Association of Combatant Clerics

Political party in Iran

Politics of Iran
Political parties
Elections

The Association of Combatant Clerics^[a] (Persian: مجمع روحانیون مبارز, romanized: Majma'-e rowhāniyūn-e mobārez) is an Iranian reformist clerical political party. It is regarded as a left-wing party within the Iranian political spectrum.^[3]

History

The Association of Combatant Clerics was founded in 1987 after abolition of the Islamic Republican Party, the last political party of that time. The association was originally radical, populist,^[4] rather than reformist in orientation, and favored a focus "on exporting the revolution and calling for the state's monopoly over the economy,"^[5] rather than democracy and freedom of expression. As of 2007, it advocated limits on clerical power in Iranian politics and extending individual freedoms—though not to the extent that might "lead to secularism or liberalism."^[6]

After the resignation of Mehdi Karroubi from the post of secretary general, the party had no secretary general until late August 2005, when Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha was elected as the new secretary general. Former President of Iran Mohammad Khatami is the Chairman of the association's Central Council.

Members

According to Muhammad Sahimi, the party "has a significant number of followers and sympathizers among the younger clerics".^[7]

Central council members

28 members of the party's central council are:

Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (Secretary-General)
Majid Ansari (Speaker)
Mohammad Khatami (Head of Council)
Mohammad Hashemi
Hadi Khamenei
Ali Ajam
Mohammad-Ali Abtahi
Mohammad-Ali Ansari
Mohammad Mousavi-Bojnourdi

Issa Velayi
Mohammad Razavi
Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi
Ali-Akbar Ashtiani
Mohammad-Ali Khosravi
Taqi Durchih'i
Serajeddin Mousavi
Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi
Fazel Ferdosi

Ali-Asghar Rahmani Khalili
Assadollah Kian-Ersi
Mohammad Moghaddam
Mojtaba Nourmofidi
Mohammad-Ali Nezamzadeh
Mehdi Emam-Jamarani
Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari
Mohammad-Ali Sadoughi
Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani

Other members

Notes

^ The party's name has been alternately translated Association of Militant Clergy, Assembly of Combatant Clerics, and Combatant Clerics League

References

^ "List of Legally Registerred Parties in Iran". Khorasan Newspaper. Pars Times. July 30, 2000. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Bashiriyeh, Hossein (Spring–Summer 2001). "Civil Society and Democratisation during Khatami's First Term". Global Dialogue. 3 (2–3). Centre for World Dialogue: 19–26. ISSN 1986-2601. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07.
^
- Asayesh, Hossein; Halim, Adlina Ab.; Jawan, Jayum A.; Shojaei, Seyedeh Nosrat (March 2011). "Political Party in Islamic Republic of Iran: A Review". Journal of Politics and Law. 4 (1). Canadian Center of Science and Education: 221–230. doi:10.5539/jpl.v4n1p221. ISSN 1913-9047.
- Werner Ende; Udo Steinbach, eds. (2010), Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society, Cornell University Press, ISBN 9780801464898, Left-wing Islamists can be separated into three groups that cooperate with one another, the most important being the aforementioned MRM.... Initially left-wing Islamists pursued a strict policy of economic austerity. They subjected the economy to rigorous state controls...
- Golkar, Saeid (2015). Captive Society: The Basij Militia and Social Control in Iran. Washington D.C.: Columbia University Press. p. 15. after a split in the Militant Clergy Association [Jame'e-e Rohaniat-e Mobarez], Rahmani joined the left-wing party known as the Assembly of Militant Clerics, or Majma'-e Rohaniun-e Mobarez.
- Rahnema, Ali (February 20, 2013) [December 15, 2008]. "JAMʿIYAT-E MOʾTALEFA-YE ESLĀMI ii. Jamʿiyat-e Moʾtalefa and the Islamic Revolution". Encyclopædia Iranica. Fasc. 5. Vol. XIV. New York City: Bibliotheca Persica Press. pp. 483–500. Retrieved March 15, 2016. ...Society of Tehran's Militant Clergy, became largely overshadowed by the left-leaning clerical faction of Society of Tehran's Militant Clerics (Majmaʿ-e ruhāniun-e mobārez-e Tehran).
- Yadullah Shahibzadeh (2016). Islamism and Post-Islamism in Iran: An Intellectual History. Springer. p. 94. ISBN 9781137578259. With Khomeini's backing, the leftist faction within the Society of Militant Clergy (Jameeh-ye Rouhaniyat-e Mobarez) left the organization and established the Association of Militant Clerics (Majma-e Rouhaniun-e Mobarez).
- Bashiriyeh, Hossein (Spring–Summer 2001). "Civil Society and Democratisation during Khatami's First Term". Global Dialogue. 3 (2–3). Centre for World Dialogue: 19–26. ISSN 1986-2601. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. ...Association of Combatant Clerics, which was an important party in the left wing
^ Brumberg, Daniel, Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran, University of Chicago Press, 2001, p.162
^ Mneisi, Ahmad. "The power shift within Iran's right wing". Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2006. At the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
^ [Wright, Robin, Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East, Penguin Press, 2008, p.300]
^ Muhammad Sahimi (12 May 2009). "The Political Groups". Tehran Bureau. Retrieved 21 August 2015.

External links

Mr Khatami, the Chairman of the Central Council of Militant Clerics Society, from Mohammad Ali Abtahi's weblog (in Persian)
Mousavi Khoiniha became the secretary general of the Militant Clerics Society, from BBC Persian
First meeting notes of Militant Clerics Society, from Mohammad Ali Abtahi's Persian weblog