Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 15 / Trend /
Ali Motahari and Hamid-Reza Katouzian, two conservative members of Iran's Majlis (parliament), have protested their disqualification by the Interior Ministry from the upcoming Majlis elections.
"I consider velayat-e faqih (rule of the supreme jurisprudence) to be the rule of doctrine and ideology, rather than the rule of an individual, Ali Motahari said.
In its first round of reviewing the eligibility of candidates running for the parliamentary elections, the interior ministry disqualified a large number of current Majlis members who criticized the government.
In a letter to the Interior Ministry, Ali Motahri rejected the reasons cited for his disqualification, including the failure to practice faith and commitment to Islam and the lack of loyalty to the supreme leader.
In the section citing "lack of faith in Islam" he responded that he bears witness that there is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and Ali is the guardian of Allah.
Mr. Motahari rejected his lack of loyalty to the supreme leader and wrote that his understanding of the principle of the supreme jurisprudent is that there should be absolute obedience in government-related rulings but in other areas everyone is free to express the opinion even if it contradicts the Leader's ones.
"I am loyal to the absolute supremacy of the jurisprudence with a correct understanding of it," he added. However, my loyalty and commitment to the supreme leader isn't strong enough to resist an order to retain the information minister and stay at home for eleven days or insist on interpreting the region's social movements such as a "human awakening" instead of an "Islamic awakening."
At the end of his letter, Ali Motahari writes that the interior ministry's methods for approving candidates recall "the Catholic church's treatment of the people in the middle ages" which "led to the people's alienation from religion and faith."
Hamid-Reza Katouzian, Alireza Mahjoub, Ali Abbaspour Tehrani, Fatemeh Ajorlou, Abbas Ali Noura, Peyman Forouzesh, Ghodratollah Alikhani and Dariush Qanbari are among those disqualified from running in the elections.
Mr. Katouzian told the Khabaronline website that he decided not to participate in the elections for the ninth Majlis but was asked by Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Majlis, to protest his disqualification.
A conservative member of the Majlis, Mr. Katouzian called the government's methods in the disqualifications "narrow minded" and said the real reason for his rejection was his "Investigation of events after the 2009 elections."