US Shiite cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr renewed a call to his followers to renounce violence. Muqtada Al-Sadr had ordered most of his Mahdi Army militiamen to lay down their arms to form a new social welfare network, although he retained a small fighting force. He praised the new organization in a statement Wednesday by his office in Najaf. He expresses hope it “will continue to denounce violence and raise science and culture as a weapon.” Al-Sadr is believed to be in Iran.
