Ali Tehrani
{{Short description|Iranian theologian and writer (1926–2022)}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ali Tehrani
| image = Ali-Morad Tehrani - 1979.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| office = Member of Assembly of Experts for the Constitution
| term_start = 19 August 1979
| term_end = 15 November 1979
| alongside = Mahmoud Rouhani{{Clear}}Javad Aghatehrani{{Clear}}Abolhassan Shirazi{{Clear}} Ali Falsafi{{Clear}}Jalaleddin Farsi{{Clear}}Mohammad Khamenei
| constituency = Khorasan province
| majority = 559,639 (52.69%)
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|04|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Arangeh, Karaj, Imperial State of Iran
| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|10|19|1926|04|25|df=y}}
| death_place = Tehran, Iran
| spouse = Badri Khamenei
| children = 5; including Farideh
| relatives = Ali Khamenei (brother-in-law)
}}
Ali Tehrani (born Ali Moradkhani Arangeh, {{langx|fa|علی مرادخانی ارنگه}}; 25 April 1926 – 19 October 2022),{{cite web |title=Official website of Sheikh Ali Tehrani |url=http://www.ali-tehrani.com/ |website=Ali Tehrani |accessdate=29 November 2018 |date=17 September 2011}} also known as Sheikh Ali Tehrani, was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian and writer. He served as the representative of Khorasan province in the Assembly of Experts for Constitution.
During his youth, he fought the Pahlavi dynasty and was arrested, put in jail and sent to exile by the regime. He was a Mujtahid and a disciple of Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and Ruhollah Khomeini. After the Islamic Revolution and continuing his political career, he was sent to prison in Mashhad and was eventually released after months.{{cite web |last1=ماهرویان |first1=پوریا |title='دشمن خانگی' در جمهوری اسلامی؛ خودی‌هایی که راه دیگری رفتند |url=http://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-features-46258071 |publisher=BBC Persian |accessdate=29 November 2018 |date=28 November 2018}}
When Khomeini appointed Khameni as Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam, Tehrani opposed the move due to Khameni's alleged homosexual tendencies.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Ve-J1OUoc |title=Khamenei accused of sodomy by dissident Shia clerics |date=2024-04-11 |last=EBN HUSSEIN |access-date=2024-05-21 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |title=استاد علی تهرانی |url=https://www.ali-tehrani.com/memoires.htm |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=ali-tehrani.com}} Tehrani then secretly fled from the state-imposed house arrest in March 1984 to Iraq. From there, he preached against the Islamic Republic and its rulers, in broadcasts by Baghdad's Farsi-speaking radio and television.{{cite web |last1=شرف الدین |first1=بزرگمهر |title=علی خامنه‌ای از نگاه خواهرزاده‌اش |url=http://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2011/09/110916_l13_khamenei_mahmoud_moradkhani |publisher=BBC Persian |accessdate=29 November 2018}} He returned to Iran in 1995 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was released ten years later in 2005. Through his wife Badri Khamenei, he was Seyyed Ali Khamenei's brother-in-law.{{cite news |last1=Afashari |first1=Ali |title=شیخ علی تهرانی و موضوع تعهد آیت الله خمینی به ساواک |url=https://www.radiozamaneh.com/318130 |accessdate=29 November 2018 |agency=Radio Zamaneh |date=14 January 2017}}
Disputes with Islamic Republic's leadership
Ali Tehrani's estrangement from the leadership of the Islamic Republic began soon after the Islamic Revolution, when he advocated for a more liberal political system. Therefore, he chose to support the "liberal" faction within the newly established Islamic Republic.{{cite web |title=Iranian opponent of cleric is relative of top government official |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/iranian-opponent-cleric-relative-top-101510464.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADGF4-FLX_XVaEj5maGL_8YWMDfdcSyjL-hOiFwX_t6w7f00lFisllJdG3J7KTmhvRyZxYSXuTtNvA_SSyFml30tcWRJk389Z8Xo4DhfV-Wlkl9EysPgX1Xm2IUAV6TwHISwgzAPca4tffF-86w8pzcE8OkbwamPFFeb09kcvcfE |publisher=Yahoo News |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=21 October 2022 }} According to CIA reports, he was a supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).{{cite web |title=IRAN: THE MUJAHEDIN |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp06t00412r000200380001-7 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=20 December 2016 }}
File:Banisadr in Parliament.jpg
In 1980, ahead of the Iranian presidential elections, tensions escalated between Tehrani and the Islamic Republic leadership over their preferred candidates for the presidency. Tehrani supported Abolhassan Banisadr, while Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani favored Jalaleddin Farsi who was the candidate for Islamic Republic party at the time. However, Farsi was eventually declared ineligible for the presidency after it was revealed that he was of Afghan origin, a point raised by Tehrani, who wrote a letter to Khomeini, stating that Farsi could not be a candidate due to his Afghan origins. Ultimately, Banisadr won the election, as Tehrani had hoped.{{cite web |last1=افشاری |first1=علی |title=شیخ علی تهرانی؛ نخستین کسی که خطر خامنه‌ای را هشدار داد |url=https://www.dw.com/fa-ir/%D8%AF%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AE-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D9%86%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%86-%DA%A9%D8%B3%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF/a-63514338 |website=DW |publisher=Deutsche Welle |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=21 October 2022 |language=fa }}
File:دادگاه عباس امیرانتظام - روزنامه اطلاعات، ۲۳ اردیبهشت ۱۳۶۰، صفحه ۳.jpg
Another point of conflict between these figures was the case of Abbas Amir-Entezam. Entezam was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of spying for the U.S. Tehrani claimed that two of three members of the Islamic Republic's leadership, namely Ali Khamenei, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, had collaborated with Entezam.
When Khomeini appointed Khamenei as the Tehran's Friday prayer Imam, Tehrani condemned this decision. Reporters asked Khamenei about Tehrani's stance and he responded, "Now that you insist, I must say that Ali Tehrani has unfortunately fallen victim to a conspiracy. He is a naive person and has thus been successfully manipulated by others in their plotting." This incident ended all relations between the two.{{cite web |last1=ماهرویان |first1=پوریا |title=شیخ علی تهرانی درگذشت؛ شوهر خواهر خامنه‌ای، شاگرد و مخالف آیت‌الله |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/cd1jgzvzy29o |publisher=BBC Persian |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=20 October 2022 |language=fa }}{{cite web |title=علت مخالفت بدری خامنه‌ای با رهبری چیست؟ |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/1401091912203/%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%DA%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA |website=ISNA |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=10 December 2022 |language=fa }}
Personal life
Tehrani married Badri Khamenei, the sister of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a prominent critic of her brother, in the 1950s. The couple had five children: three daughters and two sons. Four of them have remained distant from politics, in contrast to their father, while one of his daughters, Farideh Moradkhani, is known for her opposition to the Islamic Republic. She gained attention in Western media during the protests against the Iranian leadership in 2022.{{cite web |title=Iran Arrests Khamenei's Niece After She Condemns 'Murderous Regime' |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-niece-arrested/32150891.html |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=27 November 2022 }}{{cite web |last1=Humayun |first1=Hira |title=Niece of Iran's supreme leader calls on foreign governments to cut ties with Iranian regime |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/27/middleeast/farideh-moradkhani-arrest-iran-intl/index.html |publisher=CNN|accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=28 November 2022 }}
Later life and death
Following the dismissal of Banisadr from the presidency and the armed rebellion of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq against the government, Tehrani was detained for a period in 1981. However, he was released after expressing remorse and requesting clemency from the authorities. Later, in 1984, as Mojahedin-e-Khalq had established a presence in Iraq, he fled to the country and sought refuge under Saddam Hussein's government, where he continued to speak out against the Iranian leadership through broadcasts on Persian-speaking radio in Baghdad, an action that diminished his popularity among the general public.{{cite web |title=شیخ علی تهرانی فوت کرد/ او که بود؟ |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1401/07/28/2791063/%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AE-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D9%81%D9%88%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%88-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF |website=Tasnim News |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=20 October 2022 |language=fa }}
When Badri Khamenei requested permission from her brother, Ali Khamenei, to join her husband, he refused. She then left Iran illegally with their five children. The couple returned to Iran in 1995, and Tehrani was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released after serving 10 years and remained largely silent after his release in 2005.{{cite web |last1=Mehrabi |first1=Ehsan |title=An Overview of Iranian Leader Khamenei's Family |url=https://iranwire.com/en/politics/111450-an-overlook-of-iranian-leader-khameneis-family/ |website=IranWire |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=17 December 2022 }}{{cite web |title=Dissident Iranian cleric, relative of top leader, dies at 96 |url=https://apnews.com/article/iran-ali-khamenei-middle-east-dubai-united-arab-emirates-cab4905eade4ff58f67d7e54b19cbe99 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate=16 September 2024 |date=21 October 2022 }} Tehrani died on 19 October 2022, at the age of 96.[https://www.iranintl.com/202210203791 «شیخ علی تهرانی» شوهرخواهر علی خامنه‌ای درگذشت] {{in lang|fa}}
References
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{{Ali Khamenei}}
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Category:20th-century Muslim theologians
Category:Members of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution