To fight ‘Justly’: Shia Clerics under Safavids and Qajars

The present article investigates the close tie between political authority and the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’ in Shi’ism, or belligerence towards the outer world. The question of authority within this minor branch of Islam has been the subject of lively and prolonged controversies. Since the 10th century, the absence of a respected and universally recognized religio-political reference point has challenged the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’. Here, the Shia approach towards the legitimacy of warfare during Occultation is examined through two periods in Persian history, namely the Safavid and Qajar dynasties. The article aims to show how the clergy-state relationship in these two periods changed the method of waging ‘lesser jihad’, and how the latter, in turn, redefined that relationship. Towards this aim, Persian and Arabic manuscripts are consulted, alongside existing literature on jihad in Shi’ism.