The Association of Combatant Clerics ( fa, مجمع روحانیون مبارز, ''Majma'-e rowhāniyūn-e mobārez'') is an Iranian reformist

clerical Clerical may refer to: * Pertaining to the clergy * Pertaining to a clerical worker * Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy * Clerical People's Party See also * Cleric (disambiguation) Cleric is a member of the clergy. Cleric may a ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

. It is regarded as a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

party within the Iranian political spectrum.

History

The Association of Combatant Clerics was founded in 1987 after abolition of the

Islamic Republic Party The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; fa, حزب جمهوری اسلامی, Ḥezb-e Jomhūrī-e Eslāmī, also translated Islamic Republic Party) formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini establish theocracy in Iran. ...

, the last political party of that time. The association was originally radical, populist, rather than reformist in orientation, and favored a focus "on exporting the revolution and calling for the state's monopoly over the economy," rather than democracy and freedom of expression. As of 2007, it advocated limits on clerical power in Iranian politics and extending individual freedoms—though not to the extent that might "lead to secularism or liberalism." right, Robin, ''Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East'', Penguin Press, 2008, p.300/ref> After the resignation of

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi ( fa, مهدی کروبی, Mehdi Karrubi, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and Iranian reform movement, reformist politician leading the National Trust Party (Iran), National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iran ...

from the post of secretary general, the party had no secretary general until late August 2005, when

Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha Sayyid Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (born 1945) is an Iranian cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was the founder of the now defunct '' Salam'' and was a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. ...

was elected as the new secretary general. Former

President of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president i ...

Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...

is the Chairman of the association's Central Council.

Members

According to

Muhammad Sahimi Muhammad Sahimi ( fa, محمد سهیمی; born 22 January 1954) is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and holds the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) Chair in petroleum engineering at the University of Southern Califor ...

, the party "has a significant number of followers and sympathizers among the younger clerics".

Central council members

28 members of the party's central council are: *

(Secretary-General) *

Majid Ansari Majid Ansari ( fa, مجید انصاری; born in 1954 in Khanuk, Kerman Province) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He was formerly Vice President for Legal Affairs from July 12, ...

(Speaker) *

(Head of Council) *

Mohammad Hashemi Sayyid Mohammad Hashemi ( fa, محمد هاشمی) is an Iranian businessman and former intelligence officer. He was one of "the core group of leaders" of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line involved in the Iran Hostage Crisis, the fi ...

Hadi Khamenei Sayyid Hadi Khamenei ( fa, سید هادی خامنه‌ای; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian reformist politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants''The New York Times'' He is a key ...

* Ali Ajam *

Mohammad-Ali Abtahi Mohammad-Ali Abtahi ( fa, محمدعلی ابطحی; born January 27, 1958) is an Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. He is a former Vice President of Iran and a close as ...

* Mohammad-Ali Ansari * Mohammad Mousavi-Bojnourdi * Issa Velayi * Mohammad Razavi * Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi * Ali-Akbar Ashtiani * Mohammad-Ali Khosravi * Taqi Daricheyi * Serajeddin Mousavi *

Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi (Persian: السيد علی‌محمد دستغیب شيرازي ) (born 14 March 1935) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. Biography Ayatollah Dastegheib has studied in seminaries of Qum ...

* Fazel Ferdosi * Ali-Asghar Rahmani Khalili * Assadollah Kian-Ersi * Mohammad Moghaddam * Mojtaba Nourmofidi * Mohammad-Ali Nezamzadeh * Mehdi Emam-Jamarani *

Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari , image =Moosavi_Lari_02.jpg , imagesize = , smallimage = , caption = Moosavi Lari in the 13th congress of Democracy Party. , office = Minister of Interior , term_start = 22 ...

* Mohammad-Ali Sadoughi *

Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani Grand Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani ( fa, اسدالله بیات زنجانی) is an Iranian theologian, Islamic philosopher, writer and Grand marja of Islam. He published his objection to the velayat-e faqih (religious system in Iran) and ...

Other members

(former member) *

Sadegh Khalkhali Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) ( fa, صادق خلخالی) was an Iranian Shia cleric who is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that ...

(deceased) *

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur or Mohtashami ( fa, سید علی‌اکبر محتشمی‌پور‎; 30 August 1947 – 7 June 2021) was an Iranian Shia cleric who was active in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and later became interior minister of the Is ...

(deceased) *

Hadi Ghaffari Hojjatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari ( fa, حجت الاسلام هادی غفاری) (born June 25, 1950 in Azarshahr) is a member of the central council of Imam assembly forces and the president of the Al-Hadi Institute in Iran. He was accused of mu ...

Rasoul Montajabnia Rasoul Montajabnia ( fa, رسول منتجب‌نیا; born 13 July 1948 in Shiraz) is an Iranian reformist politician, jurist, vice president and founding member of the National Trust Party (Iran). He is also a former member of the Assembly of Co ...

Abdollah Nouri Abdollah Noori ( fa, عبدالله نوری ) is an Iranian cleric and reformist politician. Despite his "long history of service to the Islamic Republic," he became the most senior Islamic politician to be sentenced to prison since the Iranian ...

* Mohammad-Reza Tavassoli (deceased) * Hassan Sane'i * Mahmoud Doayi * Ghodratollah Alikhani * Mohammad-Ali Rahmani

Notes

References

External links

Mr Khatami, the Chairman of the Central Council of Militant Clerics Society
from Mohammad Ali Abtahi's weblog (in Persian)
Mousavi Khoiniha became the secretary general of the Militant Clerics Society
from BBC Persian
First meeting notes of Militant Clerics Society
from

Mohammad Ali Abtahi Mohammad-Ali Abtahi ( fa, محمدعلی ابطحی; born January 27, 1958) is an Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. He is a former Vice President of Iran and a close as ...

's Persian weblog 1988 establishments in Iran Reformist political groups in Iran Political parties established in 1988 Iranian clerical political groups {{iran-party-stub