In April, a group of Sadrist followers known 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 a religious retreat at the mosque. They claimed that Sadr would be the promised one.
Protesting their claims, Sadr announced he was freezing the activities of his Sadrist Movement for a year and deactivating his Twitter account indefinitely.
“I want nothing else than to exonerate myself and loyalists from the actions of the outliers and the corrupt and those with perverted convictions, of those who claim I am Imam al-Mahdi,” said Sadr in a voice message published on Twitter on Sunday.
The Shiite cleric said that “the best punishment” for these groups of outliers and those who support them was “prohibiting everyone” from conducting ceremonies to mark the anniversary of Sadr’s father’s death.
Thousands of Shiite followers annually attend a ceremony in Najaf marking the anniversary of the assassination in accordance to the Islamic Hijri calendar.
Sadr added that he remains “loyal and a servant” to his followers, but claimed that he was making the decision out of concern for them and in hopes that God would spare them from “the evil of that day.”
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’s father, an outspoken critic of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, was shot in his car alongside two of his sons, Muamal and Mustafa, by unidentified assailants on February 19, 1999, corresponding to the fourth of Dhu al-Qidah month on the Hijri calendar.
Unlike his two sons, the late Shiite cleric did not immediately meet his fate after the shooting, rather he was taken to a hospital for treatment where he was shot once more, leading to his death. Sadr was 24 when his father was killed.
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.
