Kazem al-Haeri

Grand Ayatollah Kazem Husseini Haeri (Arabic: كاظم حسيني حائري‎) is a prominent Twelver Shi'a marja. Haeri was born in Iran, but moved to Iraq to lead the Twelver Shi'a community there. He was a top leader of the Al-Da'wa Party in Iraq. His involvement in the party led to his exile in the 1970s, when he moved to Iran, where he remains to this day in the "holy" city of Qom.

Relationship with Muqtada Al-Sadr

Haeri is considered the successor to Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, but since Haeri has resided in Iran since the 1970s he has not been able to fully take on this position. Despite his exile, he serves as the advisor to the younger al-Sadr on matters of jurisprudence. Thus, Haeri is a key source of legitimacy for Al-Sadr. Al-Sadr had previously stated that he would have worked with Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim if Ayatollah Haeri had ordered it. Recently, Muqtada al-Sadr and Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim signed a pact to end all potential hostilities between the two camps.

Haeri has also issued fatwas against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, but he publicly criticized Muqtada al-Sadr for launching an insurrection against the Shi'a establishment and its hierarchy in Najaf under the guise of anti-Americanism in April 2004 while taking Haeri's name.