The Analysis of the Political Actions of the Shiite Aauthorities in Iraq in the post-Saddam Era

After the fall of Saddam, the political process in Iraq did not turn the way that American had expected and they not only failed to establish their desirable structure, but also they could not employ their affiliated players. In this respect, Ayatollah Sistani played a crucial role. This paper by employing analytical-descriptive method and collecting library and interview data attempts to analyze the impacts of Iraqi Shiite authorities and Ayatollah Sistani in specific, in post-Saddam era. The findings of this paper indicate that Ayatollah Sistani has been advocating to the state-building process in Iraq and he supported the Shiite’s rights as the political majority, leading the process of drafting the constitution, confronting the occupiers, resolving disagreements among Shiites parties, taking trans-tribal approach and supporting the process of combating terrorism. Despite trying not to take side or express his position in political affairs as he had learnt in Ayatollah Khoei school of thought, Ayatollah Sistani have had a profound impact on the political trends of Iraq after the fall of Saddam. Also, the findings of this paper shows that the Shiite community in Iraq have to face the challenges in “religion and politics relation”, “Arabic and non-Arabic spiritual leader”, “ ‘Howzeh-e Nategheh’ and ‘Howzeh- Nategh’eh’”.