Sadr, a defiant ‘Robin Hood’ [View All]

Sadr, a defiant ‘Robin Hood’
Iraqi Shiite cleric turns into cult hero for anti-US stance, helping the poor.
By Sam Dagher - NAJAF, Iraq

For many of his followers, radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has taken on the persona of a Robin Hood or a David fighting Goliath as he defiantly stands up to the US-led coalition.

Posters of the plump and bearded 30-something cleric are big sellers on the dusty streets of this holy city, where Sadr and hundreds of his mainly young followers, the so- called Mehdi Army, have been holed up since early April.

His stern round face is plastered on store fronts, lamp posts and even on the walls of the city's Imam Ali mausoleum, one of the most sacred shrines for Shiite Muslims.

He is portrayed in the company of revered religious figures like Imam Ali and his son Hussein, or Imam Mehdi, the last of the 12 Shiite Imams who some expect to return to save the world.

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