Representative of the Leader in the IRGC: We Must Prepare the Ground for People to Enter Paradise

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reacted to Hassan Rouhani's remarks that "the choice of paradise and hell is in the hands of the people," stating that one of the duties of a religious government is to prepare the "ground" for people's entry into paradise. According to ISNA, Ali Saeedi said on Wednesday, September 8, in Kerman, without mentioning Hassan Rouhani's name, that one should not create "hell" for the people with "a series of actions." Saeedi added that "some gentlemen say that people should not be forced into paradise, but in response to these individuals, it must be said that we must prepare the ground for people to go to paradise." Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on Tuesday evening, September 7, in a television program that "we believe that the choice of paradise and hell is in the hands of the people." Rouhani further stated that "no one can be forced onto the path of guidance; everyone must be encouraged," and "binding someone's hands and feet and saying you must pray, and if you don't, we will whip you, is not acceptable." He added, "We must guide society. The people themselves must choose the path of guidance or, God forbid, the path of misguidance, and we must assist the people on the path of guidance." However, Ali Saeedi criticized Rouhani's statements and responded by saying, "The realization of divine authority, the reference for explaining Sharia, the axis of realizing a monotheistic government, and the preservation of Sharia are among the duties of leadership." This cleric close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added that "we have responsibilities in the worldly system and must prepare for the emergence, and we must both develop our nation and country and prepare for the resurrection." Hassan Rouhani also criticized interventions in people's lives on Khordad 3, 1393, stating that "people cannot be sent to paradise by force and whip" and "the people themselves choose the way to paradise." These remarks by the Iranian president at that time also faced criticism and protests from a group of conservative clerics, leading to fierce attacks against him. Ahmad Khatami, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, and Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, were among the clerics who reacted to the Iranian president's remarks and attacked him. Alamolhoda stated in his Friday prayer sermon on Khordad 9, 1393, in Mashhad that "whipping is easy; we will stand firmly against anyone who intends to prevent people from going to paradise." Ahmad Khatami also said in his Friday prayer sermon in Tehran that "the mission of a religious government is to clear the road to paradise; its duty is to pave the way for people to become heavenly." Following the increase in such attacks against Rouhani, he accused his critics on Khordad 22 of that year of being backward and thinking in the Stone Age. The Iranian president added, "Is someone supposed to put culture in a capsule and write a prescription for us to buy it from a pharmacy? It seems some people still think in the Stone Age." Over the past four years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani have criticized each other in several separate speeches, either implicitly or explicitly. Despite Rouhani's victory in this election cycle and the defeat of conservatives, the volume of criticism and attacks against his government has not diminished.