The Mumahidun: Muqtada Al-Sadr’s New Militia

By Babak Rahimi

The Mahdi Army, the Shia militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, has recently undergone a significant transformation. On August 28, al-Sadr suspended the armed operations of the Mahdi Army. Al-Sadr's latest statement on the Mahdi militia follows a similar call in early August when he announced new plans to reorganize the Mahdi Army into “a cultural and religious force,” charged with the responsibility of leading an intellectual jihad. As outlined in that statement, such changes primarily involve the centralization of the command structure into a small, tight unit of loyalists, coupled with vigorous religious training for the militiamen. The new militia is called the “Mumahidun” (“those who pave the path”). The name was coined in reference to the devout followers of the Hidden Imam, who prepare the way for the Mahdi’s return, believed by Shias to culminate in the establishment of divine justice on earth. ....