Hussein-Ali Montazeri - Early Life and Public Career

Early Life and Public Career

Born in 1922, Montazeri was from a peasant family in Najafabad, a city in Isfahan Province, 250 miles south of Tehran.

Muslim scholar
Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Title Grand Ayatollah
Born 1922
Died 19 December 2009 (aged 87)
Era Modern era
Region Iran
Madh'hab Shia Islam
Main interest(s) Fiqh, Irfan, Islamic philosophy, Islamic ethics, Hadith, politics
Notable idea(s) Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists, Islamic Democrasy, Dynamic Fiqh
Notable work(s) Al-Hodod, From Beginning to End, Hoghogh, Islam-Religion of mould
Influenced by
  • Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, Ruhollah Khomeini, Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari
Influenced
  • Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Beheshti, Morteza Motahhari, Akbar Hashemi, Mohsen Kadivar

His early theological education was in Isfahan. Montazeri then went to Qom where he studied under Khomeini and went on to become a teacher at the Faiziyeh Theological School. While there he answered Khomeini's call to protest the White Revolution of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in June 1963 and was active in anti-Shah clerical circles.

After Khomeini was forced into exile by the Shah, Montazeri "sat at the center of the clerical network" which Khomeini had established to fight the Pahlavi rule. He was sent to prison in 1974 and released in 1978 in time to be active during the revolution.

Read more about this topic:  Hussein-Ali Montazeri

Famous quotes containing the words early, life, public and/or career:

    Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.
    Stella Chess (20th century)

    Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life ... would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Writing is not chewing your nails and picking your teeth, but a matter of public interest.
    Alfred Döblin (1878–1957)

    I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.
    Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)