After the death of Akhund Khorasani, Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi was the reference point for people to follow in Iraq. He used to refer people to Kashani in Shariah matters, but he refrained from issuing fatwas out of caution. It is said that Kashani’s antagonism with the British had its roots in the occupation of Basra in November 1914 and Karbala and Najaf in late 1917.In the First World War, when the British forces attacked Iraq, the Shia scholars issued a fatwa for jihad in defense. National forces, led by scholars, including his father and himself, took part in a war that lasted fourteen months.