Editing Mufti (section)

==== In Shia Islam ====

While the office of the mufti was gradually subsumed into the state bureaucracy in much of the Sunni Muslim world, [[Shia]] religious establishment followed a different path in Iran starting from the early modern era. During [[Safavid]] rule, independent Islamic jurists (''[[mujtahid]]s'') claimed the authority to represent the [[Muhammad al-Mahdi|hidden imam]]. Under the ''[[usuli]]'' doctrine that prevailed among [[Twelver Shia]]s in the 18th century and under the [[Qajar]] dynasty, the ''mujtahids'' further claimed to act collectively as deputies of the [[imam]]. According to this doctrine, all Muslims are supposed to follow a high-ranking living ''mujtahid'' bearing the title of ''[[Marja'|marja' al-taqlid]]'', whose fatwas are considered binding, unlike fatwas in Sunni Islam. Thus, in contrast to Sunni muftis, Shia ''mujtahids'' gradually achieved increasing independence from the state.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}