This Brief explains the changing nature of Islamic authority in the Sunni Muslim Middle East. It makes three claims. First, it describes the various Muslim authorities in the Middle East and demonstrates that there is a distinction between those nominally in authority and those who actually have broad influence. Second, it describes how traditional Muslim authorities have lost ground to new, more ideologically diverse clerical voices, in part because of what has been called “media authority,” which accrues to those clerics who have established themselves in new media and gained substantial followings as a result. Third, it argues that the decline in the authority of state-employed clerics means that governments that have previously relied on religious authority now risk actually undermining that authority when they seek religious cover for their political projects.
Taken together, the evidence shows that religious authority in the Middle East is not as absolute as it often appears to outside observers. Even the most influential authorities face substantial limitations on their ability to change worldwide Islamic discourse around contested issues like the correct definition of “jihad.”