Iranian Cleric Warns Economic Issues May Affect Seminary Students

A leading cleric warns economic woes may impact retention of religious students in Iran's seminaries.

Mohammad Hassan Rahimian, the manager of Jamkaran seminary near Tehran said measures must be taken to "improve academic motivation" among students with a priority on cost of living issues.

His comments suggest that clerics have also felt the bite of economic pressure although the budget of seminaries has recently increased disproportionately to the relief given to struggling Iranians.

Earlier this month, a report, hacked by an opposition group from the Iranian presidency servers, showed that the budget for seminaries increased by 96% last year.

“The money has been spent on issues like pensions for elderly clerics and support for the retirement of seminary students," the report released by MEK-affiliated Telegram account Uprising till Overthrow claimed.

Iranian media reported in January that the budget for religious organizations would increase by 130 percent, reaching $500 million, while at least 20 million more Iranians are now considered poor compared to two years ago.

Religious organizations, including seminaries, play the role of propagandists for the regime. Many clerics in Iran hold government offices and the government also annually allocates tens of millions of dollars to religious seminaries and other religious institutions that play the role of its propaganda arm.

In a recent speech, Iran's top Sunni cleric Mowlavi Abdolhamid said clerics and religious seminaries must not be funded by the government to remain independent and critical.