his office in Najaf, in southern Iraq, to urge him to reconsider, saying that they needed his voice in political affairs. |
| Mr. Sadr, 40, has made such announcements before and then has changed his mind. But his statement on Saturday added a measure of uncertainty to the political situation in Iraq, just two months before national parliamentary elections. Mr. Sadr’s party holds 40 seats in the 325-member Parliament, making it the largest single Shiite bloc, and it controls seven ministries in the government. | Mr. Sadr, 40, has made such announcements before and then has changed his mind. But his statement on Saturday added a measure of uncertainty to the political situation in Iraq, just two months before national parliamentary elections. Mr. Sadr’s party holds 40 seats in the 325-member Parliament, making it the largest single Shiite bloc, and it controls seven ministries in the government. |
| Mr. Sadr once directed a militia, the Mahdi Army, that fought American forces after the 2003 invasion and Iraq’s Sunnis during the country’s sectarian war that followed. He built a grass-roots political movement that has followed the model of the Lebanese organization Hezbollah by fusing Shiite faith, military strength and populist programs to build political power. | Mr. Sadr once directed a militia, the Mahdi Army, that fought American forces after the 2003 invasion and Iraq’s Sunnis during the country’s sectarian war that followed. He built a grass-roots political movement that has followed the model of the Lebanese organization Hezbollah by fusing Shiite faith, military strength and populist programs to build political power. |
| He emerged from the national elections in 2010 as a kingmaker whose support for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, at the urging of Iran, proved decisive. | He emerged from the national elections in 2010 as a kingmaker whose support for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, at the urging of Iran, proved decisive. |
| The reasons for Mr. Sadr’s decision to withdraw from politics were not entirely clear, and members of his party would not comment on the announcement. Ten members of his party in Parliament have announced that they will resign, but it is still uncertain whether other lawmakers or cabinet members will step down. | The reasons for Mr. Sadr’s decision to withdraw from politics were not entirely clear, and members of his party would not comment on the announcement. Ten members of his party in Parliament have announced that they will resign, but it is still uncertain whether other lawmakers or cabinet members will step down. |
| “I resigned from Parliament as a response to our leader’s call, and will not participate in the coming election,” said one member of Mr. Sadr’s party, Zaineb al-Tai. She offered no further details. | “I resigned from Parliament as a response to our leader’s call, and will not participate in the coming election,” said one member of Mr. Sadr’s party, Zaineb al-Tai. She offered no further details. |
| Some Iraqis said they viewed Mr. Sadr’s announcement as a positive development for Iraq, a step toward separating religion from politics, but others said they did not believe Mr. Sadr because he had previously ordered members of his party to withdraw from the government only to reverse his decision days later. | Some Iraqis said they viewed Mr. Sadr’s announcement as a positive development for Iraq, a step toward separating religion from politics, but others said they did not believe Mr. Sadr because he had previously ordered members of his party to withdraw from the government only to reverse his decision days later. |
| “I hope that Moktada sticks to this decision,” said Walled al-Chalabi, 34, a Shiite shop owner in Baghdad. “Usually he changes his mind really soon. I wish that we could get rid of those Islamic politicians, both Sunnis and Shiites, and have a civil state instead, but we still have Maliki and Hakim, who are even worse than him.” Ammar al-Hakim is the leader of another Shiite party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. | “I hope that Moktada sticks to this decision,” said Walled al-Chalabi, 34, a Shiite shop owner in Baghdad. “Usually he changes his mind really soon. I wish that we could get rid of those Islamic politicians, both Sunnis and Shiites, and have a civil state instead, but we still have Maliki and Hakim, who are even worse than him.” Ammar al-Hakim is the leader of another Shiite party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. |
| If Mr. Sadr retires from politics, his withdrawal is likely to help Mr. Maliki, especially if all the members of his bloc follow suit. That prospect disappointed some of Mr. Sadr’s supporters. | If Mr. Sadr retires from politics, his withdrawal is likely to help Mr. Maliki, especially if all the members of his bloc follow suit. That prospect disappointed some of Mr. Sadr’s supporters. |
| “Moktada’s leaving now is for the benefit of Maliki, who is running for a third term,” said Ali al-Hussainy, a Shiite in Sadr City, the poor Baghdad neighborhood that bears the family name in honor of Mr. Sadr’s father, a revered cleric who was killed by Saddam Hussein’s forces. “I gave my voice to the Sadrists before, and now they leave and let us down.” | “Moktada’s leaving now is for the benefit of Maliki, who is running for a third term,” said Ali al-Hussainy, a Shiite in Sadr City, the poor Baghdad neighborhood that bears the family name in honor of Mr. Sadr’s father, a revered cleric who was killed by Saddam Hussein’s forces. “I gave my voice to the Sadrists before, and now they leave and let us down.” |