The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is one of the most powerful Shiite political parties in Iraq. SCIRI was founded in 1982 by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and his older brother, Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim, when they were in exile in Iran, with the support of that government.[2] SCIRI advocates for the creation of a separate, Shiite controlled region in southern Iraq as well as political control in Iraq’s government.[3] The Badr Brigade (SCIRI’s military wing) had tens of thousands of men trained in Iran and fought alongside Iranian troops during the Iraq-Iran war, which lasted from 1980 through 1988. In 1991, thousands of troops in the Badr Brigade went to Iraq to support the Shiite rebellion in the south.[4]
In 2002 Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim led a SCIRI delegation in Washington D.C. to deliberate with Bush administration officials, although they publicly opposed a foreign invasion in Iraq. In 2003 the Badr Brigade encountered pressure from the United States to disband its 10,000 troops and SCIRI announced that the Badr Brigades would be turned into a civilian unit.[5] In September 2003 the Badr Brigade changed its name to the Badr Organization of Reconstruction and Development.[6] In 2003 Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim became the president of the United States-led Governing council of Iraq. [7]
After this point, the SCIRI shifted from a militant rebellion group to an Iraqi political party with the objective of encompassing all Shiite groups.[8]In the 2005 elections, the first since Saddam Hussein’s fall from power, several SCIRI leaders were elected to seats in government after Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim formed an alliance of Shiite parties. In 2007 SCIRI changed its name to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC).[9] The group removed the word revolution from their name in order to gain wider political appeal from nationalist Iraqi people and United States officials.[10] Since 2008, SCIRI has had its primary political base in southern Iraq where its members control a majority of the provincial governments.[11] As of 2014, Hadi al-Ameri is the leader of the reformed Badr Organization.[12] View full narrative