Journalist Colin Freeman wrote a March 4 article for The Telegraph's blog titled, “Forget Obama and the EU. The man who should really have the Nobel Peace Prize is an obscure Iraqi cleric.” In it, he offered up several pieces of evidence to support his theory that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize should be given to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, thus stirring a global campaign calling for Sistani’s nomination for the prize. This was not the first time that the idea has come up. In 2005, several parties, including specialists on Iraqi affairs and several Iraqi minorities, proposed this idea. The same year, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman made the case for a Nobel for Sistani, writing, "If some kind of democracy takes root [in Iraq], it will also be due in large measure to the instincts and directives of the dominant Iraqi Shiite communal leader, Ayatollah Sistani."

It is not surprising to see Sistani’s name come up for the prize, given his prominent role in deterring religious extremism, promoting forgiveness and peace and acting wisely during Iraq's occupation and sectarian strife. His behavior made him Iraq’s safety valve, and his absence in times of distress would have led to far worse humanitarian catastrophes in Iraq.

What is strange, though, is that these demands coincided with a violent attack against Sistani from state authorities and radical clerics. Media outlets reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had expressed his rejection of what he called the “interference of some foreign religious references,” adding, “Despite our respect for them, this is unacceptable.” Maliki made these statements during a meeting with Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari in early March regarding the personal status draft law, to which Sistani objected over possible violations of minority and human rights. Despite these objections, the cabinet recently passed the draft law for final voting before the parliament. 

Maliki attacked Shiite clerics who strongly opposed the draft. Those clerics included Sistani, the three other religious references in Najaf and Ayatollah Hussein al-Sadr living in al-Kadhimiya near Baghdad. Maliki felt that Iraq needs a purely Iraqi religious reference, and by that he meant the radical cleric Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, who firmly backed the proposed legislation.