A New Voice Is Being Heard in Iran (Sistani's)

Wall St.Journal.com ^ | July 12, 2004 | Amir Taheri

[nuconvert]

A New Voice Is Being Heard in Iran [Excerpt]

July 12, 2004 The Wall Street Journal Amir Taheri

While the world is justly focusing on the movement of terrorists and weapons from Iran into newly liberated Iraq, a movement of ideas and those who preach them traveling in the opposite direction may prove to have more lasting consequences in the long run.

The ideas are coming from Najaf, a dusty nondescript town in southern Iraq which is re-emerging as the principal center of Shi'ite Islam after a hiatus of more than three decades. The men who are taking those ideas into Iran are Iranian and Iraqi clerics who believe that Khomeinism -- the official religion of the Islamic Republic in Tehran -- represents a betrayal of their faith.

The man in whose name the doctrinal challenge to Khomeinism is launched is 73-year old Grand Ayatollah Ali-Muhammad Hussein Sistani, the primus inter pares of Shi'ite theologians in Najaf.

Until Iraq's liberation last year, Ayatollah Sistani was under restrictions imposed by Saddam Hussein, and unable to communicate with his native Iran. In the final years of the Saddam regime, the grand ayatollah was not even allowed to teach.

In the past 15 months, however, Ayatollah Sistani has resumed contact with Shi'ite communities throughout the world, the first of which was Iran. Ayatollah Sistani has been sending emissaries to Iran to renew contact with the clergy, the bazaars, and the thousands of non-governmental organizations that have sprung up in recent years.

By the end of June Ayatollah Sistani had named representatives in 67 Iranian towns and cities, including the capital Tehran. At the same time a stream of visitors from Iran, including many clerics, are received by the ayatollah in his mud-brick home in downtown Najaf each day. Ayatollah Sistani's Persian-language Web site is attracting more than three millions visitors each month from Iran.

"Today, Sistani is probably the most influential Shi'ite [religious] leader in the world," says Sabah Zangeneh, who was Tehran's ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Conference until last year. "Many Iranians see in him a revival of the mainstream Shi'ite theology."

Many clerics agree. "It is now clear to most Shi'ites that Khomeinism is a political ideology and a deviation [from the faith]," says Ayatollah Mahmoud Qomi-Tabatabi. "Those who represent authentic Shi'ism cannot speak out in Iran. This is why the Najaf clergy, especially Sistani, are emerging as a pole of attraction for Iranians."

Another Iranian cleric, Hadi Qabel, says that Khomeinism should be regarded as "a political ideology" while Shi'ism, as a religious faith, is represented by "theologians like Sistani who do not seek power."

Hassan Sanai, a prominent mullah in Qom, sees the liberation of Najaf as "a gift from God." "Shi'ism needs a theological center that is not controlled by a government," Ayatollah Sanai says. "It is natural that Najaf should play that role. With Sistani now able to address the [Shi'ite] community, the faith could resume its natural course."

But in what way does Sistanism -- if such a term is allowed -- differ from Khomeinism? Some secular Shi'ite intellectuals claim that there is no difference. "A mullah is a mullah under any guise," says sociologist Nasser Zamani. "All mullahs want [political] power. Some, like Khomeini, seek it directly; others like Sistani, indirectly."

But this is precisely what makes Ayatollah Sistani's version of Shi'ism attractive to many. In Shi'ism all power belongs to God and is exercised by the 12 "immaculate" Imams, the last of whom disappeared in Iraq in the 9th century. In the absence of the Imam, the community rules itself as best as it can. The tasks of the government are limited to law and order, defending the community against aggression, and maintaining a minimum of administration. The believers could consult the clergy on matters about which they themselves cannot form a judgment. But here a free market of ideas exists in the sense that the believer can choose whom to consult and whether or not to accept the views of the clerics.

Khomeinism, however, is a totalitarian ideology in which the clergy have a monopoly on power. They name one of their own as "Faqih al-Wali" ("theological guide") who is given absolute power for life. Designated as "The Supreme Guide," he could even order a suspension of the basic rules of Islam.

[Billthedrill]

Well, isn't this interesting? I did not know Sistani was that influential. No wonder the mullahs were trying to destabilize Iraq!

If - when - the theocracy in Iran falls it'll be the Middle East's version of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[nuconvert]

He's a Grand Ayatollah. I think there are only about a dozen.

[kinghorse]

"The tasks of the government are limited to law and order, defending the community against aggression, and maintaining a minimum of administration."

A recipe for feudalism. They would be kicking a and taking names if this was still the 6th century.

[js1138]

Sounds more like conservatism to me.

[Dark Wing]

ping

[kinghorse]

Surprised it took you so long. ;).

Anything taken to an extreme is dangerous, conservatism included. Why? Because it creates a framework where minority rights can be trampled upon. It forces conformity. Or else.

[js1138]

I'm an autonomist myself. I used to call myself a libertarian, but that gets confused with an anything goes lifestyle.

I simply believe that the best government is that which governs at the lowest possible level, ideally the individual governing himself. I think children learn self-control and self management from observing their parents and friends. This makes the job of being a parent the most important one in the world.

[xm177e2]

I did not know Sistani was that influential.

He even has a web site.

[America's Resolve]

sees the liberation of Najaf as "a gift from God."

Actually, thanks to the United States of America and the blood of its brave warriors! You're welcome! Not that any muslim would ever say thank you to a filthy infidel nation.

[pawdoggie]

Heard a seminar about this the other day. The problem is that the Iranian Ayatollahs, especially those governing Iran, are not too keen on the idea of Sistani or the Najaf Shiites regaining their place of prominence in the movement. That's why Iranian agents are being sent out to kill Iraqi Shia.