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Iran's Facing a Mutiny from within the Mosque
(Bloomberg) Geneive Abdo - There is an increasing belief across Shiite communities that the consolidation of all powers in one person is antithetical to the Shiite tradition and that the position of supreme leader should be reformed or dissolved altogether. On March 6, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps detained Ayatollah Hussein Shirazi who, together with his influential father, Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi, are fierce opponents of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule. Hussein Shirazi reportedly called the supreme leader "the pharaoh" during a recent lecture, providing the pretext for his arrest. Iran's special clerical court initially sentenced him to 120 years in prison, but there are unconfirmed reports that Iranian authorities released him on March 18. His father has a vast presence online: his lectures are broadcast on 18 television channels and three radio stations across the Muslim world.