Hadi Khamenei

Sayyid Hadi Khamenei ( fa, سید هادی خامنه‌ای; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian reformist politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999
Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants
''The New York Times'' He is a key member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics, and a former deputy of the Majlis of Iran representing a district in Tehran.

Background

Khamenei is the younger brother of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with whom he disagrees and from whom he is now estranged.Zahedi, Dariush. ''The Iranian Revolution Then and Now: Indicators of Regime Instability'' Westview Press: 2001. p. 50.News related to Iran, Iranians and Persians
''FarsiNet News'' February 1999

Born to Javad Khamenei, an Iranian Azerbaijani cleric, and an ethnic Persian mother from Yazd, Hadi Khamenei grew up in the 1950s, one of eight siblings, spending his free time raising birds and playing sports. He says that his father did not force him into religious studies.

Politics

Hadi Khamenei became a leading reformer in the 1990s, putting him at odds with his older brother, whose official position he criticized as having too much power. Hadi Khamenei was an important adviser to reformist President Mohammad Khatami.frontline: terror and tehran: inside iran: by popular demand - iranian elections, 1997-2001
''PBS'' He was a deputy minister in the 1980s.

Aside from Association of Combatant Clerics, Hadi Khamenei is Secretary-general of the Assembly of the Forces of Imam's Line.

"The political right in this country say that the supreme leader is above the law, that he can change the law, that he can decree anything he feels is right. Those powers can cause a dictatorship," he told American author Robin Wright in a 2000 interview in Tehran. Khamenei argues that the Guardian Council's vetting of candidates threatens Iranian democracy. He believes that some reformist candidates are wrongly kept from running. In 1998, the Guardian Council rejected Hadi Khamenei's candidacy for a seat in the Assembly of Experts, allegedly for having "insufficient theological qualifications."

Attack

In the 1990s, Hadi Khamenei spoke at seminaries across Iran and launched a reformist newspaper to provide alternative coverage to the state media. In late 1990s, hard-line opponents of the reform movement, organized a campaign targeted at him, by physically attacking him during lectures which were critical of the hard-line leadership, (he required hospitalization for head injuries suffered at a Qom mosque), banning his newspaper, disqualifying him from running for the Assembly of Experts. On 11 February 1999, around one hundred people attacked Hadi Khamenei in Qom. The attackers fractured his skull.Arrests for political violence
''The New York Times'' The mob used "stones, sticks, iron rods and shoes" to attack Khamenei.
''The New York Times''. (14 February 1999) The Iranian police arrested 45 people who were suspected to be involved in the attack.

The editors of the newspapers '' Salam'', '' Khordad'', ''Sobh-i Imruz'', ''Hamshahri'', ''Akhbar'', ''Iran'', ''Etelaat'', ''Iran News'', '' Zan'', ''Arya'', and ''Kar va Kargar'' signed a letter condemning the attack on Hadi Khamenei.RFE/RL Iran Report
Global Security The Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture and the "Society of Lecturers and Researchers at Qom's Theological Seminary" also condemned the attack.

Some conservatives blamed Khamenei for the attack. The member of the Iranian Parliament Rajab Rahmani argued that Hadi Khamenei staged the attack to get attention and pity. Mohammad Mohajeri of the ''Kayhan'' newspaper suggested that Hadi Khamenei's comments were "the root cause of violence."

Newspapers

Khamenei was the publisher of various newspapers, including ''Hayat-e-No''. The Special Court for the Clergy, a tribunal appointed by the Supreme Leader, accused ''Hayat-e-No'' of "press offenses." The newspaper was accused of insulting Imam Khomeini in a cartoon. In parliament, Hadi Khamenei said that he would have rather died than be accused of insulting the imam. The Special Court for Clergy temporarily banned ''Hayat-e No'' in January 2000. According to ''the Guardian'', ''Hayat-e No'' is a reliable paper. ''Financial Times'' stated that ''Hayat-e No'' was a pro-reform daily. The paper was banned in December 2009 by the Press Supervisory Board "for working outside the regulations".

Hadi Khamenei's other newspaper, ''Jahan-e Islam'', was shut down in 1995. The newspaper was accused of insulting Islamic beliefs and publishing false information. According to ''The New York Times,'' ''Jahan-e Islam'' was a moderate daily. However, in 1995, ''The New York Times'' characterized ''Jahan-e Islam,'' as a "hard-line Islamic newspaper.""World News Briefs; Hard-Line Islamic Paper Is Banned by Iran.(Foreign Desk)." ''The New York Times''. (13 February 1995).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khamenei, Hadi
1948 births
Living people
Iranian reformists
Iranian newspaper publishers (people)
Iranian Shia clerics
Iranian Azerbaijanis
Association of Combatant Clerics politicians
Deputies of Mashhad and Kalat
Members of the 6th Islamic Consultative Assembly
Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly
Members of the 2nd Islamic Consultative Assembly
Members of the 3rd Islamic Consultative Assembly
Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
Assembly of the Forces of Imam's Line politicians
Secretaries-General of political parties in Iran
Rotating Presidents of the Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front
Ali Khamenei