The Last Marja

Jane submitted this item. She comments: "This looks very interesting reading material for both the Iran and Iraq working groups..."

THE LAST MARJA:
Sistani and the End of Traditional Religious Authority in Shiism

By Mehdi Khalaji
Policy Focus no. 59
September 2006

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Iraqi Shiite cleric Ali Hussein al-Sistani has achieved tremendous popularity in recent years, becoming the greatest "marja," or independent religious authority, in the Shiite world. But how does his influence compare to that of Iran's Supreme Leader, who can draw upon the considerable resources of the Iranian state?

In this new Washington Institute Policy Focus, Mehdi Khalaji offers an in-depth look at the current state of Shiite leadership. Drawing in part from his theological training in the seminaries of Qom, Iran, he traces the gradual marginalization of the seminary system in Iran and Iraq -- the former through political monopolization by the ayatollahs, the latter through direct suppression at the hands of Saddam Hussein. By undermining the traditional sources of independent religious authority in the heart of the Shiite world, he argues, the Iranian regime has succeeded in its goal of dominating Shiite religious, political, and social networks both inside and outside Iran. He goes on to explore what this dramatic shift in Shiite authority means for Western interests and U.S. policy.

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THE AUTHOR

Mehdi Khalaji is the Next Generation fellow at The Washington Institute, focusing on the role of politics in contemporary Shiite clericalism in Iran and Iraq. From 1986 to 2000, he trained in the seminaries of Qom, the traditional center of Iran's clerical establishment. He has also served on the editorial boards of two prominent Iranian periodicals and produced for the U.S. government's Persian news service.