Mahdi Army Fights for Democracy

Ahmed Abbas al-Bahadili has had a change of heart in the last few months. Instead of fighting United States troops, the 18-year-old is now preparing to work as an election monitor to ensure the January 30 polls are free from fraud.

"This is more important than fighting against the Americans," said Ahmed who hopes the new government will help improve life in Sadr City, a mainly Shia slum south of Baghdad.

Months ago, Sadr City was the site of fierce battles between Coalition forces and the Mahdi Army, the militia of radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The neighbourhood still bears the scars, and stagnant water fills the bomb craters left over from the fighting.

Since then, however, members of the Sadrist movement have quietly put away their pistols in order to get involved in politics. Like al-Bahadili, they are volunteering to monitor the elections and protect the polls.

Karim al-Niemi, a leader of the Mahdi Army, said the movement has sent many of its most promising young people to train as poll monitors. It also plans to protect schools and roads leading up to remote polling stations where police cannot reach.

Sixty-year-old Abu Abdullah spent part of last year fighting Coalition forces in Najaf. Now two of his sons are training as election monitors.

Abdullah said his family is determined to take part in the elections, no matter what. "We will vote even if one of my family members gets killed," he said.

Many Sadrists are getting involved in order to improve their community. Sadr City suffers from a lack of basic services and its hospitals lack even the simplest medical equipment. Recently, projects have begun to pave the neighbourhood’s streets and repair its sewage system.

"To me, the elections mean paying attention to the city, and I do want this," said 34-year-old Hamid Farhan.

Sadr City police chief General Hussein Khalid al-Musawi welcomes the new cooperative stance of the Sadr movement.

“We have a special plan to make the election process succeed, including restraint and not responding to any violations by the multi-national forces," said al-Musawi.

Despite repeated statements by Muqtada that the January 30 elections are illegitimate, Fattah al-Sheikh is running for a seat on the Baghdad governorate council.

Al-Sheikh is the editor of the Sada al-Sadr newspaper, which is owned by the Office of Sadr the Martyr, a reference to Muqtada's father, Muhammed Sadiq al-Sadr, a revered cleric killed by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He views his candidacy "as a golden opportunity for honourable individuals to be put in positions where they can serve people".

The manager of the Office of Sadr the Martyr, Amin al-Husseini, has given al-Sheikh financial backing and allows him to campaign in mosques and other premises under his office’s control.

"We haven’t prevented anyone… from running for election, and we will try to support him [al-Husseini] by all means," said al-Husseini.

Dhya Rasan is an IWPR trainee journalist in Iraq.