Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, born in 1973, is considered one of the most influential religious and political figures holding no official position in the Iraqi government. Sadr’s father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, was a worldwide revered religious figure until his assassination in 1999 by Saddam Hussein operatives. Sadr does not hold the title of Ayatollah, though his father did. Many believe that he attained much of his influence as a result of his father’s standing and familial connections. Sadr has been one of the most outspoken critics of US presence in Iraq since 2003; his Mahdi militia became a formidable component of Shi’ite resistance to US troops and Shi’ites who supported them. Sadr’s forces engaged in intense fighting against joint US-Iraqi forces in the city of Najaf in 2004, and are suspected of having killed tens of thousands of Iraqis during heightened sectarian violence in 2006-2007.

Sadr did not partake in the 2005 elections; most of his supporters instead voted for the United Iraqi Alliance backed by Shi’ite cleric al-Sistani, whose authority he does not recognize. After years of what has been widely termed “voluntary exile” in Iran, Sadr returned to Iraq in January 2011. His political party, the Sadrist Movement, wields considerable power in the current government. His followers are primarily comprised of disadvantaged Shi’ite classes and especially the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Sadr city outside of Baghdad.