A cura di @pigtr.

Un lungo articolo su al-Monitor spiega i termini, la storia e l’importanza della competizione tra Ali Khamenei, Guida Suprema dell’Iran, e Ali al-Sistani, la più preminente autorità sciita dell’Iraq e in particolare di Najaf:

At its core, the rivalry is rooted in an esoteric debate over a controversial bit of Shiite jurisprudence that calls for a “trustworthy jurist” to guide society until the return of an “infallible” descendant of the Prophet Muhammad who’s been in hiding — or “occultation” — for more than 1,000 years. That doctrine, known as velayat-e faqih, is the guiding principle behind the system of clerical rule that Iran adopted in 1979.

“We must pursue the righteous man,” Khomeini declared from his exile in Paris a few weeks before his triumphant return to Iran. “When a righteous man comes to power, he will create a righteous state.”

The theory underpins a strategy of religious revival centered around the supreme leader’s claim to “absolute guardianship” over the Muslim faithful. Yet its theological validity remains a matter of intense debate among clerics four decades after the fall of the shah, even inside Iran itself.

The “predominant model of [Shiite theology] was seriously challenged by Ayatollah Khomeini, since he directly and explicitly claimed both religious and political authority for jurists,” a prominent cleric in the Qom seminary told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.