Statement : Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr quits politics.

Statement : Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr quits politics.(HD).

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of a powerful political movement, commander of a once-feared militia and a fierce critic of the U.S.-led invasion, has announced his exit from politics.

In an unexpected hand-written note pictured on his website, Mr. Sadr said, he will not hold any Government position or have any representatives in Parliament. The statement also said, he is shutting down all his offices except for some charity.

"I announce my non-intervention in all political affairs and that there is no bloc that represents us from now on, nor any position inside or outside the government nor parliament," Sadr said in a written statement received by AFP on Sunday.

Moqtada al-Sadr, 40, is the son of a prominent Shiite leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, who was murdered presumably by the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1999.

Succeeding his father's career, al-Sadr became the head of the al-Sadr group. He was also enrolled at the Najaf Hawza Seminary and then in Iran's Qum Hawza Seminary.

After the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, al-Sadr and his supporters took control of Saddam City, a Shiite slum in Baghdad, and renamed it as Sadr City in memory of his father. 

Sadr's group currently holds six cabinet posts as well as 40 seats in the 325-member parliament.
     
He also said his movement's political offices will be closed, but that others related to social welfare, media and education will remain open.
     
It was not immediately clear if the decision was temporary or permanent, with Sadrist officials surprised by the announcement not in a position to clarify.
      
One official from Sadr's office told AFP that no one wanted to discuss the issue "because it was a surprise decision."

"I do not think it will be reversed... because it is a very strong decision," the official added however.
      
If confirmed as permanent, Sadr's announcement brings to a close a political career spanning more than a decade.
      
Sadr's widely-feared Mahdi Army militia also repeatedly battled American forces, and played a major role in the brutal sectarian conflict between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites in which tens of thousands of people died.
      
Sadr suspended the militia's activities in 2008 following major battles with Iraqi and U.S. security forces.
      
Sadr said the decision to leave politics was taken from the standpoint of Islamic law and of "preserving the honourable reputation of Sadr, especially of the two Sadr martyrs," referring to his father and another relative who were killed during Saddam Hussein's rule.
      
The move also aims to "end all the corruptions that occurred or which are likely to occur" that would harm the Sadr reputation, he said.Hmmmm.....With Maliki now completely an Iranian clone who needs 'opposition'.More here and here.