The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader marks a dramatic change in the application of the revolutionary Velayat-e-faqih system. After years of constant shifts, the role of the Supreme Leader is increasingly detached from religious authority or clerical legitimacy and more embedded in the post-ideological power structures of contemporary Iran, where institutional control and loyalty outweigh theological credentials — a process significantly accelerated by the current war. Yet even in this modernized configuration, the IRGC still relies on a veneer of religious legitimacy to stabilize its preferred succession.

At the same time, reports circulated via news agencies claiming that Grand Ayatollah Ali al‑Sistani of Najaf, Iraq, had issued a fatwa calling for a collective jihad in defense of the Islamic Revolution. These claims are widely attributed to IRGC information channels, though no official text appears on their formal websites, and Sistani’s office has not taken responsibility. In reality, Sistani condemned the conflict and called for restraint, emphasizing that the military aggression against Iran sets a dangerous precedent and urging the international community to seek peace.

The timing of the claim highlights a broader dynamic: the evolution of Iran’s post-ideological power structures is unfolding within a Shiite world already facing institutional and intellectual uncertainty. Regardless of whether Mojtaba remains in power for years or only weeks, the processes set in motion in Iran intersect with developments in two competing approaches within Shiite thought, each embodied by a distinct center — Najaf in Iraq, with its historically quietist and transnational marjaʿiyya, and Qom in Iran, with its revolutionary, state-aligned model.

Traditional Shiite Authority and the Najaf-Qom Divide

Traditionally, Shiite religious authority was deliberately separated from political power. For centuries, the clergy exercised moral and legal guidance but did not govern the state directly, reflecting the long-standing belief that the twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, would one day return, and until that moment, worldly rule should remain distinct from religious leadership.

At the heart of this system was Najaf, in present-day Iraq, home to one of the most important Shiite seminaries (hawza), whose scholars produced generations of marjaʿs—the highest-ranking legal authorities in Twelver Shiism. A marjaʿ serves as a source of emulation for believers, issuing religious rulings (fatwas) that guide everyday life. A decision made in Najaf was not only relevant to Iraq but also followed by Shiites in Iran, Pakistan, India, and wherever Shiite communities existed. The influence of Najaf can be seen in events such as the Tobacco Protest of 1891, when Grand Ayatollah Mirza Shirazi’s fatwa against a British tobacco concession in Iran galvanized........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)