Word: ites
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...corruption, police arrested a dozen businessmen and former top government officials suspected of embezzlement, land frauds and misappropriations of government funds. The widespread incidence of such corruption was one of the major complaints of opponents of the regime-most notably the religious mullahs (leaders) of the Shi´ite Muslim sect. Among those arrested were three former Cabinet ministers (agriculture, trade and health), and Hojabr Yadzani, who is one of Iran's richest businessmen. A thousand other businessmen were advised that they would not be allowed to leave the country. Said an Iranian banker: "It looks ike the crash...
...reconciliation with his religious opponents. He brought home his ambassador to the U.S., Ardeshir Zahedi, to open a dialogue with dissident mullahs. Sharif-Emami was expected to call this week on Ayatullah Sharietmadari, 76, the religious teacher who is regarded as the most powerful spokesman for the Shi'ite opposition. In addition, Ayatullah Khomeini, 80, a popular mullah exiled in Iraq since 1963, might be permitted to return home if he disavows the overthrow of the Shah...
Among the mullahs inside Iran, the most powerful is Ayatullah Sharietmadari, a revered Islamic scholar who condemns violence but strongly opposes the Shah on constitutional and religious grounds (see box). Parliament, claims Sharietmadari, too often violates the precepts of Islamic law to the detriment of Shi'ite sensibilities. Gambling, prostitution and pornography are all viewed as typical manifestations of modernism. The Shah's widespread curtailment of civil liberties, freedom of the press and political assembly are looked upon as only further evidence of his determination to deprive the Shi'ites of their power and to transform the nation into...
Sharietmadari's headquarters?and thus the heart of Iran's internal Islamic opposition?is Qum, a city of 300,000 that ranks with Najaf in Iraq as one of the world's greatest centers of Shi'ite learning. Located 75 miles south of Tehran, Qum is both a symbol and a model of the Iran that the mullahs yearn to preserve. No television aerials mar the pristine skyline; no public cinemas threaten to seduce the inquisitive; no bars or liquor stores offend the strict life of the observant. All women wear the chador and devote much of their lives...
...holiness that distinguish him from the rest of us." But Sharietmadari is also tough and politically canny. He opposes the regime for many reasons, including its record of torture, censorship and bribery. Despite his public modesty, he displays total confidence about his status among his 32 million Shi'ite Muslim followers...