A secular Ayatollah in jail

Religious Equality and Tolerance

by David ET
26-Mar-2009
 

 

Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi is an Iranian Muslim cleric who advocates the separation of religion and government. He first expressed his opposition to the Islamic regime in 1994.

Boroujerdi opposes the theocratic concept of rule or “guardianship” by Islamic jurists. He said Iranians are “tired of the religion of politics and political slogans.” The Iranians “believe that they are loyal to the fundamentals of the true religion and the Prophet’s mission, but they are opposed to the politicization of religion and its exploitation by a group that has nothing to do with true Islam. Islam is the religion of tolerance, forbearance, and mercy, to the point where [the Qur’an] emphasized to us that ‘there is no compulsion in religion.”

Boroujerdi and many of his followers were arrested in Tehran on October 8, 2006, following a clash between police and hundreds of his followers “172 women and 225 men”. Iranian officials charged him with having claimed to be a representative of the hidden Imam, a venerated figure in Shia Islam.

In June 2007, the Special Court for the Clergy pr… >>>

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