Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri Condemns Iran Election Fraud
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Elections, Iran
In a strong rebuke to the current regime, one of the most powerful clerics in Iran issues the following…
In the name of GodPeople of Iran
These last days, we have witnessed the lively efforts of you brothers and sisters, old and young alike, from any social category, for the 10th presidential elections.
Our youth, hoping to see their rightful will fulfilled, came on the scene and waited patiently. This was the greatest occasion for the government’s officials to bond with their people.
But unfortunately, they used it in the worst way possible. Declaring results that no one in their right mind can believe, and despite all the evidence of crafted results, and to counter people protestations, in front of the eyes of the same nation who carried the weight of a revolution and 8 years of war, in front of the eyes of local and foreign reporters, attacked the children of the people with astonishing violence. And now they are attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and Scientifics.
Now, based on my religious duties, I will remind you :
1- A legitimate state must respect all points of view. It may not oppress all critical views. I fear that this lead to the lost of people’s faith in Islam.
2- Given the current circumstances, I expect the government to take all measures to restore people’s confidence. Otherwise, as I have already said, a government not respecting people’s vote has no religious or political legitimacy.
3- I invite everyone, specially the youth, to continue reclaiming their dues in calm, and not let those who want to associate this movement with chaos succeed.
4- I ask the police and army personals not to “sell their religionâ€, and beware that receiving orders will not excuse them before god. Recognize the protesting youth as your children. Today censor and cutting telecommunication lines can not hide the truth.
I pray for the greatness of the Iranian people.
This comes on the heels of other Ayatollahs saying the same thing.
I genuinely don’t know what effect this will have on the situation, but this guy was once in line to assume the top spot, so his word definitely carries some weight.
More as it develops…
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 and is filed under Elections, Iran. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I think this strengthens the point I made here. The mullahs are interested in preserving their power, not the particular means by which they do so.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Thanks, I haven’t seen this reported by any of the major media outlets.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Very disturbing images in Iran!
Warning this maybe too graphic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtVEYcWszMs
June 17th, 2009 at 4:53 am
new letter from Montazeri : http://kojayi.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/ayatollah-montazeri-issues-a-fatwa
June 17th, 2009 at 6:03 am
So when you have one “religious leader” saying God wants you to do one thing and another “religious leader” saying God wants you to do something else, is there any hope for any real improvement? The more I read about the elections, the bigger the waste of time they seem to be. Nothing is really going to change until they get rid of the mullahs.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri,
Your insight & deep devotion are a beautiful inspiration to those of us Christians who want peace & understanding with Islam. May your words bring comfort & harmony to your people & a just & Peaceful resolution to this electoral mishap. Thank-you.
Bob Lippman
June 21st, 2009 at 9:51 pm
The Iranian clergy are quite diverse in their views, particularly on politics. Montazeri, unlike many who have no real knowledge of Iranian history of politics, is not part of the regime. Throwing the word “mullah” ignorantly is of no real use to anyone.
August 8th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
the great words of this hnorable man proves that what is happeningi in iran, is not becasuse of the “mullah” or because of islam. infact, islam needs more leaders like him.people who preach isalm in the right and correct way and not use it for political purpoes. this is why ayotollah montazeri is the highest ranking and most knowledgable of all and should be the rightful supreme leader and not khameniei
August 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Unfortunately – in this crisis no matter who wins Iran, democracy and freedom loses…
http://ronmossad.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-endit-doesnt-even-matter.html
Mousavi and Ahmedinejad are cut from the same radical, Islamist cloth.