The Anglican Centre in Rome has stated that "Grand Ayatollah al-Modarresi is probably the second most senior Shia cleric after al-Sistani.

[14] In 1967, under the jurisprudential guidance of Muhammad al-Shirazi, al-Modarresi established a religious activist group known as the Risali Movement (Arabic: الحركة الرسالية).

Many books were issued to propagate the Risali Movement, some of the ones al-Modarresi wrote included: The movement had an anthem written by al-Modarresi's brother, Abbas, that was recited in their gatherings, and then recorded and published as a sound track[16]: لمستضعفي الأرض قلنا نعمْ لا للــطـــــواغيت لا للـــصــنــــمْ هــبّـوا لــنـرفـــع هــــذا الــعــلــمْ ثــم الكـــفـــاح بــــالسـلاح والقلمْ أنــت يـا شــعــبــي منــذ الــقــدم كــــان شــــعــــــــارك ثــــــورة ودمْ آن الأوان لــــــنــــــرفــــــع الألــــــم نــــوفــــي بــعــهد الله والقـسـم

My nation, you have always; Held the symbol of revolution and blood It is time we raise the pain And make good of God's cause and oath.

Liberating.. Our nations So that to rule.. Our Quran The Risali Movement, established by al-Modarresi in 1967, played a significant role in fostering Shia political activism across the Gulf region, including Bahrain.

Initially operating as a secret organization focused on religious awareness, the movement gained prominence following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, advocating for Islamist principles and influencing various Shia opposition groups.

[19] In an interview with PBS in 2004 al-Modarresi affirmed his commitment to a democratically elected government for the new Iraq, stating that he had derived this from "the true interpretation of Islam.. which says, "Religion shall not be imposed ... Reason emerges from the unknown."

[20] al-Modarresi was the first Shia religious leader (with Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani following shortly after) to issue a call to popular resistance against ISIS, after its swift capture of large swathes of land in Iraq in June 2014.

[21][22] al-Modarresi made an official statement regarding the COVID-19 strain, saying that the people of Iraq should self-isolate, and utilise the month of Rajab, by performing the recommended prayers and supplications at home.

al-Modarresi also called for the Iraqi government to take up all measures to face this new viral strain, which threatens the lives of many today.

[23] al-Modaressi traveled to Bahrain in 2002 on an official visit, at the invitation of the Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Abdullah bin Khalid Al Khalifa.