It is considered one of the strongholds of the movement.. An American report sheds light on Iraqi Ma

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[size=52]It is considered one of the strongholds of the movement.. An American report sheds light on Iraqi Maysan and the “king maker” Muqtada al-Sadr[/size]

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2023-01-21
The American “Al-Monitor” website highlighted, on Saturday, the popularity enjoyed by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, in Maysan Governorate, which the current Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani was a governor in the past, pointing to the widespread poverty and the prevailing atmosphere of tension. In it, there are factions within the competing coordination framework, and accusations of smuggling operations across the border with Iran.[/size]
[size=45]The report of the American website, translated by Shafaq News Agency, monitored young men distributing, after Friday prayers, in the central mosque in Maysan, pictures of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999, and who is widely respected, and he is the father of Muqtada al-Sadr.[/size]
[size=45]One of the poorest provinces[/size]
[size=45]The report described Maysan province as still one of the poorest provinces in Iraq, noting that a large number of older men who used to flock outside the mosque bear scars and traces of wounds and disabilities due to years of fighting in the ranks of al-Sadr's "Mahdi Army" against the forces of " American occupation” in the post-2003 period.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sadr “king maker”[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that Muqtada al-Sadr is still seen as the "kingmaker" in Iraq, noting that he is still out of the limelight since the violent events in the Green Zone last August.[/size]
[size=45]The report recalled al-Sadr’s decision two months before the “green events” to withdraw his deputies from Parliament and their resignation after months of political struggles, then his decision was to step down from politics, and Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani later assumed the presidency of the government, which al-Sadr was opposed to, indicating that al-Sudani took government positions in Maysan itself.[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that many fighters loyal to al-Sadr were killed in suspicious circumstances during the past year in Maysan, an area described by the report as having gained a reputation in recent years for drug smuggling along its long borders with Iran and deadly clan and militia conflicts.[/size]
[size=45]The report added that tensions and conflicts between al-Sadr supporters and factions closely linked to Iran have been repeated over the past years, noting that many of the first demonstrators in 2019 against the government, and the dead who fell from their ranks at that time, were from Sadr City in Baghdad, which is one of the strongholds of Another support for al-Sadr, which many immigrants from Maysan province came to, in search of work over the past decades.[/size]
[size=45]Will al-Sadr challenge the government?[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed to the headquarters of the armed factions associated with al-Sadr's opponents in the coordination framework, which suffered a lot of damage in different areas of the city of Amarah, the center of Maysan Governorate, noting that these headquarters were attacked after the start of the 2019 demonstrations and are still closed until now.[/size]
[size=45]He added that many of their supporters are still in the city in light of rumors that some of them own commercial interests in the more prosperous neighborhoods of the city.[/size]
[size=45]And after the American report mentioned that al-Sadr the father - Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr - whose pictures are still spread on billboards all over Iraq, more than 20 years after his assassination because of his defiance of Saddam Hussein and the use of Friday prayer occasions as a means of communicating with his followers and mobilizing force in order to oppose The regime indicated that Muqtada al-Sadr, according to some indications, and after repeatedly announcing his withdrawal from political life, and retaining his position as the most powerful man in Iraq, intends to do the same by challenging the regime, including in Maysan itself.[/size]
[size=45]The report considered that little media attention is given to Maysan outside of some news about drug seizures, but the poor province plays a strong influence on what is happening in the capital, Baghdad, as well.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that the current governor of Maysan, Ali Dawai Lazim, is closely related to al-Sadr, and his name has been circulated before as a possible candidate supported by al-Sadr for the position of prime minister after the 2018 elections, and he has been running this southeastern province for more than a decade, after the position came to him to succeed Muhammad Shia. Al-Sudani, who was governor of Maysan in 2010, previously held a number of positions in Maysan, including the mayor of Amarah since 2004.[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that although al-Sadr won the largest number of votes in the recent elections and in the 2018 elections, both times the prime minister was not chosen by the Sadrist movement.[/size]
[size=45]Money, weapons and drugs[/size]
[size=45]The American report spoke of increasing concerns in recent months about activity in the movement of money, weapons and drugs across the border in Maysan, as some claim that al-Sadr's rivals, from the parties and factions linked to Iran, play roles in these profitable commercial activities.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted a turbaned man from al-Sadr's supporters who asked not to be named, criticizing the involvement of some parties involved in the government in this drug trade, calling for strengthening border control measures.[/size]
[size=45]He said that imprisoning drug users has no value if the goal is to prevent the entry of drugs and weapons into the country.[/size]
[size=45]national character[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted another man in Masyan Mosque as saying that all members of the Sadrist movement are "ready to sacrifice themselves" for al-Sadr and the public interest.[/size]
[size=45]While the report indicated that one of the most prevalent criticisms against the Sadrist movement is that its followers are almost a religious sect, it said that the fact that they fully follow his orders is sometimes a positive point, as was the case when Sadr ordered a halt to fighting in the Green Zone last summer.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Monitor spoke with a former commander in the Mahdi Army since 2004, who fought against US forces, and then a member of the Peace Brigades that fought against ISIS. He said, “The main difference between the fighters affiliated with al-Sadr and the armed groups close to the parties within the coordination framework is It operates on behalf of “foreign countries,” while the Sadrist movement, on the other hand, works for “Iraqi sovereignty.”[/size]
[size=45]And the Sadrist military leader considered that these factions “receive funding, and whoever gives them money wants something from them in return,” in reference to Iran.[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that al-Sadr has always taken a "patriotic position greater than that of the factions associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," noting that he has repeatedly criticized armed Iraqi groups fighting across the border alongside the Syrian government, led by Iran, against armed organizations.[/size]
[size=45]In response to a question about who has more power in Maysan, the Sadrist leader said that they are not among the young men who monitor the streets, nor those who dream of a greater number of weapons, but rather those who win the vote.[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "It's obvious, isn't it? Look at the last election. Of course, it is the Sadrist movement.[/size]
[size=45]Translation: Shafak News Agency[/size]
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