Who will succeed Shia Islam’s top man?
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a huge influence in Iraq, may be fading
“Allah yatawal omru: May God grant him a long life” has long been an Arabic mark of respect for the elderly. But seminarians in Iraq’s shrine city of Najaf have begun reciting it almost obsessively. Ali al-Sistani, the grand ayatollah who is the senior religious figure for the world’s 200m Shias, is 92 and fading.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Who will be the next top clergyman?”
From the June 10th 2023 edition
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