1 - 3 of 3
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. The Future of Leadership in the Shiite Community
- Author:
- Mehdi Khalaji
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former Iranian judiciary chief who holds a prominent position in the Assembly of Experts, now has two paths to leadership of the Shiite community. The first is as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now seventy-seven; the second is to eventually take the place of Najaf-based Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who at eighty-six is the preeminent religious authority in Shia Islam. A certain air of mystery surrounds Shahroudi, whose life has been chronicled heretofore only in a flattering pamphlet produced by his own office. But the trends in his philosophy are clear enough: on the religious front, he has grown more conservative; in matters of Iranian nationalism, a harder-line revolutionary. Author Mehdi Khalaji offers here the first comprehensive study of Ayatollah Shahroudi, encompassing his upbringing in holy Najaf, his move to Iran after the Islamic Revolution, his role as a stalwart in Khamenei's power base, and his brutal tenure as chief justice from 1999 to 2009. A scenario worth imagining, though hardly inevitable, is one in which Shahroudi consolidates power as both Supreme Leader and transnational marja, thereby reinforcing Iran's regional clout and its revolutionary orientation.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Security, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Iran
3. Iran: Regional Threats and Shiite-Sunni Challenges
- Author:
- Ian Dudgeon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Australian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Any assessment of the multitude of dynamics that contribute to the ongoing regional stability in the Middle East requires an understanding of the factors that motivate the perceptions and actions of each state and other non-state actors. Iran and its neighbours, the Islamic State (IS) and the Sunnis and Shiite sects of Islam are all stakeholders in this mix, and in shaping any solution that contributes to regional peace and stability.
- Topic:
- International Security and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Iran