By Nader Uskowi
Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, one of Iran’s most influential clerics and a hardline member of the powerful Assembly of Experts, lashed out at President Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, for suggesting that an “Iranian School of Islam” should be the dominant ideology of the Islamic Republic. Speaking from Qum during an interview with ILNA on Sunday, Mesbah said such characterization of the Islamic Republic is in fact the elimination of Islam itself. Until recently, Mesbah was considered to be Ahmadinejad’s spiritual advisor.
“We are reaching a point that we are setting aside Islam and (worry) more about affordable housing, food and (such economic issues),” Mesbah said [ILNA, 5 September].
“Take the example of (former prime minister) Bazargan. At least he was not a hypocrite. He would openly say that ‘our priority is Iran, and Islam is only a means for Iran’s development’; but on the contrary the Imam (Khomeini) wanted Iran in service of Islam,” Mesbah added, raising the stakes in the heated debate on the “uniqueness” or lack of an Iranian version of Islam, and indirectly accusing Mashaie and his supporters, including Ahmadinejad, as hypocrite.
“Those who so believe follow pragmatic (philosophy), and we have seen in these past thirty years that those who subscribed to pragmatic thinking ended up being not true believers and those who say such things today are following that path.”
The complete interview in Farsi: http://www.ilna.ir/newsText.aspx?ID=146116
2 comments:
AAh!! Looks like a fallout between Yazdi and Ahmadinejad. Good. Thieves always fall out with one another.
Mr mesbah yazdi should be reminded that it was the pragmatists among the elites of the chinese communist party who made China the power house of the world it is today. He should thank those pragmatists in china who have saved the country from complete isolation and a probable attack. If one takes the religion out of the equation the similarity between today's iran ruling elites and china's ex-communist elites is striking.
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