Klappentext

Sh'i Clerical Authority in Iraq: The Neo-Traditional Marji'yya and the Transformation of Political Order provides the first comprehensive analysis of the evolving relationship between Shi'i religious authority and the state in Iraq through a distinctive historical sociology framework that illuminates structural and contextual transformations.

Spanning decades of complex interaction, it examines the often tense coexistence and rivalry between the state apparatus and the transnational Shi'i Marji'iyya, revealing how their relationship has been fundamentally reshaped by broader historical processes. Through meticulously researched case studies, the volume traces how state-building initiatives, secularization efforts, and shifting conceptions of national community have continuously challenged and reconfigured traditional religious authority. The analysis centers on the watershed moment of 2003, when Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime collapsed, creating space for Shi'i religious and Islamist actors to emerge as significant political forces amid weakening central authority and a shift from homogenization to communitarianism as the organizing principle of political community. The author introduces the innovative concept of "neo-traditional Marji'iyya" to theorize the transformation in the public presence, political agency, and institutional configuration of Shi'i religious authority in contemporary Iraq.

A significant contribution to the fields of Middle Eastern studies, political theology, and state-religion relations, this book offers essential insights for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand the complex interplay between religious institutions and political power in post-authoritarian contexts and fragile states.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One**:The Modern State, Secularization and Religious Authority in Iraq **

The Construction of the Marji yya

Moder State formation and Shi i Clerical Authorities

Marj iyya under the authoritarian state

Chapter Two**:State Atrophy, Islamization, and the Dynamics of the Religious Field**

Shi i Clerics and the Response to Secularization

The Decline of the Modernizing State

The Shi i Uprising, Khoui's Death and the Emergence of Sistani

The Rise of Sadr II and the Division in the religious Field

C**hapter Three**: Marji yya and the Recreation of Sociopolitical Order after 2003

The Occupation and Disintegration of State Authority

Marji yya and State-Rebuilding

Between Legal Tradition and New Realities

Marji yya as an Extra-Constitutional Body **

Chapter Four: Marji yya and the Shi i Political Power: National and Transnational Dimensions

The Marji yya and Shi i Islamism: From Opposition to domination

Historical Background **

Marji yya and the Shi i-led State **

Moral Authority or Political Guarantor

Marji yya, Wilayat Al-Faqih and Transnational Relations

The Controversy on Wilayat al-Faqih **

The Neo-Traditional Marji yya vs. Wilayat al-Faqih

Chapter Five**:The Neo-Traditional Marji yya: Religious Authority and the New Articulations **

Restructuring the Religious Field: Awqaf, Atabat and Marji yya's New roles

The hybrid administration of Shrines

Shrine Administrations and their Socioeconomic Activities

The loose institutionalization

The Neo-Traditional Marj'iyya and the Questions of Legitimacy, Legality and Public Morality

The Question of Legitimacy: The Marji yya as a Parallel Authority

The Marji yya, Public Morality and Social Governance

Between Religious Jurisprudence and Formal Law **

Conclusions

Bibliography

Index