Topic: Muktada al-Sadr

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Protests in Baghdad against the Koran burnings (image: Ali Jabar/AP/picture alliance)

Sweden Koran burnings

Playing to the radicals

As Sweden grapples with the diplomatic fallout of a series of Koran burnings, radicals on all sides are rubbing their hands and exploiting the moment. Birgit Svensson travelled from Baghdad to Stockholm to get the full pictureMore

Koran-burning in Sweden: The Iraqi Christian turned radicalIslamophobia: Criticism of religion? Blatant racism!Belgium arrests Danish activists plotting Koran burning
Tahrir Square in Baghdad (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Protests in Iraq

The streets speak for themselves!

Once again, political deadlock is driving thousands of Iraqis to Tahrir Square. They want new elections, but the parliament refuses to dissolve. Elected representatives are now being protected from the people. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Political crisis in Iraq: Fighting for Shia hearts and mindsReform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
Muqtada al-Sadr's angry supporters made it onto the roof of the government palace (photo: Hadi Hizban/AP/dpa/picture-alliance)

Political crisis in Iraq

Fighting for Shia hearts and minds

The clashes in Baghdad between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and pro-Iranian militias show that an intra-Shia power struggle is in full swing. An analysis from Cairo by Karim El-GawharyMore

Reform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteParliamentary elections in Iraq: Low turnout, high dramaUnrest in Iraq: Sadr City – a hotbed of resistance
First session after the election: meeting of the Iraqi parliament, January 2022. (photo: Iraqi Parliament Press Office/Handout/AA/picture alliance)

Iraq bans contact with Israel

Anti-Semitism as state doctrine?

A law has been passed by the Iraqi parliament that criminalises any contact with Israel. In the midst of heated debates on the subject, one crucial aspect has been forgotten: the restitution of Jewish property. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Iraqi Jews: Iraqi Judaism lives on in literary form"Baghdad, yesterday - The making of an Arab Jew"Iraq post-Islamic State: The surprising survival of Mosulʹs Jewish quarterJewish Diplomatic Corps visits UAE: "Our preconceptions are at odds with reality"
Populist Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr speaks during a press conference in Najaf, Iraq, 18.11.2021 (photo: AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Reform in Iraq

Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political elite

Muqtada al-Sadr, the biggest winner in the recent election, aspires to implement great change in Iraq, but reform is easier said than done, writes Massaab al-Aloosy. Correcting a crisis that has been decades in the making will take the combined efforts of everyone involvedMore

Parliamentary elections in Iraq: Change or political stagnation in Baghdad?Kurdistan's decline: Iraq's beacon shines no moreFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
Al-Sadr's supporters celebrate his recent victory in the Iraqi parliamentary election (photo: Ayman Yaqoob/AA/picture alliance)

Parliamentary elections in Iraq

Low turnout, high drama

With turnout somewhere between 38 and 41 per cent, assassinations and intimidation of activists by armed groups in the run-up to the election, and a boycott of the election by several new parties linked to the protest movement, political calm and stability seem a distant prospect in Iraq. There has also been a shift in the balance of power towards Muqtada al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki. By Harith HasanMore

Parliamentary elections in Iraq: Change or political stagnation in Baghdad?Muqtada al-Sadr, the most powerful man in IraqIraq's new government: Mr Kadhimi begins a clean-up operation
Men place an election poster for the upcoming early parliamentary elections near private generator network wires in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, 20 September 2021 (photo: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Middle East

Factbox: Who's competing in Iraq's elections?

Iraq holds a general election on 10 October, its fifth parliamentary vote since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and ushered in a complex multi-party system contested by groups defined largely by sect or ethnicity.More

Iraq's electricity crisis: Iraqis left in the dark by their corrupt politiciansFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth livingUnrest in Iraq: Sadr City – a hotbed of resistanceMurder and kidnapping in Iraq: An inexorable tideThe uncertain future of Kurdish autonomy: What next for Iraqʹs Kurds?
Muqtada Haider turns the switches to transfer electricity to private homes in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, 10 September 2021 (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq's electricity crisis

Iraqis left in the dark by their corrupt politicians

Every electricity minister since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein has faced the same daunting equation: Iraq should be able to produce over 30,000 megawatts of power, enough to meet current demand, but only about a half of that reaches consumers. Samya Kullab explores the reasons whyMore

U.S. enemy and friend of Iran? Muqtada al-Sadr, the most powerful man in IraqIraq's new government: Mr Kadhimi begins a clean-up operationFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth livingProtesting corruption and mismanagement in Iraq: Caught in the spotlight
Poster of Muqtada al-Sadr in Sadr City, Baghdad, June 2021 (photo: Ahmed Saad/Reuters)

Reuters special report: U.S. enemy and friend of Iran?

Muqtada al-Sadr, the most powerful man in Iraq

Popular support for Muqtada al-Sadr, progeny of the famous Sadr political dynasty, is on the ascendant in Iraq. Leader of the main opposition Shia faction, Sadr is also no stranger to the corridors of power within the country. A man of many facets, dogmatic and pragmatic by turns. By John Davison & Ahmed RasheedMore

The icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo: Arab Spring and October RevolutionUnrest in Iraq: Sadr City – a hotbed of resistanceProtesting for reform and an end to corruption: Iraq's youth reject the dire status quoIraqʹs political future: Entering a new era
The new Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, addresses the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad on 6 May 2020 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/Iraqi Parliament)

Iraq's new government

Mr Kadhimi begins a clean-up operation

The new Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, has great plans. As he moves to realise those plans, he's fighting on many fronts. As the Americans pull out of Iraq, militias supported by Iran are violently consolidating their position. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Iraq's revolutionary women: The female paramedics of Tahrir SquareThe icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo: Arab Spring and October RevolutionThe cultural scene in Iraq: Returning to something like normality
Demonstrators on Tahrir Square in Cairo (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

The icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo

Arab Spring and October Revolution

The past enthusiasm of the Egyptians lives on in the Iraqis of today. But just as they were nine years ago in Cairo, current prospects in Baghdad are dim. A comparison by Birgit SvenssonMore

Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroesElias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir SquareMass protests in Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon and Iraq: Is this the Arab Spring 2.0?
Anti-government protests and unrest in Iraq (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

Unrest in Iraq

Sadr City – a hotbed of resistance

The resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not managed to quell the unrest in Iraq. After a deadly weekend in which many lost their lives, the wave of protests has swelled up once again. Most of the demonstrators come from Sadr City in Baghdad. Birgit Svensson paid a visit to the Shia suburb of the Iraqi capitalMore

Facing the Mahdi militias: Iraqi civilians in the firing lineAnti-government protests: Is this Iraq's Arab Spring?Unrest in the Arab world: The genie is out of the bottle
Iraqi women protest in Basra, 7 September 2018 (photo: Reuters/A. Al-Marjani)

Patriarchy and governance

Iraq's token females

Since 2003, Iraq has achieved little in the way of gender equality within the political establishment. Not one woman has held an important executive or leadership position and to date all three presidential administrations and their representatives have comprised men. By Manar AlzubaidiMore

Women′s rights in the Arab world: The key to changeGender equality in the Middle East: To the benefit of allInterview with Iranian women's rights activist Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh: ″No woman can be worse than Ahmadinejad″Women′s rights in Islam: Can feminism be Islamic?
Protesters at an anti-government demonstration on 1 October 2019 in Baghdad (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Protesting for reform and an end to corruption

Iraq's youth reject the dire status quo

More than a hundred dead and thousands injured: this is the brutal tally thus far of the current unrest in Iraq. Neither the country's political landscape, nor the ubiquitous confessional take on Iraqi politics offer much in the way of explanation. By Karim El-GawharyMore

From Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth livingEconomic crisis in Iraq: Trump's Iran embargo impacts IraqisWhat triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion
Iraqis celebrate the re-opening of the Green Zone, home to government buildings and Western embassies, on 10 December 2018 in the capital Baghdad (photo: Getty Images/AFP/A. Al-Rubaye)

Iraq post-Islamic State

Baghdadʹs new era of freedom

With Islamic State out of the picture, the people of Iraq are breathing a sigh of relief. The recent re-opening of Baghdadʹs Green Zone to all traffic is just one indication that times are changing. Judit Neurink reports from Baghdad.More

Birgit Svensson's biographical account "Murderous Freedom": Between heaven and hell – fifteen years in IraqBaghdad City of Peace Carnival: Grassroots, green shootsA new quality of civil unrest: Is Iraq steering towards post-sectarianism?
Young people protest against the government in the southern Iraqi city of Basra (photo: AP/picture-alliance)

From Basra to Baghdad

Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living

Major rallies against the nation's political elite have been raging in Iraq for months, so far resulting in 15 deaths and 120 injuries. Birgit Svensson reports from Basra, where the protests first flared up and quickly spread through the entire southern half of the country to BaghdadMore

A new quality of civil unrest: Is Iraq steering towards post-sectarianism?Iraqʹs political future: Entering a new eraThe Iraq War fifteen years on: "America destroyed my country"

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