Ali Motahhari (; born 26 January 1958) is an Iranian

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He is also named as a sort of conservative

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

, who represented Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr electoral district in the

Parliament of Iran The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

from 2008 to 2020. He was Second Deputy of the Parliament of Iran from 2016 until 2019. Motahhari is described as an orthodox politician with

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

and moderate conservative views. He is the leader of the People's Voice Coalition. Motahhari heads Sadra Publications and teaches at

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, where he gained a PhD in philosophy.

Biography

Ali Motahhari was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. His father is noted Islamic scholar

Morteza Motahhari Morteza Motahhari (; 31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) was an Iranian Twelver Shia scholar, philosopher, lecturer. Motahhari is considered to have an important influence on the ideologies of the Islamic Republic, among others. He was a co-found ...

. Motahari is a brother-in-law of the current Speaker of the Parliament

Ali Larijani Ali Ardashir Larijani (born 3 June 1958) is an Iranian politician and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020. He has been a member of the Expediency ...

, and a harsh critic of

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

. He criticized Ahmadinejad for his "self-centered" policies saying: "It is unprecedented and inappropriate that a president simply says I do not accept this law and will not execute it. This is a sign of despotism." Motahhari tried to summon Ahmadinejad to parliament to face questioning and possible impeachment. Though a conservative, he has been something of a maverick. On 13 March 2015, Motahari was injured in an attack by "motorcycle thugs" before giving a speech at

Shiraz University Shiraz University ( ''Dāneshgāh-e-Shirāz'', 1979 revolution, formerly known as Pahlavi dynasty, Pahlavi University دانشگاه پهلوی ''Dāneshgāh-e Pahlavi'') is a public university located in Shiraz, Fars province, Fars, Iran, establ ...

. In 2020, he suggested that the Islamic Republic was to partially blame for the Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement, saying "We have scared the Arabs and pushed them towards Israel. An example of this is storming the Saudi embassy and setting it ablaze. The policy of making Iran the enemy has been fruitful. This needs to be remedied." This was a highly unusual response contrasted to that of other Iranian politicians. On April 6, 2021, Motahari sparked controversy after he said in a podcast that European men were "not aroused and women are resorting to African men."

Electoral history

Public image

According to a poll conducted in March 2016 by ''Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC'' (iPOS) among Iranian citizens, Motahhari has 36% approval and 15% disapproval ratings and thus a +21% net popularity; while 40% of responders don't recognize the name.

References

External links

Interview
by ''

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Motahari, Ali 1958 births Living people Members of the 10th Islamic Consultative Assembly Iranian publishers (people) Members of the 9th Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 8th Islamic Consultative Assembly People from Tehran Voice of Nation politicians Followers of Wilayat fraction members Second deputies of Islamic Consultative Assembly Politicians from Tehran University of Tehran alumni Academic staff of the University of Tehran Iranian politicians who have crossed the floor Morteza Motahhari