104 Al Hawza of Najaf in Iraq As much as the two shrines’ work evolved as a matter of adapting to challenges and the relationship to the marja‘iyya that society demanded, at the same time, it was a reflection of two important things: The first was that the Shi‘ites came to power in Iraq and dominated the most important executive position, that of prime minister. That required approaching the state in a spirit of friendship and belonging rather than the hostility, alienation, and estrangement that had previously dominated the Shi‘ite institution’s relationship with the state. The second was Iranian influences and the Iranians’ experience of converting the Reza Shrine into an institution resembling a holding company, a religious institution with political influence beyond the capability of the mayor of Mashhad himself. 80 On the other hand, the two shrines are in unstated competition. While the Al­Abbas Shrine clearly throws its weight around in commerce, farming, imports, contracting, telecommunications companies, and private universities, the Imam Husayn Shrine focuses on cultural activity, schools, study centers, books and magazines, research conferences, and multifaceted relationships with universities. Al-Sistani’s office and the work of the two shrines It is difficult to determine the extent to which Sayyid al-Sistani or his office as a whole is involved in the details of the work within the two shrines. It may be possible, however, for us to discern some features of the complex relationship between the shrines and the office, relying on several facts. We mention one as evidence for our hypothesis about the extent of al-Sistani’s involvement in the work of the shrines. After 2003, the former head of the Theological Research Center, Shaykh Faris al-Hassoun(who died in a car accident in Qom and was the son-in-law of Sadr al-Din al-Qabbanji; he was of Turkish descent from a family that settled in Najaf long ago, and was born in Najaf and migrated to Iran) tried to open a library at every shrine in Iraq. One of those was the library of the Imam Ali Shrine. He put Hashim al-Milani, a cleric from a well-known religious family, in charge of the library. Before 2003, al-Milani was an investigator on the committees of 80  Ali al-Mathloum, op. cit., p. 32.