The U.S-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 resulted in a two-level state- and nation-building process. On the one hand, the U.S. closely controlled the process of building state institutions, guiding the legislative process, and restructuring the economy. On the other hand, substate actors also surfaced during the power vacuum, amid occupation, violence, sectarian strife and a civil war. In a parallel process to state-level developments, a multiplicity of indigenous voices, once muted under the regime of Saddam Hussein, proliferated regarding the nature of the future Iraqi state. Drawing mainly on the various fatawa (religious decrees) by high-ranking ayatollahs throughout Iraq, this study is an opportunity to discuss contemporary perspectives on statehood from a Shiite perspective. My main question is: did the power vacuum in 2003 pave the way for previously suppressed Shiite voices to engage in bottom-up nation-building? This paper will explore the proliferation of Shiite thought on two levels in Iraq-- first in the violent reaction to the U.S. presence that contributed to the growing civil strife. Second, I will study contemporary views on the Islamic state and the role of the ayatollahs in politics. In the Iraqi case, Shiite thought operated at junctures, in direct response to the politics on the ground. In essence, political viewpoints were linked to regime strategies. Shiite thinkers were adapting to the political milieu, keenly aware of the times where the regime was providing them with some breathing space for political participation, followed by moments of sheer repression, for which groups within the Shiite community organized responses to combat the regime. Given the creation of new political space in a deeply fragmented society, Shiite discourse in reaction to these events reveals the tensions among Shiites on issues such as statehood, political action, and democracy.