| Long piece, interview with Montazeri, briefly touches on Short Round. |
Montazeri, who is married to the sister of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini - the leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, presided over the commission which drafted the Iranian constitution. Although he was considered the natural heir to Ayatollah Khomeini, Montazeri was "disinherited" by his brother-in-law and was instead placed under house arrest, up until four years ago, for having criticised the repressive actions in the middle of the 1980s.
Montazeri is considered a conservative with regard to Islam. Politically he can be defined as a pragmatist with great respect for human rights.
| As much as any ayatollah can have! |
He said that "the errors committed by the Islamic Republic and the gratuitous provocations of the current government are the basis for the lack of international trust in our country."
"These errors have brought about an international cohesion that has been manifested in the sanctions against Iran with worrying consequences for the population," Montazeri told AKI.
| "Youse knuckleheads, they're on to us!" |
Montazeri also referred to the charges that that have been levelled against Tehran that it is interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbours, particularly Iraq. "Although it is our duty to help neighbouring countries, with which we share a common faith and culture, and which today are facing difficulties, this help should in no way become interference. In the same way, that great powers should not influence the choices made by developing countries with their economic support," he said.
| Of course, what he means by non-interference is a little different than what you or I mean. |
| We've noticed. Now logically (and I use the word advisedly) you're obligated to take the next step. |
| Maybe it's because they're a bunch of Mad Mullahs™ ... |
The Grand Ayatollah is also the spokesperson for the disaffected of the Iranian population who do not take a positive view of the generosity with which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has lavished aid on certain Middle Eastern movements and Latin American countries. "It is obvious that the Iranian population should not have to pay the price for this lavish aid to other countries and movements," he said, adding that "this winter many parts of the country suffered from the cold and the lack of fuel for heating."
| Something about taking care of one's own first when times are tight. |
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri also hinted at the massive presence of the military and the clergy on the country's political and economic scene, which has been the subject of strong criticism by the reformist forces. "On the interference of the military in political life, I will repeat the statement of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, who said that it is not in the interest of the country or even the armed forces that wear a uniform to put themselves into political games and to align themselves with the parties," he said.
Montazeri is not even in favour of the presence of the clergy in executive roles. "The clergy must keep themselves as far as possible from executive roles and from the centres of power so as not to compromise its role as the spiritual guide of the population," said the Grand Ayatollah.
| That's a more traditional role of Shi'a theology, which is willing to render upon Caear as it were. It was Khomeini who upset that by preaching a more activist theology, so what Montazeri is calling for, in coded language, is a return to the old days where imams preached and secular authorities ran the country. |
Hossein Ali Montazeri is not against the death penalty, which is provided for under Islamic Sharia law, but he is convinced that the Islamic Republic is abusing this law. "The death penalty was provided for bloody crimes and on the request of the relatives of the victim and on other rare occasions, and always if the accused had freely admitted the crime, but in no case if the confession is the consequence of the use of force, of torture or other types of pressures," he said.
As for the practice of stoning, another punishment that has recently been applied by Iranian judges, Montazeri stressed that "the conditions under which such a sentence may be passed are so difficult that it would render this almost impossible."
"To prove the crime of adultery, one needs to listen to four reliable eye-witness testimonies, which is almost impossible," he said. "In no case has Islam allowed the stoning of children by their parents, which unfortunately happened recently when a father stoned his 14-year-old daughter after he suspected her of having a relationship with a man," said Montazeri.