Who is Mojtaba Khamenei? 7 things to know about Iran’s likely next leader
5. Religious credentials are a question mark
Religious qualifications remain a key issue for any candidate for supreme leader because the office combines the highest political authority in Iran with religious legitimacy within Shiite clerical hierarchy. The supreme leader is expected to possess recognized scholarly standing in Islamic jurisprudence and theology, since the position is rooted in the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or the guardianship of the Islamic jurist, which places ultimate authority in the hands of a senior religious scholar.
Carnegie explains that Mojtaba Khamenei, like his father before him, is considered a mid-ranking cleric. He teaches theology at the Qom seminary, the most important centre of Shiite religious learning in Iran, where clerics study Islamic law, philosophy and theology. However, he does not currently hold the rank traditionally associated with the highest religious authority in Shiism.
If Mojtaba were selected as supreme leader, the Assembly of Experts would likely have to elevate his religious status. Carnegie notes that he is not regarded as a grand ayatollah, which is one of the highest ranks in the Shiite clerical hierarchy and normally associated with senior scholars whose religious rulings carry wide authority among believers. To place him in the office, the assembly could effectively promote his standing within the clerical structure so that he meets the expectations attached to the role.
Such institutional adjustments have precedent in the Islamic Republic. When Ali Khamenei himself became supreme leader in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he did not possess the highest clerical rank. At the time, Iran’s constitution required the supreme leader to be a marja, or a grand religious authority. To accommodate Khamenei’s more modest religious credentials, the constitution was amended so that a senior Islamic jurist with sufficient political and religious qualifications could hold the office.
