Key Shiite Iraqi Cleric Says He Quits Politics
One of Iraq’s most influential Shiite clerics, Muqtada al-Sadr, says he has decided to quit politics, distancing himself from any political movement that uses his name.
Sadr has made such announcements before, but the current declaration comes only two months before national parliamentary elections. Sadrists hold 40 out of 325 seats in the legislature, making them the largest single Shiite bloc, and hold six Cabinet seats.
In the late Saturday statement, al-Sadr said his move was to “preserve the reputation of the al-Sadr (family)… and to put an end to all the wrongdoings that were conducted, or could be conducted, under their title.” It did not explain further.