Haghani school (also Haqqani) is a

Shi'i Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

school of thought in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

based in the holy city of Qom and formerly headed by Ayatollah

Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح‌; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوه‌چی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح‌ یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...

, an influential

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. The Haghani Circle has its origin in the Haghani seminary, founded in 1964, which previously had been called Muntashiriya. After Ayatollahs

Qoddusi Ali Qoddusi (also Ghoddosi or Qodusi) (1927–1981) was an Iranian cleric and a major actor in the 1979 revolution. Qoddusi was born in 1927 in the province of Hamadan. He joined the Qom seminaries in 1944 and studied with, among others, grand ay ...

and Beheshti, two of the leading members of the circle, were assassinated in 1981, the

hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold s ...

changed its name to Shahidan Seminary (Martyr Seminary).

History

The Haghani Seminary was founded by Ayatollah

, Ayatollah

Mesbah Yazdi Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح‌; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوه‌چی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح‌ یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...

, Ayatollah

Ahmad Jannati Ahmad Jannati ( fa, احمد جنتی, born 23 February 1927) is an Iranian conservative politician. He was born in Ladan, Isfahan. Jannati is known for his anti-LGBT rhetoric and opposition to secularism. He is also a founding member of the Ha ...

, Ayatollah Beheshti, Ayatollah Sadoughi, and Ayatollah Taleghani. It was originally conceived in a reform effort to strengthen the weight of philosophy in the

curriculum. To this effect, Allameh Tabatabai, the father-in-law of Ayatollah

, was commissioned to write two introductory works, which he completed in 1970 (Bidayat al-Hikmah) and 1975 (Nikhayat al-Hikmah). Following the example of Shariatmadari's

Dar al-Tabligh The Dar al-Tabligh was a Shiite seminary in Qom. It was established in the mid-1960s by eminent grand ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari and soon emerged as one of the most popular hawza for Iranian and foreign students, with a prolific publi ...

which had just opened a girl's section two years prior, in 1975 the Haghani Seminary opened a girls' madrasa, called Maktab-e Tawhid, so that women could receive access to a hawza education as well. In its first year, the girl's madrasa had thirty students and five female teachers. Today, the school trains clerics with both a traditional and modern curriculum, including a secular education in science, medicine, politics, and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

/non-Islamic philosophy. The Haghani Seminary has been described as "a kind of Ecole Nationale d'Administration for the Islamic Republic" whose alumni "form the backbone of the clerical management class that runs Iran's key political and security institutions." During Iran's elections it is said to be common for candidates to visit the city to "pay homage" to Haghani religious leaders and "receive their blessing." Another source says "most Haghani people serve either in the security forces or in the military." According to journalist

Tim Rutten Tim Rutten is an American journalist with the '' Los Angeles Daily News''. He worked for the ''Los Angeles Times'' for nearly 40 years between 1971 and 2011. Education A native of San Bernardino, California, he majored in political science at Cali ...

"the Haghani is a particularly aggressive school of radical Shiite Islam which lives in expectation of the imminent coming of the

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

, a kind of Islamic messiah, who will bring peace and justice -- along with universal Islamic rule -- to the entire world. ... Members ... of this school believe they must act to speed the Mahdi's coming.".Ahmadinejad walks away with a win - Los Angeles Times, Tim Rutten, September 29, 2007
/ref>

Members

Many famous theologians and influential figures in Iran's politics after the revolution were associated (as teacher or student) with the Haghani Circle or follows its ideology: * Ayatollah Dr. Ahmad Ahmadi *General Allah Karam *Hujjat al-Islam Alizadeh * Ayatollah Javadi Amoli *Ayatollah

Mohammad Beheshti Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti ( fa, سیّد محمد حسینی بهشتی; 24 October 1928 – 28 June 1981) was an Iranian jurist, philosopher, cleric and politician who was known as the second person in the political hierarchy of Iran after t ...

(former Chief Justice) * Mostafa Ebrahimifar *

Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of ...

(current Deputy Chief Justice and former Minister of Intelligence) *Mohsen Mohammadi Eraqi *Hujjat al-Islam Eslami *Hujjat al-Islam Ezzat-Panah *Hujjat al-Islam Faker *Hujjat al-Islam Fallah *

Ali Fallahian Ali Fallahian ( fa, علی فلاحیان , born 23 October 1949) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He served as intelligence minister from 1989 to 1997 under the presidency of Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. Early life and education Fallahian was bo ...

(former Minister of Intelligence) * Rouhollah Hosseinian (former MP) *

(current Chairman of Guardian Council) * Gholamhossein Karbaschi (former Mayor of Tehran, not actively involved since the mid 1990s) * Ahmad Khatami (current Friday prayers Imam of Tehran) *Ayatollah Sayyed Hasan Taheri Khorramabadi *Hujjat al-Islam Meravi *Hujjat al-Islam Mir-Sepah *Hujjat al-Islam Moalla *Hujjat al-Islam Mobasheri *Hujjat al-Islam Mohammadi-Eraghi * Gholam Reza Naghdi * Abbas Salimi Namin *Hujjat al-Islam Neeiazi *Hujjat al-Islam Nezam-Zadeh *

Mostafa Pourmohammadi Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi ( fa, مصطفی پورمحمدی; born 9 March 1960, Qom) is an Iranian politician and prosecutor, who has served at different positions and cabinet posts. He was minister of interior from 2005 to 2008 and minister of jus ...

(former Minister of Information) *Hujjat al-Islam Rahbar *Hujjat al-Islam Raieesi *Hujjat al-Islam Ramandi *Hujjat al-Islam Razini *

Mohammad Reyshahri Mohammad Reyshahri ( fa, محمد ری‌‌شهری), also known as Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik (29 October 1946 – 21 March 2022), was an Iranian politician and cleric who was the first Minister of Intelligence, serving from 1984 to 1989 in the c ...

(former Minister of Intelligence and Prosecutor-General of Special Court for the Clergy) *

Yousef Saanei Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei ( fa, يوسف صانعى; 16 October 1937 – 12 September 2020) was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja' and politician, a member of the Islamic Republic of Iran's powerful Guardian Council from 1980 to 1983 and al ...

* Hujjat al-Islam Sadeqi * Hasan Shaianfar *

Hossein Shariatmadari Hossein Shariatmadari ( fa, حسین شريعتمداری) is the managing editor of ''Kayhan'', a conservative Iranian newspaper. Career A strong supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has been described as being "a close confidant of ...

* Ali Younesi (former Minister of Intelligence) *Sadeq Ziarati *General Zolghadr *

Mojtaba Zonnour Mojtaba Zonnour ( fa, مجتبی ذوالنور; also spelled Zolnour) is an Iranian Shi'a cleric and conservative politician who, , represents Qom in the Iranian Parliament. He declared that he was SARS-CoV-2-positive on 27 February 2020. Pol ...

Ayatollah

(The founder of Haghani School) has been the ideological mentor and spiritual guide of ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

References

{{coord, 34.6524, N, 50.8791, E, source:wikidata, display=title Shia Islam Politics of Iran Iranian neoconservatism History of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seminaries and theological colleges in Iran

History

Members

See also

References