The top Shia cleric in the world is Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, 78, born in Iran, living in Najaf, Iraq since 1951. Ayatollah al-Sistani had a major influence in calming sectarian violence in Iraq after the American invasion, turning Shia voters away from the extremists, led by Iran-backed Ahmed Mukhtar al-Sadr. The senior cleric and scholar seldom leaves Najaf; indeed, he seldom leaves his house.
But in the battle over legitimacy in Iran, if Ayatollah Sistani says much negative about the repressive present government in Iran--the backers of Sadrites in Iraq, as well as of Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon--it could have serious consequences for Iran's government under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Grand Ayatollah doesn't even have to say his piece publicly. Many Iranian mullahs could switch their allegiance rapidly.
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