President-elect Hassan Rouhani�used a Wednesday meeting with high-ranking clerics�to declare the�renewal of their role�in the Islamic Republic: �The trust of the majority of the Iranian people in this seminary�is a source of pride and glory for me.�
The declaration of Rouhani � the only cleric among the six candidates on last month�s ballot � had several objectives, as he prepares for his inauguration next month. The initial one was to establish his support for Ayatollah Khamenei, as he expressed gratitude for his �political success under the consideration of the Supreme Leader�.

At the same time, the President-elect�s statement was an implicit challenge to the repression of the regime, especially since the disputed 2009 election:

This destruction [of the clergy]�came from individuals who were sometimes two-faced and [boasted] of their relationship with religion�.The fundamental group of clergy, the great clergymen and those who had a fundamental role in the revolution were unfortunately subjected to unfair and destructive attacks, but the people answered in these elections and wanted to say that �we view the clergy as the solution to political issues and view them as trustees of the prophet.

Ostensibly, Rouhani�s criticism could be portrayed as that of the outgoing Ahmadinejad Government, but his words can also be read as a riposte to the sustained attacks on clerics who questioned the crackdown on protests from 2009. Those clerics include Rouhani�s mentor, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani; Grand Ayatollah Yousuf Sane�i, whose house was attacked, and Ayatollah Dastgheib, whose offices in a Shiraz mosque were ransacked; and even the 2009 Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, held under house arrest since February 2011.

Rouhani also linked his address to his theme of �moderation� and call for expanded social and media freedom:

We must remember that there may be various interpretations of Islamic law. We must not [impose] absolutism and call all leanings as takfir�.In this regard, we must tolerate different leanings and correct their problems with admonition and good fighting, not confront them with accusations�.

�Shi�a and Islamic thought are based on justice and moderation.

Journalist Given One-Year Sentence
Journalist Fatemeh Kheradmand,�has been sentenced�to one year in prison for �propaganda against the regime�.

Kheradmand, a member of Mir Hossein Mousavi�s campaign in the disputed 2009 Presidential election, was detained on 7 January after a raid on her home, spending 25 days in detention before release on $40,000 bail.

Kheradmand�s husband, journalist Masoud Lavasani, is under threat of a two-year prison sentence.

By Enduring America

 

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