Since I recently spent some time discussing future trends in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, I thought I'd note this article by Hamza Hendawi discussing some similar issues in the Shiite leadership. Basically this is an extremely brief overview of the fight for leadership between clerics in Najaf and clerics in Qom, how the war in Iraq changed the power balance, and what that means for the future of the religion, including how it will deal with direct involvement in politics. The article contains a few key historical points that many Americans probably don't realize. If this article has a flaw it is that it does not provide a discussion of possible changes in the views of the Najaf clerics now that Saddam Hussein is out of power, or possible changes that may occur once Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani passes from the scene. Still, it may be a useful primer for those of you interested in this topic.
Posted by armand at July 15, 2004 11:34 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Culture