Even with the buy-outs and financial troubles, the Post is producing some great work. Case in point is this profile of Moqtada al-Sadr's efforts to transform his image through a two-pronged strategy of burnishing his Islamic credentials and broadening his appeal as a nationalist. This is taking a bit of work, because Sadr has to shed an image as a bit of a dolt. A youthful love of video games got him the nickname Moqtada Atari, and a tendency to stuff a dozen falafel into his mouth at a time and play practical jokes didn't exactly get him taken seriously. But the Mahdi Army has changed that, and he's routinely out-thought and out-maneuvered the American and Iraqi forces since the start of the occupation. Currently, he's in Iran studying under Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, "a native of Najaf...[who] is seen as a relative moderate in Iran, perhaps best known for speaking out against torture and ordering a sometimes-ignored moratorium on stoning six years ago." As a friend of mine who studies Shi'a politics once said to me, "either Sadr's really smart or he's listening to someone is. And in the end, there's really no difference."
