Grand Ayatollah Marja (; plural ''marājiʿ''; ) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Sh ...

Yasubeddin Rastegar Jooybari (Persian: يعسوب الدين رستگار جويباري) (born 1940) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

Marja' Marja (; plural ''marājiʿ''; ) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Sh ...

. He has studied in seminaries of

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 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

under

Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari Sayyid Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari (), also spelled Shariat-Madari (5 January 1906 – 3 April 1986), was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He favoured the traditional Shiite practice of keeping clerics away from governmental positions and was a crit ...

Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani (; March 20, 1899Mirza Hashem Amoli Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli Larijani (; 26 February 189925 February 1993) was an Iranian Shia Marja' and scholar of jurisprudence. Amoli was the father of Ali Larijani, Sadegh Larijani, Mohammad Javad Larijani and Fazel Larijani who have held ...

. He has repeatedly been arrested for his opposition against the current Iranian government, in particular Supreme Leader

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 from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure as Supreme Leader ...

. Khamenei's elevation to supreme leader was challenged by him.

Background

Ayatollah Yasub al-Din Rastgari, accused of criticizing government policies, has been arrested and detained several times. During his arrest in late February 1996, he was held in incommunicado detention, reportedly mainly in Tawhid and Evin Prisons in Tehran until July 1996. In August 1996, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment for having held a mourning ceremony for the late Grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari. He was sentenced by the

Special Clerical Court Special Clerical Court, or Special Court for Clerics ( , ''dādgāh-e vizheh-ye ruhāniyat'') is a special Iranian judicial system for prosecuting crimes, both ordinary and political, committed by Islamic clerics and scholars. The Special Clerical ...

after a summary trial on vaguely worded charges, in which he had no access to a lawyer. Ayatollah Rastgari was released from prison in December 1996, but immediately afterwards was placed under house arrest in Qom. Rastgari was again arrested on April 27, 2004 and sentenced by the

to four years in prison for “insulting Islam” and “causing schism” through his critical book on Sunni-Shia relations, The Reality of Religious Unity. He has reportedly been tortured while in detention and is held incommunicado without access to his family. His two sons were arrested with him at the time. After publishing Rastgari's book "The Reality of Religious Unity," the book's publisher was shut down.Network of Concerned Historians

Notes

Bibliography

*Amnesty International Report 13/24/97 *Network of Concerned Historians, “Ayatollah Yasub al-Din Rastgari: detained in Iran for publishing a book on Islamic history,” 20.10.2005, http://www.let.rug.nl/nch.

External links

WebsiteBlogShort biographyISCHRO Calls for the Release of Ayatollah Rastegariعاجل/ رسالة المرجع الرستكاري إلى خامنئي من داخل السجن
Iranian ayatollahs Iranian Islamists Shia Islamists 1940 births Living people People from Sari, Iran People from Juybar Prisoners and detainees of Iran {{Iran-reli-bio-stub

Background

See also

Notes

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External links