2010 年 10 巻 1 号 p. 13-34
Several weeks after the death of Āya Allāh al-‘Uẓmā ‘Alī Arākī in November 1994, Supreme Leader ‘Alī Khāmene'ī was promoted by the two Iranian Islamic jurist groups as one of the recommended marāja‘-e taqlīd (“sources of emulation,” the title of the highest-educated Islamic jurisconsults). This event has had an impact on not only the marja‘-e taqlīd system but also the relationship between political authority and religious authority in post-Khomeini Iran. Although many researchers have referred to this event, only a few have examined its subsequent influence on both Iranian politics and the marja‘-e taqlīd system in Iran.
In this paper, I will attempt to reveal the influence of this event on the marja‘-e taqlīd system in Iran in two ways. First, I will illustrate the character of the new marja‘-e taqlīd concept that was developed by the two associations, focusing on not only the intermittent aspect but also the continuous relationship between the marja‘-e taqlīd system and the two associations' announcements. Second, by focusing on the location of Khāmene'ī as a marja‘-e taqlīd in 2008, I will show the influence of this new marja‘-e taqlīd concept on the development of the marja‘-e taqlīd system in Iran after the 1994 event.