Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha
Encyclopedia
Ayatollah
Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (born 1942 in Qazvin
, Iran
) is an Iran
ian cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was a founder of the now banned Salam newspaper and is a member of the Expediency Discernment Council
.
He was the spiritual leader of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
who led the hostage taking
of American embassy staff on 4 November 1979. He is reported to have been "considerably to the left of the conservative mullah establishment" and also have had a less orthodox interpretive take on Koranic doctrine than them. Khoeniha remains a staunch defender of the embassy takeover, and still keeps "a four-drawer metal filing cabinet with a plate saying `Property of the General Services Administration,`" in his office, a souvenir taken from the embassy.
After the takeover he was named head of the Iran's Council of National Radio and TV but lost that post after hostage taking opponent Bani Sadr became president and engineered his resignation. Another post he is reported to have held was that of Deputy Speaker of the Majles in the early 1980s.
Khoeiniha and other "left-wing ... veteran revolutionary mullahs" from the Assembly of Militant Clerics founded Salam newspaper in 1991, after the Assembly members were not only banned by the conservative Guardian Council
from running for the Assembly of Experts
but could find no newspaper even willing to print that news and their protest.
Despite its limited circulation and focus on influencing policy, the paper became very popular and helped elect reformist Muhammad Khatami president in 1997.
Salam was banned on July 7, 1999 for releasing "an alleged secret memo by a former intelligence agent, urging authorities to tighten restrictions on the press". This "triggering student demonstrations
of a magnitude not seen since the 1979 revolution."
On July 25, 1999 the Special Clerical Court
convicted Musavi-Khoeiniha as Salam's publisher, "of defamation and spreading false information in connection with the alleged memo". He was sentenced to three years in prison and a lashing. However, the court suspended this sentence and reduced his sentence to a fine of 23 million rials (US$13,000), "because of his sterling revolutionary credentials". Less than two weeks later the Clergy court "imposed a five-year ban on Salam and banned Musavi-Khoeiniha from practicing journalism for three years". The court ruled that the journalist was "guilty of disseminating untruthful and distorted news aimed at harming public opinion."
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...
Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (born 1942 in Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, 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...
) is 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 cleric and secretary general of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics. He was a founder of the now banned Salam newspaper and is a member of the Expediency Discernment Council
Expediency Discernment Council
The Expediency Discernment Council of the System is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 6 February 1988...
.
Overview
Khoeiniha was prosecutor general of Iran after revolution. He has been accused of execution of many political activists without any trial during his term.He was the spiritual leader of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line
Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line , also translated as Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an Iranian student group that occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979...
who led the hostage taking
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
of American embassy staff on 4 November 1979. He is reported to have been "considerably to the left of the conservative mullah establishment" and also have had a less orthodox interpretive take on Koranic doctrine than them. Khoeniha remains a staunch defender of the embassy takeover, and still keeps "a four-drawer metal filing cabinet with a plate saying `Property of the General Services Administration,`" in his office, a souvenir taken from the embassy.
After the takeover he was named head of the Iran's Council of National Radio and TV but lost that post after hostage taking opponent Bani Sadr became president and engineered his resignation. Another post he is reported to have held was that of Deputy Speaker of the Majles in the early 1980s.
Khoeiniha and other "left-wing ... veteran revolutionary mullahs" from the Assembly of Militant Clerics founded Salam newspaper in 1991, after the Assembly members were not only banned by the conservative Guardian Council
Guardian Council
The Guardian Council of the Constitution , also known as the Guardian Council or Council of Guardians, is an appointed and constitutionally-mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran....
from running for the Assembly of Experts
Assembly of Experts
The Assembly of Experts of Iran , also translated as Council of Experts, is a deliberative body of 86 Mujtahids that is charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities.Members of the assembly are elected from a government-screened list of candidates by...
but could find no newspaper even willing to print that news and their protest.
Despite its limited circulation and focus on influencing policy, the paper became very popular and helped elect reformist Muhammad Khatami president in 1997.
Salam was banned on July 7, 1999 for releasing "an alleged secret memo by a former intelligence agent, urging authorities to tighten restrictions on the press". This "triggering student demonstrations
Iran student riots, July 1999
Iranian Student Protests of July, 1999 were, before the 2009 Iranian election protests, the most widespread and violent public protests to occur in Iran since the early years of the Iranian Revolution.The protests began on July 8 with peaceful demonstrations in Tehran against the closure of the...
of a magnitude not seen since the 1979 revolution."
On July 25, 1999 the Special Clerical Court
Special Clerical Court
Special Clerical Court, or Special Court for Clerics is an Iranian court system for examining transgressions within the clerical establishment. It tries Shia Muslim clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving lay people. The court functions independently of the regular Iranian judicial...
convicted Musavi-Khoeiniha as Salam's publisher, "of defamation and spreading false information in connection with the alleged memo". He was sentenced to three years in prison and a lashing. However, the court suspended this sentence and reduced his sentence to a fine of 23 million rials (US$13,000), "because of his sterling revolutionary credentials". Less than two weeks later the Clergy court "imposed a five-year ban on Salam and banned Musavi-Khoeiniha from practicing journalism for three years". The court ruled that the journalist was "guilty of disseminating untruthful and distorted news aimed at harming public opinion."