Sadriyun Split

Juan Cole reports on a split with the Sadriyun leadership, as Ayatollah Kazim al-Haeri attemptes to sideline the movement's main leader in Iraq, Muqtada Sadr, son of the martyred Ayatollah for whom it is named. Muqtada's main weakness was his youth and consequent lack of religious authority, so he got the Iranian Ayatollah al-Haeri to support him, apparently hoping he'd serve as a rubber-stamp-in-exile. Now al-Haeri wants real power. The Sadriyun have been the most rejectionist Shi'ite group in Iraq with no representative on the interim governing council. If we get really lucky, this split may help change that.