Iran: Why Mojtaba Khamenei Was Chosen To Succeed His Father – Analysis

By Hassan Al-Mustafa

Mojtaba Khamenei would not have become the supreme leader of Iran had his father, Ali Khamenei, died naturally. The prevailing custom in Shiite “scientific hawza” (seminaries) — whether in Najaf, Karbala, Qom or Mashhad — holds that religious authority is not passed from father to son, as such conduct is regarded as a pursuit of leadership that contradicts the principle of piety.

Throughout Shiite history, when a religious leader died, his sons did not immediately assume authority after him...