Sources close to the leader of the Sadrist movement revealed to "Okaz" that Muqtada al-Sadr's decision to freeze the movement for a full year came after he revealed a conspiracy within the ranks of the movement that was preparing to split it and announce a defection against it. The sources revealed that a group of the movement received huge sums of money from Iraqi parties – which he did not name – to work to split the movement and weaken Muqtada al-Sadr and make him lose his party bases and popularity.
According to the same sources, Al-Sadr received detailed information from the security apparatus of the Sadrist movement about the defection attempt and the movement of funds between leaders of the movement, which were traced and its source known.
The sources described freezing the movement for a year as a "wise decision," stressing that it would enable al-Sadr to carry out a comprehensive cleaning operation within the ranks of the movement. And it reported that Al-Sadr has drawn up a comprehensive plan for the cleaning process, which will last for a year. And Muqtada al-Sadr announced (Friday) the freezing of the Sadrist movement for a full year, considering that his continuation in leading the movement, including “people of the cause” and some corrupt and immoral people, is “a serious matter.”
And the leader of the Sadrist movement said in a tweet: To be a reformer for Iraq and I cannot reform (the Sadrist movement), this is a sin, and if I continue to lead the (Sadr movement) and there are (the people of the cause) and some of the corrupt and there are some vices, then this is a serious matter.
In a later development, the page of the leader of the Sadrist movement was closed on the Twitter platform, as it showed in his official account, and Al-Sadr's shrine and Al-Sadr's office were closed as well.
These developments come after Salih Muhammad al-Iraqi, known as Minister of the Leader, announced, a few hours ago, that the leader of the Sadrist movement had canceled a supposed i'tikaf in the Kufa mosque because of "the people of the cause."
For his part, a source close to al-Sadr's office said that a group calling itself the People of the Cause had rumored that Imam Mahdi would appear in Kufa in conjunction with a decision by al-Sadr to participate in the i'tikaaf.
In August 2022, Al-Sadr announced his final retirement from politics, which was followed by his supporters storming a number of government institutions and the Republican Palace in the Green Zone.
Riyad Mansour (Baghdad) @riyadmansour