Tents have been set up, food is being handed out and no one is planning to go home. Thousands of Iraqi protesters have occupied the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad for more than two weeks. After a number of carnivalesque nights in the plenary hall, they are now staying on the grounds around the building. The effect is the same: a stalemate that holds politics hostage and paralyzes the country.
The man who ordered the storming is the charismatic cleric and populist Muqtada al-Sadr (48), recognizable by his robe and turban. Since the American invasion nearly twenty years ago, he has become a key figure in politics. In Iraq, he is the only one with a personal, almost intimate bond with his supporters, as evidenced by the fact that they prefer to call him by his first name. ‘Muqtada’ leads, his people follow.
What is his secret? And how does Sadr intend to break the deadlock?
Sadrists
The seeds of the current crisis lie in last October’s parliamentary elections, when Sadr’s Shia movement (the ‘Sadrists’) became the largest with 73 seats. In a typical country, that would be enough to advance to the premiership, but not in Iraq, where the prime minister and president are usually compromise candidates. The trick is to put forward someone who is not bothered by any of the sectarian groups – Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds – and who is colorless enough not to upset the balance of power (and the corruption that comes with it). Because no one is there yet, Iraq has been without a government for ten months – the longest period since 2005, when the population was allowed to vote for the first time.
Sadr initially forged an alliance with two other parties, one Sunni, the other Kurdish, but they could not agree on the crucial posts. He then ordered his MPs to give up their seats and leave parliament – a nifty move that gives Sadr the freedom to portray the political elite as smug and corrupt.
Battle between Muqtada and Maliki
Since then, a struggle has unfolded within the Shiite camp, with Sadr on one side and the alliance of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the other. Both are on good terms with neighboring Iran, although Sadr has been trying to shake off that image in recent years by posing as a nationalist. After his MPs left, Maliki seemed to profit by putting forward a candidate for prime minister himself. For Sadr, that was the signal to send his supporters to the heavily guarded parliament to lock things up. Dozens of people were injured in the storm.
The uproar was most reminiscent of the storming of the US Capitol in January last year. In a tweet, Sadr spoke of a “spontaneous, peaceful revolution” and a “golden opportunity” to overthrow the corrupt system. Shortly before that, phone calls had leaked on which Maliki speculated about arming new militias. He said Iraq was heading for a “brutal war,” one that can only be prevented if Sadr (“a coward and traitor”) and his alliance are stopped.
Sadr does not have the political fire from a stranger. His uncle and father were both famous ayatollahs. The latter was known in the 1990s for his anti-imperialist speeches in Baghdad’s slums (later renamed ‘Sadr City’). When his popularity started to make the regime nervous, dictator Saddam Hussein had him killed in 1999 in Najaf, the political stronghold of the Shiites.
Ayatollah Atari
At that time, no one had heard of the youngest son, except Najaf, who was only 25 years old. Muqtada’s addiction to video games had earned him the nickname “Ayatollah Atari” locally. Now he had to take over from his father. After Saddam was ousted in 2003, Sadr took advantage of the resulting vacuum and targeted the American occupier. With support from neighboring Iran, he created a militia, the ‘Mahdi Army’, which went to war with the US military and terrorized and murdered Sunnis in the darkest days of the sectarian civil war. Sadr’s militia is now – ironically – called Saraya al-Salam, or “Peace Brigades,” and is blamed for the killing of numerous activists, most recently during civilian protests in February 2020.
Sadr has played every imaginable role, says Iraqi analyst Renad Mansour, associated with think tank Chatham House. “Warlord, protest leader, politician – he’s been it all. That makes him elusive. But he sees himself first and foremost as a religious leader.’ In politics, Sadr plays the delicate game that characterizes populists: railing against the establishment, without sacrificing its power within it. For example, the Ministries of Electricity and Health have been used by the sadrists as ATMs for years.
Sadr is now demanding new elections, a scenario that is considered promising. He wants to completely defeat Maliki. Sadr can count on his own supporters blindly, but there is a good chance that other Iraqis will stay at home. More than 60 percent of the population is 25 years or younger, and has never experienced a stable government. They have become disillusioned with politics. The occupation of parliament will not change that.