Posted on 10/13/2010 7:53:38 AM PDT by nuconvert
Iran's embattled president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is savouring a victory over his moderate opponents, foremost among them one of Iran's most influential powerbrokers.
The country's supreme leader issued a "final and definite" decree giving Mr Ahmadinejad's government control of Iran's largest private university, which has previously been overseen by allies of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, himself a former president.
The Islamic Azad University, which has more than 1.3 million students in 357 campuses across Iran, was a major site of protests against Mr Ahmadinejad's fiercely disputed re-election last year.
Mr Rafsanjani sits on the board of the university, which has significant financial assets and has been one of his main power centres since its establishment in 1982. During last year's presidential election campaign, Mr Rafsanjani was accused of using the university's financial power to promote candidates opposing Mr Ahmadinejad.
The university is viewed as an alternative for middle-class families who do not have the connections or ideological requirements to qualify for publicly-funded higher eduction.
On Monday, Iran's absolute ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared the university's tax-exempt endowment - which keeps it financially independent - to be religiously illegitimate and therefore null and void.
"This is a big slap in the face for Rafsanjani," Professor Scott Lucas, an Iran expert based at Birmingham University, said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thescotsman.scotsman.com ...
Great— that’s just what we needed....
LOL, cool .... it’s been 31 yrs. Is Israel waiting for an invite to take action?
What action should we take, exactly? Best thing so far was infecting their computers with Queen Esther virus. Beyond that, it’s a balagan.
Don’t what action you should take! But, there have been plenty of sporadic threads, and posts, since 2006 on FR about Israel attacking nuclear sites in Iran. I guess “Queen Esther virus” could be considered not so balagan, depending on one’s view.
Don’t = Don’t know
Queen Esther’s the one positive step I’ve seen so far. Air strikes are seriously problematic, from all I’ve heard and simply from common sense. Espionage might be ongoing, and Queen Esther might have been just the tip of the iceberg. I certainly hope so.
That is awful news for Iranian people, and the spirit of academic independence. Scholarship has always been important in Iran.
I certainly hope so too. Thanks for your reply.
>>>”The university is viewed as an alternative for middle-class families who do not have the connections or ideological requirements to qualify for publicly-funded higher eduction.”<<<
Wrong assessment.
Most Uni students, in and out of Iran, receiving Scholarships, have been & can, mostly, be Very closely associated with the Islamic Regime in Iran (Rafsanjani, Khamenei, AN, or other more publicly known or unknown IRI figures - directly or indirectly).
BUT, it doesn’t mean that All Uni students (or their families) from various Universities in Iran are connected to the IRI.
Additionally, approx. 99% of mainstream & well regarded Universities, since 1979 in Iran, primarily, have admitted, or, at the very least, give preference to Muslim born (Shia) individuals/families in today’s Islamically governed Iran.
Shia born muslim Iranians, who can establish their Shia muslim identity, most definitely, are given preference for scholarship (in & out of Iran), entering Uni, seeking jobs, housing, employment, etc... (as examples) over Iranian religious minorities.
The same, per above, did Not apply during the Shah’s govt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.