Service Center for Religious Seminaries: 90% of Clergy in Iran are Unemployed

Hassan Rabbani, the head of the Service Center for Religious Seminaries, has reported that 90% of clergy in Iran are unemployed. According to the Hawzah News Agency, Mr. Rabbani stated on Friday, April 23, that '10% of the clergy are employed in an organization' and expressed regret that 'the majority of people only see this 10% and compare all clergy to them.' The head of the Service Center for Religious Seminaries added, '90% of clergy are not employed and do not receive a salary from anywhere. They are only engaged in preaching, studying, and teaching, and have no specific income, living only on a small stipend from tuition fees, which obviously cannot sustain their lives.' Previously, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a Shia source of emulation, described 'students' as 'one of the most deprived segments of society' during a meeting with Hojjatoleslam Rabbani. Mr. Makarem Shirazi emphasized that 'the budgets for the Service Center for Religious Seminaries must be deposited without delay so that this seminary center can provide better and more deserving services to the students.' Another individual who has spoken on this issue is Ali Akbar Rashad, head of the Supreme Council of the Tehran Seminary, who stated in 2014 that 'the lives of students are below the poverty line.' The Service Center for Religious Seminaries was established in 1991 by order of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, with the aim of 'providing the minimum living standards for the clergy and students.' In 2010, it was announced that this center provides various welfare and economic services to '160,000 Iranian and non-Iranian students.'