Senior Clerics Who Said No to the Islamic Republic

Clerics form one of the foundations of the Islamic Republic's government, but among them, some prominent clerics and religious authorities did not participate in the 58 referendum, and some expressed regret shortly after voting, distancing themselves from the government's actions. Ayatollah Khomeini had stated that people were free to vote positively or negatively for the Islamic Republic, while labeling those who voted negatively as 'a bunch of adventurers and ignorant of God.' Those who said no to the Islamic Republic include Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Tabatabai, known as Allameh Tabatabai, the author of Tafsir al-Mizan, who did not participate in the referendum. Ayatollah Tabatabai is highly respected in the official propaganda of the Islamic Republic and is referred to as 'the honor of Shia.' Although he was not very politically active, according to Ebrahim Amini, the former Friday prayer leader of Qom, he signed a letter in protest against land reforms along with figures like Ayatollah Golpaygani, a Shia source of emulation. Ayatollah Khomeini had stated that people were free to vote positively or negatively for the Islamic Republic, while labeling those who voted negatively as 'a bunch of adventurers and ignorant of God.' Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Tabatabai, known as Allameh Tabatabai, did not participate in the referendum. Ayatollah Tabatabai is highly respected in the official propaganda of the Islamic Republic and is referred to as 'the honor of Shia.' Although he was not very politically active, according to Ebrahim Amini, the former Friday prayer leader of Qom, he signed a letter in protest against land reforms along with figures like Ayatollah Golpaygani, a Shia source of emulation. Allameh Tabatabai, alongside some prominent clerics of the Islamic Republic, including Mohammad Reza Tavasoli, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Hassan Lahouti, and Mohammad Yazdi, had a relationship with Ayatollah Khomeini that was not warm even in personal matters before the revolution. According to reports, even when he was a tenant of Ayatollah Khomeini and his rent was delayed for several months, Ayatollah Pasandideh, Khomeini's brother and representative, did not accept an extension of the deadline, and Ayatollah Tabatabai vacated the house. Najmeh Sadat Tabatabai, Ayatollah Tabatabai's daughter and wife of Ali Ghoddusi, confirmed this story but provided another account, stating that Ayatollah Khomeini had sent him a message offering to let him live in the house and pay his rent 'from Imam's share,' but Ayatollah Tabatabai did not use such funds and vacated the house. According to Mohsen Kadivar, a religious researcher, Ayatollah Tabatabai also stated during a meeting with a group who visited him to express condolences after the assassination of Ali Ghoddusi, the prosecutor general of the revolution and his son-in-law, that this revolution had 'one true martyr' who was 'murdered unjustly, and that was Islam.' However, Mohammad Hossein Ghoddusi, Ayatollah Tabatabai's grandson, denied this account, stating that he had a 'clear and obvious divergence in political matters' with Ayatollah Khomeini. Ayatollah Reza Sadr, the brother of Imam Musa Sadr, was also among the prominent clerics who did not vote for the Islamic Republic. Reza Sadr taught philosophy in the seminary and stated that Ayatollah Khomeini advised him during a meeting in Najaf to continue teaching philosophy despite the opposition. He was supposed to have prayers said over his body according to Ayatollah Shari'atmadari's will, but this cleric's body was secretly buried, and Ayatollah Reza Sadr was detained for one day. Ayatollah Sadr recorded these events in a detailed writing titled 'In the Prison of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist.' Reports indicate that he had asked Ayatollah Khomeini to declare a republic, not an Islamic Republic, arguing that 'the Islamic Republic, in any form it governs in the future, will have many dissatisfied people, and these will be dissatisfied with Islam, so the Islamic Republic is detrimental to Islam.' According to this writing, he was critical of the actions of revolutionary courts, compulsory hijab, and the creation of Hezbollah in Lebanon. He passed away in November 1994 at the age of 76. Ayatollah Ahmad Khansari, a cautious cleric, also reportedly did not vote for the Islamic Republic. Ayatollah Montazeri described Ayatollah Khansari by saying that his critics would jokingly say, 'If you write only 'There is no god but Allah' on a piece of paper, he would not sign it.' Ayatollah Khomeini and his students criticized this cleric for not participating in political activities. However, numerous accounts have been reported from Islamic Republic officials that their associates asked this cleric to intercede for them with the government, and he did so. Ayatollah Khomeini's wife also stated that after Khomeini's exile to Turkey and his lack of news, Fazlollah Khansari, Ayatollah Khansari's son-in-law, 'managed to obtain permission from the regime to visit the Imam.' However, these intercessions turned against Ayatollah Ahmad Khansari after the revolution, and clerics close to Ayatollah Khomeini created a negative atmosphere against him. Sadegh Khalkhali recounted that he, Mohsen Rafighdoost, and Hadi Ghaffari, when this Shia cleric and his son Jafar went to see Ayatollah Khomeini at the Refah School, blocked the entrance for his son, and when he reached Ayatollah Khomeini and realized this, he ended the greeting and left. This cleric passed away in 1984. The Mojtahed Zanjani brothers, Abolfazl and Seyyed Reza, likely did not participate in the Islamic Republic referendum and certainly opposed the Islamic Republic from the beginning. According to journalist and seminary teacher Ali Ashraf Fathi, 'Both brothers were in a position in jurisprudence and principles that they could easily have become prominent Shia clerics.' Their father, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Mojtahed Zanjani, was one of the most prominent constitutionalist clerics in Zanjan. Abolfazl Mojtahed Zanjani was the first Imam of the Hosseiniyeh Ershad, the Imam of the famous Eid al-Fitr prayer in 1977 in the Qitarieh hills, and a member of the 'Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights.' Reza Mojtahed Zanjani, the younger brother, was also a central figure in the 'National Resistance Movement' formed after the fall of Mossadegh's government. He also prayed over Mossadegh's body. The Zanjani brothers, along with clerics like Ayatollah Mirza Ali Razavi Qomi and Mahmoud Taleghani, established an organization called 'Tehran Scientific Society,' which is considered the first organization in the history of clerical activities in the capital. These two brothers did not take political positions after the 1979 revolution. Abolfazl Mojtahed Zanjani stated that despite his revolutionary background, he preferred not to participate in 'such turmoil and chaotic situations where the other side is not visible.' In September 1980, he published a statement that Mohsen Kadivar called a 'complete treatise' about 'the deviation of the revolution.' This Shia cleric, in this statement, severely criticized 'fabricating cases' against people, 'thought control,' the actions of revolutionary courts, the closure of universities, and the confiscation of people's property, citing historical examples from the Prophet and Shia Imams. He also wrote that the guardianship of the jurist means 'absolute and unlimited government is an unfounded claim.' Abdul Karim Mousavi Ardebili, the head of the Supreme Court and, in other words, the head of the judiciary at the time, stated that after the publication of this statement, he asked the leader of the Islamic Republic about how to deal with Abolfazl Mojtahed, and Ayatollah Khomeini said, 'Do not deal with him.' Reza Mojtahed Zanjani also wrote a harsh letter criticizing the government's actions a year later. He passed away on January 3, 1984, and was buried amid the slogans of 'Death to the hypocrite' from Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters in the shrine of 'Hazrat Masoumeh' in Qom. According to some reports, Abolfazl Mojtahed Zanjani held weekly meetings at his home, attended by figures like Mehdi Bazargan and Yadollah Sahabi. However, Mohsen Kadivar wrote that he faced restrictions similar to house arrest. He passed away in 2001. Morteza Haeri Yazdi, son of 'Ayatollah the Founder,' was closely related to Ayatollah Khomeini, and his daughter was married to Mostafa Khomeini. However, he opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's methods of struggle and the killing of people in protests from the beginning.