Religious Beliefs
Ali Salman originally studied in Qom, a major centre of Twelver Shi'a theological thinking in Iran. He is a Twelver Shiite who originally followed the quietest teachings of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul-Qassim al-Khoei, the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992. Following death of his original Marja’, Salman has not felt compelled to speak publicly about his new Marja’. However, in a private interview he claimed that he now tended to rely on the rulings of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani.
This choice is significant as Salman does not rely on an external source of authority to justify his political positioning. This following of Sistani is on a purely individual basis that does not spill over into the public sphere; Sistani is a Marja’ known for avoiding interference in the political choices of his followers.
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