Profile: Sadeq Larijani, Iran’s new chief justice

BBC

Background briefing by Saeed Barzin of BBC Monitoring on 13 August

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani is taking over the post of chief justice in Iran on 15 August as Ayatollah Mohammad Shahrudi moves out of office at the end of his 10-year tenure. The appointment suggests several things.

- The right-wing control of the judicial establishment is continuing.

- A younger generation of Islamic loyalists are being introduced into positions of power.

- The Larijani family is now a powerful centre of politics in the country.

- Like his predecessor, Larijani appears to be a low-profile figure and an apparatchik. Therefore, he will probably stress the element of continuity in the affairs of the judiciary rather than promote change and innovation.

The chief of the Judiciary is an appointment by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i according to article 110 of the constitution.

Early life and education

Sadeq Larijani was born in 1960 in the Iraqi city of Najaf. His father,Ayatollah Hashem Amoli, was originally from the Mazandaran Province in northern Iran but left the country because of religious persecution. He lived in Iraq for 30 years. Sadeq came to Iran when he was one year-old and has remained since.

Larijani intended to go to a modern university and even study abroad, but in 1977, two years before the Islamic Revolution, he joined a religious seminary in the tradition of his father. Little is known about his private life, but we know he is married.

Career

* 1989 - current: Lecturer at Qom seminary, Qom teachers’ training college, Mashhad Razavi University

* 1980 - Lecturer for commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps

* 1998 - current: Member of the Assembly of Experts

* 2001- current: Member of the Guardian Council

Politics

Larijani’s father, as well as his maternal grandfather, ayatollah Ashrafi, are reported to have belonged to the quietist and mystical schools of Islam and had little interest in politics. However, the 1979 revolution politicized the family and their religious connections pushed then into the centre of the political world.

Sadeq Larijani is a clearly conservative politician and thinker, but has not been so far associated with far-right philosophical figures, such asAyatollah Mesbah Yazdi, who are considered staunch supporters of President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad.

He has generally shied away from the media and preferred to speak about his views in his classes. His lessons on ethics were broadcast on TV network 4 only after reports about his possible appointment as the chief justice began to circulate in the press.

Reformists have accused Sadeq Larijani - when he was a member of the state vetting committee - of eliminating the rivals of his brother, Ali Larijani when he stood as a candidate for the Majlis from the city of Qom.

Rise of Larijani family

Sadeq Larijani represents the growing interests and influence of the Larijani family in Iranian politics. With his appointment as the head of the judiciary, the family now heads two of the three branches of power in the country.

Sadeq is one of the five brothers who hold influential positions. His elder brother, Ali Larijani, is the current conservative Speaker of the Majlis. Another brother, Mohammad Javad, heads the human rights department of the Judiciary and is known as an “irritable” right-wing political theoretician. Baqer Larijani is the chancellor of the Tehran Medical School while Fazel is a cultural attache to Canada.

Some of the brothers have also married into other powerful families,further integrating themselves into the inner circles of power. Sadeq himself is the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani, a traditionalist who resides and teaches in the holy city of Qom. Their only sister is married to Ayatollah Mostafa Mohaqeq Damad. The conservative Majlis deputy Ahmad Tavakoli is their cousin.

Philosophical ideas and scholarship

Larijani’s main area of interest seems to be philosophy and political philosophy. He has been teaching Kalam (interpretation of religious texts), modern rhetoric, comparative philosophy, philosophy of ethics and Western philosophy at university.

His scholastic contribution has been on the notion of “middle Ijtehad” in theology. This idea stipulates that juris consults do not need to have an  absolute knowledge in all aspects of theology, or specialization in just one particular field of theology, in order to be in a position to issue new rulings on certain matters. The idea of “middle Ijtehad” argues that juris consults who have partial, rather than total knowledge, of certain fields of theology can issue verdicts in those areas and challenge the standing authority.

Larijani, who is reported to have command of Arabic and English, has published several books and a number of articles.

Books:

- “Analytical Philosophy” (1996)

- “Religious knowledge” (1991), A critique of the views of the liberal Muslim thinker Abdolkarim Sorush, in two volumes.

Translated books:

- “Political Obligation” by John Horton (2005)

- “Contemporary moral philosophy” by G. J. Warnock (1989)

Articles:

- “Religion and the possibilities of interpretation”

- “Foundations of the legitimacy of the state”

He is the licence holder and managing editor of the philosophical periodical, “Principled Research” (Pazhuhesh-haye Usuli).

Islamic society and rights of man

Larijani’s views about the nature of the Islamic society and politics have been criticized by the more liberal and moderate Muslim elements in Iran.

In one of his articles Larijani argues that Islamic society is not based on the laws made by men but on the general principles set out in theKoran, according to Farhang Jahanpour who has looked into his work.

Larijani states: “We support a society which is based on the spirit of Islam and religious faith, in which Islamic and religious values are propagated, in which every Koranic injunction and the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and the Imams are implemented. It will be a society inwhich the feeling of servitude to God Almighty will be manifest everywhere, and in which people will not demand their rights from God but are conscious of their obligations to God.”

However, Larijani also acknowledges that the individual has rights and the state has a role in supporting these rights.

“The role of the government is to allow the individuals to enjoy the greatest freedom, so that they can pursue their rights and interests in the way that they see fit. The role of the government is not to impose its own values, goals and principles upon the citizens, and it should in noway interfere in such issues The role of the government is to provide a suitable environment that would allow the individuals to make their own choices in the society,” he says.