Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, a figure close to Sadr, said late on Thursday that an upcoming religious retreat at Najaf’s Great Mosque of Kufa was cancelled on orders from Sadr “due to the actions of the corrupt of those who call themselves People of the Cause.”
A group of Sadrist followers going by the name “People of the Cause” were spreading a theory that Imam al-Mahdi would appear at the Kufa Mosque, coinciding with Sadr’s decision to attend the retreat. They claimed that Sadr would be the promised one.
Islamic theology says that a messianic figure, known as Imam al-Mahdi among Shiites and Muhammad al-Mahdi among Sunnis, will emerge at the end of times to redeem Islam and rid the world of evil. Naming the figure is condemned by both sects, as it falls into the category of al-Ghaib (the concealed), which is information known only by God.
Sadr tweeted early Friday morning that he would not continue to lead the movement while the People of the Cause are part of it. “To be a reformer for Iraq… yet I cannot fix the Sadrist Movement, that would be a sin,” he said. All activities of the Sadrist Movement will be frozen for at least a year, excluding Friday prayers and an institute that promotes the teachings of Sadr’s father, Muhamed Sadiq al-Sadr.
A few minutes later, he tweeted again, announcing that his Twitter account will be deactivated “until further notice.”
Sadr commands a large popular following and his movement has religious and charitable institutions. He was also involved in politics until he announced his “definitive retirement” last August after violent altercations broke out between his supporters and those of pro-Iran parties inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.
