Disaffected Iraqis Spurn Dominant Shiite Clerics

The clerics eschewed taking a direct role in Iraq's government or establishing a theocracy like Iran's, preferring to provide what they call "advice and direction." But indirectly, the marjaiya, particularly Sistani, played a decisive role.

In 2004, Sistani intervened to stop battles in Najaf between U.S. forces and the Mahdi Army of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which had taken over the Imam Ali shrine. Sistani also successfully lobbied for quick elections, realizing that a popular vote would allow Iraq's majority Shiites to lead a legitimate government. His office later helped put together the United Iraqi Alliance, the leading Shiite religious coalition.

In 2005, the huge voter turnout and the widespread boycott by Sunni Arabs bolstered the clerics' influence, allowing them to shape Iraq's constitution through politicians. Today, politicians routinely travel to Najaf to seek Sistani's support and often invoke his name to push through policies.

But in 2006, with sectarian strife engulfing Iraq, the marjaiya came up against the limits of their power. Sistani's calls for restraint went unheard as the influence of Shiite militias grew.

"The marjaiya could not control the whole situation," said Mohammed Hussein al-Hakim, the son of Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim, one of the four top clerics. "If we had not intervened, it would have been worse."

But as the violence worsened, Sistani fell silent, reportedly out of concern that his authority would be undermined.

Targeted by Killers

Najafi, the son of one of the four top clerics, never leaves his home without bodyguards. Outside his small office, where his father's followers waited to meet him, armed men stood watch near a concrete barricade. This year, two of his father's representatives were killed. At least five Sistani aides have also been assassinated in southern Iraq in recent months.

"This is an attempt to foil the project of a new Iraq," said Najafi, seated next to a large portrait of his father. "They know that the marjaiya and Najaf play a great role in the political situation."

The clerics' perspective is colored by their community's long history of repression by others, which has made them deeply suspicious of outsiders. They view the U.S. occupation with mistrust, fearing that the Americans, wary of Iran's growing influence in the region, will never allow a Shiite-led Iraq to flourish.

A spokesman for Sistani, Ahmed al-Safi, said the marjaiya are embroiled in a struggle against extremists vying to control Iraq. That battle, he said, will end only when U.S troops withdraw, a key goal of the extremists.

Other clerics worry that their nation's mainly Sunni neighbors, such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, are trying to torpedo the Shiites' progress. "My concern is that Iraq is becoming . . . a theater for outside powers to achieve their political goals," said Hakim, the son of another top cleric.

Others blame the killings of the clerics' aides on Iraq's internal struggles. Sistani is widely viewed as supporting the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. In government offices and police stations in Najaf and Karbala, photos of Sistani and Hakim hang side-by-side.