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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.
Table des matières
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 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
Chapter 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 ConclusionsBibliography Index
