Grand Ayatollah Abdol-Karim Musavi-Ardebili, 86, did not list any specific errors when he spoke in Qom last week. Musavi-Ardebili was an active revolutionary himself and held government posts in the first decade after the revolution. But he has since aligned himself with the reformist movement and found fault with the ruling establishment.
In a statement posted on his website, the senior cleric said: “Now I see some deeds and outcomes and wonder if we have been negligent in our responsibilities or are culpable. When our friends were struggling, they had much higher expectations.”
Ayatollah Musavi-Ardebili, who was the head of the Supreme Judicial Council under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, said: “I want to use this opportunity to tell the honorable people of Iran, the families of the martyrs, and all the people who worked hard that we stepped down this path in good faith, but perhaps we were negligent. If any of the current problems and failures are the result of my actions, I apologize to everyone.”
Musavi-Ardebili continued: “I am speaking for myself. I am concerned about my own actions and inactions. If we all had acted appropriately, we would not have reached this situation. I am afraid that all of us—former and current officials of the country—have to apologize to the people, more so those of us that wear the cloak of spiritual leaders.”
He urged all officials to “honestly apologize for their mistakes” without fear of the consequences, stating that honesty and a serious attempt at making amends would result in understanding and reconciliation.
Musavi-Ardebili is one of many clerics who were severely critical of the 2009 crackdown on protesters who alleged that Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad was re-elected through vote fraud. He publicly spoke out again last year after Mir-Hossain Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, the losing presidential candidates were confined under house arrest.
At that time, he said: “Today slander has become a normal and far-reaching activity, and anyone will unscrupulously insult whomever they want. Or before someone is convicted of a crime and handed a punishment in a legitimate court, [some authorities] accuse people and issue their sentence without fear of any consequence.”
Musavi-Ardebili said such actions “distort the eminent teachings of Islam.”
The state-backed daily Kayhan attacked Musavi-Ardebili’s statement, calling it a declaration of support for the two detained opposition leaders. The Kayhan editorial insisted that Musavi-Ardebili’s statement was not in line with his “well-known and revolutionary” character and must have been influenced by the wrong elements.