Kazem Seddiqi (, born 4 March 1951, sometimes with the honorific

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

, and surname anglicised as Sedighi) is an Iranian Shia scholar and Mujtahid currently serving as

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. ...

's Friday Prayer Temporary Imam. A rival of President Ahmadinejad, Seddiqi was appointed as interim Friday prayers leader for Tehran by Ayatollah Khamenei in 1 August 2009. ''The New York Times'' characterized the appointment as part of an effort to "reinforce hamenei'sauthority by cultivating divisions between factions" following the controversial June presidential election. Lately it has come to light that Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi and his sons have unlawfully took over a 4,200-square-meter (45,200 sq feet) garden at a prime location in northern Tehran through a family company, worth $20 million. The documents were leaked by Yashar Soltani, a well-known whistle blower who has exposed numerous high-ranking officials of the Iranian government. Sedighi says someone has forged his signature and "signed" the lands to his name. Among the targets of criticism in Seddiqi's khutbahs have been "certain regional countries for `supporting` the leader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi", the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for showing his "ugly face" by preparing a new slate of sanctions against Iran, and women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously, which Seddiqi claims causes earthquakes to occur. In response to the latter statement, hundreds of thousands of women around the world, organized through social-networking sites such as

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and

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, declared April 26, 2010, to be "

Boobquake Boobquake was a rally which took place on April 26, 2010, which served to protest news reports of controversial beliefs blaming women who dress immodestly for causing earthquakes. It was inspired by blogger Jey McCreight. Inception The Boobquake r ...

day", in which they all agreed to wear immodest clothing on the same day.

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1951 births Living people Islam-related controversies People from Abhar Combatant Clergy Association politicians Iranian ayatollahs {{Iran-bio-stub

See also

References

External links