The controversial cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is paving the way for the collapse of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. On March 19, Sadr issued a strongly worded statement in which he criticized the government and declared that "staying in the government is a sin and a fatal error." When a Shiite cleric uses the word "sin" in Iraq, it serves to prohibit or forbid.

In the statement, released by his office in Beirut, Sadr said, "The government is selling its land to the south, and claims that al-Qaeda controls some of Iraq's western and northern provinces. The country is without a president, the parliament is weak, and the judiciary is politicized. Thus, staying in this government has become more damaging than useful; remaining in the government assists 'sin' and aggression."

Sadr's release, a copy of which Al-Monitor obtained, came just hours after a series of bombings by al-Qaeda hit Baghdad and the cities of Diyala, in the east, and Hilla, 100 kilometers south of Baghdad. Approximately 20 car bombs left more than 220 people dead and wounded. Sadr warned Maliki, who heads the Islamic Dawa Party, that he would be considering whether to withdraw from the government or suspend his participation in it, along with leaders in the political bloc Sadr heads.

Approximately one hour after the bombings, the Maliki government decided to postpone provincial council elections in the western city of Anbar and the northern city of Mosul for security reasons. Sadr let his anger at the decision be known, saying that Maliki had taken the action in political self-interest, arguing that it would harm Iraqi Sunnis.