Imam Sadiq University During the Presidency of Sadegh Larijani

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has entrusted the highest policymaking position of Imam Sadiq University, traditionally held by the Kani brothers, to one of the Larijani brothers. In a decree published on the official website of Mr. Khamenei, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Saeed Mahravi Kani, Alireza Amini, Ahmad Vaez, Abbas Mousavian, Mostafa Mirloohi, Ala Mir-Mohammad-Sadeghi, Ali Rezaian, and Hadi Homayoun have been appointed by the leader of the Islamic Republic as members of the Board of Trustees of the 'Society of Imam Sadiq'. This institute is the upper body and policymaker of Imam Sadiq University, and Mr. Khamenei wrote in his decree that Sadegh Amoli Larijani will now be 'at the forefront' of it. Sadegh Amoli Larijani currently also heads the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. He is one of the five Larijani brothers, one of whom, Ali, heads the legislative branch or the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and another brother, Mohammad Javad, is the head of the Human Rights Headquarters of the judiciary. Saeed Peyvandi, an assistant professor of sociology in Paris and an education expert, believes that Amoli Larijani's appointment as the highest authority of Imam Sadiq University 'will certainly not improve the situation in this university, if it does not make it worse.' Mr. Peyvandi, referring to Sadegh Amoli Larijani's history and performance as head of the judiciary, told Radio Farda: 'Just as we did not witness any positive transformation with his arrival in the judiciary, we will not see such a change in Imam Sadiq University either.' The head of the judiciary has now taken on a new responsibility that was previously held for years by Mohammad Reza Mahravi Kani. Mr. Mahravi Kani took over the presidency of Imam Sadiq University shortly after its establishment in 1982. As stated on the university's website, the initial idea of forming 'an Islamic university' occurred to several opponents of the Pahlavi monarchy before the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The closure of universities across the country from 1979 to 1983, following a movement known as the Cultural Revolution, created the opportunity for the establishment of Imam Sadiq University. Thus, a place that was previously dedicated to the Center for Management Studies of Iran, affiliated with Harvard University, was led by Gholam Reza Pahlavi, the brother of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and was supposed to train the country's managers and experts, has now transitioned to Islamists who aim to 'train competent and committed managers to take responsibility in the Islamic Republic.' Mohammad Javad Tondgouyan, the oil minister in Mohammad Ali Rajai's cabinet, who was killed in the war with Iraq, was a graduate of the Center for Management Studies of Iran, affiliated with Harvard University. The choice of the name 'Management' for the bridge opposite this university is due to the historical background of Imam Sadiq University before the 1979 revolution. After the revolution, however, Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Imami Kashani, Ali Moshkini, Ebrahim Amini, and Hossein Ali Montazeri were among the founding members and initial trustees of this university, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the then-leader of the Islamic Republic, appointed Mr. Montazeri as the custodian of the university. The custodianship and presidency of Imam Sadiq University and its endowments were permanently entrusted to Mohammad Reza Mahravi Kani during the presidency of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Following Mr. Mahravi Kani's death in late October 2014, Mohammad Baqer Baqeri Kani, his brother who had been the deputy of his brother at Imam Sadiq University for years, took over the administration of this university. Mr. Baqeri Kani is the father of Misbah al-Huda Baqeri Kani, known as Misbah Baqeri, who is married to Hedi Khamenei, one of Ayatollah Khamenei's two daughters. Ali Baqeri, a member of the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiation team with global powers when Saeed Jalili led this team, is another child of Mr. Baqeri Kani. All these individuals are graduates of this university. However, it seems that even a close family relationship with the Khamenei family could not persuade the leader of the Islamic Republic to entrust the presidency of the Board of Trustees of Imam Sadiq University to the brother of its deceased president. In Ayatollah Khamenei's decree for the new Board of Trustees of Imam Sadiq University, he emphasized the importance of this university in the Islamic Republic system as 'one of the most important centers for the promotion of Islamic knowledge and the transformation of human sciences.' Mr. Peyvandi refers to Imam Sadiq University as 'the first attempt to Islamize universities after the revolution' and states: 'This university is supposed to train the main cadres of the Islamic Republic. Such institutions also exist in other countries.' According to this assistant professor in Paris, Imam Sadiq University 'represents the ideological and religious orientation of the conservative faction of the Islamic Republic both in student selection and in providing educational services, and the composition of its board of trustees and academic bodies indicates that this university has less connection with modern universities today.' Imam Sadiq University is known for its strictness in selecting its students, professors, and executive staff. The university's website names selection as 'the most important driving or inhibiting factor' and states that Imam Sadiq University 'since it is a purposeful entity established for a specific mission and goal, must logically pursue the selection and choice of the best to achieve specific objectives.' At this university, not only are classes for male and female students separate, but even their university locations differ. The 'belief qualification' of the student and their family must be verified for selection. Imam Sadiq University uses its own specific methods to achieve this goal. The official website of Imam Sadiq University states that this university is 'not merely an academic environment.' This university declares its 'mission' as 'the education and development of human knowledge based on the teleological creation, divine teachings, and Islamic knowledge and sciences' and states that 'in the teachings of Islam and the school of Imam Sadiq, which is its pure manifestation, there is a hidden capacity and comprehensiveness that, by discovering, explaining, and applying it, a great transformation can be brought about in human sciences and especially in human and social sciences.'