Iran Snapshot: Another Grand Ayatollah Launches Major Criticism of Government

In the post-election conflict, this could be a significant statement. It comes from Grand Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili, who declared yesterday:

Without a doubt the experience of the Iranian nation over the past 30 years can be a strong basis for lessons to be taught to the popular movements [in the Middle East]....It is regrettable and sad, however, that what is done by some in the name of defending Islam and Islamic government is against the religion, the law, morality, and human rights, and threatens the spirit of justice, search for the truth, and freedom that must be the basis for any government that is based on Islamic teachings.

No Islamic law allows insults and baseless accusations against any person or any group, even if guilt has been proven in a just court. But under the current conditions in the country, we witness that making insults and baseless accusations is becoming a common and widespread process. All sorts of people, with or without authority, allow themselves to insult persons and groups fearlessly and with impunity, without the guilt [of the accused] being proven in a qualified court and sentence decided by it, prosecuting them in advance and even issuing verdicts, while they see themselves as immune from the consequences of such actions. Undoubtedly, this hazard is a fire that, if not controlled, will spread and not only shake the people's trust, but also create chaos in the society and a dark outlook.

It is hoped that the respected officials and the honorable nation of Iran, recalling the Islamic values, will make execution of justice accompanied by kindness, respect, and attention to the religious and lawful rights of the people their top priority; that old friends will make peace; and that the history of [people's] struggle and service [on behalf of the nation] will not be forgotten, in order to prevent the country from becoming a place for both domestic and foreign opportunists.

The challenge to the regime is not an isolated attack. Last weekend, Mousavi Ardebili met with Grand Ayatollahs Bayat Zanjani and Shobeiri Zanjani. Unlike Bayat Zanjani, who has established himself as a vocal critic of the Government, Mousavi Ardebili has been more muted in his public statements while keeping his distance from the Supreme Leader.

A sign of the discomfort for the regime has come in the immediate response of Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the "hard-line" Kayhan newspaper, who has defended his position as a defender of the Islamic Republic against sedition. Shariatmardari said Mousavi Ardebili had been "abused by his associates".