Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diaries - 20 Dey 1378 (January 10, 2000) meeting of the Assembly of Experts in Qom

Meeting of the Assembly of Experts in Qom

We left for Qom at 6 am. We arrived at the Research Center [i.e., the Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence Institute], the venue of the Assembly of Experts meeting, at 8 am. Mr. Ibrahim Amini, the second deputy speaker of the Assembly of Experts, came and we discussed the agenda of the meeting. After breakfast, we attended the session. The session started at 8:30 am.

Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, gave a short speech. He spoke about the issue of religious authority and leadership, which led to objections from some attendees. It was decided that, in the pre-order speeches of the last few days, they should express their views, and that for three days, there should be no pre-order speeches so that we can complete the bylaws. We had sessions in the morning and afternoon. 13 articles were approved, and the progress of the work is good.

Mr. [Ghorbanali] Dorri [Najafabadi] came in the afternoon, and we prepared the news for the media. We didn't have any significant news. We reconstructed Ayatollah Meshkini's speech and discussed those who were rejected by the supervisory boards. Mr. Dorri believes that due to the lack of cooperation between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Guardian Council, a small number of people were rejected. Dr. Hassan Habibi, the first vice-president, called from Qom and said that about 70 people were rejected in Tehran and a large number in other cities. He requested that I speak with the Guardian Council and ensure that complaints are fairly addressed.

In the evening, we visited the Hadith Research Center (Dar al-Hadith), which was established by Mr. Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri. It's a beautiful building with a 3,000-square-meter area, a specialized library with 20,000 books, about 70 staff members, and an annual cost of about 120 million tomans. They presented a report on research projects in progress, computer programs, and internet plans. An interview was conducted, and we returned to the center.

The Qom City Council members came. They discussed the problems and shortcomings of Qom and sought assistance to make up for the backlog, etc. I said that they should prepare justified projects so that the government and parliament can help. Mr. Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Sheikh Mohammad Hashemian, Mr. Mohammadi, and Mr. Shams al-Din came. We discussed the work of the [Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence] Center and its branch in Lebanon, as well as election issues. I asked them to cancel my scheduled programs in Tehran for the following night and the next morning.