Hawzah News Agency- Throughout Iraq’s various historical periods, the religious authority has consistently emphasized national interests and social stability, advocating dialogue, political solutions, and diplomacy over violence and internal conflict.
While urging calm and peaceful coexistence, the religious authority has also demonstrated a willingness to take decisive action when Iraq faced existential threats. The most prominent example came after the rapid expansion of ISIS across several Iraqi cities. At a time when both the state and society faced grave danger, the religious authority issued the historic “sufficient jihad” fatwa* in June 2014, calling on Iraqis to defend their country.
The broad public response to that decree underscored the religious authority’s ability to mobilize society during critical moments. The fatwa became a turning point in Iraq’s campaign against terrorism and contributed to restoring security and stability not only within Iraq but across the wider region during that period.
The religious authority occupies the highest religious status among Twelver Shia Muslims during the period known as the Major Occultation of the Twelfth Imam.
The fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003 further expanded the authority’s role in Iraqi public life. The political environment that emerged afterward ended decades of restrictions, persecution, house arrests, and assassinations that had targeted senior clerics under previous governments, allowing the institution to operate more openly and exert greater influence.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Iraqi researcher Raji Nasser argued that the Najaf religious authority played a “central role” in preserving Iraq’s unity and preventing the country from sliding into civil war after 2003.
According to Nasser, the institution consistently promoted de-escalation, dialogue, and the rejection of sectarianism despite waves of violence and bombings that targeted civilians and religious shrines.
“The religious authority stressed in its statements the need for awareness and caution regarding parties seeking to tear apart Iraq’s social fabric,” Nasser said, adding that it consistently called for resolving crises “through wisdom, self-restraint, and avoiding sectarian reactions”.
Ali Baqir, a professor at the Najaf seminary, told Shafaq News that “the religious authority does not believe in fighting and bloodshed unless it sees an external threat to the state and its sovereignty”.
According to Baqir, the institution has issued calls for jihad only when the state faced dangers threatening its existence and sovereignty, or when citizens were subjected to killing, displacement, and other violations. He added that the Najaf authority consistently urges respect for state laws when they serve the public interest.
Source: Shafaq News
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