The leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, is focusing on his goal, which he announced a few weeks ago for his party’s acquisition of the presidency of the next Iraqi government.
Although Sadr's calls and positions were not previously rejected, at least by most of the Shiite parties;
However, his last call was met with coldness from these parties, and there were no explicit declared positions in support of or solidarity with it.
After his call was met with criticism from activists and journalists, Al-Sadr wrote a tweet on his Twitter account justifying the invitation, saying, "Let us ally with ourselves on the one hand, and we seek to strengthen our belief. If moderate Shiism strengthens, then this is a victory for Sunni moderation, civil and communist moderation, and minorities as a whole," It is a victory for independence and sovereignty. "
No party issued a position on the invitation, with the exception of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, which considered the invitation "important", as well as the victory coalition led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who did not announce its approval of Al-Sadr's initiative;
Rather, he called for a "national honor pact," in contrast to Sadr's call, which was only Shiite.
A leader in the Wisdom Movement led by Ammar al-Hakim told Al-Jazeera Net, "We did not interact with Al-Sadr's call, and we will not interact with it, because it failed us in the Reform and Construction Alliance in 2018, and the alliance was broken up, and he went to participate with the Al-Fatah Alliance in forming the government," adding, "Our previous experiences with Al-Sadr Sad. "
The leader, who preferred not to be named for political reasons, added, "Even if we do not have previous positions with him, we will not interact with this call. This is a call that restores the sectarian composition, and keeps us away from any efforts to build cross-sectarian alliances that are not based on sectarian or racial nationalism."
Al-Masoudi stressed that Al-Sadr's call is not sectarian or electoral.
Rather, it is a call to restore the Shiite home after it weakened (Al-Jazeera Net)
Electoral Purposes
Some believe that Al-Sadr’s call is electoral, through which he wants to achieve victory in the early elections scheduled for next June, through the "sect" portal, after he won 54 seats out of 329 in the last elections through his alliance with the Communists and his rapprochement with civilians;
But his coalition MPs deny this.
Riyadh Al-Masoudi, a deputy from the Sadr-loyal Saeron Alliance, says that the parties did not interact with this invitation, as they believe that it is a call for the benefit of the Sadrist movement, and do not see it as an invitation that might support and strengthen many, including non-Shiites. “Unfortunately, the support that came out is just media ".
He added to Al-Jazeera Net, "This call is not sectarian, racist, or electoral. Rather, it is a call for the restoration of the Shiite home. We believe that if the Shiite home is strengthened, the Sunnis, the Kurds and everyone will be strengthened, and this force will ultimately benefit the Iraqi state."
Al-Jubouri considered that Al-Sadr seeks to gain leadership of the Shiite community in Iraq (Al-Jazeera)
The head of the Academy for Political Development in Iraq, Rahman al-Jubouri, believes, during his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that “Al-Sadr’s call is not related to building the Shiite home. Al-Sadr is working to be able to lead the Shiite community, and he wants to arrange these papers according to his outlook and ability and to show the movement to him as the leader of the Shiites. It collided with many Shiite and community leaders, so they did not interact with it, because they knew their goals. "
Al-Jubouri says, "This call is a struggle over the leadership of the Shiites; but it will not succeed. Al-Sadr has disagreements with the Shiite parties and with the authority of Ali al-Sistani, and with the Shiite intellectuals, especially after his recent stances towards the protests. Therefore, it is an invitation that will not find its way to success at a time when the parties seek to form Cross-sectarian alliances. "
pic.twitter.com/O2r2r0MjGZ
- Muqtada al-Sayed Muhammad al-Sadr (@Mu_AlSadr) December 2, 2020
Political isolation
Some go in the direction of talking about political "isolation" that Sadr is going through, or a feeling of anticipated loss;
Therefore, he tried to play the chord of the sect, and flirt with Iran with this to the "leadership of the Shiites" in the next stage, as Rahman al-Jubouri spoke.
Iraqi political analyst Raad Hashem told Al-Jazeera Net that it is certain that Al-Sadr’s call will face cold stances from the Shiite parties.
The reason for this is that at a time when the Shiite parties are calling for alliances that include Sunnis and minorities, al-Sadr is calling for the country to return to sectarian entrenchment.
Hashem considered that Al-Sadr's recent invitation returns the country to sectarian entrenchment (Al-Jazeera)
He added, "This call will not succeed, and it will be neglected, especially since the Shiite parties close to Iran were known to be a private call by Sadr, and not an invitation supported by Iran. Therefore, they neglected them, and they will come out with calls that are opposed and incompatible with them with the approaching elections."
Al-Sadr has faced great criticism in the recent period, especially after his positions in which he criticized the protests in Iraq, and gunmen affiliated with him attacked the protesters of Dhi Qar Governorate (in the south of the country), killing and wounding dozens of them, which caused him to be placed on the list of "aggressors" against the protests. After years of being believed to be the only Shiite party to support the protests.