[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Populist Iraqi Shia holy man Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
 ...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
urged the country’s paramilitaries on Thursday to purge what he called undisciplined members and for non-state gangs to hand over their weapons.
Al-Sadr’s remarks come after Iran-backed Shia Moslem militia were accused of an attempt to kill outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi by armed drone on Nov. 7.
The militias are disputing the result of an October general election that handed them a crushing defeat and have also staged sit-ins in Baghdad which turned violent mostly peaceful this month.
Al-Sadr, who commands his own militia but opposes all foreign influence in Iraq, including that of Iran, is seen as the main Shia rival of the paramilitaries Tehran has backed.
"You must step back in order to regain the trust of the people," al-Sadr said in a statement delivered to news cameras from his base in the southern holy city of Najaf.
"What you’re doing right now will tarnish your history and increase your alienation from the people."
Al-Sadr did not refer explicitly to recent events, but addressed his message to what he called the losing parties in Iraq’s election.
He called on Iraq’s state paramilitary grouping the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), which is dominated by the Iran-aligned factions, to purge "undisciplined elements" and for non-state gangs to dissolve themselves and lay down their weapons.
Al-Sadr will likely have a big say in the formation of the next Iraqi government, a prospect that worries his main rivals the Iran-backed groups, according to Iraqi officials and independent analysts.
"If you want to participate in forming the next government, you must hold those corrupt among you to account," he added.
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