عنتری و گله ش ریدند به مملکت و رفتند ... حالا گله روباه ماهر میخواد ریدمان اونها رو آب و جارو کند ! Iran’s president Fereydon - known as " Rohani " rebuilds relations with sidelined clerics By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Not long after Iran’s June election, the president-elect, Hassan Rohani, and outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad both visited the holy city of Qom – home to 50,000 scholars and the biggest centre of Shia scholarship in the Islamic world. While Qom’s senior clergy laid out the red carpet for Mr Rohani, a cleric, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad visited some low-key development projects but did not meet any members of the religious establishment. The welcome Mr Rohani received in Qom reflects the clergy’s relief after eight years of Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s rule, during which they had been sidelined as other conservative institutions, notably the Revolutionary Guards, an elite military unit with vast political and economic interests, saw their influence grow. While the mild-mannered former nuclear negotiator made no promises about reviving the influence of the Qom clerics, Mr Rohani is expected to be more open to them than his predecessor. This could provide a check to the power wielded by the Revolutionary Guards, whose opaque business interests range from imports to oil and gas projects and road construction. During his visit, Mr Rohani sought to reassure the clergy. “The government is determined to have direct contacts with the seminary and senior clergy to bypass problems,” he said, aware of the clerics’ concern about an economy, beset by high inflation and a weakening rial as international sanctions take their toll. Central to the clerics’ fear is that a weaker economy could destabilise a regime that ultimately they support. “The clergy will surely feel more relaxed under the new government,” said Mohammad Ghouchani, an Iranian columnist. Over time, the Qom clergy, once central to the 1979 Islamist revolution, has seen its independence eroded. Previously independent of the central government thanks to regular financial donations from followers, they have become increasingly reliant on central funding. Their support for political leaders including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – whose appointment they had initially challenged – helped legitimise the country’s leaders in the eyes of their religious followers. In return, they received a bigger budget from politicians and the control of some key commodities such as sugar imports. But the increased politicisation of the clerical establishment sullied their reputation. Increasingly Iranians follow those clerics who have distanced themselves from politics: Ayatollah Ali Sistani, based in the Iraqi city of Najaf and Ayatollah Hossein Vahid Khorasani in Qom. Rohani will definitely behave towards the clergy more rationally and may even try to strengthen them - Abolfazl Moussavian, mid-ranking cleric in Qom As the Revolutionary Guards emerged as the country’s leading military, ideological, political and economic force, the influence of the Qom clerics waned further. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, a non cleric who was close to the Revolutionary Guards before he fell foul of the regime, ignored clerics’ rulings that women should not be allowed into football stadiums – though he later changed his mind – and appointed a woman as health minister. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad even appropriated the religious language and imagery of the 12th imam of the Shia, unusual for a non cleric. “The clergy have been undermined [by the regime] in a long, well-planned strategy,” said a reform-minded university professor of politics. “The clergy is respected as a religious institution but those who are drafting Iran’s future [the Revolutionary Guards] and are totalitarian but modern – unlike what many believe – do not see a significant place for the clergy to influence future policies,” a reform-minded journalist said. But in the wake of Mr Rohani’s victory, hopes are high in Qom that his moderate outlook bodes well for the clergy. He gained 63 per cent of all votes cast in the province, and in some villages, according to domestic media, 100 per cent of all votes. “Rohani will definitely behave towards the clergy more rationally and may even try to strengthen them,” said Abolfazl Moussavian, a reform-minded mid-ranking cleric in Qom. “If the clergy tries to gain back their independence and do not let themselves be exploited [by politicians], people will trust them again.”
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 09:57:41 +0000