Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi, secretary-general of Qom Researchers and Seminary Teachers declared that the issue of leadership of a senior cleric referred to as “Velayat Faghih” in Islamic Republic constitution can be very well put to a referendum and even the late leader of the 1979 Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini would have agreed with such a referendum.
He stressed that Islam cannot be established on dictatorship and it has to be based on the will of the people.
Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi told Iran’s labour news agency, ILNA that although in theological terms, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, believed in “Velayat Faghih”, from a political standpoint he believed that it must be the choice of the people.
He added: “If the Imam were alive today and some people were to tell him that due to post-Revolution generational developments in society, the majority are probably no longer in favour of “Velayat Faghih” and we want to gauge the support of people at this time, the Imam would have agreed with a referendum.”
