Baghdad, Iraq ? Muqtada al Sadr, the firebrand Shiite Muslim cleric whose Mahdi Army is arguably Iraq’s most powerful armed group, has ordered his followers to put down their weapons temporarily, three of his aides said Friday.

Analysts differed on the significance of the directive, which Sadr delivered in secret to his commanders two weeks ago in the southern city of Kufa. Some saw it as Sadr’s way of distancing himself from rising sectarian violence, most of which has been blamed on his followers.

Others said the order was little more than an effort by Sadr to head off an offensive by American and Iraqi forces against his militia, which increasingly is seen as a shadow sectarian security force.