More on Moqtada al-Sadr

AP’s Hamza Hendawi has a good piece on Moqtada Sadr today. (Read it in conjunction with Gilbert Achcar’s recent piece, on JWN here.)
Hendawi writes:

“We had a choice to make,” said Abbas al-Robaie, al-Sadr’s chief political aide. “Either wait for 10 years, or maybe longer, for the Americans to leave and then join the political process or take our place in the process now and try to influence policy.”
Al-Sadr’s followers decided to contest a general election in January as part of a Shiite coalition that included some of his political foes. The coalition emerged as parliament’s largest bloc, with al-Sadr supporters winning nine seats and taking three Cabinet posts in Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s coalition.
Conscious of their large support base in Baghdad and across the south, al-Sadr’s followers insisted that the coalition guarantee them more seats in the next parliament by promoting their candidates in areas where the Shiite bloc is likely to win.
“Having them inside the coalition could cause us problems because they are strong headed and not disciplined, but leaving them out could cause even greater problems,” said Redha Jawad Taqi, a senior Shiite official. “Bringing them in achieves a measure of political calm.”
The Sadrists also have proven to be good politicians. Their three Cabinet members — running the health, transport and civil society ministries — are widely thought to have been among the better Cabinet performers, gaining a reputation for integrity and hard work.
Al-Sadr’s movement has broadened its support among Iraq’s Sunni-dominated Arab nationalists by opposing the introduction of a federal system of government in Iraq’s new constitution that will let provinces cluster in self-rule regions. Nationalists believe that federalism could lead to the breakup of Iraq.
His group also has set itself apart from traditional Shiite parties by advocating against the U.S. occupation, which some Shiite leaders have tolerated. The militia that fought the Americans remains in existence and is perhaps better organized after months of ideological indoctrination and the dismissal of members with suspect loyalty.
Some fear al-Sadr’s popularity could lead to a less secular government. Al-Sadr repeatedly has expressed his desire for an Islamic-oriented society in Iraq and has often praised groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood, his movement’s stronghold, strict Islamic dress code for women has been in force since the fall of Saddam. Liquor stores have been shut and schoolgirls, some as young as 5 or 6 years, wear Muslim headscarves.
Al-Sadr is the son of Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, a senior cleric gunned down with two of his sons in 1999 by suspected Saddam agents. The late al-Sadr’s followers form the circle of close aides surrounding his son, who has on occasion shown subtle irreverence toward Iraq’s top clerics, like Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani…