Posts from individuals allegedly linked to Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party appeared on social media on Saturday accusing Sadr’s late father, Muhamed Sadiq al-Sadr, of having been affiliated with the Baath regime of fallen Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The posts incited protests from Sadrist supporters who stormed Dawa party offices in several cities across the country.
Sadr’s father was an outspoken critic of Saddam. He was shot in his car alongside two of his sons, Muamal and Mustafa, by unidentified assailants in 1999. He was taken to hospital where he was shot again, this time fatally.
The Dawa party released a statement on Sunday denouncing the accusations made against Sadr’s father and denying any links to the social media posts. The party called on the parliament to draft a law criminalizing insults of Shiite religious authorities, known as the marja.
“Accusing the Dawa party of insulting the martyr Muhamed al-Sadr and what followed yesterday in the form of attacks on the party offices are unfortunate practices that have delighted the enemies of Iraq and the enemies of the Sadrist school,” Maliki wrote in response to reporter inquiries via email. He called on the government and relevant authorities to protect the offices of political parties.
A statement attributed to Sadr denied any association with the protests and backed Dawa’s call for a law criminalizing the act of insulting religious authorities.
“What happened yesterday was nothing more than an emotional, spontaneous, move from the Sadrists and a revolutionary one to stop violations against scholars,” read a statement from Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, who describes himself as Sadr’s minister and acts as a spokesperson for the Sadrist Movement.
Sadr on Monday condemned the actions of “some parties” that he said have attempted to incite “intra-Shiite sedition using violence and weapons against some offices.” The influential cleric warned against such protests, saying “there are parties that will not shy away from bloodshed.”
He also welcomed the suggestion of a law criminalizing insults of religious scholars, but warned that if his movement did not like specifics put into the bill, “we have our ways that do not contain violence and killing, as that is not part of our character.”
Sadr and Maliki are political rivals, running on opposing sides in most elections since 2003. Maliki enjoys close ties to Iran while Sadr promotes an independent Iraq, free of Iranian influence.
In 2008 then-prime minister Maliki launched Operation Knights’ Charge in Basra and other southern provinces on the grounds of bringing security and stability. Hundreds of Sadrist supporters were killed, mainly members of the Mahdi army, a militia formed by Sadr who fought the Americans following their invasion in 2003.
Sadr announced his “definitive retirement” from politics last August after violent altercations broke out between his supporters and those of pro-Iran parties inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. The cleric, however, continues to command a large popular following and exerts significant influence over Iraqi politics.
