The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom ( fa, جامعهٔ مدرسین حوزهٔ علمیهٔ قم, jâme'e madrasin howze 'ilmiah Qom) is an Iranian group founded in 1961/3 by the leading
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
clerics of
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
. Established by the students of
Ayatollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
after his exile to Iraq, it was formed in order to organize political activities of Khomeini's followers and promote his revolutionary interpretation of Islam, such as the idea of Islamic government.
Since the 1979 revolution, it has largely become the body to keep the regime's registrar of who counts as a grand ayatollah, an Ayatollah and a Hojjat ul Islam. It has a head who is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. It currently heads the Supreme Council of Qom
Hawza
A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...
s, and proposes judges to
the judiciary system.
The body gained international prominence when it announced in 1981 that
Ayatollah Shariatmadari
Sayyid Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari ( fa, محمد کاظم شریعتمداری), also spelled Shariat-Madari (5 January 1906 – 3 April 1986), was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He favoured the traditional Shiite practice of keeping clerics away ...
was no longer a source of emulation (
marja'
Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...
). It has demoted a number of clerics over the last three decades. A recent case was that of Ayatollah
Yousef Saanei
Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei ( fa, يوسف صانعى; 16 October 1937 – 12 September 2020) was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja' and politician, a member of the Islamic Republic of Iran's powerful Guardian Council from 1980 to 1983 and also ...
who for his solidarity with the green movement was demoted from marja' to
hojatoleslam
Hujjat al-Islam (from ''ḥujjat-u l-Islām'') (also Hojatoleslam) is an honorific title meaning "authority on Islam" or "proof of Islam".
Sunni Islam
Its first recorded use was in a Sunni context, as a title for the 11th-century theologian al- ...
. The Society also includes
Ayatollah Sistani
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been described ...
on its list.
Founders
Its founders, none of whom were Ayatollahs at the time, were:
*
Fazel Lankarani
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani (1931 – June 16, 2007) was an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'. He was student of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi. He was a child of a Persian mother and an Azerbaijani father.
Biography and clerical activities
...
*
Azari Qomi
Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli was an Iranian cleric. Born in 1925 in Qom, after the 1979 Iranian Revolution he served on the Special Clerical Court, and Assembly of Experts, founded the conservative Resalat Newspaper. He was arreste ...
*
Ebrahim Amini
Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini (30 June 1925 – 24 April 2020) was an Iranian conservative politician who was a member of the Assembly of Experts. He was also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and was previously identified as a possible ...
*
Ali Meshkini
Ali Akbar Feiz Aleni ( fa, علیاکبر فیض آلنی; 2 December 1921 – 30 July 2007), better known as Ali Meshkini, was an Iranian cleric and politician.
Life
Meshkini was an Iranian Azerbaijani born in a village near Meshkin Shahr ...
*
Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iran, Iranian Shia Islam, Shia Islamic theology, Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human righ ...
*
Qoddusi
Ali Qoddusi (also Ghoddosi or Qodusi) (1927–1981) was an Iranian cleric and a major actor in the 1979 revolution.
Qoddusi was born in 1927 in the province of Hamadan. He joined the Qom seminaries in 1944 and studied with, among others, grand ay ...
*
Rabbani Shirazi Rabbani may refer to:
People
* Rabbani (Sufism), a follower in Sufism
* Abdul Al-Rahim Ghulam Rabbani (born 1969), Pakistani prisoner, brother of Mohammed Ahmad Ghulam Rabbani
* Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940–2011), former President of Afghanistan, le ...
Current members
* Ayatollah
Morteza Moghtadai
Ayatollah Morteza Moghtadai (مرتضی مقتدایی) (born 12 October 1935 in Isfahan, Iran) is an Iranian Shia scholar, and deputy chairman of Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom. He was re-elected to the fourth Assembly of Experts. He curr ...
* Grand Ayatollah
Naser Makarem Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi (, born 25 February 1927 in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian Shia ''marja and religious leader.
Biography
He was born in the city of Shiraz, Iran. According to his website, his father was Ali Mohammad, his gr ...
* Grand Ayatollah
Hossein Mazaheri
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Mazaheri Isfahani ( ar, حسين المظاهري الأصفهاني) (born November 16 1933) is a senior Iranian Twelver Shia Marja.
He was also a member of the Third Assembly of Experts.
Biography
Grand Ayatollah Hossei ...
* Ayatollah
Ahmad Khatami
Sayyid Ahmad Khatami ( fa, احمد خاتمی, born 8 May 1960) is a senior Iranian Shia cleric, member of Guardian Council and a senior member of the Assembly of Experts. In December 2005, Ali Khamenei appointed him as Tehran’s substitute ...
* Ayatollah
Ahmad Jannati
Ahmad Jannati ( fa, احمد جنتی, born 23 February 1927) is an Iranian conservative politician. He was born in Ladan, Isfahan. Jannati is known for his anti-LGBT rhetoric and opposition to secularism. He is also a founding member of the H ...
* Ayatollah
Hashem Hosseini Bushehri
Seyyed Hashem Hosseini Bushehri ( fa, سید هاشم حسینی بوشهری) is an Iranian Twelver Shia cleric who was born in 1956 in Bandar-e Deyr, Bushehr province. Hosseini Bushehri is the representative of Bushehr province in the Assembly ...
Late Members
*Grand Ayatollah
Mohammad Fazel Lankarani
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani (1931 – June 16, 2007) was an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'. He was student of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi. He was a child of a Persian mother and an Azerbaijani father.
Biography and clerical activities
...
*Grand Ayatollah
Moslem Malakouti
Grand Ayatollah Moslem Malakouti ( fa, مسلم ملکوتی, 5 June 1924 in Sarab, East Azerbaijan – 24 April 2014 in Tehran) was an Iranian Shiite cleric, Marja and third imam Jumu'ah for Tabriz. His son Ali Malakouti is member of the Assembl ...
*Grand Ayatollah
Hussein-Ali Montazeri
Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leade ...
*Ayatollah
Ali Meshkini
Ali Akbar Feiz Aleni ( fa, علیاکبر فیض آلنی; 2 December 1921 – 30 July 2007), better known as Ali Meshkini, was an Iranian cleric and politician.
Life
Meshkini was an Iranian Azerbaijani born in a village near Meshkin Shahr ...
*Ayatollah
Abolghasem Khazali
Ayatollah Abolghasem Khazali Boroujerdi ( fa, ابوالقاسم خزعلی بروجردی, 21 March 1925 – 16 September 2015) was a hardline Iranian politician, fundamentalist Shi'i cleric and a founding member of Haghani school with close ...
*Ayatollah
Mohammad-Hadi Ma'refat
Mohammad-Hadi Ma'refat (1931 in Karbala – 2007 in Qom) was a Shi'a scholar, clergyman, researcher on Quranic studies and interpretation, and the founder and former president of Tamhid Cultural Institute. He is the descendant of Shaykh Abd-al-'A ...
*Ayatollah
Ahmad Azari Qomi
Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli was an Iranian cleric. Born in 1925 in Qom, after the 1979 Iranian Revolution he served on the Special Clerical Court, and Assembly of Experts, founded the conservative Resalat Newspaper. He was arrested ...
*Ayatollah
Ebrahim Amini
Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini (30 June 1925 – 24 April 2020) was an Iranian conservative politician who was a member of the Assembly of Experts. He was also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and was previously identified as a possible ...
* Ayatollah
Mohammad Yazdi
Mohammad Yazdi ( fa, محمد یزدی, 2 July 1931 – 9 December 2020) was an Iranian conservative and principlist cleric who served as the head of Judiciary System of Iran between 1989 and 1999. In 2015, he was elected to lead Iran's Assemb ...
* Ayatollah
Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi
Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوهچی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...
Activities
The Society approves a list of marjas in
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
. In 1963 the Society declared
Ayatollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
as
marja'
Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...
. In 1994, after the death of Grand Ayatollah
Mohammad Ali Araki
, location =
, Title = Grand Ayatollah
, Period =
, Predecessor =
, Successor =
, ordination =
, post =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Arak, Iran
, death_date =
, death_place = Qom, Ira ...
, the Society nominated seven of the
Ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
as his successors to be marja', including
Ayatollah Khamenei
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنهای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
.
In 2022, during
Iranian_protests, the society urged the authorities to execute and use the amputation punishment to deter people from joining the protests.
[https://www.iranintl.com/en/202212246315]
See also
*
List of Ayatollahs
This is a partial list of Ayatollahs, a title given to high ranked Twelver Usuli Shi'a Muslim clerics. Its ranking is higher than Hujjat al-Islam, and the next higher clerical rank is Grand Ayatollah also known as Marja'. This list contains only t ...
*
List of Maraji
Maraji are the supreme legal authority for Twelver Shia Muslims. The following articles contain lists of Maraji:
* List of current Maraji''
* List of deceased Maraji''
See also
*Marja'
*Ijtihad
*Hawza
*Risalah (fiqh)
*List of Ayatollahs
*List of ...
*
Marja
*
Ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from ...
*
Ijtihad
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...
*
History of principle-ism in Iran
The history of Islamic fundamentalism in Iran covers the historical development of Islamic fundamentalism, Islamism, Islamic revivalism, and the rise of Political aspects of Islam, political Islam in modern Iran. Today, there are basically three ...
*
*
Haghani Circle
Haghani school (also Haqqani) is a Shi'i school of thought in Iran based in the holy city of Qom and formerly headed by Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, an influential theologian. The Haghani Circle has its origin in the Haghani seminary, fo ...
*
List of current Maraji
This article provides the list of marjas, ''Maraji'' (plural of ''Marja'', the supreme legal authority or the source of emulation), followed by Twelver (also known as ''Imamiyyah'') Shia Muslims around the world. The concept of a ''Marja-i Taqlid'' ...
*
List of deceased Maraji
This article provides the list of deceased ''Maraji'' (plural of ''Marja'', the supreme legal authority or the source of emulation), both current and deceased, followed by Twelver (also known as ''Imamiyyah'') Shia Muslims around the world. The con ...
References
Sources
رهبر خواست به فکر جانشین باشیم!.:: پایگاه اطلاع رسانی حیات-صفحه اصلی ::.*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121105063859/http://www.princeton.edu/irandataportal/parties/modaressineqom/ Iran Data Portal - Society of the Lecturers of Qom Seminary (JMHEQ)
Bibliography
The Society of Teachers from Qom Seminary from the Beginning to the present, Seyyed Mohsen Saleh and Alireza Javadzadeh, Publisher: Islamic Revolution Documentation Center
External links
Official Website
Shia organizations
Qom Province
Principlist political groups in Iran
Iranian clerical political groups
1961 establishments in Iran
Qom Seminary
{{Islam-org-stub