The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is in mourning over the death
on January 9, 2000 in Paris of board member Mehdi Rouhani,
from pancreatic cancer. Ayatollah Rouhani, the leader of the Shiite
Muslim community in Europe and an outspoken opponent of the Tehran
regime, was 67. He died at home, surrounded by his immediate
family.
Over his long and distinguished career, Dr. Rouhani constantly emphasized religious tolerance, and sought to build bridges among the world's great Monotheistic religions.
Dr. Rouhani was a unwavering opponent of the doctrine of Velayat-e Faghih (absolute clerical rule) that since 1979 has brought ruin to Iran and caused her people so much blood and sorrow. He dedicated his life to revealing the true face of Islam, an Islam of tolerance and love, faith and community.
"I will always fondly remember the hours and hours we spent
discussing Islam and politics in his home in Paris over the past
fifteen years," said FDI Executive Director Kenneth R. Timmerman. "I
salute Dr. Rouhani's unwavering courage, and his moral clarity. His
death strikes a blow to freedom-loving Iranians who saw in Dr.
Rouhani's principled rejection of the Islamic Republic a beacon of
hope in their struggle to 
drive
the clerical clique from power. My wife Christina and I will miss him
dearly, and will always keep a cherished place for him in our hearts
and in our home."
Dr. Rouhani is survived by his wife, Shams, and their three children: Fouad, Foroud, and Victoria. An older brother, Grand Ayatollah Sadegh Rouhani, remains under house arrest in Iran for his opposition to the ruling clerical regime. A third brother, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Rouhani, died at his home in Qom on July 25, 1997 under mysterious circumstances. He had also been under house arrest by the regime for his outspoken opposition to absolute clerical rule.
Highlights from Dr. Rouhani's career.
Born in April 1932, Mehdi Rouhani became a "mujtahed," one of the highest grades of Islamic scholarship, at the age of 26 in 1958, after studying with Ayatollah Borujerdi in Qom and for several years at Islamic centers in Najaf, Iraq.
He was drawn to Europe early on, and began studying in France in 1960, completing his PhD thesis in 1964. In 1967, he formed the Islamic-Christian Friendship Society in Paris, for which he was awarded the Vatican Gold Medal.
In 1976, back in Tehran, he created the Monotheistic Front to foster inter-faith dialogue. One year later, in recognition of his efforts, he was received at the Vatican by Pope Paul VI.
Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, Dr. Rouhani became one of the most outspoken opponents of the Islamic Republic, challenging the authority of the regime on religious grounds. He was regularly interviewed by the BBC, Voice of America, Radio France, and other international media, and wrote more than 100 articles and essays on religious topics.
Dr. Rouhani has traveled around the world to address seminars on Islam and its relationship to other monotheist religions. He has been received by Pope Jean-Paul II, as well as by leading Jewish community leaders. In 1995, he became a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran. In October of that year, he was a guest speaker at an international conference on Muslim-Jewish relations sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
FDI has had the pleasure and the honor of organizing several trips to the United States for Dr. Rouhani in recent years, including high-level meetings at the Pentagon, the Department of State, and with U.S. Jewish leaders and intellectuals.
Dr. Rouhani welcomed the efforts of Iranian President Khatami to liberalize Iranian society, but he cautioned Western analysts against wishful thinking. For President Khatami to maintain his legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people, Dr. Rouhani warned repeatedly, "he will have to work to dismantle the regime." Speaking in the name of senior Iranian conservative clerics, Rouhani said: "We support Khatami, and the West should support Khatami - but only in so far as he opposes the regime of Velayat-e Faghih."
In one unusual visit, organized by FDI, Dr. Rouhani met with top U.S. government analysts at Bolling Air Force base outside of Washington. Upon entering the building and seeing a memorial in honor of U.S. servicemen who died while serving their country overseas, Dr. Rouhani paused and spontaneously offered a prayer.
"It was gestures like these that made Mehdi Rouhani a tremendous political force, and a wonderful human being," said FDI's Timmerman.
Persons wishing to send their condolences to the Rouhani family are invited to send an e-mail to: rouhani@iran.org.
More on Dr. Rouhani's activities at FDI:
Ayatollah Mehdi Rouhani welcomes Khatami, but warns U.S., May 2, 1998
Senior Iranian clerics say "Islamic" Republic is not Islamic
FDI's Rouhani received by State Department
The Ayatollahs Speak out.Excerpts from a 1995 interview that appeared in The Iran Brief.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director. Tel: (301) 946-2918. Fax: (301) 942-5341. FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org