{"id":3401,"date":"2014-02-17T06:48:54","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T06:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3401"},"modified":"2014-02-17T06:48:54","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T06:48:54","slug":"radical-iraqi-cleric-moqtada-sadr-to-retire-from-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2014\/02\/17\/3401\/","title":{"rendered":"Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr &#8216;to retire from politics&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/stories\/news3\/muqtadaalSadrm.jpg\" border=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" \/>Iraq&#8217;s radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has announced he is retiring from political life, in a handwritten note posted on his website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The statement said he would not hold future government positions or have any representatives in parliament.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mr Sadr and his militia group, the Mehdi Army, gained prominence after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But the 40-year-old lost ground in recent years following a dispute with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mr Maliki is seeking re-election in the parliamentary election in April &#8211; a move publicly opposed by Mr Sadr&#8217;s bloc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Anti-US sentiment<\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mr Sadr&#8217;s statement said he was shutting down all his offices except for some charities.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Born into a religious Shia family, the cleric galvanised anti-US sentiment in sermons and public interviews after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein eleven years ago.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mr Sadr&#8217;s followers clashed repeatedly with US forces, whose withdrawal the cleric consistently demanded.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Sadr in 2004 in connection with the murder of a rival cleric.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">His militia was also blamed for the abduction, torture and killing of thousands of Sunnis in the sectarian carnage of 2006 and 2007. Mr Sadr fled to Iran during that period.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2008, his Mehdi Army militia clashed with the Iraqi army, commanded by Prime Minister Maliki.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Many were arrested, and Mr Sadr&#8217;s group said it was laying down arms and disbanding.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The cleric later made a truce with Prime Minister Maliki and helped him to secure a second term in office in 2010. The Sadr bloc became closely involved in the new government and obtained several ministerial posts following the election.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2011, Mr Sadr returned from his self-imposed exile to Iraq, taking a more conciliatory tone and calling for Iraqi unity and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Source:<\/span> <em><strong>BBC News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iraq&#8217;s radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has announced he is retiring from political life, in a handwritten note posted on his website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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