Mohammad al-Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad al-Shirazi, commonly known as Imam Shirazi, was an Iraqi Shia scholar and political thinker born on August 31, 1928, in Najaf. He came from the prominent al-Shirazi clerical family and grew up studying in Najaf and Karbala. He became a respected marja and gathered a large following, known as the Shiraziyyin, after his exile in 1971 for protests in Baghdad. He spent years in Lebanon and then Kuwait, turning Kuwait into a base for Shiite scholarship and political activity.
Al-Shirazi proposed a form of governance called Hukumat al-Fuqaha’ (the rule of the jurists) but argued it should be a council of senior clerics rather than one single leader. He spoke of a Universal Islamic Government and a Consultative Leadership, aiming to unify Muslim countries under religious authority.
In the 1980s he moved to Qom, Iran, where he remained an influential yet controversial figure. His Movement of Vanguard Missionaries supported Iran-backed groups and operated across the region. He clashed with other senior clerics and with Iran’s leaders, and his influence waned as moderates gained power. Some of his followers faced detentions in the 1990s.
Shirazi was a prolific writer, producing more than 1,200 works on religion, ethics, politics, and social issues. He was nicknamed the “King of Authors” by a contemporary poet. He championed freedom of expression, political plurality, debate, and tolerance, while viewing war as a last resort in defense.
He died on December 17, 2001, in Qom and is buried at Fatima Masumeh Shrine. After his death, his school of thought continued under his brother Sadiq al-Shirazi.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:36 (CET).