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Why Shia Clerics Are Turning on Iran's Theocracy
(Economist-UK) Social media reflect growing anger at Iran's ruling clerics, who preside over a shrinking economy. Inflation is near 40%, wages are falling, and basics such as chicken and clothes are becoming luxuries. Even clerics in the Shia holy city of Qom are increasingly questioning the system of clerical rule. A growing number look to Iraq's holy city of Najaf for a different model of mosque-state relations. Since the return of relative calm to Iraq, Najaf's prestige among Shias has soared. Its shrine of Imam Ali, founder of the Shia sect, attracts millions of pilgrims a year. It is the seat of the most popular Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, 88, who champions the separation of mosque and state. Clerics should advise, he says, not rule.