 Iranian officials referred to Hakim as the leader of Iraq's future Islamic state ..."

However, there are crucial ideological differences between SCIRI and al-Dawa.SCIRI supports the ideologies of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that must be controlled by the ulema (Islamic scholars).Al-Dawa, on the other hand, follows the position of Iraq's late Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, and al-Dawa co-founder, that government should be controlled by the ummah (Muslim community as a whole).