Iraq's civil movement breaks away from Sadr protests
Civil society is stretching its own wings to wrestle the Iraqi civil movement away from the control of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr through the formation of new groups distancing themselves from the Sadr alliances.
BAGHDAD — Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr made an exaggerated statement July 23 when answering a question by one of his followers. Sadr said, “We are the only ones able to influence the Iraqis to hit the streets.”
Sadr's statement came a few days after a TV interview July 18 by his rival, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who said that Maliki's supporters and those who voted for him are the educated people and academics, insinuating that Sadr's followers are ignorant.
Sadr’s claim that he is the only one who can mobilize the Iraqi street was rebutted by the small number of protesters who rallied July 22 in Tahrir Square. While hundreds of people took part, this was a small total compared with the number of the Sadrist movement’s followers swarming the streets in previous protests.
It should be noted that the numbers of Sadr followers participating in the July 8 and July 15 protests also were not as high as expected. This surprised all those who were expecting a great turnout after each call to protest made by Sadr.
