Ayattolla Montazeri . . .

report
July 13, 2009
Unjust Ruler is not Legitimate
With more than a month since Iran’s contested June 12 presidential election and the government's suppression of protesters, ayatollah Montazeri,...

With more than a month since Iran’s contested June 12 presidential election and the government's suppression of protesters, ayatollah Montazeri, the highest-ranking Shia source of emulation in Iran, emphasized that the rule of unjust leaders is void, adding, “The rule of those who seek to remain in their positions by means of force, fraud or forgery lacks any kind of legitimacy.”
Ayatollah Montazeri, who has made similar statements in the past regarding the illegitimacy of the recent election and the government, issued his fatwa in response to “several jurisprudence questions” posed by one of his students, Mohsen Kadivar, a leading reformist cleric in Iran.
This Shia source of emulation responded to a question about “the holding of public office by someone who has lost the required qualifications such as being just, honesty, wisdom and support of the majority,” Ayatollah Montazeri said, “If none of the requirements mentioned in this query are met, this automatically, and without any need for impeachment, brings about the de facto collapse of the government and renders null and void all decrees issued by the person.”
Responding to Mohsen Kadivar’s questions about religious duty that people have against such officials, Montazeri said, “People must remove them from their posts by choosing the least harmful and most effective means.”
Also commenting on the characteristics of an “oppressive ruler,” indirectly referring to the Islamic republic supreme leader, Montazeri said, “Oppression is intentional opposition to religious decrees and principles of logic and reason. If a ruler opposes such decrees and principles, his rule is unjust.”
As a response to another question raised by Kadivar about who is responsible for identifying an “oppressive ruler,” Montazeri said, “The responsibility for this falls firstly on the shoulders of the social elite, meaning intellectuals familiar with religion who are independent of government, as well as legal scholars and lawmakers and, secondly, on the shoulders of the public.”