BAGHDAD, June 29 (UPI) -- Members of the Sadrist political party in Iraq, once the bane of U.S. forces, are working to establish themselves as social crusaders, a member said.
U.S. forces in Iraq once marked Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and his Mehdi Army for death at the height of the war. With 40 members in the Iraqi Parliament, however, Sadrists are emerging as a viable political force in post-occupation Iraq.
Many of Sadr's supporters have disarmed, reports the Iraqi analytical Web site Niqash, and have turned their energy on social efforts in a country still struggling to rebuild after more than seven years of war.
Sadrist officials told Niqash their members were often acting on the ground to settle minor disputes as many citizens are reluctant to engage a legal system viewed as weak.
"These kinds of interventions are intended to resolve conflict and to spread peace among the citizenry," said Sadrist official Ibrahim al-Jabiri.
Much like their Hezbollah counterparts in Lebanon, Jabiri said Sadrists were engaged in some of the poor Shiite areas of the country. But he was quick to note the organization isn't limited to Shiites.
"They extend to others as well, which is as the movement's spiritual leader, Moqtada Sadr, has instructed," he said.
