Small, frail and in his 80s, he looks no match for Iran's tough regime. But Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri is made of steel. He wields considerable moral authority as the country's highest-ranking and most fearless dissident cleric, representing a potent challenge to hardline authorities who have tried and failed to silence him for two decades.
He was once Ayatollah Khomeini's designated successor but was unceremoniously cast aside by the founder of the Islamic Republic, just months before his death in 1989, because the Grand Ayatollah had criticised human rights abuses by the regime. Since then, despite official harassment of his aides and a six-year period of house arrest, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri has remained the outspoken conscience of Iran's religious community, an advocate of democratic pluralism and foreign policy moderation.
"Montazeri has refused to go away and is today more vocal and explicit in his criticism than ever," said Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert and professor of international relations at Durham University in England. "If anything, his claim that he stands for freedoms and justice are even more important today," Prof Ehteshami said in an interview.
Despite official attempts to marginalise Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, he enjoys a considerable following as a marja - or model for emulation ? one of the highest-ranking Shia theologians, easily trumping the theological credentials of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini.
Last week, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, 87, delivered the severest statement yet by a senior cleric following June's controversial election. Iran, he said, had become a "military regime", not the just Islamic government conceived during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which he helped found.
More worrying for the authorities, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri proclaimed that his fellow marjas - a small number of top religious figures who provide spiritual and personal guidance to millions of pious Shias ? had the responsibility to come out publicly against the regime and the "crimes" he said it had committed "in the name of Islam".
The events, he added, were a "warning bell" for the clerics, who have historically "given refuge to people against crimes and violations committed by governments." He continued: "The grand ayatollahs are well aware of their influence on the regime, and they know quite well the regime needs their approval for its legitimacy. They also know the regime is exploiting their silence."
Hours later, three of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's grandchildren were arrested for allegedly taking part in political rallies. Four sons of three other reformist clerics were also arrested in an apparent effort to intimidate senior clerics and silence the younger clerical generation. A reformist website reported yesterday that the authorities had forced Grand Ayatollah Montazeri to cancel his annual prayer meeting marking the end of Ramadan.
Even if Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's fellow grand ayatollahs do not respond to his rallying cry, his stinging rebuke of the regime makes it more difficult for the authorities to harness clerical support for their continuing suppression of the opposition. Some other prominent clerics besides Grand Ayatollah Montazeri have criticised the crackdown on street protests, but none in such blistering terms.
His position, however, is unlikely to become mainstream unless his colleagues speak out as forcefully. Iran's clerical class is generally cautious and conservative, but when they do intervene en masse, they have been a powerful force ? as they were during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"Montazeri is not a lone voice. There are other clerics, some quite senior, who now stand alongside him," Mr Ehteshami said.
Some analysts see Grand Ayatollah Montazeri as the most influential opposition figure after Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man millions of Iranians believe was the true winner of June's elections. "Montazeri is far more influential in my view than [Mohammad] Khatami and [Medhi] Karrubi," said an Iran scholar and former seminary student in Iran's holy city of Qom, referring to the opposition's other main figureheads. "He [Montazeri] has no official position yet his power and moral authority hasn't declined," added the scholar, who declined to be named. "At the same time, he's not too radical. He wants reform, not a new revolution."
Others question how much sway Grand Ayatollah Montazeri has among the clerical class given his official isolation. "But there is no doubt that he has remained the conscience of Iran's religious community on issues related to civil and human rights," said Farideh Farhi, a leading Iran expert at the University of Hawaii. "His consistency and persistence on these issues even before he was removed from office is what makes his words potent and relevant in these times of blatant violations of citizens' rights," she said.
In June, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri declared that "no one in their right mind" could believe the official results of the presidential elections. "A government not respecting [the] people's vote has no religious or political legitimacy," he said. He also called for three days of mourning for those killed in the huge pro-democracy demonstrations that followed the elections, and for the release of prisoners.
Similar criticism of the regime more than two decades ago brought about his dismissal as Ayatollah Khomeini's heir apparent in 1989. Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's "sin" in Khomeini's eyes was that he had begun to urge a more open Islamic government and condemned the arbitrary execution of large numbers of dissidents after the 1988 ceasefire with Iraq.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was put under house arrest in 1997 after questioning the unaccountable authority exercised by Ayatollah Khamenei.
In February 2000, he spoke out strongly against clerical interference in the government. He defended the principle of clerical supervision to guarantee that government policy and legislation conformed with Islamic principles. But he said Ayatollah Khamenei should submit himself to popular elections and be accountable and receptive to public criticism. Grand Ayatollah Montazeri suggested, too, that the Islamic republican constitution, of which he was a prime author, should be changed to give the then reformist president, Mr Khatami, control over the security forces and military rather than leaving them in the grip of the Supreme Leader.
Despite his defiance, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was released from house arrest, unbowed, in January 2003 to a rapturous welcome by hundreds of supporters. It was believed the authorities were worried that the ageing cleric could become a focus for opposition groups in Iran if he died while under house arrest. On his release, he declared: "Just as I did during my detention, I will continue to talk about issues and act."
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)