Venues for Integration: Religion and Education

Shi’i religious leadership lacked the institutional structure that existed for the Maronite community and to a lesser degree for the Sunni community. However, one can argue that the ’Amilis did exert pressure during the Mandate period to seek religious equality that led to the development of institutions, initially the Ja‘fari Court. The success of this can be viewed through a trajectory that began with the official recognition of the sect in 1926 and led in 1961 to the creation of the Higher Islamic Shi’i Council (al-Majlis-al-Islami al- Shi‘i al-A’la). The latter was achieved predominantly through the efforts of Sayyid Musa al-Sadr, who clearly understood the nature of Lebanese communitarianism. This trajectory includes the institutionalization of religious posts (judges, muftis, teachers), making Sunni and Shi‘i religious officials’ salaries equal, as well as the establishment of Shi’i funded schools such as al-Ja‘fariyya in Tyre. The establishment of this Council marks the concluding phase of official Shi’i communitarian integration modeled on the Maronite Church. The progression was made from a purely community-based religious title to sectarian religious leaders.