Pope Francis, first pontiff in centuries to publish an autobiography while in office, shares personal stories, reflections on ...

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (Arabic: السيد علي الحسيني السيستاني‎ Persian: سید علی حسینی سیستانی, born August 4, 1930) is the ...

Muslims who observe Ramadan are required to fast between dawn and dusk daily for about a month, but does this mean they can chew gum during that time?

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

On Friday, representatives who usually read Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's address at a packed mosque, broadcast live on state television, did not appear. Religious authorities had already closed ...

Tellingly, it was Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, universally acknowledged as the most venerable and authoritative, who was too busy. Whether the stated reason was genuine or it was a deliberate ...

But the Iranian model of government - a theocratic state - is not supported by Shi’ism’s most senior Islamic cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who is based in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, declared Sunday the first day of Ramadan. Only in Morocco, at the far-western edge of the Arab world, will Sunnis start observing the daytime fast on Sunday, its Islamic ...