Showdown With The Rebel

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At the core of the crisis loomed the turban-clad figure al-Sadr, the troublesome young cleric who has repeatedly taken up arms to reorder the future of Iraq and advance his own political ambitions. He has made a name by defying the U.S. occupation, but this time he seemed just as intent on undermining the fragile new Iraqi regime. Until now, neither U.S. nor Iraqi authorities have found a way to neutralize him. But there was peril in a climactic showdown for him as well. This is not the first time al-Sadr has sworn to make himself a martyr and then failed to follow through--though reports he was lightly wounded last week burnished that martyr image among his followers. If casualty figures from U.S. officials are accurate, the weeklong onslaught took the lives of hundreds of Mahdi fighters. Al-Sadr faced the prospect of a tightening siege that could humble him into surrender. So as he has in the past, he apparently opted to see what gains he could pocket by returning to negotiations.

The rise of al-Sadr has been one of the most unexpected consequences of the U.S. invasion. While some Shi'ites see him as an intemperate opportunist, others admire his courageous stance against the foreign occupiers. Either way, the lightly regarded cleric has proved adept at the game of advance and retreat to force his way to a prominence no Shi'ite of his youth and low religious rank could normally have achieved.

All al-Sadr, who is around 30, originally had going for him was his name. His father and uncle were revered ayatullahs who were giants of the Shi'ite seminaries in Najaf and commanded the respect and affection of Shi'ites everywhere. A close aide says Muqtada never expected to lead the followers of the Sadr family until Saddam Hussein killed his father and two older brothers in 1999. Despite painful shyness and a singular lack of oratorical skill--his critics among the clergy say that is proof of his incomplete religious education, which puts a high premium on elocution--Muqtada felt he could not deny his responsibility to the family legacy. For al-Sadr loyalists, he needed no further claim to legitimacy than his bloodline.

In the months after Saddam's fall, al-Sadr saw himself as the Shi'ites' rightful political leader. He resented the returned secular Shi'ite exiles who claimed to speak for the community. "We are a very religious people," says Mohammed al-Fartusi, one of al-Sadr's chief organizers in Baghdad, "so we should be represented by religious leaders." The young cleric's plan was to position himself as the one who understands the aspirations of the long-suffering Iraqi Shi'ites and would stand up for their rights.