2007
On February 13, several sources in the U.S. government claimed that Muqtada al-Sadr had left Iraq and fled to Iran in anticipation of the coming security crackdown.[25] US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell reinforced this account on February 14,[26] but a member of Iraq’s parliament and an aide to al-Sadr have denied the claims.[25][27]
On March 30, it was reported that Sadr, through clerics speaking on his behalf, “delivered a searing speech…condemning the American presence in Iraq … [and] call[ing] for an anti-occupation mass protest on April 9…”[28] This call to protest was significant in that, since the beginning of the American troop surge (which began on February 14, 2007), Sadr had ordered his “militia to lie low during the new Baghdad security plan so as not to provoke a direct confrontation with the Americans”.[28]
Muqtada al-Sadr urged the Iraqi army and police to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate on pushing American forces out of the country, according to a statement issued Sunday, April 8, 2007.
The statement, stamped with al-Sadr’s official seal, was distributed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Sunday 8 April 2007—a day before a large demonstration there, called for by al-Sadr, to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
“You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don’t walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your arch-enemy”, the statement said.
On April 17, 2007, several ministers loyal to al-Sadr left the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that the withdrawal of these ministers had not weakened his government and that he would name technocrats to replace them soon.[29]
On April 25, 2007, al-Sadr condemned the construction of Azamiyah wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, by calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of “the evil will” of American “occupiers”
On May 25, 2007, al-Sadr delivered a sermon to an estimated 6,000 followers in Kufa. Sadr reiterated his condemnation of the United States’ occupation of Iraq and demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces, al-Sadr’s speech also contained calls for unity between Sunni and Shi’a.[30] In June 2007, al-Sadr vowed to go ahead with a planned march to the devastated Askariyya shrine in central Iraq, al-Sadr said the march was aimed at bringing Shi’is and Sunnis closer together and breaking down the barriers imposed by the Americans and Sunni religious extremists.
In a statement issued August 29, 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that an order to stand down for six months had been distributed to his loyalists following the deaths of more than 50 Shia Muslim pilgrims during fighting in Karbala the day before. The statement issued by Sadr’s office in Najaf said: “I direct the Mahdi army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed.” The intention behind the ceasefire was thought in part to be to allow al-Sadr reassert control over the movement, which is thought to have splintered. “We call on all Sadrists to observe self-restraint, to help security forces control the situation and arrest the perpetrators and sedition mongers, and urge them to end all forms of armament in the sacred city”, said the statement, referring to the August 28 clashes in Karbala. Asked if the unexpected order meant no attacks on American troops, as well as a ban on Shia infighting, a senior al-Sadr aide said: “All kinds of armed actions are to be frozen, without exception.”[31]
2008
In March 2008 during the Battle of Basra, the Sadr Movement launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army.[32]
In August 2008, al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops is not established. “Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group”, while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.[33]
2009
In response to Israeli attacks on Gaza, al-Sadr called for reprisals against US troops in Iraq: “I call upon the honest Iraqi resistance to carry out revenge operations against the great accomplice of the Zionist enemy.”
On May 1, 2009, al-Sadr paid a surprise visit to Ankara where, in his first public appearance for two years, he met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for talks which focused on the “political process”[34] and requested Turkey play a greater role in establishing stability in the Middle East. Spokesman Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi confirmed the nature of the talks that had been requested by al-Sadr and stated, “Turkey is a good, old friend. Trusting that, we had no hesitation in travelling here.”[35] After the meeting al-Sadr visited supporters in Istanbul, where al-Obeidi says they may open a representative office.
2010
In a press conference on 6 March 2010 ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary election, 2010, Muqtada al-Sadr called on all Iraqis to participate in the election and support those who seek to expel US troops out of the country. Al-Sadr warned that any interference by the United States will be unacceptable. Al-Sadr, who has thousands of staunch followers across Iraq has consistently opposed the presence of foreign forces and repeatedly called for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq.[36][37]
2011
On January 5, 2011, Muqtada al-Sadr returned to the Iraqi city of Najaf, in order to take a more proactive and visible role in the new Iraqi government.[38] Three days later, thousands of Iraqis turned out in Najaf to hear his first speech since his return, in which he called the US, Israel, and the UK “common enemies” against Iraq. His speech was greeted by the crowd chanting “Yes, yes for Muqtada! Yes, yes for the leader!”, whilst waving Iraqi flags and al-Sadr’s pictures. Subsequently, he returned to Iran to continue his studies.[39]
By late 2011, it appeared that the United States would largely withdraw from Iraq, a demand that helped make Sadr a popular leader amongst supporters almost immediately following the invasion. Sadr also controlled the largest bloc of parliament, and had reached a sort of détente with prime minister Nouri al Maliki, who needed Sadrist support to retain his post.[40]