Abstract
The primary purpose of this project was to demonstrate the strong degree of support for reform in Iran from within the clergy. Additionally, this study sought an understanding of why the reform movement had failed and whether there was reason to be optimistic about its future. Further, it aimed to demonstrate that the popular perception of “the clergy” or “revolutionaries” as a group being responsible for current conditions in Iran is simply wrong. A number of sympathetic figures from within the clergy have served leading roles in the pursuit of reform, including Abdolkarim Soroush and Mohsen Kadivar, as well as high-ranking clerics Yousef Sanei, Ya’subedin Rastegari and Hassan Tabatabai-Qomi. None, however, has been more significant to the reform cause and no story is more compelling than that of Husayn Ali Montazeri. Little about the Islamic Republic’s structure or policies was without heated debate amongst even the revolutions' most ardent supporters during its early days. As government strayed further from what some revolutionaries believed to have been the true intent of the movement, splits occurred and then widened. Ali Montazeri represents such a split, as he was and remains a devoted revolutionary, yet strongly condemns much of what Iran has become. Nothing defines where Iran has been, what it is today and what it could be tomorrow better than an understanding of the former Deputy Leader of the Islamic Republic and spiritual leader to today’s reform movement. Clerics in Shi’i Iran represent a powerful cultural force, exerting strength that often crosses into political waters. As such, it is significant to note that Iran's clerics are far from a homogenous group. The dissension within clerical ranks must be better understand in order to comprehend the behavior of and dynamics within Iran. Ali Montazeri, and other clerics like him, might very well be the most significant source of influence for reform in Iran, whether it be by direct political intervention or through leading the popular legitimazation of ideas from which the cornerstone to reform in Iran could be built.