Kazem Seddiqi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tehran's Ephemeral Friday Prayer Imam | |
| Assumed office 1 August 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Ali Khamenei |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 4, 1951 Abhar, Imperial State of Iran |
Kazem Seddiqi (Persian: کاظم صدیقی, born 4 March 1951, sometimes with the honorific Ayatollah, and surname anglicised as Sedighi) is an Iranian Shia scholar and Mujtahid currently serving as Tehran's Friday Prayer Temporary Imam. A rival of President Ahmadinejad, Seddiqi was appointed as interim Friday prayers leader for Tehran by Ayatollah Khamenei in 1 August 2009. The New York Times characterized the appointment as part of an effort to "reinforce [Khamenei's] authority by cultivating divisions between factions" following the controversial June presidential election.[1]
Lately it has come to light that Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi and his sons have unlawfully took over a 4,200-square-meter (45,200 sq feet) garden at a prime location in northern Tehran through a family company, worth $20 million. The documents were leaked by Yashar Soltani, a well-known whistle blower who has exposed numerous high-ranking officials of the Iranian government. Sedighi says someone has forged his signature and "signed" the lands to his name.
Among the targets of criticism in Seddiqi's khutbahs have been "certain regional countries for `supporting` the leader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi",[2] the United States President Barack Obama for showing his "ugly face" by preparing a new slate of sanctions against Iran,[3] and women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously, which Seddiqi claims causes earthquakes to occur.[4][5] In response to the latter statement, hundreds of thousands of women around the world, organized through social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, declared April 26, 2010, to be "Boobquake day", in which they all agreed to wear immodest clothing on the same day.[6]
- ^ Slackman, Michael (2009-08-27). "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Softens Accusations Against Reformists in Iran". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
- ^ Iranian cleric condemns Rigi sponsors[permanent dead link], 5 March 2010 by İslâmi Davet
- ^ Iranians not scared of Obama ‘threats’, says cleric[permanent dead link], 21 November 2009 by İslâmi Davet
- ^ Iran: Fashion That Moves the Earth By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, April 19, 2010
- ^ Promiscuous women cause earthquakes, claims Iranian cleric, The Independent, 28 May 2015.
- ^ Pat Pilcher (26 April 2010). "Islamic cleric causes Boobquake". The New Zealand Herald.