Ahmad Azari Qomi
Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli | |
|---|---|
| Title | Grand Ayatollah |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1925 |
| Died | January 31, 1999 (aged 73–74) |
| Resting place | Fatima Masumeh Shrine |
| Era | Modern era |
| Region | Iran |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Jurisprudence | Shia Islam |
Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli was an Iranian cleric. Born in 1925 in Qom, after the 1979 Iranian Revolution he served on the Special Clerical Court, and Assembly of Experts, founded the conservative Resalat Newspaper. He was arrested in November 1997 after an open letter by him was published in Britain criticizing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for allowing torture and "moral corruption" among officials and clerics. Shortly after Khamenei denounced him in a televised speech for allegedly committing "treason against the people, the revolution and the country." His renewed candidacy for the Assembly of Experts was rejected by the Guardian Council the next year and he died in 1999.