Tuesday’s profile of in the Washington Post of Moqtada al-Sadr contains some interesting details that suggest the direction of Sadr’s aspirations. First, there’s this tidbit:

Sadr has said that he is at the third level of clerical study, known as external research, which precedes becoming a “mushtahid”, a cleric who can issue fatwas, or religious edicts, on his own authority. Achieving this status normally takes many years of study, but several of Sadr’s followers, including Nidawi, said they believe that Sadr will be certified as a mushtahid within the next year.

The importance of this is in establishing Sadr’s legitimacy in Shi’a circles. The most dogmatic of Shi’a schools of thought, like the one that dominates Iran, believe that only the “most learned” clerics are capable of ruling. And it appears that Sadr has gotten himself on the fast track towards certification. Next, there’s this:

“I think now that the big bad ideas about Sayyid Moqtada Sadr — that he is filled with violence and is a shallow man — have changed so much, even in the West,” said Salah al-Obaidi, one of his top advisers, using the honorific signifying Sadr’s descent from the prophet Muhammad. “We want people to know who Sayyid Moqtada really is.”

The point of interest here is the use of the honorific title of “Sayyid”. All the radical Sunni movements that are fighting for the return of a Caliphate in Iraq believe that only a descendent of Muhammad may rule. As a result, Sadr seems to be positioning himself to be an acceptable candidate to both the Sunni and Shi’a factions. He also seems to have another qualification for the job: a propensity for killing off his competitors:

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, most American officials were unaware of Sadr’s massive following and the hatred many of his devotees harbored toward the U.S. government. He was quickly seen as the polar opposite of Abdul Majeed al-Khoei, a rival Shiite cleric and supporter of the American invasion, who was hacked to death in Najaf in April 2003. Sadr was accused of ordering the killing; his aides have denied his involvement.

And I wonder if anyone ever looked into this, because it fits nicely in the pattern:

Two brothers, Mustafa and Muammal, were considered the heirs apparent to the family legacy. “His father used to consider them his right and left arm,” Abu Hawra said. Another son, Murtada, reportedly suffers from long-standing medical problems.
…
Then, on Feb. 19, 1999, Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr and his two sons, Mustafa and Muammal, were assassinated by machine-gun-toting men. Moqtada was propelled into the leadership of the movement.

How convenient.

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