Modernity And Tradition In The Islamic Movements In Iraq: Continuity And Discontinuity In The Role Of The Ulama

Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Wntr, 2001 by Keiko Sakai

Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr went further than that in the institutionalization of the internal system of maria'iya. Aziz describes that al-Sadr's effort was to reform the marja'iya which "lacked the means of enforcing decisions on the rank and file of the 'ulama" and in which "marja' traditionally made policies and arrived at decisions using an inner circle of close associates and family members to gather information, issue statements, and distribute religious funds". Al-Sadr aimed to "transform what he called the 'subjective marja'iya' into an 'objective marja'iya'" [19] This notion of 'objective marja'iya', i.e. 'marja'iya mawdu'iya' in Arabic, can be understood as opposed to 'marja'iya fardiya [individual]', which "used to be followed though the history." [20] In order to realize and achieve this 'objective marja'iya', or in broader terms 'marja'iya salihiya' (proper marja'iya) or 'marja'iya rashida' (true marja'iya), he proposed the establishment of new kinds of executive and planning boards for systematic ma rja'iya; establishment of various councils, through which 'ulama can accomplish their leadership; and secure the continuity of marja'iya. [21]

His idea of 'objective marja'iya' is, in a word, the endeavor for the "institutionalization of marja'iya". This notion has been followed and flourished in the thought of Fadl Allah in Lebanon, who was a close colleague of al-Sadr in his days in Najaf. After al-Sadr's death, many of the members of al-Da'wa (especially in the branches in Damascus and London) believe that Fadi Allah is the best theoretical core for al-Da'wa after al-Sadr. Fadl Allah's notion of "complete marja'iya (marja'iya shamila)" contains the idea of "institution of marja'iya", which "has gone beyond the mere trait of traditional hawza, and should not be a sheer gathering of jurists and 'ulama". In its political role, he states that the society = umma depends on marja'iya in both social and political fields, and umma will be fragmented and scattered if various marja'is persist with their own opinions and personalities. That is why he proposes the introduction of "institution of marja'iya" instead of personal and individual marja'iya, thoug h he affirms multiplication of marja'iya which encourages variation of thoughts and ideas. [22]

The Retreat of the High 'Ulama from al-Da'wa

The idea of Baqir al-Sadr embraces overall restructuring in various fields; relations within marja'iya relations between marja'iya and society; and relations between marja'iya and the state. As a political party, al-Da'wa aimed at realizing al-Sadr's idea in the second and third fields, in coordination with marja 'iya led by al-Sadr. In the last field, however, pressure from the state forced retreat of marja'iya from the political sphere, and further political circumstances encouraged this trend.

The first turning point was the withdrawal of high 'ulama from party membership under the advice of ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim in 1960. Though being tolerant of the political tendencies among the young 'ulama, al-Hakim himself was not free from the unwritten rule of marja'iya not to get involved in direct political activities. Since al-Da'wa was condemned by the Communists and the Arab Nationalists, al-Hakim advised al-Sadr and other 'ulama including his two sons to withdraw from al-Da'wa. This move was further accelerated by al-Sadr's order to the students and teachers in hawza to keep far away from the party in order to defend them from increasingly oppressive acts of the Iraqi regime at the beginning of the 1970s.