Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Ali Hussaini Sistani علي السيستاني - contains a mix of his Arabic works and English translations of his works.
Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani
Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani
Al Sayyid Ali Al-Husayni Al-Sistani
Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani
Gran Ayatolá Sayyid Ali Sistani - another language

As you can see, Sayyid al-Sistani's number of profiles are getting a bit out of hand. His works are Arabic and English/ other language translations of his works. Would it be possible to merge these profiles into one?

Regarding how, I think maybe an Arabic speaker could help here because I'm not 100%.

"Grand Ayatullah/Ayatollah" and "Ayatullah/Ayatollah" are honorific titles in Arabic so I believe that goodreads prefers to drop them, but I have seen exceptions made for religious figures of a certain caliber like Pope IV for example: Pope Leo XIII. Sayyid Sistani is certainly this caliber for Shi'a Muslims, with hundreds of millions of followers world wide.

Regarding "Al-Sayyid" - this is another honorific title denoting his lineage in Arabic, which sometimes people include into their official name itself. Not sure what the official name is for him but I have never seen his name written without this and that is how he is often called "Sayyid Sistani". Sistani is more fundamental a title than Ayatollah in Islamic/ Arab culture, I would argue.

Additionally, "Sayyid al-Sistani" is how he is known everywhere, but "al-Sistani" denotes his place of origin. Yet I think this sometimesbecomes incorporated into the name itself in Arab/ Islamic Scholarship culture, so that should probably stay given that's how everyone knows him.

Another question: for a person who's name is spelled originally in Arabic and writes Arabic books that are translated into English, how does goodreads handle the naming of that author? English? Arabic? Both?

If the English spelling is to be included, I've seen a few variations but his official office's website spelling is probably the one to go with, even though it isn't the most modern Transliteration method of his name. I've pulled these two from his official English and Arabic websites (https://www.sistani.org/english/):
English: Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani
Same in Arabic: السيد علي الحسيني السيستاني

It would seem that different English translations and publications will spell/ transliterate his name slightly differently, including any combination of the titles mentioned above.

Regardless, please join all these author profiles as it's getting a bit out of hand.

Anyone able to help with this one?