Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi, an anti-colonial authority
Dhul Hijjah 13th marks the death anniversary of Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi, known as Mirza II.
Mirza was one of the Maraj’e and the political leader of the Iraqi independence movement against British colonialism.
One of the most famous actions of Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi was issuing a fatwa on the necessity of fighting the British for the independence of Iraq.
Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, known as Mirza II, was a Marja and political leader of the Iraqi people’s independence movement against British colonialism.
The deceased leader was born in Shiraz in 1256 AH and settled in Karbala from 1271 AH. Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi is descended from the Zanganeh clan, whose ancestors settled in Shiraz, the capital of Iran at the time, during the Zandi reign.
Mohammad Reza Shirazi was his son who was sentenced to death by the British during the First World War and the 1920 Iraqi uprising, but he escaped death and was later elected as a representative in the National Assembly in Iran.
The illustrious Marja studied under Fazel Ardakani in Karbala and went to Samarra in 1291 AH to participate in the lessons of Mirza I.
After the death of Mirzai I, in 1312 A.H., he assumed the leadership of Samara Seminary. In Safar 1336 AH, he went to Kazemayn and then to Karbala and stayed there until the end of his life.
His migration to Karbala caused unity and alignment among the scholars of Karbala and Najaf, and brought the nomads together, laying the groundwork for resistance against British colonialism.
After the death of Mirza Mohammad Hasan Shirazi (the first Mirza) in 1312 AH, some of his followers embraced Muhammad Taqi Shirazi as their Marja.
Following the death of Seyyed Kazem Yazdi in 1337 AH, the general religious authority of Shiites was vested in Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi.
Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi issued a fatwa in 1329 AH in reaction to the attack of the Russian forces on the north of Iran, emphasizing the necessity of Jihad with offenders.
After the occupation of Faw by the British forces, which was the prelude to the occupation of Iraq, Mirza Mohammad Taqi issued three jihad fatwas in Samarra and invited the nomads and Muslims to fight against the British.
He sent his son Mohammad Reza to join the fighters in Kazimayn.
Mirza Mohammad Taghi Shirazi passed away on 13 Dhul-Hijjah 1338 AH at 68 years of age.
According to some reports, he died of poisoning by the British. He was buried after a decent funeral in the shrine of Imam Hossein, peace be upon him.
The supreme religious authority Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadiq Shirazi has commented the following on the life of late Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi:
There were people inside Iraq who accused him of being a mercenary for the British.
When he was asked to cut their tuition, he refused. His ethics, faith, patience, tolerance and efforts to unit believers and to prevent dispersion despite differences of opinion and tastes made him able to face the greatest power on earth with the support of the Iraqi nation and overcome it.
