Pulling and gouging: The sadrist line's adaptable and evolving repertoire of contention

Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, international observers have been fascinated by the figure of Muqtada al-Sadr, his apparent volatility, and his strident and militant opposition to US occupation. Journalists and commentators have tried to understand this previously unknown social and religious leader and his ability to mobilise Iraqis in the hundreds of thousands to participate in contentious politics, deliver social services, attend public religious festivals in the midst of war, and even take up armsboth to resist the occupation of Iraq by the overwhelmingly superior US military and to defend communities and holy sites against the so-called Islamic State group.