Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani

(Redirected from Abbasali Amid Zanjani)

Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani (30 March 1937 – 30 October 2011) was an Iranian politician and cleric. He was the only cleric president of University of Tehran, who himself had no academic education of any kind, that served from 2005 to 2008.[1][2]

Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani
Amid Zanjani in 2007
Born(1937-03-30)March 30, 1937
DiedOctober 30, 2011(2011-10-30) (aged 74)
Political partyCombatant Clergy Association

Early life

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Zanjani was a member of the Board of Directors of Imam Khomeini International University. He was also the founder of the Research Center for Studies and Researches on Islamic Sciences. Zanjani had strong political ties with Iranian conservatives and was a member of Combatant Clergy Association. He had an active presence in reconsideration of the Constitution in 1989 as the delegate of the Parliament in the Revising Council. He has served as a member of Parliament of Iran from Tehran for two terms. [citation needed]

Political career

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Zanjani in the 1960s

Zanjani, an ethnic Iranian Azeri, was the only cleric president of University of Tehran. Zanjani holds no secular academic degree [3] and was appointed by Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi, the minister of Science, Research, and Technology in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet on 27 December 2005. Before his selection, the president of the University of Tehran was elected by the faculty members. After his establishment as the president of University of Tehran, many students protested in front of the Central Library, where the establishment ceremony was held.[4] To date, this appointment is considered as one of the most disastrous decisions ever made in the Iranian academia.

At the time of his appointment as the chancellor of Tehran University, Zanjani was a lecturer with a ranking equivalent to "associate professor".[3] However, after his appointment, He and his allies tried to make a fake academic degree and university ranking for him. As an example Tehran University launched a webpage about his background education, claiming that "he holds a PhD degree from University Elites, Iran".[5]

During his post as the president of the university, Zanjani was repeatedly criticized for his mismanagements by students and academics. On 5 February 2008, Zanjani was replaced by economist academic Farhad Rahbar after three-days demonstration organized by Tehran University students.[6]

His teachings of Islamic International Law to the LLM students of international law and public law is considered to be in full contrast with the most fundamental principles of law recognized by all civilized nations.

Expulsion of university scientists

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In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government systematically forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire; this policy has been referred to as the "second cultural revolution".[7] The policy was to replace older professors with younger ones.[8][unreliable source?] Many university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.[9][unreliable source?]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Senior Iranian cleric passes away due to heart problem
  2. ^ "Former chancellor of Tehran University passes away". Tehrantimes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. ^ a b "BBCPersian.com". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  4. ^ "Tehran University students protest the new Mullah president installed by Ahmadinejad". Iranpressnews.com. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  5. ^ University of Tehran Archived October 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "BBCPersian.com". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  7. ^ [1] Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ آفتاب - انتقاد خوش چهره از خانه نشين كردن اساتيد Archived May 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ آفتاب - ابعاد خانه نشین شدن استادان دانشگاه Archived August 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of University of Tehran
2005–2008
Succeeded by