Anti-U.S. Cleric to Lay Down Weapons

BAGHDAD, Aug. 7, 2008 — -- The anti-American cleric who launched the Shiite insurgency in Iraq four years ago, sparking a cycle of violence that killed scores of U.S. soldiers and led to a sectarian war, will transform his militia into a mostly nonviolent social organization, his office tells ABC News.

Moqtada al-Sadr's decision to focus on education and science instead of violence cements a shift that began almost one year ago, when he asked his followers to freeze their actions against the U.S. military and the Iraqi government.

The freeze was one of the main reasons that violence in Iraq has dropped to the lowest levels in four years for both civilians and troops. But before today, he had never stepped so far back from the armed insurgency that gave him a widespread following.

"This army is cultural, religious, social and in charge of cultural and scientific jihad -- to liberate minds and hearts and souls from the secular Western tide and which forbids using weapons, ever," reads a two-page flier that announces the change and has been posted in Shiite areas around the country. "We give you this flier… to call for what's right and forbid what's wrong in an ethical way -- through tongue and heart, only."

The group will now focus on educational programs and support Iraq's infrastructure, including gas delivery and neighborhood cleanup, according to a spokesman. And the name will change from Mahdi Army to Al-Mumahidoon, which translates roughly to "The Pavers," as in the ones who will pave the way for the reappearance of the Shiite 12th imam.

"This leaflet is the constitution for joining the Al-Mumahidoon," said Abu Sajjad, a resident of Sadr City, standing in front of a flier posted on the wall. "This is one of the best decisions made by the leader Moqtada. Carrying weapons should only be left to the people who are specialized in this."

Sadr, who is referred to as Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr because he is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed, apparently will not entirely give up resisting the people he still refers to as "the occupiers."

Salah al-Ubaidi, his spokesman, tells ABC News that "during Friday prayers we'll announce the launching of the project of a general education for the Sadrists where Moqtada al-Sadr divides the Mahdi Army into two parts: where the biggest and most important of them is intellectual and social work. And the smallest portion will be in charge of the resistance project."