Shii Law and Leadership analyzes the influence of the nineteenth century scholar and head of the international Shii community, Mortaza Ansari. Although ethnically Persian, Ansari lived most of his life in the Shii center of learning in Najaf, Iraq. Ansaris major contribution to Shii jurisprudence was his redefinition of essential legal terms. Additionally, he advanced a theory that made emulation of a living cleric a religious duty for all lay Shiis. Ansari became the first sole supreme exemplar (marja at-taqlid) for the international Shii community. He spent his tenure as the head of the...