All licensed individuals are conditioned not to accept any political position and not to be biased toward any political party. In the event that any of them breaks this condition, they shall be dismissed and immediately replaced. This occurred when 15 licensed individuals were dismissed following the last Iraqi elections, for explicitly being biased toward certain political parties participating in the elections.
This is important for maintaining a general social power for the entire Shiite community. Sistani has been committed to this principle since 2003 without any major changes. He gave general instructions for clergy in Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, as stated in the book "The Texts Issued by Sayyid Sistani" by Hamid al-Khafaf.
It said, “Clerics should not be affiliated to administrative and executive matters. Their role should be limited to enlightenment and guidance.” He also stressed this during his last meeting with some students of Hawza, at the beginning of the current academic year in Najaf. He asked all students of Hawza to "avoid affiliation to any political or religious party, no matter the sanctity of its founder and stay away from political matters because this distracts students from their education and involves them in unnecessary mazes at this stage."
The Department of Political Communication is Sistani’s only form of participation in the political field. This is limited to helping various political parties work together, resolve their differences and get things done, as well as providing advice and general guidance.
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