Muqtada al-Sadr

Muqtada al-Sadr is a strongly anti-American Shi'ite Cleric in Iraq and leader of the Mahdi Army. al-Sadr lacks the education and degrees typically required of Shia clerics and instead relies on his family lineage to provide his authority. He emerged as a potential leader as the editor of the al-Hawza, a newspaper that was eventually shut down by the United States. Following the paper's closure, al-Sadr began organizing a resistance movement against United States forces in Iraq. Initially peaceful, al-Sadr declared that his supporters should begin to "terrorize" their enemies. Under cease-fire since August, 2007, al-Sadr has begun making threats of mass civil disobedience actions if continued action is taken against the Mahdi Army.