Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute
Encyclopedia
Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (also Imam Khomeini’s Educational and Research Institute , Moassessh-ye Amouzeshi va Pajouheshi-ye Emam Khomeini) is a Shia Islamic religious educational institute in Qom
, Iran
. It was founded in 1991 by "archonservative" cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi who is "still" the institute's "guiding light"
The institute has been described by one source as being concerned with how Iran's "Islamic regime can adapt the fast-moving scientific and technological developments of the 21st century to its own needs", particularly by explaining scientific issues to leading Islamic religious scholars (marjas) and through these religious scholars bring the "thinking of science" to the masses of Muslims "so that Iranian scientists can operate on a par with other researchers anywhere in the world."
Another source describes the institute as having been founded to counteract the challenge to and criticism of the clerical leadership of the Islamic regime by intellectuals such as Abdolkarim Soroush
.
Clergy at the institute reject the theory of evolution, but approve of other pursuits of science, such as sperm
and embryo donation, cloning
or surrogate motherhood, and Embryonic stem cell
research.
In keeping with the principle of separation of the sexes, Women are not allowed inside the institute.
The institute publishes the "archconservative" weekly periodical, Parto-Sokhan
Qom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It was founded in 1991 by "archonservative" cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi who is "still" the institute's "guiding light"
The institute has been described by one source as being concerned with how Iran's "Islamic regime can adapt the fast-moving scientific and technological developments of the 21st century to its own needs", particularly by explaining scientific issues to leading Islamic religious scholars (marjas) and through these religious scholars bring the "thinking of science" to the masses of Muslims "so that Iranian scientists can operate on a par with other researchers anywhere in the world."
Another source describes the institute as having been founded to counteract the challenge to and criticism of the clerical leadership of the Islamic regime by intellectuals such as Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
.
Clergy at the institute reject the theory of evolution, but approve of other pursuits of science, such as sperm
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....
and embryo donation, cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
or surrogate motherhood, and Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
research.
In keeping with the principle of separation of the sexes, Women are not allowed inside the institute.
The institute publishes the "archconservative" weekly periodical, Parto-Sokhan
Personalities
- Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
- Mohammad Ali Shomali ( head of the institute's religious department )
- Muhammad Legenhausen American-born convert to Islam and employee of Iranian government's Call of Islam radio. Since 1996, he has been studying Islam and teaching Western philosophy and Christianity at the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Iran