Religion and Theology

Repercussions of the defeat of Akhbari scholars by the Usulis
Unlike the Akhbari who believe that laws must come from the Holy Quran and the Hadith outside which no one had the authority to introduce or interpret a law, the Usulis acknowledged that changes over the years would renders some of the provisions unreliable. The Usulis therefore encouraged ijtihad or interpretation when making legal decisions and obligated the people to abide by the word of the interpreter of the law (Mujtahid) and the imam (Global Security, n.d).  The impact of this change was that the Usulis developed a more liberal legal system, one which upheld rationalism.

The expansion of the powers of religious leaders from spiritual duties to allow them to participate in the leadership and government of their people expanded and diversified the role of religious leaders. This led to the rise and legitimization of religious leaders or priests to take active political roles and national and sub-national leadership levels. According to Global Security (n.d), Usuli Shiism provided the religious legitimacy for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis Islamic revolution of 1979 and the subsequent theocratic state. Akhbari Shiism restricted the roles of priests to religion-related issues arguing that they had no role in politics (Aim Islam, n.d).

Since the defeat of the Akhbari School by the Usulis, the numbers of people following the former reduced significantly in the Muslim world. However, the school is still influential in some parts of Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. In Iraq, Akhbaris are found around Basra while in Iran, the Akhbaris are found around Khorramshahr. The majority of Shiite Muslims of Bahrain are Akhbaris (krogsholm, n.d). The overall number of Akhbaris is small compared to the membership to the Usulis school in the same region.