May 17 2008

Moqtada al-Sadr Under Arrest In Iran?

Published by at 2:51 pm under All General Discussions,Iran

Some rumors are running around Iraq that Moqtada al-Sadr is actually under house arrest in Qom Iran:

Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr is present in the Iranian city of Qom, Asmaa al Mousawi, leading member of the Al Sadr political bloc in Iraq, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “We can neither confirm nor deny this information and we cannot discuss the whereabouts of Sayyed Muqtada al Sadr for security reasons.”A reliable Iraqi source based in Qom told Asharq Al-Awsat Friday, “Al Sadr is held in a house affiliated to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. He is isolated from others; nobody is allowed to see him and he is not permitted to leave the house.” The source added, “Only a very small number of people, who I can count on the fingers of one hand, are allowed to see him.”

The source, a student of Islamic jurisprudence [Fiqh] at the Qom Hawza said, “Muqtada al Sadr’s phone number had been given to a small number of his close associates however this number has been cut off completely.”

The source, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity for security reasons, indicated that “Over three weeks ago, al Sadr had returned to Iraq and was secretly staying with an associate in Najaf but he quickly returned to Qom when the Iraqi government intensified [the offensives] on the Sadrist current and the Mehdi Army.”

Interesting.  Now why would Iran be trying control Sadr?  Is it he has been a bit too much of a lose cannon recently?

10 responses so far

10 Responses to “Moqtada al-Sadr Under Arrest In Iran?”

  1. crosspatch says:

    It could be that al Sadr is the one who Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks is the Mahdi (12th imam).

  2. […] AJStrata wrote an interesting post today on Moqtada al-Sadr Under Arrest In Iran?Here’s a quick excerptShia cleric Muqtada al Sadr is present in the Iranian city of Qom, Asmaa al Mousawi, leading member of the Al Sadr political bloc in Iraq, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “We can neither confirm nor deny this information and we cannot discuss the … […]

  3. Terrye says:

    I have noticed that no one has actually seen this guy for awhile. Are we sure he is alive?

    crosspatch, that is possible, but Sadr seems like such a loser to be the 12th imam.

  4. Dorf77 says:

    Proven from the beginning of time, one persons loser is another’s winner…. Gather your sycophants and charge onnnnn….

  5. crosspatch says:

    There is another idea too and that was brought up by various people back in 2006. Ahmadinejad believes that it is in the power if the Iranian regime to bring about the conditions that will lead to the revelation of the 12th Imam and the return of Jesus. And he requires al Qaida (or more accurately, Yemeni extremists) in order to fulfill all the required conditions. One condition is that half of the true believers will converge on Mecca carrying white flags from Yemen. The other half will converge on Mecca from Karbala (Iraq) carrying black flags. Another condition is that civil war will erupt for no reason and no leader will be able to find a way to solve it (such as the conflict between Hamas and Fatah and in Lebanon between Hezbollah and just about everyone else.)

    What might have happened is that with the “Mahdi Army” being rolled up in Iraq and a major failure to cause mayhem, Ahmadinejad might blame Sadr for foiling his latest plan to bring about the return of the Mahdi. And with the failure of Hezbollah to create a general upheival in Lebanon, we might see the leadership there being called on the carpet in Tehran too.

  6. Neo says:

    He’s not in Qom.
    The unavailable stuff is just a way to explain that al-Sadr is out of town.

  7. […] there are rumors. from Hyscience    Posted in Iran   […]

  8. WWS says:

    Not that I want to toot my own horn (oh, of course I do) but I recall a post I made a couple of weeks ago when an Iraqi delegation to Iran was refused in its attempt to meet Sadr.

    I wrote of Sadr “refused to meet? Or was not allowed to meet?”

    Looks like the answer is becoming more clear. And if this is true, then the supposed commands and words from Sadr to his followers are being manufactured for him.

    He is now literally a puppet – he no longer even controls the orders and words that go out in his name. Sadr is no longer anything to fear. The people attempting to use his brand name for their own purposes, yes – they are the real trouble. But Sadr? He is nothing.

  9. crosspatch says:

    He might not even be alive anymore if he was as sick as we were lead to believe he was a few weeks ago. Has he been SEEN anywhere recently?

  10. Neo says:

    Maybe they threw hi, down the well to join up the 12th imam.