clerics

He argued it was "fundamentally unfair" for a block of clerics to "have a right and a say over our legislation".

Hardline clerics and militants have campaigned against vaccination, falsely claiming it is a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

He then traveled to a seminary in Najaf, Iraq, for religious studies, but two years later he and other Shiite students and clerics were expelled by Saddam Hussein’s government.

He was one of a small number of clerics holding what is called a freehold office which was abolished for new priests in 2007 and gives a more protected status than that of a regular employee.

Human rights groups and the UN had urged MPs to block the bill, which was introduced in March after pressure from some Muslim clerics.