Last month's publication of a series of fatwas, or religious decrees, by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received wide coverage in the media. Generally, these fatwas can be divided into two categories: social, political issues and issues related to everyday life. The second kind of fatwa is, in most cases, almost an exact copy of the fatwas issued by the other Shiite religious authorities. The first type, however, because or its abnormal rulings and its incompatibilities with the requirements of the era, has resulted in wide criticism both inside and outside Shiite religious seminaries.

The most controversial element of these fatwas is the separation of sociopolitical issues from the issues of believers' daily lives. In this way, the viewpoint of Khamenei regarding the first type of rulings is considered to be the only authoritative viewpoint. The viewpoints of other Shiite authorities, in case they differ from that of the supreme leader, are considered void and unreliable.

This means that the other Shiite authorities do not have the jurisdiction to issue a fatwa on the social and political lives of believers, and can only express their opinion regarding individual religious lifestyles. Khamenei's fatwas, which exist in an atmosphere of increasing opposition of a group of Shiite authorities in Qom and Najaf to the official viewpoints of Khamenei, can be analyzed as his attempt to annul the jurisdiction of the other Shiite religious authorities when it comes to disputable issues. In this way, he is trying to eliminate any plurality of verdicts.

In another section of these fatwas, a hostile view is adopted toward Iran's Baha’i community, wherein any association with them has been deemed unlawful, and the Baha’i faith has been labeled false and misguiding. A number of Iran's Baha’i followers are in prison, their only crime being a follower of this religion. Some have even been executed for the same crime in the past.