Widespread Protest and Reaction to Yazdi's 'Insulting' Letter to Shabiri Zanjani

The letter from Mohammad Yazdi, the secretary of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, to Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani, a Shia religious authority, sparked significant reactions on Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6. Among the responses, Ayatollah Mohammad Andlib Hamadani resigned from the Society of Teachers in protest against Yazdi's letter. Following the publication of images from a meeting between Mohammad Khatami and several reformist figures with Ayatollah Musa Shabiri Zanjani in Tehran, Yazdi issued an open letter to this religious authority, urging him to 'observe the dignity of the religious authority.' Yazdi labeled individuals present at the meeting, such as Mohammad Khatami, Mohammad Mousavi Khoeini, Abdollah Nouri, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, and Abdolmajid Maadi Khah, as 'problematic individuals' and warned Shabiri Zanjani in an unprecedented tone that such 'issues should not be repeated.' The secretary of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary also reminded the religious authority to behave in a manner that 'respects and maintains the dignity of the religious authority.' This letter has drawn widespread criticism, particularly for the unusual and 'commanding and vulgar' tone used by one Ayatollah to admonish another religious authority. On Sunday, November 6, the Jamaran news agency reported that Ayatollah Mohammad Andlib Hamadani resigned from the Society of Teachers in protest against Yazdi's letter to Shabiri Zanjani. In his resignation letter addressed to Yazdi, he stated that Yazdi's letter to Shabiri Zanjani had 'removed any doubt' he had about continuing his membership in this society and indicated that his interpretation with Yazdi and his like-minded individuals regarding 'the independence of the seminary and the status of religious authority' lacked 'coordination.' Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also reacted to this letter by tweeting that 'respect for religious authorities is selective; the author of the letter (Yazdi) has a long history in this regard.' Mustafa Tajzadeh, a reformist political activist, tweeted that 'criticizing religious authorities is the right of every citizen, but Mr. Mohammad Yazdi is neither in a position, due to his history and performance, nor in terms of popular support, to dictate to a distinguished and respected scholar. He should know that the era of threatening and intimidating the independence of Shia religious authority is over.' Emad Bahavar, a national-religious political activist, also wrote about this, stating: 'Ayatollah Yazdi told Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani not to let this happen again; this is the true face of the transformation in the structure of the Shia institution after the establishment of political Islam.' Azar Mansouri, another reformist political activist, tweeted that 'when it comes to the point where a threatening letter is written to Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani for a meeting, it shows the defenders of dialogue and national reconciliation are facing significant resistance from opponents and have a difficult path ahead.' Siraj Mirdamadi also wrote: 'Such an extraordinary phenomenon can only be found in the Iranian Shia clergy: Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi wrote to Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani, who is a religious authority, asking why he met with Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, who is himself a cleric and a descendant of an Ayatollah, because he considers his political approach problematic.' Several other reformist activists in social media referred to this letter as 'blatant threats,' 'an insulting letter,' 'a compilation of past grievances,' and 'a sign of desperation and humiliation.' Journalist Mehdi Mahdavi Azad wrote that Yazdi's 'warning' to Shabiri Zanjani means 'Do you remember what we did to people like Montazeri, Kazem Shariatmadari, or even Javadi Amoli? Don't stretch your legs beyond your blanket and don't anger the master. Learn from Makarem Shirazi and Nouri Hamdani.' His reference is to the pressure groups, referred to in the political discourse of the Islamic Republic as 'self-directed forces,' that attacked the office of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri following his critical remarks about Ali Khamenei's performance, leading to his house arrest. The actions of several other reformist clerics and religious authorities residing in Qom, including Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat Zanjani and Ayatollah Yousef Sanei, have also faced severe verbal and physical reactions from these groups in recent years due to their positions close to reformists.