Moqtada al-Sadr, the man who would be king in Iraq

Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is exploiting the oil crisis and the threat of Islamic State to reimpose himself, this time as a reformer, despite once leading the Mahdi Army, says Mohamad Bazzi

For years after the 2003 American invasion, Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had an outsized influence on Iraq’s politics: He mobilised the Shi’ites in a way few other Iraqi leaders could, his followers created one of the most powerful militias during the civil war, and he played kingmaker in the selection of prime ministers.

But after US troops withdrew from Iraq in late 2011, Sadr went into a self-imposed seclusion, even as his supporters ran for parliament and controlled key ministries. Sadr was waiting for his opportunity to play the saviour of Iraq’s Shi’ites.