The religious constitution of the sect of Ali has been described to me
by a member of it who knows Europe well as resembling in its
organization the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. That is to say, it
acknowledges no head, temporal or spiritual, and each congregation
represents a separate unit of authority in itself. There is no such
functionary in Persia as Sheykh el Islam, or Grand Mufti, and the Shah
claims to be neither Imam nor Caliph. Each Shiite doctor who has taken
his degree at Kerbela or Ispahan may deliver his fetwa or opinion on
points of doctrine, and the only test of his authority to preach or lead
the prayer in mosque is his power of attracting a congregation. It is
strange that in a sect which had its origin in an assertion of
hereditary right to the Caliphate everything hereditary should be now
rigidly excluded.
In theory, I believe the Shias still hold that there is an Imam and
Caliph, but they will not tolerate the pretension of any one now in
authority to the title, and leave it in abeyance until the advent of the
Mohdy, or guide, who is to reunite Islam and restore its fortunes. So
much is this the case that, sovereign though he be and absolute master
in Persia, the Shah is to the present day looked upon by the Persians as
a usurper, and he himself acknowledges the fact in a rather curious
ceremony.
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