Thousands of followers of Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the opposition National Wisdom Movement, took to the streets on July 19, in 14 Iraqi provinces, to protest the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. The protests mark the Wisdom Movement's first protest against the government, as well as the first time protests have been mobilized concurrently across 14 provinces since 2003. 

Hakim and his movement, known as al-Hikma, opted to oppose the government a few weeks ago. The movement had called for a million people to protest, but the turnout was much lower than what Hakim and his political bureau expected.

On the day of the protest, Iraqi media revealed the text of a letter from Abdul Mahdi to Hakim. The letter was signed July 17, two days before the protests.

Abdul Mahdi warned Hakim against adopting the framework of pro-government and opposition factions, stating that it was not a trait of democracies. “This principle would yield outcomes similar to the March 8 and 14 [factions] in Lebanon,” he wrote, in reference to the dispute between political parties in Lebanon loyal to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.