[SolidWood]

Sistani is the only Ayatollah I am praying (no kidding) for.
It is actually sad that so much depends on him... but he is a force of good in Iraq and we have an interest in having him around.

[Red6]

Sistani is level headed. He is lives to serve his people, and unlike the demagogues like Sadr, he acts in a way that maximizes their net benefit, not his own. There have been numerous assassination attempts. Sadr, Iran, AQ, many would like to see him dead. With him out of the picture, the dealers of death and destruction appealing to ignorance and fear, only stand to gain. Yes, Sistani’s death will be a horrible day for Iraq.

[JasonC]

There is another in Iran somewhat like him - Montezari. He is under house arrest in Qom, and has been for a decade or more. He calls the present Iranian leadership dumb and says they are giving Islam a bad name, and should allow more freedom to the people. He is so venerated even the Iranian nutjobs do not dare actually harm him.