The last decades have provided the regime with near-ideal conditions to seize control over the Shiite clerical establishment in Iraq as well. Under Saddam Hussein, restrictions were imposed on the Shiite seminary in Najaf – traditionally a counterbalance to Iran’s Shiite establishment – forcing the emigration of a number of clerics to the Iranian seminary in Qom.
过去十年来，政府夺取对伊拉克什叶派宗教机构控制权的条件也近乎完美。在萨达姆·侯赛因的统治下，位于纳杰夫的什叶派神学院受到种种限制，而这些神学院曾经是与伊朗什叶派组织分庭抗礼的主要力量，在这种情况下，许多教士被迫向伊朗库姆神学院迁移。