Word: sistani
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...continues to stick to the June 30 deadline and insists that elections cannot be organized by then, given the absence of voter rolls, or held safely, in light of the continuing insurgency. But in private, Administration and Iraqi officials say the U.S. may ultimately be forced to bow to Sistani's wishes. "Sistani is the only one in this country who can mobilize millions," says a prominent Iraqi leader. "The Americans shouldn't tempt fate by disregarding that...
...Sistani's background, however, suggests he prefers a different course. Born in Iran to a family of clerics, Sistani started memorizing the Koran at age 5, according to his official biography. In the early 1950s, he moved to the Iraqi city of Najaf, the site of one of the holiest shrines in Shi'ism. He later became a student of Grand Ayatullah Abul Khoei, who would turn out to be Iraq's leading cleric. As Saddam ruthlessly suppressed clerical activism, Khoei advocated "quietism," the belief that the clergy should mainly serve spiritual and social needs, and not focus on matters...
When Khoei died in 1992, Sistani succeeded him as the most prominent member of the hawza, the network of seminaries and mosques that dominates life in the city and generates huge sums in alms and tithes. Two years later, Saddam placed Sistani under house arrest. In response, Sistani established a base in Qum, in western Iran, and forged relationships with the ruling clergy in Tehran. But Sistani, like many other Shi'ite luminaries, disagrees with the Iranian practice of velayat-e faqih, or rule of the clergy. Aides say he has always discouraged clerics from holding political positions...
...Sistani's aides say his decision to speak out against the U.S. caucus plan was motivated not by political ambition but by his perception that the Governing Council was not defending the rights of Iraqis and by a desire to protect the interests of Iraqi Shi'ites. In an interview with TIME in Qum, Grand Ayatullah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who has spent 15 years under house arrest for criticizing Iran's ruling mullahs for abuse of office, said that Sistani is acting for the good of Iraq. "If there should be a stable government, it is best that...
...Sistani's challenge to the U.S. has made him, says an adviser to the Administration, "the most respected man in the country." His popularity is magnified by his reputation for moral probity. Designated a marja-e taqlid, or a source of emulation, the highest position in Shi'ite Islam, Sistani shuns material comforts. He meets with visitors in a simple, spare room, carpeted, with cushions around the walls. "He wears inexpensive clothes so that he can sit side by side with the poorest man who comes to see him," says Jalil, the religious student. "When people ask a question...