Koranic Mythology Behind Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army

By Mike Shuster

Published August 24, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

NPR's Mike Shuster reports on the mythology behind the Mahdi army, the militia supporting Iraqi insurgent leader Moqtada al-Sadr. The group has invoked the mahdi, an important Koranic symbol, to lend religious significance to their fight.

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Mike Shuster

Mike Shuster is an award-winning diplomatic correspondent and roving foreign correspondent for NPR News. He is based at NPR West, in Culver City, CA. When not traveling outside the U.S., Shuster covers issues of nuclear non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the Pacific Rim.