The city of
Najaf has played the role of nerve center in Shia world through centuries. At the dawn of constitutional revolution, it was here that the political ideas were discussed and the religious secularity of Shia jurisprudence took shape. Many periodicals of the time, especially
al-Ghura,
Durat al-Najaf, and
Najaf, published from the city, reflect the nature of the intellectual exchange during the movement. Other publications, such as the Calcutta-based
Habl al-Matin also reached the residents of Najaf. Najaf had developed its own taste of modernity, distinct from west. These publications advocated the concepts of personal liberty, nation-state, modern sciences, constitutional monarchy and democracy. But they also viewed western colonial advance as intimidating and understood that the only way to fight back was creating a strong and progressive nation. Akhund Khurasani saw his role as an activist scholar who would interpret the religion according to the needs of the time to persuade the masses to constructive action. He was the main legitimizing force behind modern reforms. He did not shy away from analyzing what the western scholarship had to offer and incorporate it into his doctrine. However, he had his own theoretical foundations for those reforms and his own terminology, based in Shi'i doctrine. He understood how mismanagement, nepotism and corruption had engulfed Iran's economy. He supported a powerless monarch as a symbol of Iran's history but he was also confident in the legacy that he carried of clerical tradition as the guide. Therefore, he was in a position to offer scholarly criticism and evaluation of governance and social conditions. He protected the parliament by issuing clarifications and religious rulings, when it needed his support against the fanatic anti-constitutionalists. Not only that, he gave instructions to different orators and organized clerics of different ranks to stand behind the cause.
The call to political reform In a letter dated 7 August 1902, Akhund Khurasani and the other two Marja's as co-signatories, wrote to the Crown Prince Muhammad Ali Mirza stressing the need for joining the world community in anticipating modern social reform and uprooting corruption. Referring to the Prince's visit to the west, he said that the old monarchical system of government was going to collapse all over the world and reform was need of the hour. The monarchy could only survive if its powers were limited by constitution. He stressed the idea of unification of nation and state, and as a rational
Usuli jurist, he was able to think out of the box and understand how other nations had progressed as a result of democratic reforms. In the same letter, he presented the idea of nation-state, i.e. unity of the people and government (). In a letter dated 27 July 1903, he inquired about King's mismanagement of financial sources and lack of funds for financial reforms and military. He also questioned the slow pace of building of the dam in Ahwaz.
The constitutional revolution The fourth Qajar King,
Naser al-Din Shah was assassinated by
Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of
Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, when he was visiting and praying in the
Shah Abdul-Azim Shrine on 1 May 1896. At
Mozaffar al-Din Shah's accession Persia faced a financial crisis, with annual governmental expenditures far in excess of revenues as a result of the policies of his father. During his reign, Mozzafar ad-Din attempted some reforms of the central treasury; however, the previous debt incurred by the
Qajar court, owed to both
England and
Russia, significantly undermined this effort. He awarded
William Knox D'Arcy, a British subject, the rights to oil in most of the country in 1901. Widespread fears amongst the aristocracy, educated elites, and religious leaders about the concessions and foreign control resulted in some protests in 1906. The three main groups of the coalition seeking a constitution were the merchants, the
ulama, and a small group of radical reformers. They shared the goal of ending royal corruption and ending dominance by foreign powers. These resulted in the Shah accepting a suggestion to create a
Majles (National Consultative Assembly) in October 1906, by which the monarch's power was curtailed as he granted a constitution and parliament to the people. King
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah signed
the 1906 constitution shortly before his death. The members of newly formed parliament stayed constantly in touch with Akhund Khurasani and whenever legislative bills were discussed, he was telegraphed the details for a juristic opinion. In a letter dated 3 June 1907, the parliament told Akhund about a group of anti-constitutionalists who were trying to undermine legitimacy of democracy in the name of religious law. The trio replied: {{blockquote|text=
Persian: اساس این مجلس محترم مقدس بر امور مذکور مبتنی است. بر هر مسلمی سعی و اهتمام در استحکام و تشیید این اساس قویم لازم، و اقدام در موجبات اختلال آن محاده و معانده با صاحب شریعت مطهره علی الصادع بها و آله الطاهرین افضل الصلاه و السلام، و خیانت به دولت قوی شوکت است. الاحقر نجل المرحوم الحاج میرزا خلیل قدس سره محمد حسین، حررّہ الاحقر الجانی محمد کاظم الخراسانی، من الاحقر عبدالله المازندرانی "Because we are aware of the intended reasons for this institution, it is therefore incumbent on every Muslim to support its foundation, and those who try to defeat it, and their action against it, are considered contrary to shari‘a."
The Nuri affair (d. 1909), a cleric who supported the
coup d'état of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar in 1908. He was hanged by the constitutional revolutionaries on 31 July 1909 (in
Toopkhaneh) as a traitor. Meanwhile, the new Shah had understood that he could not roll back the constitutional democracy by royalist ideology, and therefore he decided to use the religion card. The parliament came under attack from imperial court's cleric,
Shaykh Fazlullah Nuri and other anti-democracy clerics. Nuri was a rich and high-ranking Qajar court official responsible for conducting marriages and contracts. He also handled wills of wealthy men and collected religious funds. Nuri was opposed to the very foundations of the institution of parliament. He led a large group of followers and began a round-the-clock
sit-in in the
Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine on 21 June 1907 which lasted till 16 September 1907. He generalized the idea of religion as a complete code of social life to push for his own agenda. He believed democracy will allow for "teaching of chemistry, physics and foreign languages", that would result in spread of
Atheism. He bought a printing press and launched a newspaper of his own for propaganda purposes,
Ruznamih-i-Shaikh Fazlullah, and published leaflets. He believed that the ruler was accountable to no institution other than God and people have no right to limit the powers or question the conduct of the King. He declared that those who supported democratic form of government were faithless and corrupt, and
apostates. He hated the idea of
female education and said that girls schools were brothels. Alongside his vicious propaganda against women education, he also opposed allocation of funds for modern industry, modern ways of governance, equal rights for all citizens irrespective of their religion and freedom of press. He believed that people were cattle, but paradoxically, he wanted to "awaken the muslim brethren". The anti-democracy clerics incited violence and one such cleric said that getting in the proximity of the parliament was a bigger sin than adultery, robbery and murder. In Zanjan, Mulla Qurban Ali Zanjani mobilized a force of six hundred thugs who looted shops of pro-democracy merchants and took hold of the city for several days and killed the representative Sa'd al-Saltanih. Nuri himself recruited mercenaries from criminal gangs to harass the supporters of democracy. On 22 December 1907, Nuri led a mob towards
Tupkhanih Square and attacked merchants and looted stores. Nuri's ties to the court of monarchy and landlords reinforced his
fanaticism. He even contacted the Russian embassy for support and his men delivered sermons against democracy in mosques, resulting in chaos. Akhund Khurasani was consulted on the matter and in a letter dated 30 December 1907, the three Marja's said: {{blockquote|text=
Persian: چون نوری مخل آسائش و مفسد است، تصرفش در امور حرام است. محمد حسین (نجل) میرزا خلیل، محمد کاظم خراسانی، عبدالله مازندرانی "Because Nuri is causing trouble and sedition, his interfering in any affair is forbidden." However, Nuri continued his activities and a few weeks later Akhund Khurasani and his fellow Marja's argued for his expulsion from Tehran: {{blockquote|text=
Persian: رفع اغتشاشات حادثه و تبعید نوری را عاجلاً اعلام. الداعی محمد حسین نجل المرحوم میرزا خلیل، الداعی محمد کاظم الخراسانی، عبدالله المازندرانی "Restore peace and expel Nuri as quickly as possible." One major concern of Akhund Khurasani and other Marja's was to familiarize the public with the ideas of a democratic nation-state and modern constitution. Akhund Khurasani asked Iranian scholars to deliver sermons on the subject to clarify doubts seeded by Nuri and his comrades. Hajj Shaikh Muhammad Va'iz Isfahani, a skillful orator of Tehran, made concerted efforts to educate the masses. Another scholar,
Sayyid Jamal al-Din Va'iz continuously refuted Nuri's propaganda and said that religious tyranny was worse than the temporal tyranny as the harm that the corrupt clerics inflict upon Islam and Muslims is worse. He advised the Shia masses to not pay attention to everyone with a turban on his head, rather they should listen to the guidelines of the sources of emulation in
Najaf.
Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi, the enlightened
Seghatoleslam from Tabriz, wrote a treatise
Lalan(). He opposed Nuri saying that only the opinion of the sources of emulation is worthy of consideration in the matters of faith. He wrote: Tabrizi(; January 19, 1861 – December 31, 1911) And He firmly opposed the idea of a supervisory committee of Tehran's clerics censoring the conduct of the parliament, and said that: As far as Nuri's argument was concerned, Akhund Khurasani refuted it in a light tone by saying that he supported the "parliament at Baharistan Square", questioning the legitimacy of Nuri's assembly at Shah Abdul Azim shrine and their right to decide for the people. Responding to a question about Nouri's arguments, Akhund Muhammad Kazim Khurasani said: {{blockquote|text= His close associate and student, who later rose to the rank of Marja,
Muhammad Hussain Naini, wrote a book,
Tanbih al-Ummah wa Tanzih al-Milla(), to counter the propaganda of Nuri group. He devoted many pages to distinguish between tyrannical and democratic regimes. In democracies, power is distributed and limited through constitution. He maintained that in the absence of
Imam Mahdi, all governments are doomed to be imperfect and unjust, and therefore people had to prefer the bad over the worse. Hence, the constitutional democracy was the best option to help improve the condition of the society as compared to
absolutism, and run the worldly affairs with consultation and better planning. he saw the elected members of the parliament as representatives of the people, not deputies of the Imam, hence they did not need a religious justification for their authority. He said that both the "tyrannical Ulema" and the radical societies who promoted
majoritarianism were a threat to both Islam and democracy. The people should avoid the destructive, corrupt and divisive forces and maintain national unity. He devoted large section of his book to definition and condemnation of religious tyranny. He then went on to defend people's freedom of opinion and expression, equality of all citizens in eyes of the nation-state regardless of their religion, separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers, accountability of the King, people's right to share power. Another student of Akhund who too raised to the rank of Marja, Shaykh Isma'il Mahallati, wrote a treatise
al-Liali al-Marbuta fi Wajub al-Mashruta(). In his view, during the occultation of the twelfth Imam, the governments can either be imperfectly just or oppressive. Since it was duty of a believer to actively fight injustice, it was necessary to strengthen democratic process. he insisted on the need for reforming the economic system, modernizing the military, installing a functional education system, and guaranteeing the rights of civilians. He said: Nuri interpreted Sharia in a self-serving and shallow way, unlike Akhund Khurasani who, as a well received source of emulation, viewed the adherence to religion in a society beyond one person or one interpretation. While Nuri confused Sharia with written constitution of a modern society, Akhund Khurasani understood the difference and the function of the two. Nuri founded his arguments on myths and reached illogical conclusion. He had a narrow understanding of modernity and had no alternative to offer. He perceived the new social contract as a threat to his own prestige and lavish lifestyle.
Minor Tyranny The sixth Qajar King
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar abolished the constitution and
bombarded the parliament in 1908 with Russian and British support. After the Shah's victory and dissolvement of the parliament, many constitutionalists were arrested by the Shah's forces.
Mirza Jahangir Khan, Malek al-Mutakallemin,
Sayyid Jamal al-Din Va'iz, Mirza Ebrahim Tabrizi, Ahmad Ruhul-qudus and
Qazi Ardaqi were arrested, tortured and killed. The period from the destruction of the first parliament under the orders of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar on June 23, 1908, to the Shah's deposition on July 16, 1909, is called as the period of "Lesser Despotism" or "Minor Tyranny" (
Persian: استبداد صغیر) in the history of modern Iran. The shah repeatedly delayed the elections under the guise of fighting sedition and defending Islam. Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar wrote letters to the sources of emulation in Najaf, seeking their support against the perceived conspiracies of Babis and other heretics. However the trio, Akhund Khurasani,
Mirza Tehrani and
Abdullah Mazandarani responded by affirming the religious legitimacy of democracy and advised the shah to work within the constitutional framework in improving the conditions of society and defending the country against colonial influence. Nuri, on the other hand, sided with the coup and tried to convince people that democracy had failed and that closure of parliament was necessary to save Islam.
Call for restoration of democracy Akhund Khurasani responded to Muhammad Ali Shah's coup by calling his rule a "bloody tyranny" and asking people to stop paying taxes and fight the tyrant. In a statement, co-signed by the other two jurists, he said: {{blockquote|text=
Persian: به عموم ملت ایران، حکم خدا را اعلام می داریم، الیوم همت در دفع این سفاک جبار، و دفاع از نفوس و اعراض و اموال مسلمین از اهم واجبات، و دادن مالیات به گماشتگان او از اعظم محرمات، و بذل جهد و سعی بر استقرار مشروطیت به منزله جہاد در رکاب امام زمان ارواحنا فداه، و سر موئی مخالفت و مسامحه به منزله خذلان و محاربه با آن حضرت صلوات الله و سلامه علیه است. اعاذ الله المسلمین من ذلک. ان شا الله تعالیٰ الاحقر عبدالله المازندرانی، الاحقر محمد کاظم الخراسانی، الاحقر نجل الحاج میرزا خلیل "The religious duty of the Iranian nation is as follows: today efforts to dethrone this tyrant despot and protecting the lives, belongings and honor of Muslims is the greatest obligation. Paying taxes to his officers is a great sin. Working for restoration of democracy is as good as fighting for the cause of Imam al-Mahdi, and opposing constitutionalism is equal to leaving his camp. May God help us all." ==Death==