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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 38, 17 October 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES
* BATTLES BEGIN AS ASSEMBLY EXPERTS AWAIT VETTING
* SENIOR CLERIC IN TABRIZ DISMISSES SEPARATISM
* JUDICIARY CHIEF WANTS FEWER JAIL TERMS
* EXILED ACTIVISTS REPORT 111 EXECUTIONS IN IRAN
* LOCAL AUTHORITIES TRY TO EVICT SUFI LEADER
* OUTSPOKEN AYATOLLAH ALLEGES OFFICIAL PERSECUTION
* AHMADINEJAD ASSESSES FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE...
* ...AND STATES IRAN'S SUPPORT FOR HAMAS
* AFGHAN REFUGEES GIVEN DAYS TO LEAVE
* IRAN SAYS IT WANTS NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
************************************** **********************
BATTLES BEGIN AS ASSEMBLY EXPERTS AWAIT VETTING. Some 495 people have
registered to become candidates for the Assembly of Experts elections
to be held on December 15. Eligible candidates will have to pass a
theological exam as well as a thorough vetting of their backgrounds
and political tendencies. The country's conservative clerical
elite has used this vetting process to weed out anybody who might
upset the status quo. Meanwhile, the leading fundamentalist candidate
and his allies have been slinging mud at their most prominent
opponent, a former president who is comparatively pragmatic.
The 86 clerical members of the assembly -- which is empowered
to select and supervise the supreme leader -- includes many of the
country's most senior personalities.
Big-Name Supporters Of Status Quo
Among those who had signed up in hopes of being a candidate
were former Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hojatoleslam
Hassan Rohani, former Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi,
former Guardians Council member Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali, and
Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head Ayatollah
Mohammad Ali Taskhiri.
So, too, did Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, the
controversial cleric who includes President Mahmud Ahmadinejad among
his followers and who famously advocated violence against reformists.
Mesbah-Yazdi's ambition may go beyond re-election to the
Assembly and include eventual ascension to the highest position in
the country, the supreme leadership.
"The New York Times" reported on September 25 that
Mesbah-Yazdi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are allies and
based this statement on Khamenei's financing his colleague's
Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute. In fact, Khamenei
uses government funds to finance many of the country's
theological institutions and clerics. This is done in order to help
Khamenei's popularity and create a sense of loyalty or even
dependence.
The provision of funding also is a traditional function of
Shi'ite leaders, and the supreme leader's doing this reflects
the Iranian quest for dominance of the global Shi'ite community,
a development noted in Mehdi Khalaji's "The Last Marja" (The
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, September 2006).
While some clerics and their followers are persecuted for
questioning the theocratic system of Vilayat-i Faqih (see below),
Mesbah-Yazdi has come out strongly in its favor. In a speech late
last month, Mesbah-Yazdi denounced the possibility that Vilayat-i
Faqih could be legitimized by the popular vote, the Entekhab website
and IRNA reported, citing the September 27 issue of "Parto-yi
Sokhan," Mesbah's weekly mouthpiece. "Is there a better way than
this for America to infiltrate [the Islamic system]?" he asked.
Calling For Moderation
Mesbah was responding to a mid-September speech by Ayatollah
Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the current deputy speaker of the
Assembly of Experts. Mesbah and his fundamentalist followers view
Hashemi-Rafsanjani as someone who has forsaken Islamic principles in
the pursuit of expediency, and they have been relentless in their
criticism of him and their hounding of his associates.
In that mid-September speech, Hashemi-Rafsanjani started with
a critique of the prevailing political atmosphere, noting that
extremism has bedeviled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and
he cited the dual requirements of moderation and development.
Hashemi-Rafsanjani then hailed the significance of the popular vote
and asked if a country can be run if the people do not accept the
"ruling establishment," "Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 16.
Iran's Islamic government, he continued, must be run by an expert
in Islamic law -- a faqih -- and this person can be selected by the
clergy or by the public. In the Iranian system, the choice is made by
both communities. "The role of the people in times of decision-making
is very important," he said.
Revisiting The War
The next step in the demonization of Hashemi-Rafsanjani
occurred in late September, as Iran commemorated the anniversary of
the beginning of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. Hashemi-Rafsanjani said
in an interview that Iranian officials were not advocating a
cease-fire in 1988, but military commanders did tell Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that they would have to invade Iraq to
bring about a successful conclusion to the conflict, "Aftab-i Yazd"
reported on September 26. Khomeini initially approved this, but it
was clear that Iran was isolated politically and in dire financial
straits, and the equipment demands of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps were unaffordable. It was under these circumstances that
Khomeini accepted UN Resolution 598, the cease-fire that concluded
the war.
The initial interview raised some eyebrows, and there were
even denials that the Guards Corps had written a letter demanding
more equipment and personnel. Hashemi-Rafsanjani then released
Khomeini's letter of July 16, 1988, in which he gives his reasons
for agreeing to the cease-fire, which he likened to "drinking [from]
the poisoned chalice," ILNA reported on September 29. Khomeini wrote:
"In his letter IRGC commander [Mohsen Rezai] has written there will
be no victory in the next five years." Offensive operations could
resume after 1992, Rezai continued, according to Khomeini's
letter, if he got 350 more infantry brigades, 2,500 tanks, 600
airplanes and helicopters, and the ability to make nuclear weapons
and laser-guided munitions. Khomeini went on to write that his prime
minister described a weak economy and political officials said the
public is unenthusiastic about going to the front when victory seems
unattainable.
Ahmadinejad criticized Hashemi-Rafsanjani for weakening
confidence in the country's abilities during the war, "Kayhan"
reported on October 3. Ahmadinejad described this as an attempt to
undermine the "values" gained during the war, and said this revealed
the "lack of intelligence, abilities, and commitment."
Hashemi-Rafsanjani also faced accusations of releasing classified
documents, which he rejected.
Creating Candidate Lists
Disputes between the supporters of Mesbah-Yazdi and
Hashemi-Rafsanjani persisted, and differences emerged even in cases
where different political parties planned to back identical lists of
candidates. In Kerman Province, the conservative Tehran Militant
Clergy Association (Jameh-yi Ruhaniyat-i Mobarez-i Tehran), which
recently encouraged Hashemi-Rafsanjani to run, actually prefers
Morteza Aqa-Tehrani, a Mesbah-Yazdi associate who serves in the
executive branch, Aftab reported on October 4. The conservatives are
in full agreement on their other two provincial candidates -- Friday
Prayer leader Ahmad Khatami and Mohammad Ali Movahedi-Kermani,
formerly the Supreme Leader's representative at the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps.
Hussein Jalali, who heads Mesbah-Yazdi's election
headquarters, said on October 7 that groups supporting Mesbah-Yazdi
are springing up "spontaneously," Fars News Agency reported, and
Hashemi-Rafsanjani is not on their list of candidates.
As early as August, meanwhile, there were reports that the
candidacy of younger associates and students of Mesbah-Yazdi were
being opposed by the Qom Seminary Lecturers Association. Hussein
Marashi, spokesman for the center-right Executives of Construction
Party, alluded to this phenomenon when he said, "the Assembly of
Experts will not be the stage for the parading of unknown people,"
"Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 16. Some of the older
cleric's "proteges" are educated at second-tier Western
universities and are "seemingly modern," and they will try to hide
their connection with Mesbah-Yazdi when they register, "The New York
Times" reported on September 25.
The more pro-reform parties are working to create joint
election lists, too. Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karrubi, who created the
National Trust Party after losing in the first round of what he
claims was a flawed and fraudulent 2005 presidential election, said,
"Our list will be 90 percent in common with the list of other
reformist groups," "Etemad" reported on September 26. He went onto
say that a reformist election headquarters is being created, and
added that such cooperation should continue beyond the election
itself. He noted that usually the groups out of power come together
before elections, but because they do not have a broader plan,
differences emerge between them after they win and they forsake many
opportunities.
The secretary-general of the reformist Islamic Iran
Participation Party, Mohsen Mirdamadi, said his organization will
back the candidates of the Militant Clerics Association (Majma-yi
Ruhaniyun-i Mobarez), "Ayandeh-yi No" reported on September 30.
Vetting Candidates
After prospective candidates finish registering, the
Guardians Council will have 30 days -- from October 15 to November 15
-- to examine their qualifications. During this time, candidates will
be examined on their ability to perform Koranic interpretation (known
as ijtihad, this is the highest form of Islamic learning). Successful
candidates will have 14 days to campaign -- from November 30 to
December 13.
The hard-line bias of the Guardians Council -- the six
clerical members that are appointed by the Supreme Leader and the six
jurist members that are selected by the Judiciary chief, another
appointee of the supreme leader -- has angered Iranians since the
early 1990s. Not only does the council vet candidates and reject
those whose political tendencies it finds questionable -- even if
they are incumbents -- but it also overturns the results in cases
where the outcome is not to its liking.
The council's spokesman, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai, said on
October 9 that factionalism will not affect the screening process,
Mehr News Agency reported. The head of the council, Ayatollah Ahmad
Jannati, signed up as a candidate on October 10. He has previously
rejected suggestions that there is a conflict of interest.
The Interior Ministry runs elections, and the logistics of
this year's race pose particular difficulties. That is because
polling for the Assembly of Experts competition takes place at the
same time as polling for municipal councils and for parliamentary
by-elections in Ahvaz, Bam, and Tehran.
Interior Minister Mustafa Purmohammadi said on October 2 that
this will require approximately 60,000 ballot boxes for the Assembly
of Experts race, another 60,000 for the municipal councils, and
10,000-15,000 for the parliamentary by-elections, state radio
reported.
The Interior Ministry's fundamentalist political
tendencies worry the reformists. The background in military and
intelligence agencies of Purmohammadi, his deputy Mohammad Baqer
Zolqadr, and many appointees to governor-generalships caused a
parliamentary uproar, and the newest appointment to the ministry has
not calmed any concerns. Ahmadinejad appointed his adviser, the
secretive Mujtaba Hashemi-Samareh, as deputy interior minister for
political affairs in late September. On October 1, Hashemi-Samareh
was put in charge of the election headquarters.
The way in which all these conflicting elements interact and
the ultimate outcome is unclear, as more than two months remain
before Iranians go to the polls. The activities of the Assembly of
Experts have little impact on Iranians' daily lives, and its
biannual meetings take place behind closed doors. Therefore, people
have little motivation to vote in the election and turnout could be
relatively low. For the initial municipal council elections in 1999,
turnout was high (64 percent), as voters thought the local bodies
could substantively improve their day-to-day lives. The councils did
not fulfill their potential, however, so turnout was lower (49
percent) in the second election in 2003.
Regardless, holding the two elections simultaneously could
boost overall turnout figures. As the fundamentalists will be running
the elections and they have already demonstrated an ability to pack
the polling places and the ballot boxes, it is not unreasonable to
expect tremendous voter enthusiasm, as there was in the second round
of the 2005 presidential election. (Bill Samii)
SENIOR CLERIC IN TABRIZ DISMISSES SEPARATISM. Fars quoted the Iranian
supreme leader's representative in the East Azerbaijan Province,
Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahid-Shabestari, as telling a congregation in
the town of Tasuj on October 12 that any possible unity between Azeri
speakers in Iran and those of Azerbaijan -- across Iran's
northern border -- can take but one form: Azerbaijan's
incorporation into Iran.
He was responding to nationalist seminars held recently in
Baku (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 3 October 2006). Azeri nationalists
have intermittently urged that Iran's Azeri provinces be detached
to form a larger Azeri state. Persia ruled the lands of present-day
Azerbaijan until the early decades of the 19th century, when they
were taken by imperial Russia.
"If there is to be any union, they should join Iran, and it
would be better not to speak of southern and northern Azerbaijan, but
of southern and northern Iran," Fars quoted Shabestari as saying. He
is also the congregational prayer leader in Tabriz, the provincial
capital. "There is [a] smell of plots," he said of the seminars.
"While some people tried [earlier] this year to carry out their
plots, the people [in northwest Iran] gave them a teeth-shattering
response," he said, referring to unrest in May among Iranian
Azeri-speakers (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," May 29, 2006). "The
identity of Iranians will never be undermined, and we obey an
Iranian-Islamic center," he said. (Vahid Sepehri)
JUDICIARY CHIEF WANTS FEWER JAIL TERMS. Judiciary chief Ayatollah
Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi reiterated to a specialist committee in
Tehran on October 10 his contention that Islam does not favor prison
as a punishment, except for dangerous offenders, and deplored the
frequency with which judges send offenders to prison. "There will be
a response to judges handing out jail sentences without any limits,"
Hashemi-Shahrudi told a committee examining means of reducing prison
sentences. "There is no place in Islam for imprisonment as a
punishment for debts." He expressed hope that parliament will approve
the proposed suspension of parts of the present law on financial
offences that include the failure to pay debts. Hashemi-Shahrudi said
he hopes legislators pass the judiciary's proposal "with due
regard for the negative effects of prison on people," IRNA reported.
Islamic laws envisage imprisonment for six crimes, he said, "but in
our present laws, there are about 1,000 penalties involving prison,
and this needs fundamental examination and review." (Vahid Sepehri)
EXILED ACTIVISTS REPORT 111 EXECUTIONS IN IRAN. Iranian Human Rights
Activists in the EU and North America, a coalition of exiled
activists, issued a special report on the state of prisons in Iran on
October 10 to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty,
RFE/RL's Radio Farda reported. The report identifies 111 Iranians
executed in an 11-month period from late September 2005 to late
August 2006. The group says that its report is based on foreign and
domestic news-agency and press reports and that its list may be
incomplete, given the existence of censorship in Iran. In the stated
period, 282 Iranians have been condemned to death in Iran. (Vahid
Sepehri)
LOCAL AUTHORITIES TRY TO EVICT SUFI LEADER. About 300 security forces
in the northeastern Iranian city of Gonabad surrounded the residence
of a prominent Sufi leader on October 10 after he refused an order to
leave his city of birth. Critics call the eviction order the latest
example of official harassment of minority religious groups like
Sufis and dervishes.
Dr. Nurali Tabandeh, also known as Majzub Ali Shah, has said
he has no intention of altering his plans to remain in the city until
October 13.
For more than a century, the leaders of the Nematollahi
Gonabadi dervish order have lived and been buried in Gonabad, in
Iran's Khorasan Province.
Some were forced out of their birthplace following the
establishment of an Islamic republic in Iran and never allowed back.
They included the older brother of the man at the heart of this
latest confrontation, who was himself a leader of the mystic Sufi
tradition.
But Nurali Tabandeh has been returning regularly to Gonabad
from his home in Tehran during the holy month of Ramadan to meet with
followers and pilgrims from all over Iran.
Local website "Mizan" and Sufi sources have claimed
authorities in Gonabad simply ordered Tabandeh to leave, without any
explanation. Some observers have speculated that officials want to
avoid a large gathering of Sufis in the city -- dervishes from all
over the country arrive in Gonabad every year to mark the end of
Ramadan, Id al-Fitr, in Tabandeh's presence.
Farshid Yadollahi, a lawyer and a follower of Tabandeh's
Nematollahi Gonabadi order, is in Gonabad, and he tells RFE/RL that
Tabandeh has vowed that he will remain there -- meeting followers --
until October 13.
Yadollahi says he thinks the authorities' actions are
unlawful.
"Every year [Sufis] from all over Iran, and also from foreign
countries, tourists, and researchers come here," Yadollahi says.
"They come for pilgrimage, there is a pilgrimage site here. It is
truly surprising that someone is in his home -- and he comes here
every year -- but then they come and tell him that he doesn't
have the right to be in his home. This is according to which article
of Iran's constitution?"
There have long been tensions between dervishes -- a
fraternity within Sufi tradition -- and those who favor a more
conservative interpretation of Islam. But Sufi and rights groups say
the harassment of Sufis has significantly increased since hard-line
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad took office in August 2005.
In February, a Sufi house of worship was destroyed in Qom and
hundreds of Sufis were detained. Many were injured in clashes with
security forces.
In May, a court sentenced 52 Sufis and their lawyers --
including Yadollahi -- to jail terms and lashings in connection with
the February incident. Yadollahi was given a five-year ban on
practicing law. An Iranian news agency reported that the demolished
Sufi house of worship was turned into a parking lot.
Mustafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based expert on Sufism and a
representative of the Nematollahi Gonabadi order, says defamatory
articles and religious decrees, or fatwas, targeting Sufism have
appeared in Iran's conservative press in recent months.
One of the latest fatwas was issued by Ayatollah Fazel
Lankarani in the "Jomhuri-yi Islami" newspaper. Lankarani accused
Sufis of misleading Iranian youth.
"It was said in the articles that any contact with Sufis --
particularly with the Gonabadi branch -- is not permitted," Azmayesh
says. "Even participating in their Koran readings is 'haram'
(forbidden to Muslims). The aim is to create pressure and
discrimination against the followers of this order. There was fear
that during the month of Ramadan [authorities] would take such
actions, but no one imagined that they would go that far and show
such disrespect to Dr. Tabandeh Majzub Ali Shah, who is a national
figure, a well-respected judge, and a university professor."
Followers of the Gonabadi orders have told RFE/RL that
several Sufis have been fired from their jobs recently. They also
claimed that others have been discriminated against by state agencies
because of their faith. Sufis say restrictions on their literature
have increased and worship gatherings have been broken up.
In its annual report on religious freedoms in September, the
U.S. State Department alleged growing government repression of Sufi
communities and said Sufi Muslims face a mounting campaign of
"demonization."
Azmayesh tells RFE/RL that, since the February incident,
"repression" of Sufis has continued.
"Shortly after the demolition of the Qom Husseinieh,
Semnan's Friday prayer leader praised it and said, 'We give
10 days to the Gonabadi dervishes in Semnan to evacuate their house
of worship or demolish it, because we want to destroy it
anyway,'" Azmayesh says. "There were attacks against several
homes where weekly prayer meetings of the Gonabadi dervishes were
held -- including one in Luristan. They arrested the homeowners."
Several conservative clerics in Iran have described Sufis as
a "cult" and a "danger to Islam." Critics charge that Sufi teachings
are inconsistent with the spirit of Islam. But Sufis contend that
they are following the true Islam.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth. Sufis
engage in practices such as dance, music, and the recitation of
Allah's divine names in pursuit of a more direct perception of
God.
There are no reliable estimates of their numbers. But lawyer
Yadollahi says Sufi beliefs are becoming increasingly popular in
Iran, to the dismay of the clerical establishment.
"Some of these beliefs do not sit well with these gentlemen
-- they want everyone to think in the same way and believe a single
way," Yadollahi says. "When the establishment tries to impose
religion through force, history has shown that it faces reactions --
people turn away from the religion campaigned for by the state,
especially the youth." (Golnaz Esfandiari)
OUTSPOKEN AYATOLLAH ALLEGES OFFICIAL PERSECUTION. A dissident Iranian
cleric who advocates the separation of religion and politics,
Ayatollah Seyyed Hussein Kazemeyni Borujerdi, is accusing officials
of persecuting him and his followers. Borujerdi claims dozens of his
supporters have been arrested and taken to Tehran's notorious
Evin prison in recent weeks. The ayatollah told RFE/RL that he has
appealed for help from international figures that include the pope
and EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana.
Ayatollah Borujerdi says that in the past 14 years he has
been summoned on numerous occasions to the Special Court for Clergy
and spent months in prison. He claims he still suffers from health
problems stemming from torture he was subjected to in prison.
"I was in prison in 1995 for several months. Then, in 2001, I
was also arrested several times -- they confiscated two of my
mosques," Borujerdi says. "It's ridiculous -- an establishment
that says it is Islamic confiscates an active and open mosque. In
1979, the marjah [source of emulation] at that time, Mr. Golpayegani,
put me in charge of the Hematabad mosque. Only a few people used to
go to that mosque -- but in 2001, when they took it away from me,
many people were coming there. We always faced a lack of space for
prayers."
The Shi'ite cleric says pressure has increased
significantly since the summer, following a gathering he held for his
supporters. He claims that thousands of people attended his June 30
religious meeting in Tehran's Shahid Keshvari stadium.
"About 2 1/2 months ago, there was something similar to a
coup d'etat against me -- because our last meeting was such that
it shook the city and it made the establishment think that if they
don't stop me, then there will be millions of people [supporting
me]," Borujerdi says. "So they began harassing me; they surrounded my
house for two months."
Ayatollah Borujerdi claims that many of his supporters have
also been targeted. He says in recent weeks, more than 100 people
have been arrested and tortured in jail. He says some have been fired
from their jobs, and others have been under pressure to campaign
against him.
Iranian officials have been silent on the topic.
But earlier this week, Amnesty International reported that at
least 41 of Borujerdi's followers were arrested in his courtyard.
The rights group has warned that the cleric could be at risk of
imminent arrest.
The ayatollah says his belief in the separation of religion
from politics and his refusal to support "political religion" have
drawn the ire of Iran's leaders. Iran's Islamic establishment
is based on the principle of "vilayat-i faqih," or the rule of the
Islamic jurist.
Reports have emerged in recent years of other clerics and
dissidents who have criticized the vilayat-i faqih principle being
persecuted in Iran.
They include the late Grand Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari, an
influential Iranian cleric who was placed under house arrest in the
1980s.
Shariatmadari's son, Hassan, lives in Germany. He told
RFE/RL that some 27 years after the establishment of an Islamic
Republic in Iran, many of the country's clerics have realized
that the involvement of religion in politics subjugates religion to
the will of the state.
"The political establishment forces them to accept its
demands and interpret the religion in accordance with the
establishment's needs," Hassan Shariatmadari says. "Most clerics
have realized this, but because of the heavy price of opposition to
the regime, most of them do not have the courage to express [that
view] publicly. Ayatollah Borujerdi has been able to express the
demand for the separation of religion from politics very openly -- to
a wide audience and with boldness. This is something that this
establishment doesn't like."
Shariatmadari says he thinks Iran's leadership feels
threatened by Ayatollah Borujerdi because they are concerned that
other clerics could follow his example.
Borujerdi told RFE/RL that the authorities have threatened
him with execution, and told him that the clergy should speak in a
united voice.
Borujerdi has written letters to Pope Benedict XVI and to
Solana noting what he calls the "suspicious death" in 2002 of his
father, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Ali Kazemeyni Borujerdi, who was
also a prominent cleric. He claims Iranian authorities expropriated
the mosque where his father had preached and destroyed his
father's grave.
But Borujerdi remains defiant. "I demonstrate that real Islam
is free of political ornaments," he says. "It is included in verses
whose interpretation is different than that provided by [the
authorities]. Its interpretation is from 1,428 years ago. It is about
the rule of the Prophet [Muhammad] and how he lived; he was against
repression and opposed discrimination. Our divine leaders took food
from their mouths and the mouths of their children to give it to the
poor. Today, unfortunately, despite the immense wealth of this
country, people live in poverty."
Borujerdi says many Iranians have lost faith in religion
because of the worsening economic situation, including high inflation
and unemployment.
He argues that under the shah's regime, people's
faith in Islam was much stronger. He thinks belief in God has
actually fallen victim to Iran's theocracy.
"When people lose their income, they directly blame the
establishment and they become angry at God," Borujerdi says.
"I've said many times that we should help people worship their
God again and make peace with God. Today we are in the month of
Ramadan, [but] many people have turned away from God because of
repression, discrimination, and pressure."
One of the ayatollah's devotees, Hamid, told RFE/RL that
Borujerdi's views and defiance have won him support from Iranians
of different classes.
"Ayatollah Borujerdi has never polluted religion with
politics," Hamid says. "He has not become involved in politics, and
he has always supported the needy. He has always said, 'I'm a
supporter of the wretched.' This is, I think, one of the reasons
for his popularity."
Hamid says he is ready to support the ayatollah even "until
martyrdom." (Golnaz Esfandiari)
AHMADINEJAD ASSESSES FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE... President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad's office has published part of a report outlining his
government's achievements since it took power in summer 2005,
ISNA reported on October 9. The report says the government has sought
to provide equitable opportunities and access to public resources for
all provinces, and focused on "basic, infrastructural works" while
avoiding "habitual controversies" -- a presumed reference to
political quarrels -- ISNA reported. The government made 3,300
decisions in its first year, the report stated. It highlights ongoing
efforts to cut fuel consumption, promote mass transit, subsidize
farmers -- with timely payments for crop purchases -- and steady
house prices. There was a 101 percent increase in "the demand for
public investment" in unspecified projects, the report asserted,
while the government is "currently planning with precision" a
large-scale privatization program pursuant to Article 44 of
Iran's Constitution. The report noted that the value of non-oil
exports rose from $7 billion in the Persian year to March 2005 to
$10.5 billion in the following year, thanks to "conditions provided
by the government and the efforts of exporters," ISNA reported.
(Vahid Sepehri)
....AND STATES IRAN'S SUPPORT FOR HAMAS. President Ahmadinejad
met with Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam in Tehran on
October 12 and said "there are no limits" to the transfer of
Iran's "experiences and achievements in all areas to the popular
Hamas government," Mehr news agency reported. Ahmadinejad urged the
Hamas government to maintain its "principled and revolutionary
positions" to attain the "Palestinian ideal," and he said Palestine
is the front line in the fight between Muslims and "forceful powers."
Siyam said his government is willing to use Iran's experience in
government and home administration.
Siyam met separately with Iranian Interior Minister Mustafa
Pur-Mohammadi, Iranian news agencies reported. Pur-Mohammadi called
for the expansion of formal ties between Iran and the Palestinian
government and said Palestine has evident needs in terms of domestic
security and administration, areas he said "are subject to an intense
attack by the occupying regime of Israel," ISNA reported. (Vahid
Sepehri)
AFGHAN REFUGEES GIVEN DAYS TO LEAVE. The office of the governor of
the northwestern East Azerbaijan Province announced on October 12
that Afghan migrants cannot remain in the province and must within
days present themselves to authorities and "clarify their situation,"
Fars reported. Muhammad Memarzadeh is the provincial governor. His
office issued a statement warning that "the residency or housing of"
Afghans is forbidden in the province from September 23, adding that
the migrants have until October 22 to present themselves to local
authorities so "their identification documents can be examined and
necessary legal decisions taken about them." Failure to do so will
render them illegal aliens to be dealt with by the law, Fars reported
the statement as saying.
Interior Minister Hojatoleslam Mustafa Pur-Mohammadi told a
meeting on the topic of Afghan refugees in Geneva on October 10 that
Iran is concerned by the arrival and presence of thousands of Afghans
in Iran, IRNA reported. Pur-Mohammadi also said reduced international
aid for Afghanistan has prompted "a worrying decline in the process
of return" of Afghans to their homeland. He was addressing the 11th
session of a UN commission on the voluntary repatriation of Afghan
refugees at the invitation of UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Antonio Guterres.
Pur-Mohammadi estimated that there are 950,000 Afghans in
Iran legally, and another 1 million illegally, while "one-third" of
some 590,000 migrants who came to Iran "last year" have not gone
back. He linked the presence of these Afghans to concerns over
terrorism, as well as drug and human trafficking. "This year 14,000
illegal migrants were arrested on the Turkish frontier, most of whom
were Afghans," Pur-Mohammadi said, adding that Iran has tried to act
as a "dam" to this migratory movement. Iran signed five cooperation
agreements with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the end of
the session, committing Iran's Health and Education ministries to
training nursing and health-care staff among Afghan migrants in Iran,
IRNA reported. (Vahid Sepehri)
IRAN SAYS IT WANTS NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT. Government spokesman Gholam
Hussein Elham told reporters in Tehran on October 10 that Iran favors
generalized nuclear disarmament but that North Korea's reported
nuclear test "is to Iran's advantage" because it demonstrates the
peaceful nature of Iran's own program, IRNA reported. Elham said
disarmament should start with the "great powers and especially
America." He said Iran has repeated its commitment to the peaceful
use of nuclear power, and "we are against nuclear and destructive
weapons, and that is our ideology." He added that international
bodies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not
restrict access to peaceful technology for states respecting
nonproliferation regulations. "Nobody in the world is fit to use the
atomic bomb," Elham said, according to IRNA. "We believe all
countries that have this dangerous weapon must be disarmed," he
added, including "dangerous" Israel. Western states want Iran to
abandon fuel making and related activities that could be used to
develop bombs -- a demand that Iran has rejected.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Husseini,
said in Tehran on October 8 that Iran "will not even accept a
day-long suspension" of uranium enrichment -- part of the fuel-making
process -- IRNA reported the same day.
Iran's ambassador in Paris, Ali Ahani, defended
Iran's positions on Middle East politics and its nuclear dossier
at an October 11 news conference in Paris, RFE/RL's Radio Farda
and Guysen Israel News, an Israeli news agency, reported. Ahani spoke
in the Maison de Radio France at the invitation of the Club de la
Presse Arabe. He ignored an Israeli journalist who asked whether
"your atomic bomb" is intended one day to be used against Israel in
the event of a U.S. strike on Iran, guysen.com reported. The
journalist and three others walked out in protest. Ahani said
Iran's refusal to recognize Israel does not mean Iran is "against
Jews. It respects them. We have many in Iran. They have their
representatives and are at ease in Iran." He said Iran does not arm
Lebanon's Hizballah but it does support it as a movement
defending Lebanon's "freedom" against Israeli occupation.
Ahani said Iran's nuclear program is legal but that the
United States, for political reasons, is set on referring Iran to the
UN Security Council for the alleged violation of nonproliferation
principles. "Iran is negotiating for a suitable solution. It needs
neither confrontation nor war," Ahani said. If its dossier is taken
to the Security Council, he added, it "will be obliged to suspend the
implementation" of the UN protocol it has signed to allow close
checks of its installations, guysen.com reported.
President Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the town of Shahriar
outside Tehran on October 11 that Iranians have decided to firmly
defend Iran's "nuclear right," and he denounced "bullying" by
foreign powers trying to curb Iran's nuclear program, agencies
reported. "A few countries are forcefully imposing their wishes when
they have no right to interfere. Even the [UN] Security Council has
no right to interfere," ISNA quoted him as saying. What makes "four
or five countries" consider themselves "the equivalent of the
international community," he asked, presumably referring to permanent
members of the Security Council. Their "frowns" and "empty threats"
cannot block Iran's "progress," he said.
"Why," Ahmadinejad asked, do Western states want Iran to
"halt the fuel cycle? Where is the danger? Are 164 centrifuges more
dangerous than your bomb-making factories.... Why should you have
enrichment activities but not us?" Uranium enrichment could allow
Iran to make nuclear bombs at some stage. Ahmadinejad said the same
day in Robat-Karim that Western claims that if "Iran makes fuel...it
may deviate...and make nuclear bombs" are a pretext to "stop
Iran's progress." He scoffed at threatened sanctions: "They
threaten...we will not give you parts," though "our nation attained
nuclear technology" in spite of existing import restrictions. "Now
you wish to deprive us of parts, let us see where that goes," he
said.
Hassan Rohani, Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator,
urged Western states to "forget the...the Security Council and engage
in serious talks" with Iran to resolve differences over its program,
Fars reported on October 11. Rohani is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei's representative on the Supreme National Security
Council and heads the Expediency Council's strategic research
center. Unconditional talks, he said, could yield "a two-way
solution." He said that "suspension or sanctions are not something
Iran accepts," and advised against pushing the dispute toward "just
two choices, sanctions or suspension," when the West's fear is
bomb proliferation and Iran has repeated "that is not what it wants."
He said Iran has a "solution" if bombs are the only concern, but he
said the United States blocked a previous "formula" approved by
France and Germany allowing enrichment inside Iran. He said Iran
wants self-sufficiency in nuclear fuel. "If the West stops
threatening, there is a very great possibility of reaching an
agreement," he said. (Vahid Sepehri)
**************************************** *****************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
http://www.rferl.org/about/content/request.as p
Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/iran-report/
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 38, 17 October 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES
* BATTLES BEGIN AS ASSEMBLY EXPERTS AWAIT VETTING
* SENIOR CLERIC IN TABRIZ DISMISSES SEPARATISM
* JUDICIARY CHIEF WANTS FEWER JAIL TERMS
* EXILED ACTIVISTS REPORT 111 EXECUTIONS IN IRAN
* LOCAL AUTHORITIES TRY TO EVICT SUFI LEADER
* OUTSPOKEN AYATOLLAH ALLEGES OFFICIAL PERSECUTION
* AHMADINEJAD ASSESSES FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE...
* ...AND STATES IRAN'S SUPPORT FOR HAMAS
* AFGHAN REFUGEES GIVEN DAYS TO LEAVE
* IRAN SAYS IT WANTS NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
************************************** **********************
BATTLES BEGIN AS ASSEMBLY EXPERTS AWAIT VETTING. Some 495 people have
registered to become candidates for the Assembly of Experts elections
to be held on December 15. Eligible candidates will have to pass a
theological exam as well as a thorough vetting of their backgrounds
and political tendencies. The country's conservative clerical
elite has used this vetting process to weed out anybody who might
upset the status quo. Meanwhile, the leading fundamentalist candidate
and his allies have been slinging mud at their most prominent
opponent, a former president who is comparatively pragmatic.
The 86 clerical members of the assembly -- which is empowered
to select and supervise the supreme leader -- includes many of the
country's most senior personalities.
Big-Name Supporters Of Status Quo
Among those who had signed up in hopes of being a candidate
were former Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hojatoleslam
Hassan Rohani, former Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi,
former Guardians Council member Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali, and
Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head Ayatollah
Mohammad Ali Taskhiri.
So, too, did Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, the
controversial cleric who includes President Mahmud Ahmadinejad among
his followers and who famously advocated violence against reformists.
Mesbah-Yazdi's ambition may go beyond re-election to the
Assembly and include eventual ascension to the highest position in
the country, the supreme leadership.
"The New York Times" reported on September 25 that
Mesbah-Yazdi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are allies and
based this statement on Khamenei's financing his colleague's
Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute. In fact, Khamenei
uses government funds to finance many of the country's
theological institutions and clerics. This is done in order to help
Khamenei's popularity and create a sense of loyalty or even
dependence.
The provision of funding also is a traditional function of
Shi'ite leaders, and the supreme leader's doing this reflects
the Iranian quest for dominance of the global Shi'ite community,
a development noted in Mehdi Khalaji's "The Last Marja" (The
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, September 2006).
While some clerics and their followers are persecuted for
questioning the theocratic system of Vilayat-i Faqih (see below),
Mesbah-Yazdi has come out strongly in its favor. In a speech late
last month, Mesbah-Yazdi denounced the possibility that Vilayat-i
Faqih could be legitimized by the popular vote, the Entekhab website
and IRNA reported, citing the September 27 issue of "Parto-yi
Sokhan," Mesbah's weekly mouthpiece. "Is there a better way than
this for America to infiltrate [the Islamic system]?" he asked.
Calling For Moderation
Mesbah was responding to a mid-September speech by Ayatollah
Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the current deputy speaker of the
Assembly of Experts. Mesbah and his fundamentalist followers view
Hashemi-Rafsanjani as someone who has forsaken Islamic principles in
the pursuit of expediency, and they have been relentless in their
criticism of him and their hounding of his associates.
In that mid-September speech, Hashemi-Rafsanjani started with
a critique of the prevailing political atmosphere, noting that
extremism has bedeviled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and
he cited the dual requirements of moderation and development.
Hashemi-Rafsanjani then hailed the significance of the popular vote
and asked if a country can be run if the people do not accept the
"ruling establishment," "Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 16.
Iran's Islamic government, he continued, must be run by an expert
in Islamic law -- a faqih -- and this person can be selected by the
clergy or by the public. In the Iranian system, the choice is made by
both communities. "The role of the people in times of decision-making
is very important," he said.
Revisiting The War
The next step in the demonization of Hashemi-Rafsanjani
occurred in late September, as Iran commemorated the anniversary of
the beginning of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. Hashemi-Rafsanjani said
in an interview that Iranian officials were not advocating a
cease-fire in 1988, but military commanders did tell Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that they would have to invade Iraq to
bring about a successful conclusion to the conflict, "Aftab-i Yazd"
reported on September 26. Khomeini initially approved this, but it
was clear that Iran was isolated politically and in dire financial
straits, and the equipment demands of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps were unaffordable. It was under these circumstances that
Khomeini accepted UN Resolution 598, the cease-fire that concluded
the war.
The initial interview raised some eyebrows, and there were
even denials that the Guards Corps had written a letter demanding
more equipment and personnel. Hashemi-Rafsanjani then released
Khomeini's letter of July 16, 1988, in which he gives his reasons
for agreeing to the cease-fire, which he likened to "drinking [from]
the poisoned chalice," ILNA reported on September 29. Khomeini wrote:
"In his letter IRGC commander [Mohsen Rezai] has written there will
be no victory in the next five years." Offensive operations could
resume after 1992, Rezai continued, according to Khomeini's
letter, if he got 350 more infantry brigades, 2,500 tanks, 600
airplanes and helicopters, and the ability to make nuclear weapons
and laser-guided munitions. Khomeini went on to write that his prime
minister described a weak economy and political officials said the
public is unenthusiastic about going to the front when victory seems
unattainable.
Ahmadinejad criticized Hashemi-Rafsanjani for weakening
confidence in the country's abilities during the war, "Kayhan"
reported on October 3. Ahmadinejad described this as an attempt to
undermine the "values" gained during the war, and said this revealed
the "lack of intelligence, abilities, and commitment."
Hashemi-Rafsanjani also faced accusations of releasing classified
documents, which he rejected.
Creating Candidate Lists
Disputes between the supporters of Mesbah-Yazdi and
Hashemi-Rafsanjani persisted, and differences emerged even in cases
where different political parties planned to back identical lists of
candidates. In Kerman Province, the conservative Tehran Militant
Clergy Association (Jameh-yi Ruhaniyat-i Mobarez-i Tehran), which
recently encouraged Hashemi-Rafsanjani to run, actually prefers
Morteza Aqa-Tehrani, a Mesbah-Yazdi associate who serves in the
executive branch, Aftab reported on October 4. The conservatives are
in full agreement on their other two provincial candidates -- Friday
Prayer leader Ahmad Khatami and Mohammad Ali Movahedi-Kermani,
formerly the Supreme Leader's representative at the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps.
Hussein Jalali, who heads Mesbah-Yazdi's election
headquarters, said on October 7 that groups supporting Mesbah-Yazdi
are springing up "spontaneously," Fars News Agency reported, and
Hashemi-Rafsanjani is not on their list of candidates.
As early as August, meanwhile, there were reports that the
candidacy of younger associates and students of Mesbah-Yazdi were
being opposed by the Qom Seminary Lecturers Association. Hussein
Marashi, spokesman for the center-right Executives of Construction
Party, alluded to this phenomenon when he said, "the Assembly of
Experts will not be the stage for the parading of unknown people,"
"Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 16. Some of the older
cleric's "proteges" are educated at second-tier Western
universities and are "seemingly modern," and they will try to hide
their connection with Mesbah-Yazdi when they register, "The New York
Times" reported on September 25.
The more pro-reform parties are working to create joint
election lists, too. Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karrubi, who created the
National Trust Party after losing in the first round of what he
claims was a flawed and fraudulent 2005 presidential election, said,
"Our list will be 90 percent in common with the list of other
reformist groups," "Etemad" reported on September 26. He went onto
say that a reformist election headquarters is being created, and
added that such cooperation should continue beyond the election
itself. He noted that usually the groups out of power come together
before elections, but because they do not have a broader plan,
differences emerge between them after they win and they forsake many
opportunities.
The secretary-general of the reformist Islamic Iran
Participation Party, Mohsen Mirdamadi, said his organization will
back the candidates of the Militant Clerics Association (Majma-yi
Ruhaniyun-i Mobarez), "Ayandeh-yi No" reported on September 30.
Vetting Candidates
After prospective candidates finish registering, the
Guardians Council will have 30 days -- from October 15 to November 15
-- to examine their qualifications. During this time, candidates will
be examined on their ability to perform Koranic interpretation (known
as ijtihad, this is the highest form of Islamic learning). Successful
candidates will have 14 days to campaign -- from November 30 to
December 13.
The hard-line bias of the Guardians Council -- the six
clerical members that are appointed by the Supreme Leader and the six
jurist members that are selected by the Judiciary chief, another
appointee of the supreme leader -- has angered Iranians since the
early 1990s. Not only does the council vet candidates and reject
those whose political tendencies it finds questionable -- even if
they are incumbents -- but it also overturns the results in cases
where the outcome is not to its liking.
The council's spokesman, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai, said on
October 9 that factionalism will not affect the screening process,
Mehr News Agency reported. The head of the council, Ayatollah Ahmad
Jannati, signed up as a candidate on October 10. He has previously
rejected suggestions that there is a conflict of interest.
The Interior Ministry runs elections, and the logistics of
this year's race pose particular difficulties. That is because
polling for the Assembly of Experts competition takes place at the
same time as polling for municipal councils and for parliamentary
by-elections in Ahvaz, Bam, and Tehran.
Interior Minister Mustafa Purmohammadi said on October 2 that
this will require approximately 60,000 ballot boxes for the Assembly
of Experts race, another 60,000 for the municipal councils, and
10,000-15,000 for the parliamentary by-elections, state radio
reported.
The Interior Ministry's fundamentalist political
tendencies worry the reformists. The background in military and
intelligence agencies of Purmohammadi, his deputy Mohammad Baqer
Zolqadr, and many appointees to governor-generalships caused a
parliamentary uproar, and the newest appointment to the ministry has
not calmed any concerns. Ahmadinejad appointed his adviser, the
secretive Mujtaba Hashemi-Samareh, as deputy interior minister for
political affairs in late September. On October 1, Hashemi-Samareh
was put in charge of the election headquarters.
The way in which all these conflicting elements interact and
the ultimate outcome is unclear, as more than two months remain
before Iranians go to the polls. The activities of the Assembly of
Experts have little impact on Iranians' daily lives, and its
biannual meetings take place behind closed doors. Therefore, people
have little motivation to vote in the election and turnout could be
relatively low. For the initial municipal council elections in 1999,
turnout was high (64 percent), as voters thought the local bodies
could substantively improve their day-to-day lives. The councils did
not fulfill their potential, however, so turnout was lower (49
percent) in the second election in 2003.
Regardless, holding the two elections simultaneously could
boost overall turnout figures. As the fundamentalists will be running
the elections and they have already demonstrated an ability to pack
the polling places and the ballot boxes, it is not unreasonable to
expect tremendous voter enthusiasm, as there was in the second round
of the 2005 presidential election. (Bill Samii)
SENIOR CLERIC IN TABRIZ DISMISSES SEPARATISM. Fars quoted the Iranian
supreme leader's representative in the East Azerbaijan Province,
Ayatollah Mohsen Mujtahid-Shabestari, as telling a congregation in
the town of Tasuj on October 12 that any possible unity between Azeri
speakers in Iran and those of Azerbaijan -- across Iran's
northern border -- can take but one form: Azerbaijan's
incorporation into Iran.
He was responding to nationalist seminars held recently in
Baku (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 3 October 2006). Azeri nationalists
have intermittently urged that Iran's Azeri provinces be detached
to form a larger Azeri state. Persia ruled the lands of present-day
Azerbaijan until the early decades of the 19th century, when they
were taken by imperial Russia.
"If there is to be any union, they should join Iran, and it
would be better not to speak of southern and northern Azerbaijan, but
of southern and northern Iran," Fars quoted Shabestari as saying. He
is also the congregational prayer leader in Tabriz, the provincial
capital. "There is [a] smell of plots," he said of the seminars.
"While some people tried [earlier] this year to carry out their
plots, the people [in northwest Iran] gave them a teeth-shattering
response," he said, referring to unrest in May among Iranian
Azeri-speakers (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," May 29, 2006). "The
identity of Iranians will never be undermined, and we obey an
Iranian-Islamic center," he said. (Vahid Sepehri)
JUDICIARY CHIEF WANTS FEWER JAIL TERMS. Judiciary chief Ayatollah
Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi reiterated to a specialist committee in
Tehran on October 10 his contention that Islam does not favor prison
as a punishment, except for dangerous offenders, and deplored the
frequency with which judges send offenders to prison. "There will be
a response to judges handing out jail sentences without any limits,"
Hashemi-Shahrudi told a committee examining means of reducing prison
sentences. "There is no place in Islam for imprisonment as a
punishment for debts." He expressed hope that parliament will approve
the proposed suspension of parts of the present law on financial
offences that include the failure to pay debts. Hashemi-Shahrudi said
he hopes legislators pass the judiciary's proposal "with due
regard for the negative effects of prison on people," IRNA reported.
Islamic laws envisage imprisonment for six crimes, he said, "but in
our present laws, there are about 1,000 penalties involving prison,
and this needs fundamental examination and review." (Vahid Sepehri)
EXILED ACTIVISTS REPORT 111 EXECUTIONS IN IRAN. Iranian Human Rights
Activists in the EU and North America, a coalition of exiled
activists, issued a special report on the state of prisons in Iran on
October 10 to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty,
RFE/RL's Radio Farda reported. The report identifies 111 Iranians
executed in an 11-month period from late September 2005 to late
August 2006. The group says that its report is based on foreign and
domestic news-agency and press reports and that its list may be
incomplete, given the existence of censorship in Iran. In the stated
period, 282 Iranians have been condemned to death in Iran. (Vahid
Sepehri)
LOCAL AUTHORITIES TRY TO EVICT SUFI LEADER. About 300 security forces
in the northeastern Iranian city of Gonabad surrounded the residence
of a prominent Sufi leader on October 10 after he refused an order to
leave his city of birth. Critics call the eviction order the latest
example of official harassment of minority religious groups like
Sufis and dervishes.
Dr. Nurali Tabandeh, also known as Majzub Ali Shah, has said
he has no intention of altering his plans to remain in the city until
October 13.
For more than a century, the leaders of the Nematollahi
Gonabadi dervish order have lived and been buried in Gonabad, in
Iran's Khorasan Province.
Some were forced out of their birthplace following the
establishment of an Islamic republic in Iran and never allowed back.
They included the older brother of the man at the heart of this
latest confrontation, who was himself a leader of the mystic Sufi
tradition.
But Nurali Tabandeh has been returning regularly to Gonabad
from his home in Tehran during the holy month of Ramadan to meet with
followers and pilgrims from all over Iran.
Local website "Mizan" and Sufi sources have claimed
authorities in Gonabad simply ordered Tabandeh to leave, without any
explanation. Some observers have speculated that officials want to
avoid a large gathering of Sufis in the city -- dervishes from all
over the country arrive in Gonabad every year to mark the end of
Ramadan, Id al-Fitr, in Tabandeh's presence.
Farshid Yadollahi, a lawyer and a follower of Tabandeh's
Nematollahi Gonabadi order, is in Gonabad, and he tells RFE/RL that
Tabandeh has vowed that he will remain there -- meeting followers --
until October 13.
Yadollahi says he thinks the authorities' actions are
unlawful.
"Every year [Sufis] from all over Iran, and also from foreign
countries, tourists, and researchers come here," Yadollahi says.
"They come for pilgrimage, there is a pilgrimage site here. It is
truly surprising that someone is in his home -- and he comes here
every year -- but then they come and tell him that he doesn't
have the right to be in his home. This is according to which article
of Iran's constitution?"
There have long been tensions between dervishes -- a
fraternity within Sufi tradition -- and those who favor a more
conservative interpretation of Islam. But Sufi and rights groups say
the harassment of Sufis has significantly increased since hard-line
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad took office in August 2005.
In February, a Sufi house of worship was destroyed in Qom and
hundreds of Sufis were detained. Many were injured in clashes with
security forces.
In May, a court sentenced 52 Sufis and their lawyers --
including Yadollahi -- to jail terms and lashings in connection with
the February incident. Yadollahi was given a five-year ban on
practicing law. An Iranian news agency reported that the demolished
Sufi house of worship was turned into a parking lot.
Mustafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based expert on Sufism and a
representative of the Nematollahi Gonabadi order, says defamatory
articles and religious decrees, or fatwas, targeting Sufism have
appeared in Iran's conservative press in recent months.
One of the latest fatwas was issued by Ayatollah Fazel
Lankarani in the "Jomhuri-yi Islami" newspaper. Lankarani accused
Sufis of misleading Iranian youth.
"It was said in the articles that any contact with Sufis --
particularly with the Gonabadi branch -- is not permitted," Azmayesh
says. "Even participating in their Koran readings is 'haram'
(forbidden to Muslims). The aim is to create pressure and
discrimination against the followers of this order. There was fear
that during the month of Ramadan [authorities] would take such
actions, but no one imagined that they would go that far and show
such disrespect to Dr. Tabandeh Majzub Ali Shah, who is a national
figure, a well-respected judge, and a university professor."
Followers of the Gonabadi orders have told RFE/RL that
several Sufis have been fired from their jobs recently. They also
claimed that others have been discriminated against by state agencies
because of their faith. Sufis say restrictions on their literature
have increased and worship gatherings have been broken up.
In its annual report on religious freedoms in September, the
U.S. State Department alleged growing government repression of Sufi
communities and said Sufi Muslims face a mounting campaign of
"demonization."
Azmayesh tells RFE/RL that, since the February incident,
"repression" of Sufis has continued.
"Shortly after the demolition of the Qom Husseinieh,
Semnan's Friday prayer leader praised it and said, 'We give
10 days to the Gonabadi dervishes in Semnan to evacuate their house
of worship or demolish it, because we want to destroy it
anyway,'" Azmayesh says. "There were attacks against several
homes where weekly prayer meetings of the Gonabadi dervishes were
held -- including one in Luristan. They arrested the homeowners."
Several conservative clerics in Iran have described Sufis as
a "cult" and a "danger to Islam." Critics charge that Sufi teachings
are inconsistent with the spirit of Islam. But Sufis contend that
they are following the true Islam.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth. Sufis
engage in practices such as dance, music, and the recitation of
Allah's divine names in pursuit of a more direct perception of
God.
There are no reliable estimates of their numbers. But lawyer
Yadollahi says Sufi beliefs are becoming increasingly popular in
Iran, to the dismay of the clerical establishment.
"Some of these beliefs do not sit well with these gentlemen
-- they want everyone to think in the same way and believe a single
way," Yadollahi says. "When the establishment tries to impose
religion through force, history has shown that it faces reactions --
people turn away from the religion campaigned for by the state,
especially the youth." (Golnaz Esfandiari)
OUTSPOKEN AYATOLLAH ALLEGES OFFICIAL PERSECUTION. A dissident Iranian
cleric who advocates the separation of religion and politics,
Ayatollah Seyyed Hussein Kazemeyni Borujerdi, is accusing officials
of persecuting him and his followers. Borujerdi claims dozens of his
supporters have been arrested and taken to Tehran's notorious
Evin prison in recent weeks. The ayatollah told RFE/RL that he has
appealed for help from international figures that include the pope
and EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana.
Ayatollah Borujerdi says that in the past 14 years he has
been summoned on numerous occasions to the Special Court for Clergy
and spent months in prison. He claims he still suffers from health
problems stemming from torture he was subjected to in prison.
"I was in prison in 1995 for several months. Then, in 2001, I
was also arrested several times -- they confiscated two of my
mosques," Borujerdi says. "It's ridiculous -- an establishment
that says it is Islamic confiscates an active and open mosque. In
1979, the marjah [source of emulation] at that time, Mr. Golpayegani,
put me in charge of the Hematabad mosque. Only a few people used to
go to that mosque -- but in 2001, when they took it away from me,
many people were coming there. We always faced a lack of space for
prayers."
The Shi'ite cleric says pressure has increased
significantly since the summer, following a gathering he held for his
supporters. He claims that thousands of people attended his June 30
religious meeting in Tehran's Shahid Keshvari stadium.
"About 2 1/2 months ago, there was something similar to a
coup d'etat against me -- because our last meeting was such that
it shook the city and it made the establishment think that if they
don't stop me, then there will be millions of people [supporting
me]," Borujerdi says. "So they began harassing me; they surrounded my
house for two months."
Ayatollah Borujerdi claims that many of his supporters have
also been targeted. He says in recent weeks, more than 100 people
have been arrested and tortured in jail. He says some have been fired
from their jobs, and others have been under pressure to campaign
against him.
Iranian officials have been silent on the topic.
But earlier this week, Amnesty International reported that at
least 41 of Borujerdi's followers were arrested in his courtyard.
The rights group has warned that the cleric could be at risk of
imminent arrest.
The ayatollah says his belief in the separation of religion
from politics and his refusal to support "political religion" have
drawn the ire of Iran's leaders. Iran's Islamic establishment
is based on the principle of "vilayat-i faqih," or the rule of the
Islamic jurist.
Reports have emerged in recent years of other clerics and
dissidents who have criticized the vilayat-i faqih principle being
persecuted in Iran.
They include the late Grand Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari, an
influential Iranian cleric who was placed under house arrest in the
1980s.
Shariatmadari's son, Hassan, lives in Germany. He told
RFE/RL that some 27 years after the establishment of an Islamic
Republic in Iran, many of the country's clerics have realized
that the involvement of religion in politics subjugates religion to
the will of the state.
"The political establishment forces them to accept its
demands and interpret the religion in accordance with the
establishment's needs," Hassan Shariatmadari says. "Most clerics
have realized this, but because of the heavy price of opposition to
the regime, most of them do not have the courage to express [that
view] publicly. Ayatollah Borujerdi has been able to express the
demand for the separation of religion from politics very openly -- to
a wide audience and with boldness. This is something that this
establishment doesn't like."
Shariatmadari says he thinks Iran's leadership feels
threatened by Ayatollah Borujerdi because they are concerned that
other clerics could follow his example.
Borujerdi told RFE/RL that the authorities have threatened
him with execution, and told him that the clergy should speak in a
united voice.
Borujerdi has written letters to Pope Benedict XVI and to
Solana noting what he calls the "suspicious death" in 2002 of his
father, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Ali Kazemeyni Borujerdi, who was
also a prominent cleric. He claims Iranian authorities expropriated
the mosque where his father had preached and destroyed his
father's grave.
But Borujerdi remains defiant. "I demonstrate that real Islam
is free of political ornaments," he says. "It is included in verses
whose interpretation is different than that provided by [the
authorities]. Its interpretation is from 1,428 years ago. It is about
the rule of the Prophet [Muhammad] and how he lived; he was against
repression and opposed discrimination. Our divine leaders took food
from their mouths and the mouths of their children to give it to the
poor. Today, unfortunately, despite the immense wealth of this
country, people live in poverty."
Borujerdi says many Iranians have lost faith in religion
because of the worsening economic situation, including high inflation
and unemployment.
He argues that under the shah's regime, people's
faith in Islam was much stronger. He thinks belief in God has
actually fallen victim to Iran's theocracy.
"When people lose their income, they directly blame the
establishment and they become angry at God," Borujerdi says.
"I've said many times that we should help people worship their
God again and make peace with God. Today we are in the month of
Ramadan, [but] many people have turned away from God because of
repression, discrimination, and pressure."
One of the ayatollah's devotees, Hamid, told RFE/RL that
Borujerdi's views and defiance have won him support from Iranians
of different classes.
"Ayatollah Borujerdi has never polluted religion with
politics," Hamid says. "He has not become involved in politics, and
he has always supported the needy. He has always said, 'I'm a
supporter of the wretched.' This is, I think, one of the reasons
for his popularity."
Hamid says he is ready to support the ayatollah even "until
martyrdom." (Golnaz Esfandiari)
AHMADINEJAD ASSESSES FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE... President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad's office has published part of a report outlining his
government's achievements since it took power in summer 2005,
ISNA reported on October 9. The report says the government has sought
to provide equitable opportunities and access to public resources for
all provinces, and focused on "basic, infrastructural works" while
avoiding "habitual controversies" -- a presumed reference to
political quarrels -- ISNA reported. The government made 3,300
decisions in its first year, the report stated. It highlights ongoing
efforts to cut fuel consumption, promote mass transit, subsidize
farmers -- with timely payments for crop purchases -- and steady
house prices. There was a 101 percent increase in "the demand for
public investment" in unspecified projects, the report asserted,
while the government is "currently planning with precision" a
large-scale privatization program pursuant to Article 44 of
Iran's Constitution. The report noted that the value of non-oil
exports rose from $7 billion in the Persian year to March 2005 to
$10.5 billion in the following year, thanks to "conditions provided
by the government and the efforts of exporters," ISNA reported.
(Vahid Sepehri)
....AND STATES IRAN'S SUPPORT FOR HAMAS. President Ahmadinejad
met with Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam in Tehran on
October 12 and said "there are no limits" to the transfer of
Iran's "experiences and achievements in all areas to the popular
Hamas government," Mehr news agency reported. Ahmadinejad urged the
Hamas government to maintain its "principled and revolutionary
positions" to attain the "Palestinian ideal," and he said Palestine
is the front line in the fight between Muslims and "forceful powers."
Siyam said his government is willing to use Iran's experience in
government and home administration.
Siyam met separately with Iranian Interior Minister Mustafa
Pur-Mohammadi, Iranian news agencies reported. Pur-Mohammadi called
for the expansion of formal ties between Iran and the Palestinian
government and said Palestine has evident needs in terms of domestic
security and administration, areas he said "are subject to an intense
attack by the occupying regime of Israel," ISNA reported. (Vahid
Sepehri)
AFGHAN REFUGEES GIVEN DAYS TO LEAVE. The office of the governor of
the northwestern East Azerbaijan Province announced on October 12
that Afghan migrants cannot remain in the province and must within
days present themselves to authorities and "clarify their situation,"
Fars reported. Muhammad Memarzadeh is the provincial governor. His
office issued a statement warning that "the residency or housing of"
Afghans is forbidden in the province from September 23, adding that
the migrants have until October 22 to present themselves to local
authorities so "their identification documents can be examined and
necessary legal decisions taken about them." Failure to do so will
render them illegal aliens to be dealt with by the law, Fars reported
the statement as saying.
Interior Minister Hojatoleslam Mustafa Pur-Mohammadi told a
meeting on the topic of Afghan refugees in Geneva on October 10 that
Iran is concerned by the arrival and presence of thousands of Afghans
in Iran, IRNA reported. Pur-Mohammadi also said reduced international
aid for Afghanistan has prompted "a worrying decline in the process
of return" of Afghans to their homeland. He was addressing the 11th
session of a UN commission on the voluntary repatriation of Afghan
refugees at the invitation of UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Antonio Guterres.
Pur-Mohammadi estimated that there are 950,000 Afghans in
Iran legally, and another 1 million illegally, while "one-third" of
some 590,000 migrants who came to Iran "last year" have not gone
back. He linked the presence of these Afghans to concerns over
terrorism, as well as drug and human trafficking. "This year 14,000
illegal migrants were arrested on the Turkish frontier, most of whom
were Afghans," Pur-Mohammadi said, adding that Iran has tried to act
as a "dam" to this migratory movement. Iran signed five cooperation
agreements with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the end of
the session, committing Iran's Health and Education ministries to
training nursing and health-care staff among Afghan migrants in Iran,
IRNA reported. (Vahid Sepehri)
IRAN SAYS IT WANTS NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT. Government spokesman Gholam
Hussein Elham told reporters in Tehran on October 10 that Iran favors
generalized nuclear disarmament but that North Korea's reported
nuclear test "is to Iran's advantage" because it demonstrates the
peaceful nature of Iran's own program, IRNA reported. Elham said
disarmament should start with the "great powers and especially
America." He said Iran has repeated its commitment to the peaceful
use of nuclear power, and "we are against nuclear and destructive
weapons, and that is our ideology." He added that international
bodies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not
restrict access to peaceful technology for states respecting
nonproliferation regulations. "Nobody in the world is fit to use the
atomic bomb," Elham said, according to IRNA. "We believe all
countries that have this dangerous weapon must be disarmed," he
added, including "dangerous" Israel. Western states want Iran to
abandon fuel making and related activities that could be used to
develop bombs -- a demand that Iran has rejected.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Husseini,
said in Tehran on October 8 that Iran "will not even accept a
day-long suspension" of uranium enrichment -- part of the fuel-making
process -- IRNA reported the same day.
Iran's ambassador in Paris, Ali Ahani, defended
Iran's positions on Middle East politics and its nuclear dossier
at an October 11 news conference in Paris, RFE/RL's Radio Farda
and Guysen Israel News, an Israeli news agency, reported. Ahani spoke
in the Maison de Radio France at the invitation of the Club de la
Presse Arabe. He ignored an Israeli journalist who asked whether
"your atomic bomb" is intended one day to be used against Israel in
the event of a U.S. strike on Iran, guysen.com reported. The
journalist and three others walked out in protest. Ahani said
Iran's refusal to recognize Israel does not mean Iran is "against
Jews. It respects them. We have many in Iran. They have their
representatives and are at ease in Iran." He said Iran does not arm
Lebanon's Hizballah but it does support it as a movement
defending Lebanon's "freedom" against Israeli occupation.
Ahani said Iran's nuclear program is legal but that the
United States, for political reasons, is set on referring Iran to the
UN Security Council for the alleged violation of nonproliferation
principles. "Iran is negotiating for a suitable solution. It needs
neither confrontation nor war," Ahani said. If its dossier is taken
to the Security Council, he added, it "will be obliged to suspend the
implementation" of the UN protocol it has signed to allow close
checks of its installations, guysen.com reported.
President Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the town of Shahriar
outside Tehran on October 11 that Iranians have decided to firmly
defend Iran's "nuclear right," and he denounced "bullying" by
foreign powers trying to curb Iran's nuclear program, agencies
reported. "A few countries are forcefully imposing their wishes when
they have no right to interfere. Even the [UN] Security Council has
no right to interfere," ISNA quoted him as saying. What makes "four
or five countries" consider themselves "the equivalent of the
international community," he asked, presumably referring to permanent
members of the Security Council. Their "frowns" and "empty threats"
cannot block Iran's "progress," he said.
"Why," Ahmadinejad asked, do Western states want Iran to
"halt the fuel cycle? Where is the danger? Are 164 centrifuges more
dangerous than your bomb-making factories.... Why should you have
enrichment activities but not us?" Uranium enrichment could allow
Iran to make nuclear bombs at some stage. Ahmadinejad said the same
day in Robat-Karim that Western claims that if "Iran makes fuel...it
may deviate...and make nuclear bombs" are a pretext to "stop
Iran's progress." He scoffed at threatened sanctions: "They
threaten...we will not give you parts," though "our nation attained
nuclear technology" in spite of existing import restrictions. "Now
you wish to deprive us of parts, let us see where that goes," he
said.
Hassan Rohani, Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator,
urged Western states to "forget the...the Security Council and engage
in serious talks" with Iran to resolve differences over its program,
Fars reported on October 11. Rohani is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei's representative on the Supreme National Security
Council and heads the Expediency Council's strategic research
center. Unconditional talks, he said, could yield "a two-way
solution." He said that "suspension or sanctions are not something
Iran accepts," and advised against pushing the dispute toward "just
two choices, sanctions or suspension," when the West's fear is
bomb proliferation and Iran has repeated "that is not what it wants."
He said Iran has a "solution" if bombs are the only concern, but he
said the United States blocked a previous "formula" approved by
France and Germany allowing enrichment inside Iran. He said Iran
wants self-sufficiency in nuclear fuel. "If the West stops
threatening, there is a very great possibility of reaching an
agreement," he said. (Vahid Sepehri)
**************************************** *****************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
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