Muqtada by Patrick Cockburn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I got this back when Muqtada was prevalent in the news for his battles with Coalition forces from his HQ that seemed to lie in a mosque-cemetery complex. I did not get around to reading it then and was reluctant to pick it up now, since time has passed and Muqtada has gone from emanating an evil, rebellious auro to a political moderate.
However, Muqtada is actually minor or perhaps supporting character in this recent Iraq history focused on the Shia-Sunni divide. Not only is the background of that religious division and its regional and national implications explored but there is such helpful observations as that the appellation "Sayyid" often givens Muqtada denotes a person descending directly from the Prophet Muhammad, as does his black turban while "al-Sadr" indicates his descent from Shiite martyrs.
Still, a relevant and enlightening book on Iraq.
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