Marjiʿyya and the Shiʿi Political Power

This chapter investigates how the Marjiʿyya of Ali al-Sistani navigated its evolving relationship with both domestic political power and Iran’s transnational influence after 2003. It explores how the Marjiʿyya adapted its role amid Shiʿi political ascendance, internal challenges, and regional complexities. Initially, the chapter outlines how the post-2003 dominance of Shiʿi Islamist parties brought the Marjiʿyya into an environment no longer hostile to religious authority. Once sidelined or suppressed, clerics like Sistani were now courted as moral guides and institutional guarantors. Yet, this proximity to power raised tensions, especially as armed factions within the Popular Mobilization Forces gained autonomy and aligned with Iran, challenging the Marjiʿyya’s vision of nonpartisan oversight. The chapter then examines the economic grievances and youth-led protests that followed the decline of sectarian conflict. As demands shifted from security to reform, Sistani’s position became increasingly complex – balancing the need to sustain social legitimacy with a desire to preserve the political order. Internationally, the chapter contrasts Najaf’s tradition of clerical independence with Iran’s state-integrated model of Wilāyat al-Faqīh . It traces how Najaf avoided entanglement in Iranian domestic affairs while maintaining institutional presence in Iran. Reformist Iranian voices occasionally invoked Sistani’s model to challenge Qom’s subordination to political authority. Simultaneously, Sistani’s office pursued strategies – such as emphasizing Arab identity and promoting integration with local communities – to counter perceptions of foreign domination and navigate the Arab–Persian divide within Iraq.