Islamic Clericalism in Iran has a long history and had a remarkable impact on Iranian society, politics as well as on Islamic theology.

Emergence

There are controversies about the emergence of clericalism in Iran. Some scholars believe that clericalism dates back to 1000 years ago.

Schools

Shia: *

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

seminaries *

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

seminaries *

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

Seminaries Sunni: *

Zahedan Zahedan (Balochi language, Balochi and ; ) is a city in the Central District (Zahedan County), Central District of Zahedan County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, th ...

seminaries Structure and functions: Over the course of history, Iranian seminaries have had traditional functions in the religious sphere to provide support to civil society in the country. However, after the Iranian revolution in 1979, seminaries have been highly politicized and their independence greatly reduced. The revolution created a new political order based on Shiite theological foundations and the absolute ruling power was given to a Shiite jurist/cleric. The history of Qom seminaries dates back to 3rd century (Hijri). Hossein Ibn Said Ahvazi, a famous theologian, moved from Kufa to Qom. He educated the first generation of clerics in Qom.طظˆط²ظ‡ - ظ…ظ‚ط§ظ„ط§طھ -طظˆط²ظ‡ ط¹ظ„ظ…غŒظ‡ ظ‚ظ… - ط³غŒط¯ع©ط¨ط§ط±غŒطŒ ط³غŒط¯ ط¹ظ„غŒط±ط¶ط§
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Impact on the economy

Many clerics have been involved in high-profile economic activities, most notably

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

Abbas Vaez-Tabasi Abbas Vaez Tabasi (; 25 June 1935 – 4 March 2016) was an influential Iranian cleric who held memberships at different institutions. He was Grand Imam and Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi board from 1979 until his death in 2016. Early life Vae ...

and Nasser Makarem Shirazi.

Impact on Iranian politics

;Clerics involved in politics during

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

and

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

era * Allameh Majlesi * Mirza Shirazi *Seyyed Jamaluddin Asadabadi (Afghan) ; Clerics involved in the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in I ...

*Seyyed Mohammad Tabataba'i *Seyyed Abdollah Behbehani * Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani * Mohammad Kazem Khorasani * Sheikh Fazlollah Nouri (against the Constitutional Revolution) * Mohammed Kazem Yazdi (against the Constitutional Revolution) ;Influential Clerics of the Pahlavi era *Seyyed Hassan Modarres *Seyyed Abolghasem Kashani * Navvab Safavi *Sheikh Mohammad Taghi Falsafi 150px, Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Islamic Republic of Iran ;Clerics involved in the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

* Hosseinali Montazeri *

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 ...

Mohammad Beheshti Sayyed Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti (; 24 October 1928 – 28 June 1981) was an Iranian jurist, poetic philosopher, cleric and politician who was known as the second person in the political hierarchy of Iran after the Revolution. Beheshti is co ...

; Clerics acting as high officials SEYYED ALI KHAMENEHEI - LEADER OF IRAN

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

* Mohammad Yazdi * Ali Meshkini *

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (, 15 August 1948 – 24 December 2018) was an Iranian-Iraqi Twelver Shia cleric and conservative politician who was the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council from 14 August 2017 until his death on 24 December ...

* Ahmad Jannati *

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi (, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house arrest in February 2011. As of 2021, he ...

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

Ahmad Khatami Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami (, born 8 May 1960) is a senior and prominent Iranian Muslim cleric, member of Guardian Council and a senior member of the Assembly of Experts. In December 2005, Ali Khamenei appointed him as Tehran’s substitute Friday ...

* Sadeq Larijani ;Political parties founded by clerics *

Association of Combatant Clerics The Association of Combatant Clerics () is an Iranian reformist Clericalism in Iran, clerical political party. It is regarded as a Left-wing politics, left-wing party within the Iranian political spectrum. History The Association of Combatant Cl ...

Combatant Clergy Association The Combatant Clergy Association () is a politically active group in Iran, but not a political party in the traditional sense. It has never been registered as a political party; however, it acts as a fragmented caucus and has actively operated ...

;Institutions exclusively associated with clerics * Special Clerical Court

Impact on other societies

* Ali Sistani

References

External links

History of Qom seminaries
(in Persian)
Organization of Shafei Sunni Clericalism in Iran
(in Persian)
Organization of Hanafi Sunni Clericalism in Iran
(in Persian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clericalism In Iran Islam in Iran