Mahmoud Taleghani - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani (1911 - September 9, 1979) was an 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...

ian theologian, humanist, Muslim reformer, democracy advocate and a senior Shi'a cleric of Iran

Iran

. Taleghani was a contemporary of the Iranian Revolution

Iranian Revolution

The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...

ary leader Ayatollah

Ayatollah

Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...

Ruhollah Khomeini

Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...

and a leader in his own right of Iran's Shi'a resistance movement against the pro-western, secularist Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

. A founding member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

Freedom Movement of Iran

The Freedom Movement of Iran is an Iranian political organization which was founded in 1961 by Mehdi Bazargan, Mahmoud Taleghani, Yadollah Sahabi, Mostafa Chamran, Ali Shariati, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh and some other political or religious figures...

, he has been described as a representative of the tendency of many "Shia clerics to blend Shia with Marxist ideals in order to compete with leftist movements for youthful supporters" during the 1960s and 1970s. His "greatest influence" has been said to have been in "his teaching of Quranic exegesis

Tafsir

Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...

," as many later revolutionaries were his students.

Biography

He was born to a religious family in the village of Gelyard of Taleqan County

Taleqan County

Taleqan County is a county in Markazi Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Taleqan. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 25,781, in 7,574 families. The county has one district: the Central District. The county has one city: Taleqan....

in Northern Iran

Iran

. His father taught him Islamic sciences and he continued his studies in Qom, studying Islamic sciences at the Razaviya and Fayziya schools. In 1938 he went to Tehran

Tehran

Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

to preach and lecture on Islam and was arrested and imprisoned the next year for opposing the regime of Reza Shah

Reza Shah

Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...

. From 1948 onwards he held classes at Hedayat Mosque in Tehran. He traveled abroad to Jordan and Egypt in 1951 and 52, to Shu'oob-al-Moslemin Congress in Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

city, and twice to Jerusalem as the head of an Iranian delegation to the annual Islamic Congress of Quds. He supported Mohammed Mosaddeq's nationalization of the oil industry. Following the 1953 Iranian coup d'état that overthrew Mossaedegh and restored the Shah he was arrested and - according to the Islamic Republic's IRIB website - "accused of hiding Navvab Safavi

Navvab Safavi

Navvab Safavi was a cleric responsible for founding of the Fadayan-e Islam group and with them the assassination of several leading Iranians, primarily politicians.-Early life:...

, the founder and leader of the Fadayan-e Islam

Fadayan-e Islam

Fadā'iyān-e Islam , was an Iranian Islamic fundamentalist secret society founded in 1946, by a 21 year-old theology student named Navvab Safavi. Safavi sought to purify Islam in Iran by ridding it of `corrupting individuals` by means of carefully planned assassinations of certain leading...

" Islamist assassination group.

Politically active from his student days, Taleghani was a veteran in the struggle against the Pahlavi regime

Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...

. He was imprisoned on several occasions over the decades, "as a young preacher, as a mid-ranking cleric, and as a senior religious leader just before the revolution," and served a total of a dozen years in prison. In his time in prison he met many leftist political prisoners and "was particularly fond of talking about his interactions with leftists." The influence of the left on his thinking was reflected in his famous book Islam and Ownership (Islam va Malekiyat) which argued in support of collective ownership "as if it were an article of faith in Islam." He helped found the National Resistance Movement (Iran) in 1957 and together with Mehdi Bazargan

Mehdi Bazargan

Mehdi Bazargan was a prominent Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government, making him Iran's first prime minister after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He was the head of the first engineering department of Tehran University...

he founded the Iran Freedom Movement in 1961. Between 1964 and 1978 he spent nearly a decade in jail. Altogether he spent nearly 15 years behind bars.

Although not as influential as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini

, Taleghani was instrumental in "shaping the groundswell movement" that led to the Iranian Revolution and brought Khomeini to power. During the Islamic Revolution

Iranian Revolution

he became chairman of the "secretive" Revolutionary Council, Iran's chief ruling body - a fact not revealed until his death. He was also the first Imam for Friday Prayer in Tehran after the fall of Iran's interim government.

Taleghani was "known for his tolerance" and "served as Khomeini's mediator in disputes with the Kurds and other dissident groups." He also had differences with Khomeini, which led to a clash between them in April 1979. "To popular acclaim, Taleghani warned then against a `return to despotism.`" Two of Taleghani's sons were arrested by revolutionary Guards, but thousands of his supporters marched in the streets chanting `Taleghani, you are the soul of the revolution! Down with the reactionaries!` Khomeini summoned Taleghani to Qom where he was given a severe criticism after which the press was called and told by Khomeini: `Mr. Taleghani is with us and he is sorry for what happened.` Khomeini pointedly did not refer to him as Ayatollah Taleghani.

Taleghani died a few months later in September 1979. His mysterious death and life time achievements were the occasion of huge crowds and much emotion before and during his funeral, and was said to be "a blow to moderation and progressive thought" in the revolution.

He has been described as a "chain smoker" and having a "gaunt face with a serious demeanor."

- - - - Ayatollah Taleghani tolerates long periods of prison, torture and banishment to save his people from darkness, and in this way however Taghoot* hitted him with grand maces to give up the torch of the guidnace he never did so. in this way (Aboozar of this time) was bestewed on him by Emam Khomeini. in all over his life he emphasized the certain rights of masses and council element and unity of groups . to the last moment, he was really worried about the future of the revelution and the constitution as the master of the revelution concil and as a representative from Tehran people in constitution assembly." oh, his brilliant face , his sad and peacefull voice , his kind looks. may he be allways remembered"

"ever religion or fashion that limits the mankind and capture the freedom of thinking,this fashion is against the humanism. the fashion is the fashion of humanity that gives all the people, freedom of thinking, out of the limit of religion and fashion" ********(the speech about justice in Moharram 1357)

Works

A light of Quran,
Introduction- explanation on Tanbih Al-Omah va Tanzih Al-Mellah,
Islam and Ownership,
Translation of the first volume of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s Book,
A light of Nahj-ul-Balaq,
Authority and Judicial Decree,
Freedom and Despotism,
Unity Lesson,
A Lesson from Quran,
Days and Lectures,
Sermons of Friday Prayers

External links

Ayatollah Mahmood Taleqani Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcaster, or IRIB, , formerly called the National Iranian Radio and Television until the Islamic revolution of 1979, is a giant Iranian corporation in control of radio and television which is among the largest media organizations in Asia and Pacific region, and a regular...

(official government biography of Taleghani)
Photograph of the gravestone of Ayatollah Mahmood Taleqani: http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/15269/2916491990061594669S600x600Q85.jpg

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