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Iranian Controversy over Cult of the Imam

[Financial Times-UK] Najmeh Bozorgmehr - When President Ahmadinejad announced on Sunday the launch of a rocket built to carry an Iranian satellite into space, he did so in the name of the last true Shia imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi. The launch coincided with the end of festivities in Iran to mark the birthday of the imam, who is believed to have gone into hiding in the year 941 and will return to bring peace and justice to the world. But this year there are claims that the imam is being exploited for commercial and political purposes. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, on Sunday called those who had "opened a business" and claimed to have been connected to the imam "liars." Former president Rafsanjani said the current "fake" obsession with the imam had "misled millions of people." Ahmadinejad rarely starts a speech without first praying for God to hasten the imam's second coming. The president, who has no clerical background, makes frequent reference to the imam as a way of displaying his piety. But many clerics and politicians believe the government encourages superstition among the masses to win votes and deflect attention away from day-to-day problems such as inflation, currently at 26 percent.
2008-08-18 01:00:00
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