Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (born 4 August 1930 in Mashhad, Iran) is the most senior and influential Twelver Shia Muslim cleric in the world and the dean of the Hawza Ilmiyya of Najaf, Iraq. Born into a family of scholars with lineage tracing to the seventh Imam Musa al-Kadhim, he began his religious studies at age five in Mashhad. He moved to Qom at age eighteen to study under Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, then traveled to Najaf in 1951 to study under Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, who became his primary teacher. He achieved the rank of mujtahid in 1960. Following al-Khoei's death in 1992 and the death of Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari in 1993, Sistani emerged as the foremost Marja in Najaf.

Under Saddam Hussein's regime, Sistani was placed under house arrest and forbidden from leading Friday prayers. Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, he emerged as a central figure in Iraq's political transition. His fatwa in 2004 calling for elections rather than appointed governance was pivotal in shaping Iraq's democratic process. He has consistently advocated for Iraqi sovereignty and national unity while maintaining a quietist position, believing clerics should guide rather than govern.

In 2014, his fatwa calling on Iraqis to defend their country against ISIS led to the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces and was widely credited with preventing ISIS from capturing Baghdad. In March 2021, he met Pope Francis in a historic meeting in Najaf — the first time a Pope visited Iraq — symbolizing interfaith dialogue and peace. He supports over 35,000 seminary students across Iran and Iraq through his office. He has appeared in Forbes' list of the most powerful people in the Muslim world and in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2004 and 2005. His official website sistani.org publishes Islamic rulings in over 12 languages.