User:Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Muhammad al-Sadr (jurist)
Muhammad al-Sadr | |
|---|---|
سید مُحمّد صادق الصدر | |
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 23 March 1943 |
| Died | 19 February 1999 (aged 55) |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Twelver Shīʿā |
| Jurisprudence | Usuli |
| Muslim leader | |
| Based in | Najaf, Iraq |
| Post | Grand Ayatollah |
| Predecessor | Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr |
| Successor | Mohammad Yaqoobi |
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (Arabic: محمّد صادق الصدر; born 23 March 1943 – 19 February 1999) was an Iraqi religious scholar and political activist. He was one of the most prominent Twelver Shiite clerics and marja' in Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Early life
[edit]Relationship with Saddam Hussein
[edit]A former officer in Iraq's intelligence service, specifically in the "Department for Countering Hostile Activities – Iran Directorate," stated in an interview with Al Arabiya that al-Sadr had a strong relationship with the Iraqi state and was known for his opposition to Iranian influence. He also alleged that al-Sadr's son, Muqtada al-Sadr, primarily relied on Iraqi Arab followers. Furthermore, the officer asserted that al-Sadr's ideological conflict with Baqir al-Hakim stemmed from differing views on the role of the religious seminary in political life, with al-Sadr advocating for a seminary that represented the people and played an active political role on behalf of Shiites globally.
Lebanese lawyer Bushra Khalil, a member of the defense committee for Saddam Hussein and Taha Yassin Ramadan, also addressed the relationship between Saddam and al-Sadr in comments to Al Arabiya. She claimed that a former Iraqi official responsible for Shiite affairs had informed her that Saddam had a cordial relationship with al-Sadr and had allowed him to lead Friday prayers attended by large crowds. Khalil further stated that Saddam encouraged Shiite tribal leaders to pray behind al-Sadr, viewing him as a legitimate Arab Shiite authority and reportedly holding him in high regard.
Khalil added that members of Saddam Hussein's family studied Ja'fari jurisprudence under the nephews of al-Sadr in Kadhimiya. She argued that while Iraqi opposition figures abroad later accused Saddam of being behind al-Sadr's killing, many of them had previously criticized al-Sadr himself and accused him of loyalty to Saddam’s regime. After his assassination, she claimed, their narrative changed dramatically. Press reports from the late 1990s described al-Sadr as having refused to leave Iraq, opting instead to remain and protect the religious seminary. He was reported to have actively supervised the seminary’s academic and intellectual life, sought to maintain its independence from Iranian influence, and resisted interference from the Qom seminary. His efforts were seen as part of a broader attempt to affirm Arab Shiite leadership in contrast to Iranian dominance in religious affairs.
Postwar activities
[edit]Following the Gulf War, Shi'ites in Southern Iraq went into open rebellion. A number of provinces overthrew the Baathist entities and rebelled against Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party. The leadership of the Shi'ite rebellion as well as the Shi'ite doctrine in Iraq was split between Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani and Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, based in Baghdad, appealed to the younger, more radical Shi'ites from the more impoverished areas of Southern Iraq. The Shi'ites travelled to Baghdad from these poor areas to join Al-Sadr and his Shi'ite leadership.. In this ghetto, Sadr established a secret network of devoted followers and he became an increasingly prominent figure in the Iraqi political scene.
As a result of the disenfranchisement and repression of the Shi'ites in Iraq and the loyalty of the local populations, Saddam Hussein and his Baathist government could not control the Revolution Township on a neighbourhood level. Their lack of control limited their ability to affect al-Sadr's power base and the devotion of his followers. Revolution Township was renamed Sadr City.
As his power grew, al-Sadr became more and more involved in politics following the Gulf War, and throughout the 1990s, especially in 1993. After he became a more important Marja', he openly defied Saddam. He organized the poor Shi'ites of Sadr City, yet another nickname for the impoverished Shi'ite ghetto in Baghdad, against Saddam and the Baath Party. Sadr gained the support of the Shi'ites by reaching out to tribal villages and offering services to them that they would otherwise not have been afforded by Saddam's regime. Saddam began to crack down on the Shi'ite leaders in the late 1990s in an attempt to regain control of Iraq.