The Intersection of Religion and Corruption in a Theocratic Government

When the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist becomes a tool for allocating national resources (under the title of public properties) to the Shia clergy and for gaining privileges by clerics and ideologues, it is natural that other citizens will also use this model to justify corruption or evade the legal consequences of corruption. Corruption and abuse of power in today's Iran are systematic, institutionalized, and structural. Corruption has taken root in all dimensions and areas of the country to the extent that without corruption, the Islamic Republic would lose its power to continue its existence, and society would be stalled in many functions. Corruption has become inevitable in the Iran under the Islamic Republic. The impact of this situation can also be observed in the religious affairs of society. There is no area of religious affairs that has not been infiltrated by corruption. The religious bureaucracy in Iran, which is completely under the control of the government, is both complicit in corruption and benefits from it. The Endowments Organization itself is one of the main centers of land grabbing in the country. Religious seminaries have all become addicted to the opaque resources of the Leader's House, and many of them are engaged in money laundering. Mosques have turned into the main centers for document forgery and fraud by Basij members. Friday prayer committees are centers for favoritism and bribery. In this regard, I will mention a few examples. The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is the most opaque, unaccountable, and unrestricted institution, and therefore the most corrupt institution in the Islamic Republic. This institution has unlimited wealth at its disposal, which is acquired and allocated based on the exigencies of power. Moreover, this institution holds the most power. The value of the properties under the Imam's Executive Command Headquarters, under the supervision of the Supreme Leader, is estimated to be around 100 billion dollars. The institution that is supposed to guarantee the religious nature of the government and society is the most immersed in corruption. The financial apparatus under Khamenei's Guardianship does not publish even a single page regarding its income and expenditure annually, and this is the best criterion for its corruption. Corruption is fundamentally defined by the lack of transparency of governmental institutions. If the months of Ramadan and Muharram are close to elections, promotional programs and campaigns focus on the events of these times. During Ramadan, candidates host iftar meals to gather votes. With the onset of the first ten days of Muharram, the color of the propaganda slightly changes, and this time candidates enter the competition with political offerings and the establishment of mourning halls and processions, even hiring mourners. Of course, some of the committees (like the Islamic Warriors Committee, which is run by the IRGC and Basij across the country) have programs throughout the year, and these programs are politically directed according to political exigencies. The number of shrines in Iran was about 1,500 in 1978. This figure reached about 11,000 by 2015. Part of the activities of these shrines is related to the economic affairs of their custodians or may be established specifically for such activities. According to the Deputy Minister of Agricultural Jihad, "In the village of 'Anbaj' in the small Lavasanat area, some land grabbers with a new trick are trying to build a shrine in a place where it is not even clear whether a shrine ever existed there." (ISNA, October 19, 2015) The behavioral pattern of land grabbers in some rural areas is such that they select suitable land and, by purchasing a dome and shrine, attempt to establish a new shrine in the village so that they can, under the guise of a religious place and in the name of serving pilgrims, seize the lands in that area and construct commercial and recreational facilities. Some charities, which are primarily religious, are also established to cover up corruption (such as money laundering or obtaining special privileges). A person who has a bank debt of one trillion rials to the defunct Mizan Institution from years ago and has had multiple judicial actions against him in recent years was arrested in November 2015. This major debtor, under the guise of charitable activities and exploiting the gatherings of the third Imam of the Shia in various cities, especially in Isfahan (such as the endowment of one of the prominent Husseiniyahs in Isfahan), has sought to gain a favorable reputation and has successfully obtained large loans and delayed payments for several years due to the resulting favoritism. (Election, November 2, 2015) Spending IRGC and Ministry of Interior resources on religious tourism is a clear example of the abuse of power and corruption. Every year during the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq, the IRGC spends tens of millions of dollars on pilgrims (religious tourists) in Iraq to politically exploit this pilgrimage by burning the flags of the United States and Israel. According to the Deputy Minister of Security and Law Enforcement in 2015, 1.3 million people went to Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage (although the government has a habit of exaggerating these figures). (Tasnim, December 8, 2015) At the same time, Hossein Salami, the deputy head of the IRGC, says: "The IRGC is ready to serve the pilgrims day and night... The IRGC is fully engaged in providing services to the pilgrims and has established a 6,000-person camp at the Mehran border, a field hospital, and is preparing hundreds of transportation vehicles at all hours of the day and night to ensure the comfort of these dear ones." (Fars, December 7, 2015) IRGC officials do not specify which part of their mission as a military and security organization includes providing services to the pilgrims (which is not limited to medical services). The Deputy Coordinator for Economic Affairs in Ilam Province says: "With the assistance of the Ministry of Interior and the popular headquarters, 30 tons of chicken, 20 tons of rice, and 2 tons of dates have been distributed among the province's tents." (ISNA, December 12, 2015) It is unclear how the Ministry of Interior has included providing services to pilgrims in its responsibilities. In no part of this ministry's duties are such services mentioned. These actions are essentially government extravagance for activities that members of the ruling caste are involved in outside of their work environment.