Word: ali
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Grand Ayatullah Hossein Ali Montazeri was known as Iran's defiant cleric, first in challenging the autocratic rule of the Shah, and then later in confronting the very revolution he had helped foment. Now, the big question in Tehran is whether his sudden death of natural causes will catalyze a broader showdown between the regime and the opposition Green Movement...
...designated to succeed the revolution's founder, Grand Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, as Supreme Leader, his outspoken criticism of the regime gave cover and legitimacy to the opposition Green Movement - and infuriated a theocracy ruled by his clerics of lesser rank. (See pictures of the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri...
...Given his clerical superiority and his outspoken views, it's hardly surprising that Montazeri became the nemesis of Iran's current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. "Khamenei doesn't really have a reply when Montazeri proclaims that the Islamic Republic of Iran is neither Islamic nor a Republic," said Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His immense standing was reflected in the fact that news of his death sent thousands of Iranians streaming to Qom. Grand Ayatollahs walked to his home in a show of respect, while opposition websites reported new protests against the regime at several universities...
Some point more cynically to a Saudi agenda lurking behind it all. The Saudis, Yemen's largest source of annual aid, were suspiciously quick to join the fight, says Ali Saif Hassan, the director of Yemen's Political Development Forum. The Saudis are troubled by Yemen's increasing lawlessness, its porous border, and the ability of local villagers to cross at will. "Now because of this war, they will have a chance to make a fence. And more than that, they will have a chance to clear the area on their side, take all of the villages off and make...
There was more bad news for Washington out of Islamabad late Wednesday, Dec. 16, this time from Pakistan's Supreme Court. The court overruled an amnesty on corruption charges that had been granted to President Asif Ali Zardari and other senior figures, spurring efforts by political opponents to force America's top ally in Pakistan to step down. The move follows a week in which top U.S. military commanders struggled to persuade their Pakistani counterparts to go after Afghan Taliban groups based in Pakistan, while U.S. diplomats complained, through the media, of increasing harassment by Pakistani authorities, which was seen...