Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of the famous iraqi shia cleric mohammad sadeq al-sadr”. Today it says “iraqi cleric”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Iraqi Shia scholar, politician and militia leader (born 1974)”. It now reads “Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and former militia leader (born 1974)”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( Arabic : مقتدى الصدر, also transliterated as Moqtada Alsadr ) (born c. 1974 ) is the son of the famous Iraqi Shia cleric Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr . As of early 2004 , he was the de facto ruler of the Sadr City section of Baghdad and commanded the loyalty of the Mahdi Army , an insurgent force making a bid for power in Iraq. Clashes with U.S. forces in April were followed by a truce in June, and mixed signals from al-Sadr after his promises to disband his militia and become involved in the political process. The Coalition Provisional Authority had on several occasions threatened to arrest al-Sadr, and in early April 2004 issued an arrest warrant , alleging his involvement in a homicide (see below). U.S. military commanders expressing an intention to "capture or kill" him. Al-Sadr had agreed to disband his army and join the political process, and he was given assurances that he would not face arrest and be allowed to stand in the 2005 elections. However, tensions rose again in August, and U.S. and Iraqi forces decided to move against al-Sadr and his militia.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16213765.
The opening as it stood in 2010 7 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr ( Arabic : سيد مقتدى الصدر) (born August 12, 1973) is an Iraqi theologian and political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq , Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370974403.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Muqtadā al-Ṣadr ( Arabic : سيد مقتدى الصدر; born 12 August 1973) is an Iraqi Islamic political leader. Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq , Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country, despite not holding any official title in the Iraqi government. He is the leader of a political party , the Sadrist Movement .On 18 February 2014 he withdrew from politics and dismantled his influential political movement in a move that stunned his followers and handed a pre-election boost to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668292324.
The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Iraqi politician Muqtada al-Sadr ( ; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and militia leader.He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies , a Shia militia that is a reformation of the previous militia he led during the American military presence in Iraq, the Mahdi Army.There were reports on 7 December 2019 of an armed drone attack on Sadr.Armed drone targets home of Iraqi cleric - report
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965279147.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Iraqi Shia scholar, politician and militia leader (born 1974) Muqtada al-Sadr ( ; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi Shia Muslim cleric , politician and militia leader.He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies , a successor to the militia he had previously led during the American military presence in Iraq, the "Mahdi Army." In 2018, he joined his Sadrist political party to the Saairun alliance, which won the highest number of seats in the 2018 and 2021 Iraqi parliamentary elections .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178607313.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and former militant (born 1974) Muqtada al-Sadr (born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi cleric , politician and former militia leader.A leading Shia Muslim , he inherited the leadership of the Sadrist Movement from his father , and founded the now dissolved Mahdi Army militia in 2003 that resisted the American occupation of Iraq .He also founded the Promised Day Brigade insurgent group after the dissolution of the Mahdi Army; both were backed by Iran.In 2014, he founded the Peace Companies militia and serves as its current head. In 2018, he joined his Sadrist political party to the Saairun alliance, which won the highest number of seats in the 2018 and 2021 Iraqi parliamentary elections . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297238840. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of the famous iraqi shia cleric mohammad sadeq al-sadr”. Today it says “iraqi cleric”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Iraqi Shia scholar, politician and militia leader (born 1974)”. It now reads “Iraqi Shia cleric, politician and former militia leader (born 1974)”. Read the current article and compare.
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militant
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
son of the famous iraqi shia cleric mohammad sadeq al-sadr
Now
iraqi cleric
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
