Many argued that it was an attempt to warn the Shiite clergy not to take part in politics.

After the rebellion was crushed, the remaining 800 Shiite clergy were arrested or disappeared.

Yet it will be difficult for Iraq's senior Shiite clergy to embrace publicly America as a midwife to democracy.

For now, the Iraqi Shiite clergy in Najaf are weak.

The Shiite clergy who a generation ago called for the establishment of a fundamentalist, religious government are having second thoughts.

The foray into politics, they say, has stained the image of the Shiite clergy.

The hierarchical organization of the Shiite clergy began under Ismail.

The Shiite clergy deny that.

His followers openly call for an Islamic state along the lines of Iran, where Shiite clergy would rule.

The lower-cased word recently strode upon the world stage to describe the difference in approach within the Shiite clergy in Iraq.