The Shiite seminaries (hawzas) are yet to become coherent social organizations, and we therefore do not see a unified image regarding religious tolerance in these institutions. As a result, any attempt to present a stereotypical view of religious tolerance in the hawza will be quite problematic.

We have different images of tolerance and intolerance in the two major Shiite hawzas of Qom and Najaf. The level of tolerance in these hawzas is dependent on three important elements: the social environment of the hawza, the structure of the political establishment in charge of the country and the attitude of the influential Marjas (religious authority) in each era of their existence.

When comparing the two hawzas of Najaf and Qom, we see that the social environment plays a very important role in the way each views other religions. The current hawza of Qom, since its foundation by Sheikh Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi (1859-1937) has been situated in a close Shiite environment where neither the teachers nor the students have any direct relations with followers of other religions. Even slightly different Shiite doctrines were not welcomed in Qom and have been heavily suppressed. We have numerous examples of these types of suppressions in the recent history of the hawza of Qom. Abul Fazl Borqei (1908-1993), one of the most famous jurists in Qom who was critical of certain Shiite beliefs, was repeatedly harassed and eventually had to leave Qom.

On 24 Bahman 1384 (Feb. 13, 2006) with the insinuation of certain jurists in the hawza and after the gathering of some of the plebeians, the religious center (Hussainia) belonging to the dervishes in Qom was destroyed over the course of a single night, and all its active members were arrested. This is while the differences between their doctrines and the main Shiite beliefs are quite minute and some of their leaders have even had good relations with Imam Ruhollah Khomeini.