'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎453] (512/714)

THE GOVERNMENT
453
over the entire priesthood and judicial bench of the kingdom
But this office was abolished in his anti-clerical campaign by
Nadir Shah, and has never been renewed. In smaller centres of
population and villages, the place of this court is taken by the local
mvllah or mullahs, who, for a consideration, are always ready with
a text from the Koran. In the case of the higher courts, the
decision is invariably written out, along with the citation from the
Scriptures, or the commentators, upon which it is based. Cases of
extreme importance are referred to the more eminent mujtaheds,
of whom there is never a large number, who gain their position
solely by eminent learning or abilities, ratified by the popular
approval, and whose decisions are seldom impugned. Those who
have been brought into contact with these distinguished doctors
have expressed a high opinion of their general integrity and of the
merciful inclination of their sentences. In works upon the theory
of the law m Persia, it is commonly written that criminal cases
are decided by the ecclesiastical, and civil cases by the secular,
courts. In practice, however, there is no such clear distinction
the functions and the prerogative of the co-ordinate benches vary
at different epochs, and appear to be a matter of accident or choice
rather than of necessity ; and at the present time, though criminal
cases of difficulty^ may be submitted to the ecclesiastical court,
yet it is with civil matters that they are chiefly concerned!
Questions of heresy or sacrilege are naturally referred to them ;
they also take cognisance of adultery and divorce; and intoxica
tion as an offence, not against the common law (indeed, if it were
a matter of precedent, insobriety could present the highest
credentials in Persia), but against the Koran, falls within the scope
of their judgment.
I have remarked that the authority of the ecclesiastical courts
ias varied at different epochs of history. The reason is to be
Abridg- sought in each case in the character and predilections of
Shorty the . S0Verei " n ' accQrding to whose bigotry or liberal
sentiments the Shar or the TJrf has been invoked to
settle both civil and criminal cases. Sometimes the mullahs and
mujtaheds have been supreme; at others, as in the reign of Nadir
Shah, they have been superseded and ignored. What I have, said
about the policy and inclinations of the reigning Shah will have
prepared my readers for the statement that, during the present
reign, they have suffered a steady decline. This new departure