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| Top dissident Iranian cleric dies | Top dissident Iranian cleric dies |
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| The senior Iranian dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri has died, state-run Iranian media say. | The senior Iranian dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri has died, state-run Iranian media say. |
| It is not yet clear how the 87-year-old theologian, who was based in the holy city Qom, south of Tehran, passed away. | |
| "Hoseyn Ali Montazeri passed away in his home last night," Irna news agency said without mentioning his title. | |
| He was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state. He was also a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. | |
| One of Shia Islam's most respected figures, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri issued a fatwa condemning President Ahmadinejad's government after June's disputed election. | |
| But that was not his first clash with authority. | |
| In 1997 he famously clashed with Iran's ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after questioning the powers of the Supreme Leader. | |
| This led to the closure of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's religious school, an attack on his office in Qom and a period of house arrest. | |
| What are your memories of Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri? | |
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