View source for Hussein-Ali Montazeri

{{Short description|Iranian theologian and activist (1922–2009)}}
{{Redirect|Ayatollah Montazeri}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Grand Ayatollah]]
| name                = Hossein-Ali Montazeri
| honorific-suffix    = 
| native_name         = {{No bold|{{Script/Nastaliq|حسینعلی منتظری‎}}}}
| native_name_lang    = fa
| image               = HussainAliMontazeri.jpg
| caption             = Montazeri in 1989
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1922|09|24|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Najafabad]], [[Sublime State of Persia]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2009|12|19|1922|09|24|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Qom]], [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]
| resting_place       = [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine]]
| order               = [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Deputy Supreme Leader of Iran]]
| term_start          = 15 July 1985
| term_end            = 25 April 1989
| 1blankname          = Supreme Leader
| 1namedata           = [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| order2              = [[List of Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams|Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam]]
| term_start2         = 12 September 1979
| term_end2           = 14 January 1980
| appointer2          = [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| predecessor2        = [[Mahmoud Taleghani]]
| successor2          = [[Ali Khamenei]]
| order3              = [[1st Assembly of Experts|Chairman of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution]]
| term_start3         = 19 August 1979
| term_end3           = 15 November 1979
| predecessor3        = ''Position created''
| successor3          = ''Position abolished''
| order4              = [[Assembly of Experts for Constitution|Member of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution]]
| term_start4         = 15 August 1979
| term_end4           = 15 November 1979
| majority4           = 1,672,980 (66.24%)
| constituency4       = [[Tehran Province]]
| spouse              = {{marriage |Mah-Sultan Rabbani|1942}}
| children            = 7, including [[Mohammad Montazeri|Mohammad]]
| website             = {{URL|https://amontazeri.com/|amontazeri.com}}
| party               = [[Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom]]
| nationality         = Iranian
| module              = {{Infobox religious biography
| embed               = yes
| region              =
| education           =
| occupation          = 
| period              =
| notable_works       = 
| era                 =
| language            = 
| religion            = [[Islam]]
| denomination        = [[Twelver]] [[Shia Islam|Shia]]
| jurisprudence       = [[Ja'fari jurisprudence|Ja'fari]]
| creed               = [[Usuli]]
| main_interests      = {{hlist|[[Fiqh]]|[[irfan]]|[[Islamic philosophy]]|[[Islamic ethics]]|[[hadith]]}}
| notable_ideas       = {{hlist|[[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist]]|[[Islamic democracy]]}}
| signature           = 
| signature_alt       = 
| signature_size      = 
| alma_mater          = [[Qom Seminary]]
| post                = [[Qom Seminary]]<br>[[Feyziyeh School]]
| students            = {{hlist
 |[[Abdolkarim Soroush]]
 |[[Emadeddin Baghi]]
 |[[Mohsen Kadivar]]
 |[[Ahmad Ghabel]]
 |[[Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari]]}}
| teacher             = {{ubl
 |[[Hossein Borujerdi]]
 |[[Ruhollah Khomeini]]}}
}}
| predecessor1        = ''Office established''
| successor1          = ''Office abolished''
}}
[[Grand Ayatollah]] '''Hossein-Ali Montazeri'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/grand-ayatollah-hossein-ali-montazeri-1922-2009.html|title=Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri: 1922-2009|website=FRONTLINE - Tehran Bureau|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/dec/20/grand-ayatollah-hossein-ali-montazeri-obituary|title=Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri|first=Baqer|last=Moin|date=20 December 2009|website=the Guardian|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref> ({{langx|fa|حسینعلی منتظری&lrm;}} {{IPA|fa|hosejnæˈliːje montæzeˈɾiː||Fa-ir-montazeri.ogg}}; 24 September 1922<ref>{{cite web| url = http://deskgram.org/khatami.76/taggedin?next_id=1612233350903059978| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180203124457/http://deskgram.org/khatami.76/taggedin?next_id=1612233350903059978| archive-date = 2018-02-03| title = khatami.76 - Instagram Tagged In - Deskgram}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kaleme.com/1391/07/01/klm-113268/|title=یادی از نودمین سالروز تولد آیت الله العظمی منتظری + گاه شمار زندگی ایشان « سایت خبری تحلیلی کلمه|website=www.kaleme.com|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220000214/https://www.kaleme.com/1391/07/01/klm-113268/|url-status=dead}}</ref> – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian theologian, democracy advocate, writer, and [[human rights]] activist. He was one of the leaders of the [[Iranian Revolution]] and one of the highest-ranking authorities in [[Shīʿite Islam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hossein-Ali-Montazeri|title=Hossein Ali Montazeri
|work=Britanica}}</ref> He was once the designated successor to the revolution's leader, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]; they had a falling-out in 1989 over government policies that Montazeri claimed infringed on people's freedom and denied them their rights, especially after the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners|1988 mass execution of political prisoners]]. Montazeri spent his later years in [[Qom]] and remained politically influential in Iran but was placed under house arrest in 1997 for questioning "the unaccountable rule exercised by the supreme leader",<ref name="BBC Profile">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2699541.stm|title=Profile: Iran's dissident Ayatollah|access-date=7 June 2007|work=BBC News|date=30 January 2003}}</ref> [[Ali Khamenei]], who succeeded [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]. He was known as the most knowledgeable senior Islamic scholar in Iran,<ref name=NYTProfile/> a ''grand [[Marja'|marja]]'' (religious authority) of [[Shia Islam]], and was said to be one of Khamenei's teachers.<ref name="NYTProfile" />

For more than two decades, Montazeri was one of the main critics of the Islamic Republic's domestic and foreign policy. He had also been an active advocate of [[Baháʼí Faith]] rights, [[civil rights]], and [[women's rights in Iran]]. Montazeri was a prolific writer of books and articles. He was a staunch proponent of an [[Islamic state]], and he argued that post-revolutionary Iran was not being ruled as an Islamic state.

==Early life and public career==
Born in 1922, Montazeri was from a peasant family in [[Najafabad]],<ref name="NY_rev">{{cite journal|author=[[Christopher de Bellaigue]]|title=Who Rules Iran?|journal=The New York Review of Books|date=27 June 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lebanese paper on Hashemi|url=https://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/1986-11-03-fbis-ash-shiraa-on-mcfarlane.pdf|access-date=16 May 2016|work=Al Shira|date=3 November 1986}}</ref> a city in [[Isfahan Province]], 250 miles south of [[Tehran]]. His early theological education was in [[Isfahan]]. After Khomeini was forced into exile by [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|the Shah]], Montazeri "sat at the center of the clerical network", which Khomeini had established to oppose [[Pahlavi dynasty|Pahlavi]] rule. He became a teacher at the Faiziyeh Theological School. While there he answered Khomeini's call to protest the [[White Revolution]] of [[Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] in June 1963 and was active in anti-Shah clerical circles.<ref>Hiro, Dikip, ''The Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict'', Routledge Chapman and Hall, 1991, p. 151.</ref> He was sent to prison in 1974 and released in 1978 in time to be active during the revolution.<ref name="Mackey">{{cite book|title=The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation|last=Mackey|first=Sandra|author-link=Sandra Mackey|year=1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/iranianspersiais00mack/page/353 353]|publisher=Plume Book|location=New York|isbn=978-0-452-27563-8|url=https://archive.org/details/iranianspersiais00mack/page/353}}</ref> Montazeri then went to [[Qom]] where he studied theology.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Matthiesen|first=Toby|title=Hizbullah al-Hijaz: A History of The Most Radical Saudi Shi'a Opposition Group|journal=The Middle East Journal|date=Spring 2010|volume=64|issue=2|pages=179–197|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mej/summary/v064/64.2.matthiesen.html|access-date=19 August 2013|doi=10.3751/64.2.11|s2cid=143684557|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Iranian Revolution==
{{Main|Iranian Revolution}}
[[File:Hussein-Ali Montazeri in evin prison.jpg|thumb|left|Hossein-Ali Montazeri in [[Evin prison]]]]

Montazeri was known as an Islamic jurist who was made to pay for his liberal-leaning beliefs. He supported a democratic republic as the best form of government; however in his ideal model for government, an Islamic jurist acts as a supervisor and advisor, what he, along with Ayatollah Khomeini, termed as [[velayat-e faqih]]. He was the author of ''Dirasāt fī wilāyah al-faqīh'', a scholarly book advocating the supervision of the administration by Islamic jurists. He believed in the independence of the government and did not accept any executive and policy making role for the Islamic jurist.<ref name="Dabashi">{{cite book|title=Theology of Discontent: The Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran| last=Dabashi|first=Hamid|author-link=Hamid Dabashi|year=2006|pages=424–5|publisher=Transaction Publishers|location=New Brunswick, NJ|isbn=978-1-4128-0516-2}}</ref> Montazeri asserted that the rule of the jurisprudent should not be an absolute rule;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD117106|title=Interview With Grand Ayatollah Montazeri|work=MEMRI|access-date=20 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2699541.stm|title=Iran's dissident Ayatollah|work=BBC News|date=30 January 2003|access-date=20 December 2009}}</ref> instead, it should be limited to the function of advisor to the rulers, who are elected by the people.

In 1979, following the overthrow of the Shah, he played a pivotal role in instituting Iran's new constitution. He was one of the leaders of the movement to replace the democratic and secular draft constitution proposed for the Islamic Republic with one where the supervision of Islamic jurists was recognized. He distributed "a detailed commentary and alternate draft" for Iran's new constitution. It included proposals to specify that [[Twelver]] Shi'ism—and not Islam in general—was the official religion of the state and to state that Islamic jurists should appoint judges with the right of veto over all laws and actions that are against the Islamic principles.<ref name="Bakhash">{{cite book|title=The Reign of the Ayatollahs|last=Bakhash|first=Shaul|author-link=Shaul Bakhash|year=1984|page=[https://archive.org/details/reignofayatolla00bakh/page/79 79]|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-465-06888-3|url=https://archive.org/details/reignofayatolla00bakh/page/79}}</ref> Later he served on the [[Assembly of Experts]] (''Majles-e-Khobregan'') that wrote the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|constitution]] and that implemented many of his proposals.<ref name="Mackey"/>

During this time, Montazeri also served as Friday prayer leader of Qom, as a member of the Revolutionary Council and as deputy to Supreme Leader Khomeini. Khomeini began "to transfer some of his power" to Montazeri, in 1980. By 1983 "all government offices hung a small picture" of Montazeri next to that of Khomeini. In 1984, Montazeri became a grand ayatollah.<ref name=moinobi9>{{cite news|last=Moin|first=Baqer|title=Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/dec/20/grand-ayatollah-hossein-ali-montazeri-obituary|access-date=2 August 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=20 December 2009}}</ref>

Montazeri initially rejected Khomeini's proposal to make him his successor, insisting that the choice of successor be left to the democratically elected Assembly of Experts.<ref name="Brumberg">{{cite book|title=Kayhan, quoted in Reinventing Khomeini: the struggle for reform in Iran|last=Brumberg|first=Daniel|year=2001|page=172|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-07757-4}}</ref> Later, Montazeri relented, and following a session of the Assembly of Experts in November 1985, he was officially appointed Khomeini's successor as Supreme Leader.<ref name=NYTProfile/><ref name="Moin_262">{{cite book|title=Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah|last=Moin|first=Baqer|year=2000|page=[https://archive.org/details/khomeinilifeofay00moin/page/262 262]|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-26490-1|url=https://archive.org/details/khomeinilifeofay00moin/page/262}}</ref><ref name=parsi12>{{cite book|title=Iran: A RevolutIonary RepublIc in TransItIon|publisher=Institute for Security Studies European Union|location=Paris|isbn=978-92-9198-198-4|pages=9–22|chapter-url=http://www.ab.gov.tr/files/ardb/evt/1_avrupa_birligi/1_9_politikalar/1_9_8_dis_politika/Iran_A_revolutionary_republic_in_transition.pdf|author=Rouzbeh Parsi|editor=Rouzbeh Parsi|access-date=27 July 2013|chapter-format=Chaillot Papers|chapter=Introduction: Iran at a critical juncture|date=February 2012|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225191539/https://www.ab.gov.tr/files/ardb/evt/1_avrupa_birligi/1_9_politikalar/1_9_8_dis_politika/Iran_A_revolutionary_republic_in_transition.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some observers believe Khomeini chose him for this role solely because of his support for Khomeini's principle of theocratic rule by Islamic jurists. Khomeini's proposed form of administration called for the most learned, or one of the most learned, Islamic jurists to "rule", and of all those who might be considered a leading Islamic jurist, only Montazeri supported theocracy. In Montazeri's opinion, however the jurist would not act as an absolute ruler, instead,  he would act as an advisor and consultant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2000/sep_2000/montazeri_interview_14900.htm|title=Interview With Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri|work=Iran Press|access-date=20 December 2009|archive-date=6 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306021511/http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2000/sep_2000/montazeri_interview_14900.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Montazeri rajaee.jpg|thumb|Montazeri and [[President of Iran|President]] [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]]]]
<blockquote>Montazeri fell short of the theological requirements of the supreme Faqih. He could not claim descent from the Prophet nor did he possess all the credentials of a revered scholar of Islamic law. His religious followers were few. And he lacked the all-important charisma. His selection had happened for one reason—he was the only one among the candidates for Faqih who totally endorsed Khomeini's vision of Islamic government.<ref name="Mackey"/></blockquote>

In addition, traditionalists did not approve Montazeri's designation as successor due to several reasons, including his problematic persona in Shiite seminaries during the reign of the Shah and his support for [[Ali Shariati]]’s and for [[Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi|Nematollah Salehi Najaf Abadi]]'s works.<ref name=mehdi2012>{{cite web|last=Khalaji|first=Mehdi|title=Supreme Succession. Who Will Lead Post-Khamenei Iran?|url=http://www.metransparent.com/IMG/pdf/mehdi_khalaji_supreme_succession.pdf|work=The Washington Institute|location=Washington DC|format=Policy Focus (No. 117)|date=February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416184302/http://www.metransparent.com/IMG/pdf/mehdi_khalaji_supreme_succession.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2014}}</ref> Montazeri's leadership qualifications were further hurt by not being a [[seyyed]], or descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, traditionally wearing the black turban in Shiite Islam, like Khomeini and Khomeini's successor Supreme Leader Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]].<ref name=reutersprofile>[http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-44878020091221?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 Profile - Montazeri: Architect and critic of modern Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810185830/https://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-44878020091221?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |date=10 August 2018 }} ''Reuters'', 21 December 2009</ref> In the early years of the revolution, he was not as popular as he was in the last two decades of his life. The middle class and elites would mock him in those early years.<ref name=NYTProfile>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/world/middleeast/22ayatollah.html?_r=1&hp|title=Cleric Wields Religion to Challenge Iran's Theocracy|newspaper=New York Times|date=21 November 2009|access-date=21 December 2009|first=Michael|last=Slackman}}</ref>

==Dispute with Khomeini and demotion==

Montazeri was one of [[Ayatollah Khomeini]]'s two favorite pupils. Khomeini trusted Montazeri with important responsibilities and referred to him as "the fruit of his life". Likewise, Montazeri respected and admired Khomeini's "sheer determination and unshakable faith."<ref>{{cite book|title=Montazeri: The Life and Thought of Iran's Revolutionary Ayatollah|year=2003|page=139|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-300-09856-3}}</ref>

[[Mehdi Karrubi]] claims that the tensions between Montazeri and Khomeini began in around October 1986 when Montazeri sent a letter to the latter, criticising and questioning the foundation of the state.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Akhavi|first=Shahrough|title=The Thought and Role of Ayatollah Hossein'ali Montazeri in the Politics of Post-1979 Iran|journal=Iranian Studies|year=2008|volume=41|issue=5|pages=645–666|doi=10.1080/00210860802518301|s2cid=143617528}}</ref> Montazeri's troubles became further evident due to his association with [[Mehdi Hashemi]] who ran an organization out of Montazeri's office which sought to export the Islamic revolution. Hashemi is thought to have embarrassed [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] by leaking information of his connection with the [[Iran-Contra|Iran-Contra affair]]. Subsequently Hashemi was arrested, convicted and executed in September 1987 on charges of counterrevolutionary activities.<ref name="Keddie_260">{{cite book|title=Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution|last=Keddie|first=Nikki R.|author-link=Nikki Keddie|author2=Yann Richard|author2-link=Yann Richard|year=2003|page=260|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-300-09856-3}}</ref>

In November 1987, Montazeri created more controversy when he called for the legalization of political parties, though under strict regulation.<ref name="Moin_277">Moin, p. 277.</ref> He followed this by calling for "an open assessment of failures" of the Revolution and an end to the [[export of revolution]], saying that Iran should inspire by example, not train and arm allied groups.<ref name="Keddie_260"/> Khomeini responded the next February by criticizing Montazeri and a month later called for a meeting of the Assembly of Experts to "discuss him."<ref name="Keddie_260"/>

Things came to a head following the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners|mass execution]] of political prisoners in late summer and early autumn 1988, when Montazeri gave a series of lectures in which he indicated support for a "far more open" policy.<ref name="Moin_279">Moin, p. 279.</ref> In an interview published in ''Keyhan'' in early 1989, he criticized Khomeini in language that is said to have sealed "his political fate":
<blockquote>The denial of people's rights, injustice and disregard for the revolution's true values have delivered the most severe blows against the revolution. Before any reconstruction [takes place], there must first be a political and ideological reconstruction... This is something that the people expect of a leader.<ref name="Moin_279"/></blockquote>

[[File:Hussein-Ali Montazeri And Ali Khamenei.jpg|thumb|Montazeri and later [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] [[Ali Khamenei]]]]
Still worse for him were the publication abroad and broadcast on the BBC of his letters condemning the post-war wave of executions in March 1989.<ref name="Moin_287">Moin, p. 287.</ref> Montazeri also criticized Khomeini's fatwa ordering the assassination of author [[Salman Rushdie]] saying: "People in the world are getting the idea that our business in Iran is just murdering people."<ref name="Wright">{{cite book|title=The last great revolution: turmoil and transformation in Iran|last=Wright|first=Robin B.|year=2000|page=[https://archive.org/details/lastgreatrevolut00wrig/page/20 20]|publisher=A. A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=978-0-375-40639-3|url=https://archive.org/details/lastgreatrevolut00wrig/page/20}}</ref>

On 26 March 1989, Khomeini strongly denounced Montazeri's actions, and two days later announced that Montazeri had resigned his post.<ref name="Dismissal">{{cite web|url=http://www.irvl.net/Translation%20of%20Ayatollah%20Khomeini's%20Letter%20Dismissing%20Montazeri.htm |title=Translation of Ayatollah Khomeini's Letter Dismissing Montazeri |access-date=7 June 2007 |publisher=Iran Virtual Library |work=printed in Abrar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313222514/http://www.irvl.net/Translation%20of%20Ayatollah%20Khomeini%27s%20Letter%20Dismissing%20Montazeri.htm |archive-date=13 March 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Montazeri did not protest, issuing a message concluding, "I ask all brothers and sisters not to utter a word in my support."<ref name="Moin_289">Moin, 289.</ref>

In addition to losing his position as designated heir, Montazeri's title of Grand Ayatollah was withdrawn, publication of his lectures in the 
''[[Kayhan]]'' newspaper and references to him on the state radio were stopped, his portraits were ordered by the then Prime Minister [[Mir Hossein Mousavi]] to be removed from offices and mosques,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/60225/|title=الف - بخشنامه موسوي درباره عكس‌ منتظري/تصویر|last=Behnegarsoft.com|website=alef.ir|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226020034/http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/60225|archive-date=26 December 2009}}</ref> and his security guards were withdrawn. Articles and editorials appeared in various newspapers aimed at "dismantling" Montazeri's "impeccable" revolutionary credentials.<ref name="Moin_290-1">Moin, 290–1.</ref>

According to numerous sources, the amendment to Iran's constitution removing the requirement that the [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] be a [[Marja'|Marja]] was instituted to deal with the problem of the lack of any remaining Grand Ayatollahs willing to accept "illimitable velayat-e faqih".<ref name="Mackey"/><ref name="Moin_293">Moin, 293.</ref><ref name="Roy">{{cite book|title=The Failure of Political Islam|last=Roy|first=Olivier|author-link=Olivier Roy (professor)|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/173 173–4]|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-674-29140-9|url=https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/173}}</ref> However, others said the reason marjas were not elected was because of their lack of votes in the Assembly of Experts. For example, Grand Ayatollah [[Mohammad Reza Golpaygani]] had the backing of only thirteen members of the assembly. Furthermore, there were other marjas present who accepted "illimitable velayat-e faqih".<ref name="RadioFarda">{{cite news|url=http://www.radiofarda.com/Article/2006/12/08/f2_rafsanjani.html|script-title=fa:آیت الله خامنه ای با ولایت فرد مخالف بود|access-date=17 September 2007|work=Radio Farda|date=8 December 2006 |language=fa}}</ref><ref name="Aftab">{{cite web|url=http://aftabnews.ir/vdchmzn23-nkm.html|script-title=fa:توضیحات هاشمی درباره شورای رهبری|access-date=17 September 2007|work=Aftab News|date=7 December 2006|language=fa|archive-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220740/http://aftabnews.ir/vdchmzn23-nkm.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Later dissent and house arrest==
Khomeini died in June 1989 and another cleric, [[Ali Khamenei|Seyed Ali Khamene'i]], was selected by the Assembly of Experts to be the new Supreme Leader. Khamenei had been a high-ranking [[Hojatoleslam]] before Montazeri's removal. His promotion was accepted by many Shi'a,<ref name="Keddie_262">Keddie, 262.</ref> among the exceptions being Montazeri.

In December 1989, Montazeri's supporters in Qom distributed "[[night letter]]s" questioning Khamenei's qualifications to be a [[Marja'|Marja]] e Taqlid ("Source of Emulation"), or in other words, an Ayatollah. In retaliation [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guards]] "detained and humiliated" Montazeri, "forcing him to wear his nightcap rather than his white turban."<ref name="Brumberg"/>

In October 1997, after openly criticizing the authority of Khamenei, Montazeri was placed under house arrest under the pretext of protecting him from hardliners. He was freed from house arrest in 2003<ref name="BBC_release">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2707513.stm|title=Iran releases dissident cleric|access-date=8 June 2007|work=BBC News|date=30 January 2003}}</ref><ref name="FOX News">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/dissident-ayatollah-demands-irans-rulers-be-elected|title=Dissident Ayatollah Demands Iran's Rulers Be Elected|access-date=8 June 2007|publisher=FOX News|date=17 September 2003|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> after more than 100 Iranian legislators called on President Khatami to free him. Some thought that the government lifted the house arrest to avoid the possibility of a popular backlash if the ailing Montazeri died while in custody.<ref name="Keddie_283">Keddie, 283.</ref>

===Criticism of the government===
During the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners]], Montazeri wrote to Khomeini saying "at least order to spare women who have children ... the execution of several thousand prisoners in a few days will not reflect positively and will not be mistake-free ... A large number of prisoners have been killed under torture by interrogators ... in some prisons of the Islamic Republic young girls are being raped ... As a result of unruly torture, many prisoners have become deaf or paralysed or afflicted with chronic disease."<ref>{{cite book |first= Kaveh|last= Basmenji |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0chBQAAQBAJ&q=iran+1988+prison+executions+women+children&pg=PT105 |title=Tehran Blues: Youth Culture in Iran|publisher= Saqui Books |year=2005|isbn=978-0863565823}}</ref>

On 22 January 2007, Montazeri criticized former [[Iranian President]] [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] for his nuclear and economic policies.<ref name="BBC_attack">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6286771.stm|title=Iranian cleric attacks president|access-date=8 June 2007|work=BBC News|date=22 January 2007}}</ref><ref name="USATODAY">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-01-22-iran_x.htm|title=Top dissident cleric slams Ahmadinejad|access-date=8 June 2007|work=USA Today|date=22 January 2007|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

While agreeing Iran had the right to develop nuclear energy, he called Ahmadinejad's approach to the issue aggressive, saying, "One has to deal with the enemy with wisdom, not provoke it, ... his (provocation) only creates problems for the country"<ref name="USATODAY" /> and asked, "Don't we have other rights too?" referring to individual and human rights.<ref name="BBC_attack"/> Montazeri also criticized Iran’s economic performance under Ahmadinejad's administration, noting the rate of inflation—including a 50% increase in housing costs<ref name="BBC_attack"/>—and arguing that a country cannot be run on "slogans".<ref name="RFERL">{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/e984327d-c92b-4a08-b9cc-c4c903d8f5ae.html|title=Iranian Dissident Cleric Criticized Ahmadinejad|access-date=8 June 2007|publisher=Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty|date=22 January 2007|agency=The Associated Press}}</ref>

Montazeri, in a 2008 interview with [[Voice of America]] concerning the 29th anniversary of the revolution, stated that the revolution had given Islam a bad name, arguing "Unfortunately, it is only by name that the revolution remains Islamic. Its content has changed, and what is taking place in the name of Islam gives a bad image of the religion. This is the religion of kindness and tolerance."<ref>{{cite news|title=Persian TV weekly highlights|url=https://ir.voanews.com/a/a-31-2008-02-19-voa20-62768327/635240.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903170600/http://ir.voanews.com/content/a-31-2008-02-19-voa20-62768327/635240.html|url-status=live|archive-date=3 September 2014|access-date=4 August 2013|work=Voice of America|date=19 February 2008}}</ref> He also issued a statement in 2008 in support of the rights of the [[Persecution of Baháʼís|persecuted Baháʼís]] in the Islamic Republic, saying that though Baháʼís were not [[People of the Book]] like [[Jew]]s, [[Christians]] and [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], nonetheless: <blockquote> "[T]hey are the citizens of this country, they have the right of citizenship and to live in this country. Furthermore, they must benefit from the Islamic compassion which is stressed in [[Quran]] and by the religious authorities."<ref>[http://www.mideastyouth.com/2008/05/22/ayatollah-montazeri-proclaims-bahais-citizens-of-iran/ Ayatollah Montazeri proclaims bahais citizens of iran] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120904164856/http://www.mideastyouth.com/2008/05/22/ayatollah-montazeri-proclaims-bahais-citizens-of-iran/ |date=4 September 2012 }} Middle East Youth, 22 May 2008</ref></blockquote>

Montazeri again spoke out against Ahmadinejad on 16 June 2009 during the [[2009 Iranian election protests|protests]] against his reelection. Ahmadinejad was controversially reelected as president after a closely contested and disputed race, which involved many candidates, but whose front-runners were Ahmadinejad and former Prime Minister [[Mir Hossein Mousavi]]. The government reported that Ahmadinejad had won the election with 62 percent of the vote. Montazeri stated that "No one in their right mind can believe" the results were fairly counted.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Warren P. |last1=Strobel |first2=Jonathan S. |last2=Landay |title=Iran's Senior Ayatollah Slams Election |work=McClatchy Newspapers |date=16 June 2009 |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/70155.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620062222/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/70155.html |archive-date=20 June 2009  }}</ref>  Montazeri called for three days of public mourning for the [[death of Neda Agha-Soltan]] and others killed during 20 June protests. He further declared that the then current ruling government was neither Islamic nor a republic, but military.<ref name=Guardian1>{{cite news|title=Funeral of Iranian cleric Montazeri turns into political protest|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/21/iran-funeral-ayatollah-montazeri-protest|work=The Guardian|date=21 December 2009}}</ref><ref name=mic21sep>{{cite news|last=Theodoulou|first=Michael|title=The Grand Ayatollah unleashes his wrath|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/the-grand-ayatollah-unleashes-his-wrath|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=The National|date=21 September 2009}}</ref> In November 2009, on the day before the 30th anniversary celebration of the [[Iran hostage crisis]], Montazeri said that the occupation of the American embassy in 1979 had been a mistake.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14816819 Protests in Iran: Green November] ''The Economist''</ref>

==Human rights and gender==
While Ayatollah Montazeri has been celebrated as a champion of the rights of political prisoners, and human rights associated with the public sphere, in an interview <ref name="payvand1">[http://www.payvand.com/news/06/mar/1067.html Interview with Ayatollah Montazeri by Golbarg Bashi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427135430/http://www.payvand.com/news/06/mar/1067.html |date=27 April 2011 }} ''Payvand''</ref> conducted in 2003 in Qom with the Iranian feminist academic [[Golbarg Bashi]] he said that while men and women enjoy the same dignity and respect in the eyes of God, women's rights must remain strictly under the domain of Shi'i [[fiqh]] rather than international human rights conventions such as [[CEDAW]].

In response to [[Golbarg Bashi]], Ayatollah Montazeri said:

{{blockquote|Women are humans too... When we say humans, it includes both men and women... you see, if people around the world want to say certain things about women for example being equal to men in matters of inheritance or legal testimony, because these issues pertain to the very letter of the Qur'an, we cannot accept them... Now, consider that God Almighty has made it incumbent upon men to cover the expenses of women... in Iran we cannot accept those laws that are against our religion... on certain occasions that these laws contradict the very clear text of the Qur'an, we cannot cooperate... Men in general (no'-e mard ha), all things considered, are productively more active—both intellectual activities and practical activities... All things considered, the intellectual and practical activities of men are more than women.}}

When Bashi informed him that currently (2003) in Iranian universities, "some 60% of students are women" and asked him "so in future generations, when the number of professors, physicians, high-ranking experts, etc, will be mostly women, will Islam be able to have an [[ijtihad]] and modify these unjust laws because they no longer correspond with reality?", Ayatollah Montazeri responded: "Those aspects of the Islamic law that are based on the very letter of the Qur'an, the answer is no. But certain other things yes, you can, and they can be subject to changing times. But those that are from the very letter of the Qur'an, no they cannot, and those have certain wisdom and subtleties in them."<ref name="payvand1" />

==Reputation==
According to journalist [[Christopher de Bellaigue]], Montazeri was regarded as "brilliant" by his allies, and even his opponents; de Bellaigue added that Montazeri "lives plainly, and equates Islam with social justice". Montazeri's detractors portrayed him as stubborn and naïve in his insistence that the Islamic republic find reconciliation with the "[[People's Mujahedin of Iran|hypocrites]]" and "[[Freedom Movement of Iran|liberals]]" who are its "internal enemies."<ref name="NY_rev"/>

==Public image==
In late 1960s, Montazeri gained influence and popularity in [[Isfahan Province]] after his speeches criticizing the Shah, moving [[SAVAK]] to banish and subsequently imprison him.<ref>{{cite web|author=Muhammad Sahimi|author-link=Muhammad Sahimi|title=Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri: 1922-2009|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/grand-ayatollah-hossein-ali-montazeri-1922-2009.html|date=21 December 2009|access-date=29 June 2016|publisher=[[Tehran Bureau]]}}</ref>

In 1980s, Montazeri was known by the [[pejorative]] nickname ''Gorbeh Nareh'' ({{langx|fa|گربه‌نره}}, the masculine cat) after [[The Fox and the Cat|the Cat]], a character in the ''[[Piccolino no Bōken|Pinocchio]]'' animated series. According to [[Elaine Sciolino]], this was due to his "poor public speaking skills, squeaky voice, round face and grizzled beard".<ref>{{cite book|title=Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran|author=[[Elaine Sciolino]]|year=2001|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]|isbn=978-0743217798|page=[https://archive.org/details/persianmirrors00elai/page/191 191]|url=https://archive.org/details/persianmirrors00elai/page/191}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On 4 September 1942, Montazeri married Mah-Sultan Rabbani (1926 – 26 March 2010) and had seven children, four daughters and three sons.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Montazeri, Hossein Ali (1922–)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2830800209.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021043219/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2830800209.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2014|encyclopedia=Biographical Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa|access-date=15 October 2013|date=1 June 2008}}</ref> One of his sons, [[Mohammad Montazeri]], died in [[Hafte Tir bombing|a bomb]] blast at Islamic Republican Party headquarters in 1981 which was carried out by the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]]; another, Saeed Montazeri, lost an eye in the Iran-Iraq war in 1985. Another son, Ahmad Montazeri, is a cleric in Qom; during the 1970s Ahmad underwent military training in [[Fatah]] camps in Lebanon.<ref>[[David Hirst (journalist)|Hirst, David]] (2010) ''Beware of Small States. Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East.'' Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|978-0-571-23741-8}} p.177</ref> The brother of Montazeri's son-in-law, [[Mehdi Hashemi]], was sentenced to death and executed after the 1979 revolution due to his alleged involvement in the murder of Ayatollah Abul Hassan Shams Abadi, who had been a critic of Montazeri, in Isfahan.<ref name=mehdi2012/>

He was described by Ayatollah Mohammad Guilani as "meticulous about, if not obsessed by, cleanliness."<ref name=reutersprofile/>

==Death==
[[Image:Montazeri tomb.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Montazeri in [[Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine]]]]

On 19 December 2009, Montazeri died in his sleep of [[heart failure]] at his home in [[Qom]], at the age of 87.<ref name=telegraph_obituaries>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/6852503/Grand-Ayatollah-Hossein-Ali-Montazeri.html|title=Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 December 2009|location=London|access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> The [[Islamic Republic News Agency]], the official news agency of Iran, did not use the Ayatollah title in its initial reports of his death and referred to him as the "clerical figure of rioters".<ref name=BBC_mourn>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8423319.stm|title=Crowds gather to mourn reformist Iran cleric Montazeri|work=BBC News|date=20 December 2009|access-date=5 January 2010}}</ref> The state television and radio broadcasters were similar, showing the tension between the government and its opponents.<ref name=AP_Iranian>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hQgPwTlHbsrYZAADlwDl3knsYBZgD9CN3M3O0| title=Iranian dissident cleric Montazeri dies|agency=Associated Press|date=20 December 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Funeral and protests===
Montazeri's funeral was said to have marked "a new phase" in the [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104162010/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1951381,00.html?xid=rss-topstories Iran's Regime and Opposition Brace for the Next Round], ''Time'', Robin Wright, ''Time'', 4 January 2010</ref>
[[File:Salat Meyyet Funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri.jpg|thumb|left|Salat Meyyet Funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri]]

====21 December====
[[Image:The funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosein-Ali Montazeri-2009-1.jpg|thumb|left|The funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosein-Ali Montazeri]]
On 21 December, hundreds of thousands of mourners and the [[Iranian Green Movement]] turned out at Montazeri's funeral and turned it into a protest against the government. The funeral began at his house and prayers were held at the Grand Mosque in Qom.<ref name=qantara12>{{cite news|last=Sartowicz|first=Urs|title=The Search for Montazeri's Heirs|url=http://en.qantara.de/The-Search-for-Montazeris-Heirs/20385c22309i0p/|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=Qantara|date=21 December 2012}}</ref> After special prayers by Ayatollah Mousa Shabiri Zanjani,<ref name=rooz>{{cite news|title=Million-Man Show of Force|url=http://www.roozonline.com/english/news3/newsitem/archive/2009/december/23/article/million-man-show-of-force.html|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=Rooz|date=23 December 2009}}</ref> Montazeri's body was laid to rest in the [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine]].<ref name=telegraph1>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6856357/Grand-Ayatollah-Montazeris-funeral-sees-hundreds-of-thousands-challenge-the-Iranian-regime.html|title=Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral sees hundreds of thousands challenge the Iranian regime|first=Richard|last=Spencer|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=21 December 2009|location=London}}</ref> He was buried alongside his son, Mohammad.<ref name=stirs>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6964563.ece Ayatollah's death stirs Iranian opposition to bitter protests]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''Times''</ref><ref name=pay2009dec>{{cite web|title=Funeral of A Revered Ayatollah, Hossein Ali Montazeri|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/09/dec/1218.html|work=Payvand|access-date=2 August 2013|date=21 December 2009|archive-date=30 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930175620/http://www.payvand.com/news/09/dec/1218.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The protesters chanted opposition slogans, including "Our shame, our shame, our idiot leader", and “Dictator, this is your last message: the people of Iran are rising!” Although the police mostly stayed clear of the funeral, there were skirmishes between protesters and the Basij militia. Inside the Fatima shrine, opposition activists gathered and chanted “Death to the dictator.” When pro-government [[basiji]] militiamen came toward them, chanting “Death to the hypocrites,” the crowd changed to an anti-basiji slogan. Then they took out money, offering it to the basiji, and chanted that they were acting as paid mercenaries of the government: “Where is the oil money? Spent on the Basiji,” and “Basij’s great pride, rape in prison.”<ref name=energized>[https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1221/Iran-opposition-energized-by-Montazeri-funeral-in-Qom-say-eyewitnesses/(page)/2 Iran opposition energized by Montazeri funeral in Qom, say eyewitnesses]</ref>

[[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]] left the compound of [[Yousef Sane'i|Grand Ayatollah Saanei]], a fellow reformist, to cross the street to Montazeri’s house. At that moment, a group of 30 bearded men, holding Montazeri pictures to blend into the crowd, dropped the portraits, started attacking Mousavi and shouted “death to the hypocrite.” The former candidate was hustled into the Montazeri compound. The same thing happened when cleric [[Mehdi Karroubi]] stepped into the street, reformists were ready and pushed back the vigilantes, so Karroubi could pass.<ref name=energized/>

As the funeral procession ended, security forces poured into the city, blocking roads to the Ayatollah's house and tearing down posters of him. Mourners were reported to have thrown stones at police, who tried to stop them chanting pro-Montazeri slogans. Mourners responded defiantly when ordered by loudspeaker not to chant, breaking into shouts of "Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein" in support of him. When a crowd of pro-government supporters chanted back: "I will give my life for the supreme leader," they were booed by mourners, a witness said.<ref name=Guardian1/> The security forces prevented the Ayatollah's family from holding a memorial ceremony in the grand mosque of Qom following the funeral.<ref name="funeral">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/world/middleeast/22cleric.html?_r=1&hp|work=The New York Times|title=Cleric's Funeral Becomes Protest of Iran Leaders|first1=Robert F.|last1=Worth|first2=Nazila|last2=Fathi| date=22 December 2009|access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref>

According to the reformist site Kalameh, men on motorbikes, believed to be Ahmadinejad supporters, attacked the car carrying Mousavi back from Qom to Tehran. They insulted Mousavi, smashed the back window and injured an aide.<ref name=stirs/><ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Iran-s-Ayatollah-Montazeri-buried-in-Qom-amid-protests/H1-Article1-489156.aspx Iran's Ayatollah Montazeri buried in Qom amid protests] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606132630/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Iran-s-Ayatollah-Montazeri-buried-in-Qom-amid-protests/H1-Article1-489156.aspx |date=6 June 2011 }} ''Hindustan Times''</ref> There were also protests in Najafabad, birthplace of Montazeri. Videos showed protesters waving green banners and chanting, “Dictator, dictator, Montazeri is alive!” and “Oh Montazeri, your path will be followed even if the dictator shoots us all!”<ref name="funeral"/>

====22 and 23 December====
On 22 December, Ahmadinejad continued his quest to strip opponents of their power. He interrupted a visit to [[Shiraz]] to return to Tehran and remove Mousavi, as head of the state Academy of Arts and Culture- a post he had held for ten years.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8427806.stm Clashes at Montazeri ceremony, Iran opposition says]</ref> Hardliners wanted Mousavi arrested for his role in inciting unrest since the disputed June election.<ref name="abc.net.au">[https://archive.today/20121231100032/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/24/2780083.htm?section=justin Women, children beaten at memorial service] ''ABC'', 24 December 2009</ref>

On 23 December, security forces clashed with tens of thousands of opposition supporters in [[Isfahan]], according to opposition websites. Activists said police used tear gas, pepper spray and batons to disperse people gathering to commemorate Montazeri in the Seyed mosque. People had gathered at the main mosque for the memorial service, but the doors were closed and security forces told them to leave. Security forces began beating people, including women and children, with batons, chains and stones, used tear gas and pepper spray and arrested 50 people, including four journalists and a cleric, Masoud Abid, who was to deliver the sermon. One witness said, "They took people in the shops and beat them up mostly out of public view though some beatings happened outside on the streets." Security forces sealed off the home of Ayatollah [[Jalal Al-Din Taheri]], who organised the service and lead prayers in Isfahan until he resigned in 2002 in protest at the government’s authoritarianism.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/><ref name="abc.net.au"/><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8428252.stm Iran government supporters stage demo] ''BBC''</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8429193.stm|title=Iran protests show defiance|date=23 December 2009|access-date=22 December 2020|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/23/iran.demonstrations/ Fresh protests, clashes reported in Iran] ''CNN'', 23 December 2009</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100107024521/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6967004.ece Iranian security forces suppress new wave of opposition protests in Isfahan] ''Times''</ref> Meanwhile, footage sent to the BBC from [[Najafabad]] showed crowds chanting "Criminals, rapists, death to the leadership" and "We're not afraid, we're not afraid" as security men watched from rooftops.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Police severely attacked mourners and protesters in several cities, with many wounded and arrested. The government announced that banknotes with anti-government annotation, which had recently spread, would be forbidden.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN2Y720091224|work=Reuters|title=Iran security clashes with cleric mourners|date=24 December 2009}}</ref>

====24 December====
On 24 December, opposition sites reported that police in Tehran and the northwest city of [[Zanjan (city)|Zanjan]] clashed with protesters defying an order by the Iranian government banning memorial services for Montazeri. Protesters marched in Imam Khomeini Square in southern Tehran, in a sign of mourning. The protesters chanted, "Today is a mourning day; the green nation of Iran is mourning today"—a reference to the color of the opposition. The police attacked protesters with clubs. Older women tried to prevent the arrest of young men by throwing themselves on them, and were severely beaten by officers.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/world/middleeast/25cleric.html Police Try to Quell Protesters Who Mourn Iranian Cleric]</ref>

The police in Zanjan, a city of mostly Turkish speakers, tried to prevent a mourning ceremony for Montazeri by locking the mosque where the ceremony was to be held, and attacking mourners who chanted outside. “The police beat people with such violence that many suffered from broken legs, arms and noses.” There were many arrests.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

====26 December====
Witnesses and opposition websites reported the following:
*Protests in areas of the capital, including the poorer areas of south Tehran, and government forces using tear gas to try to disperse demonstrators.<ref name="Renewed clashes reported in Iran">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8430786.stm Renewed clashes reported in Iran]</ref>
*Clashes in northern Tehran near [[Jamaran]] mosque (where Khomeini used to address people), between thousands of opposition supporters and riot police. Reformist ex-President [[Mohammad Khatami]] had been due to speak there to mark the Shiite holy [[day of Ashura]]. However, security officials cancelled the speech and surrounded the mosque. A reformist website reported about 50 plainclothes forces breaking into Jamaran mosque and attacking people. Riot police fired tear gas. Protesters shouted, "death to this dictatorship" and "if Khomeini was alive, he would sure be with us," according to witnesses. A witness said, "Police told them they have five minutes to leave and, when they were still shouting slogans and persisted, policemen on motorbikes drove through the crowds and fired teargas." Riot police and members of the Basij also chased demonstrators into the nearby bustling [[Niavaran]] street and fired paintballs at them. The security forces arrested protesters. Clashes were reported between police and protesters near another north Tehran mosque, Dar al-Zahra, known to host reformist clerics.<ref name="Renewed clashes reported in Iran"/><ref name="google.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jH7jEVWsvaTFE_pEzrBFTfZhUIsg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229161103/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jH7jEVWsvaTFE_pEzrBFTfZhUIsg|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 December 2009|title=Iran anti-government clashes erupt on Shiite holy day|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-police-clash-with-protesters-in-north-Tehran-Report/articleshow/5382901.cms Iran police clash with protesters in north Tehran: Report] India Times</ref>
*Opposition supporters gathered in groups along a stretch of a main Tehran route kilometres long, but police were out in force and not letting them join each other. There were clashes at along Enghelab Street, a main thoroughfare where months earlier hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters had staged protest marches after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. Police arrested bus passengers near Enghelab Square because they were chanting pro-opposition slogans. Protesters were reported to chant: "The dictator must know that he will soon be overthrown."<ref name="Renewed clashes reported in Iran"/><ref name="google.com"/><ref name="The Times">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/|title=The Times & The Sunday Times|website=[[The Times]]|access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="guardian.co.uk">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/27/iran-protests-riot-police-shots Iran hit by new clashes as crowds protest during religious ceremonies]</ref>
*Tension at rallies in which protesters chanted anti-government slogans in three areas of Tehran. Government forces, including soldiers of the elite Revolutionary Guard and the paramilitary Basiji, are said to have beat protesters with batons, fired warning shots to disperse demonstrators, used teargas and pepper spray and smashed the car windscreen of those were hooting in protest, as well as made arrests.<ref name="Renewed clashes reported in Iran"/><ref name="The Times"/><ref name="guardian.co.uk"/>
*Security forces chased protesters into a building housing the offices of the [[Iranian Students News Agency|ISNA]] news agency, where demonstrators had sought shelter during the clashes. “They fractured the skull of one ISNA person and badly beat up another employee,” the witness said. ISNA's news service appeared to be working normally.<ref name="google.com"/><ref name="The Times"/>
*An elderly woman travelling on a city bus was heard urging passengers to chant slogans such as "Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein" in support of Mousavi, a witness said. The witness said passengers on the packed bus also chanted "Our Neda is not dead, it is the government which is dead," referring to protester [[Neda Agha Soltan]], who bled to death during a 20 June protest in scenes caught on video and viewed by millions.<ref name="google.com"/>
*Witnesses said riot police fired warning shots in areas of Tehran to deter demonstrators, many of whom chanted slogans increasingly against the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/>
*Clashes were reported in cities including Isfahan, [[Kermanshah]] and Shiraz, as opposition supporters used the Tasua and Ashura ceremonies to take to the streets.<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/>

====Later events====
In 2010, the office of Montazeri that had been run by his son Ahmad was closed on the orders of Ali Khamenei.<ref name=qantara12/>

== See also ==
* [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
* [[Seyed Reza Bahaadini]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | author =Dorri Najaf Abadi, Ghorban-Ali | year =2005 | title =Khaterat e Hojat-ol-eslam val-moslemin Dorri Najaf Abadi | chapter =8 | editor =Nazari, Heydar | edition =1st | pages =232–233 | publisher =IDRC (Iran Revolution Document Center) | location =Tehran | chapter-url =http://irdc.ir/book.asp?id=345 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070325052442/http://irdc.ir/book.asp?id=345 | archive-date =25 March 2007 | df =dmy-all }}
*{{cite book |author=Keddie, Nikki |title=Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution |publisher=Yale University Press|year=2003}}
*{{cite book |author=Mackey, Sandra |title=The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation |publisher=Dutton |year=1996}}
*{{cite book |author=Moin, Baqer |title=Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |year=2000}}
*{{cite book | author =Montazeri, Hossein-Ali | year =2000 | title =Khaterat | chapter =8 | pages =471–480 | chapter-url =http://www.amontazeri.com/Farsi/Khaterat/web/index.htm | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060207042351/http://www.amontazeri.com/Farsi/Khaterat/web/index.htm | archive-date =7 February 2006 | df =dmy-all }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Hussein-Ali Montazeri}}
* [http://www.amontazeri.com/ Office of Ayatollah Montazeri, Qom]
* [http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/Jan98/Behrooz/index.html "Leadership & legitimacy: The controversy among the clergy over who should lead the Islamic state"]—[[The Iranian]]
* [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/16/irans-fatwa-for-freedom/ "Iran's fatwa for freedom"]—''[[Washington Times]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090808224426/http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-1196/i.html Grand Ayatollah Montazeri: "The System Has No Religious Merit"]
* [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/22/the_good_ayatollah "The Good Ayatollah"] by Prof. [[Abbas Milani]], ''[[Foreign Policy]]''

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{{s-par}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[1st Assembly of Experts|Assembly of Experts for Constitution]]|years=1979}}
{{s-non|reason=Office abolished}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-new|Office}}
{{s-ttl|title=Deputy [[Supreme Leader of Iran]]|years=1985–1989}}
{{s-non|reason=Office abolished}}
{{s-rel}}
{{succession box|before=[[Mahmoud Taleghani]]|title=[[List of Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams|Friday prayers Imam of Tehran]]|years=1979–1980|after=[[Ali Khamenei]]}}
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{{1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montazeri, Hossein-Ali}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
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[[Category:Iranian grand ayatollahs]]
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[[Category:Iranian writers]]
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[[Category:Speakers of the Assembly of Experts]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Iran]]
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[[Category:Inmates of Evin Prison]]
[[Category:20th-century Iranian philosophers]]
[[Category:Burials at Fatima Masumeh Shrine]]
[[Category:1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners]]