Iranian dissident cleric Montazeri dies

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who emerged as the spiritual father of its reform movement, died on Sunday. He was 87.

Thousands of his followers quickly set out for the holy city south of the capital where he is to be buried, according to an opposition Web site, presenting authorities with a challenge in trying to prevent Monday's funeral from turning into another display of power by the government's resilient critics.

For years, Montazeri had accused the country's ruling Islamic establishment of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam, and he persisted with his criticism after June's disputed presidential election.

His stance made him a hero to the opposition, and his criticisms were even more stinging because of his status. Police increased their presence in the city of Qom, where he is to be buried, according to the pro-reform Web site Rah-e Sabz.

Authorities there faced a difficult choice over whether to try to prevent an outpouring at the funeral that could turn into another opposition street protest. Doing so risks serious backlash from an influential group of clerics based in Qom who are among the current leadership's critics.

Crowds also began mourning ceremonies at Tehran University, where students have led recent anti-government protests, the pro-reform Web site said. The opposition's leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, called Montazeri's death "a great loss" and said he is hopeful other clerics will fill the gap left behind and answer the needs of Iran's younger generation.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom Montazeri once said was not qualified to rule, issued a statement of condolence with a mixed message.

Montazeri had once been designated to succeed Ayatollah Khomeini, the late founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, as the supreme leader — but the two clashed a few months before Khomeini died of cancer in 1989.

Montazeri was one of the leaders of the revolution and he helped draft the nation's new constitution, which was based on a concept called velayat-e faqih, or rule by Islamic jurists. That concept enshrined a political role for Islamic clerics in the new system.

Taking the opposing view, Khomeini and his circle of clerics consolidated absolute power. Montazeri was increasingly cast by authorities as an outsider and misguided theologian.

During the late 1980s, Montazeri was gradually stripped of his official duties and became the focus of a high-level campaign to undermine his credentials as a leader and theologian.

In 1997, Montazeri was placed under house arrest in Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Tehran, after saying the current supreme leader, Khamenei, wasn't qualified to rule — a call echoed years later by the opposition protesters who took to the streets after June's disputed presidential vote.

The official IRNA news agency issued a two-line report on Montazeri's death without mentioning his title and state radio and television broadcasters were equally terse, reflecting the deep tension between the government and its opponents.

Past deaths of high-ranking religious figures were accompanied by wide coverage in state media. After the disputed election, pro-government figures tried to reduce Montazeri's impact by spreading reports that he had become senile and that his supporters were issuing opinions in his name.

Montazeri is expected to be buried inside the shrine of Masoumeh, a female saint revered by Shiite Muslims, according to news reports. The shrine is in the center of Qom. Montazeri was still respected by many Iranians, who observed his religious rulings or supported his calls for democratic change within the ruling establishment.