Activities in Hawza Ilmiyya, Najaf
The hawza of Najaf grew immensely under his Marjaiyya. His historic opinion piece (although, not an official fatwa), branding communism as kufr and atheism proved the beginning of the end of communism in Iraq.
Muhsin Al-Hakim led the hawza, also known as the marja'iyya, the group of Shi'i scholars based in Najaf responsible for determining Shi'i religious doctrine, during a time of considerable tumult in Iraq. Communism had enveloped the south of Iraq, Iraqi nationalist parties (and most prominently the pan-Arabist Ba'ath party) were largely in control of Iraq's political institutions, particularly during the last decade of Hakim's life. It is important to note, however, that the hawza is not a papacy and that therefore "leading" it does not mean that Hakim alone could pronounce Shi'i doctrine, all members of the hawza of sufficient standing (namely, those given the title absolute interpreter, or mujtahid mutlaq) developed their own rules based on accepted techniques and practices. Hakim was simply the most respected of the relatively small group of scholars.
Read more about this topic: Muhsin Al-Hakim
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