Moqtada al-Sadr Demobilizes His Militias Indefinitely
Lesson Brief
Al Sumaria
On February 17, Al Sumaria News reported that Moqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Sadrist Trend, has announced he will be demobilizing the militias he and his political movement control. The Shiite cleric with significant ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran previously headed the Mahdi Army, a sectarian militia responsible for numerous attacks and substantial violence in the country, particularly in the late 2000s. The Mahdi Army was declared disbanded, but essentially transformed into other militia's under Sadr's control, namely the Promised Day Brigade and the ironically named Peace Brigades. Sadr made the announcement while calling for an end to Iraq's militia infrastructure. The announcement comes two days after Hezbollah leader and fellow Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah called on Muslims to fight against ISIS in the name of Islam itself and hinted at a more active role for groups affiliated with Hezbollah in taking that fight to Iraq.
Click and Match
- leader, strongman
- زعيم
- weakening, making weaker
- إضعاف
- to show one's readiness
- أَبْدَى ، يُبْدي استعداده
- foreigners, outsiders (demeaning, here ISIS and probably US personnel)
- شذاذ الافاق
- the past, the previous era
- الحقبة السابقة
- Peace Brigades
- سرايا السلام
- those involved (in something bad)
- المتورطين
- criminal
- مجرم
- (here) brazen, bold, impudent
- وقح
- (here) undermining, subverting
- مساس به