AMIDST ALL THE WRANGLING over our troubles in Iraq, on one point there is surprising consensus: Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the pro-democracy Shiite leader, has been an indispensable anchor for Iraq’s fissiparous political system. In March of 2005, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman went so far as to endorse Sistani for the Nobel Peace Prize. “The process of democratizing the Arab world is going to be long and bumpy,” wrote Friedman. “But the chances for success are immeasurably improved when we have partners from within the region who are legitimate, but have progressive instincts. That is Mr. Sistani.”

Along with “moderate” and “democratic,” “progressive” is the label most frequently affixed to Sistani by his Western boosters, many of whom gushed over the Iraqi cleric last February when he roundly condemned the rioting and mayhem that broke out in response to the Danish cartoons of Muhammad. Sistani is the Great Shiite Hope–which means he’s also the Great Iraqi Hope. And, as such, it is only fitting that he embodies the awkward reality of Middle Eastern “moderates.”