Sadr Calls for an End to 'US Occupation'
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Shia cleric threatens to relaunch armed resistance unless the US withdraws from Iraq by year-end.

Moqtada al Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shia cleric, has threatened to revive his Mehdi Army and relaunch armed resistance against continued US presence in the country.

The threat came as tens of thousands of people marched across the capital Baghdad, marking the eighth anniversary of former leader Saddam Hussein's fall on Saturday.

A spokesperson of al Sadr, said the US had until the end of the year to meet the cleric's demands. » | Source: Al Jazeera | Saturday, April 09, 2011

Radical Iraq Cleric Orders 'Depraved' Homosexuality to Be Eradicated
Moqtada Sadr urged for the eradication of homosexuality. Photo courtesy of Pink News
PINK NEWS: Moqtada Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, has ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality must be eradicated, yet urged an end to violence against gays and lesbians.

His spokesman Sheikh Wadea al-Atab said today that a series of meetings are being held with clerics, tribal leaders and police to tackle the "phenomenon".

According to AFP, Atabi said: "The purpose of the meetings is to fight the depravity and to urge the community to reject this phenomenon. The only remedy to stop it is through preaching and guidance. There is no other way to put an end to it."

Regarding the recent killings of six gay men in Sadr city, on the outskirts of Baghdad, Atabi said: "Al-Sadr rejects this type of violence … and anyone who commits violence [against gays] will not be considered as being one of us."

Homosexuality is not illegal in Iraq but religious leaders condemn it.

Two gay men were found dead in the Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr City In April following condemnations of homosexuality by a leading local cleric.

A further four were murdered in March after the Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat allegedly repeatedly condemned homosexuality in Friday prayers. >>> By Jessica Green | Friday, May 29, 2009

YOUTUBE: Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq


YOUTUBE: Gay in Iraq

Moqtada Sadr: US Will Always Be the Enemy
Photo of Moqtada Sadr courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has said the US will always be his enemy "till the last drop of blood".

Mr Sadr was responding to a statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who said that all those within the political process were not enemies.

"I have no enemy but you. You are the occupier," Mr Sadr's statement said. Sadr Says US Will Always Be Enemy >>> | April 12, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)