With Iraq’s political class embroiled in the fallout from the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, political observers have noted the seeming “silence” of the country’s Shiite clerical establishment. Yet, multiple sources in Najaf’s seminaries have told Amwaj.media that followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani are deeply engaged on the issue, and have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach amid the rapid pace of events.   

Whatever the factors motivating the apparent silence from the Shiite clerical establishment, it may nevertheless be politically consequential given the deep rifts over Syria within Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination...