Deputy of Qom Seminary: The majority of the seminary does not agree with the Rouhani government
The deputy for propaganda at the Qom Seminary denied reports about his role in holding a gathering of anti-government clerics, saying that "the majority of the seminary does not support Mr. Rouhani's government."
Mohammad Hassan Nabavi said in an interview with the Khabar Online website on Sunday, September 24, that he "did not participate" in the gathering of anti-government clerics.
He also expressed his ignorance of which institution issued the permit for the gathering, while at the same time saying that holding the gathering in the seminary "is not without reason."
Mr. Nabavi also said about the controversial slogan written at the rally: "This is a very wrong thing to do and should not have been used as an excuse for others; but the real question is, does this slogan really mean that we are killing the president?"
He also said that "the majority of the constituency does not agree with Mr. Rouhani's government."
Referring to his remarks during last year's presidential election, Mr. Nabavi emphasized: "Anyone who promotes corruption and seeks to give privileges to those who do not wear the hijab in order to get votes... even if they vote, is against Islamic law."
At a rally held on August 15th under the theme of "demanding economic justice" at the Feyziyeh School in Qom, a picture of a slogan written at the event that implicitly threatened Hassan Rouhani with the fate of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani made headlines.
The Iran newspaper reported that the organizers of the rally said: "The political center of the seminaries is also the organizer, and the deputy for propaganda of the seminaries is our defender."
According to this report, the main members of the Teachers' Organization and the "Imam Sadeq Brigade", which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, were the organizers of this rally.
The Association of Professors is a group that supported Ebrahim Raisi in the presidential election. Hossein Tayyibifar, commander of the special brigade of seminarians, known as the "Imam Sadeq Brigade", was one of the speakers at the event.
However, after protests from Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Hossein Nouri Hamedani, religious authorities in Qom, and the Qom Seminary Teachers' Association, the Revolutionary Guard denied the role of this institution's forces in holding the rally.
According to reports, during the leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the "Imam Sadeq Brigade" played a role in suppressing prominent clerics critical of the government, and some critical religious authorities, including Ayatollah Montazeri and Ayatollah Ahmad Azari Qomi, spoke of the role of this brigade's forces in attacking their offices and homes.
In a famous speech that led to his arrest, Ayatollah Montazeri announced that he had sent a message to Ayatollah Khamenei, saying, "What right does a certain brigade have to come to Qom and start a group of kids and disrupt the seminary?"
On Sunday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesman for the judiciary, announced the opening of a case in this regard in the "Special Clergy Court".
A few days after the Qom seminary gathering, Iranian news sites reported that Mansour Arzi, a famous Tehran preacher who is usually seen at events attended by Ayatollah Khamenei, repeated the threat to kill Hassan Rouhani.
Meanwhile, Laya Junaidi, Hassan Rouhani's legal assistant, has said that a lawsuit will be filed against "attacks on the president."
Source: Radio Farda
