Sunni Sheikh Takes Larger Role In Protests Against Maliki
Sheikh Abdul Malik al-Saadi has risen over the last two decades from a little-known cleric opposed to the rule of Saddam Hussein to one of Iraq’s most prominent Sunni religious leaders, writes Ali Abel Sadah.
Sunni Sheikh Abdul Malik al-Saadi has taken over the religious leadership in Sunni regions, having remained out of sight since 2003. Saadi reintroduced himself, however, to the scene during the Anbar protests at the end of last year.
Descended from a clan in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, Saadi was born in the city of Hit, a township in the province of Anbar, south of Baghdad.
The Saadi family has engaged in the preaching of Islam since the mid-1980s. He was known among the residents of Anbar for his opposition to the regime of Saddam Hussein and used to criticize the ruling Baath party during mosque sermons, which led to his arrest in 1988. Security forces dealt with him brutally, leaving him with a broken arm.
Sheikh Saadi’s brother, Abdul Razzak al-Saadi, was a preacher as well. The latter was a vigorous supporter of the Saddam regime and a theorist of what was known in the mid-1990s as the “faith campaign.”
