In Iraq, mercurial cleric redefines himself as a nationalist patriot

(The Christian Science Monitor) Yousef Mukthadh, who graduated from law school two years ago and is still looking for a job, has been a follower of Muqtada al-Sadr for as long as he can remember.

“I was young when I first started following the movement—I didn’t know what it meant,” he said. “But as I became older my way of thinking changed,” leading away from blind loyalty.

Mukthadh, one of the several thousand young Iraqis who made it to Europe and then returned, sees a new openness in the movement led by the powerful Shi’ite cleric.