It has long been known that Shi'i mujtahids represent themselves as transnational leaders whose authority reaches followers all over the world. Historically they have developed and maintained local constituencies through the strategic placement of loyal representatives who collect the khums tithe, mediate local disputes and transmit messages on their behalf. With the rise of a global information network, powered by the Internet, these mujtahids have established websites that play a vital role in the maintenance of local constituencies. Since a mujtahid bases his authority in part on his role as the keeper and producer of knowledge, the use of websites and Internet technology provides greater opportunities for constituency-building and at the same time the potential loss of control over the production and dissemination of knowledge. This paper examines the paradoxical results of the use of Internet technology by Shi'a mujtahids. Internet websites allow self-styled mujtahids to proliferate and diverse centers of authority to form. At the same time these websites have adhered to common conventions in content and presentation. To date, scholars have discussed the effects of Internet technology on the authority structures of Shi'i scholars in furthering competition for knowledge and authority. However, these studies neglect to highlight the increasing uniformity in thought that the Internet has encouraged. By focusing on the websites of the four Najaf-based ayatollahs who have come to be collectively known as the marja'iyya diniyya of Najaf - Ali al-Sistani, Bashir al-Najafi, Muhammad al-Hakim and Muhammad al-Fayad - this paper presents a case study in the paradoxical forces of decentralization and uniformity that characterizes the structures of authority in Shi'i communities in an Internet age. Drawing from the theories of Arjun Appadurai my paper positions Shi'i authority structures in a "disjunctive global economy of culture" and elucidates the creative ways in which these uniquely situated religious authorities articulate the relationship between the local and the global.