A Comparison of the Relationship Between the Origin of Contemporary Shiite and Sunni Reformist Leaders and their Performance

One of the influential factors on political actions of religious reformists is their origin. Researches indicate that the origin of Shiite and Sunni reformist leaders are completely different. Shiite reformists have originated from Hawza and have been known as religious authorities of the Shiite Muslims. Their obvious example is Mirza Shirazi in Tobacco Boycott and Imam Khomeini in the contemporary age. This is while Sunni reformist leaders have either received their religious studies in universities or have received only academic education. Hasan al-Banna, the founder of Ikhwan al-Muslimin and Mohammad Morsi in contemporary times are two examples of these leaders. The difference in origin have led to differences in the intellectual development and performance of these leaders. Among these differences we can refer to the position of Islamic principles in the arrangement of all reform plans, radicalism or moderation and the extent of influences from non-Islamic thoughts. Along with showing the difference in the origin, this article tries to study the differences in performance and intellectual development of Shiite and Sunni leaders.