One of the paradoxes characterizing Iraq is that while the religious authority in Najaf has not called for religious governance and has even strongly opposed it — something that is historically rare — the religiously-oriented Iraqi government has been resorting to religious slogans and demands to cover up its failure in governance.

Each time the religious authority in Najaf demands that the government work on achieving the civil demands of citizens, it is met with offensive criticism or inattention by government figures.

Ever since the start of the political process in Iraq after 2003, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest-ranking Shiite cleric in Najaf, has declared more than once that he demands a civil state be established in Iraq and that he is against the involvement of religion and clergy in the political sphere. Therefore, he has not allowed any of his affiliates to be engaged in the political process, either directly or indirectly. Sistani has not been biased toward any political party. He merely offered advice to the government, urging it to assume its civil responsibilities toward citizens.

In a recent statement by government figures against the religious authority in Najaf, Izzat Shahbandar, a prominent member of the State of Law Coalition, said that the Najaf authority does not have any power to criticize the government’s work and object to its failure in management. He added that there is a need to put an end to all those speakers who are trying to tarnish the Iraqi government’s reputation.