Scholar discusses role of competing clerics in Iraq
A successful Iraqi democracy will in large part depend on which Islamic Shi'ite leader garners the most support in the coming months, said the eminent Islamic scholar Roy Mottahedeh in a lecture last night.Comprising nearly 60 percent of the Iraqi population, the Shi'ite community is not unified in support of any religious cleric.In southern Iraq, where the Shi'ite community is most concentrated, Ayatollah Ali Sistani seems to have the most support among the more liberal, educated, and middle-class Shi'ites.




