But Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, is a stickler for democratic form.
Sistani has been a key figure since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
While Sistani still holds immense influence in Iraq, he does not dictate to all the Shiites.
In recent months Sistani has been critical of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani says only government forces should be allowed to carry weapons.
The important Shia leader al-Sistani said today that he opposes the change to the de-baathification law.
An aggrieved Mr Sistani has coated the country in posters denouncing the transitional law as illegitimate.
But it has the blessing of Iraq's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
ECONOMIST: Iraq takes another step down a long, hard road | The
Mr Sistani has also begun to win a few influential people within the CPA to his cause.
And immediately thousands from Najaf and surrounding areas flocked to the street outside Sistani's office waiting for guidance.
But their irritation is nothing compared to that of the country's leading Shia authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has played a vital role in this, but every bomb makes his job harder.
But achieving this outcome, rather than a renewed upsurge of violence, depends on persuading Mr Sistani to compromise.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, had played a notable part in creating the Alliance.
An Iranian by birth, Sistani is one of five Grand Ayatollahs in Iraq, only two of whom are Iraqi.
The battle only ceased after Sistani returned from abroad, where he was receiving medical treatment and negotiated with Sadr.
Ayatollah Sistani has consistently sought to ensure that Sunni extremists' attacks on Shia targets do not unleash communal violence.
The Shias' five recalcitrants say they backed down only because Mr Sistani changed his mind to avoid a crisis.
They're obliged to follow Sistani's orders without question, but Sheikh Hadi Abdul Rahim too is running out of patience.
NPR: Violence Plagues Iraq, Despite Constitution Breakthrough
Najaf is the seat of the Shiite clerical establishment and home of its foremost religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
But even Hizbullah, some of whose officials say they would like to follow Mr Sistani's advice, shows signs of reconsidering.
Iraq's oldest and possibly most popular Shia party, Dawa, slowly re-merging from the underground, also has reservations about Mr Sistani.
Mr Sadr's followers subsequently laid siege to the house of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a senior cleric regarded as a moderate.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, has issued a fatwa compelling the faithful to cast their ballots.
He just returned from Najaf, where Sistani is based, and the place where there was some fierce fighting several years ago.
While Sistani has been effective to a certain degree, many Shiites are becoming frustrated with his lack of direct engagement in politics.
It is hard to know exactly what Sistani is thinking and planning.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the leading Shiite religious figure in Iraq.
Some 70% of Iranians consider the Iranian-born Mr Sistani their own ayatollah.
And his father was Sistani's representative in Samarra until he also left.
NPR: Violence Plagues Iraq, Despite Constitution Breakthrough
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