Fazlullah Nouri

Sheikh
Fazlollah Noori
Sheikh Fazlollah Noori
شيخ فضل‌الله نوری
Personal
Born	December 24, 1843; Mazandaran, Iran
Died	July 31, 1909 (aged 65); Tehran, Iran
Resting place	Fatima Masumeh Shrine
Religion	Islam
Nationality	Iranian
Parent	Abbas Mazandarani (father)
Jurisprudence	Twelver Shia Islam
Muslim leader
Successor	Ruhollah Khomeini

Sheikh Fazlollah bin Abbas Mazindarani (Persian: فضل‌الله بن عباس مازندرانی; 24 December 1843 – 31 July 1909), also known as Fazlollah Noori (Persian: فضل‌الله نوری), was a major figure in Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) as a Twelver Shia Muslim scholar and politically connected mullah of the court of Iran's Shah. Originally a supporter of the constitution, he turned against it after the supporting constitution shah died and was replaced by one opposing the constitution. He was hanged as a traitor in 1909 by a court of the constitutionalist government for "sowing corruption and sedition on earth".^[1]

In the Islamic Republic of Iran he is celebrated for defending Sharia law and Islam against agents of the West, and portrayed in school textbooks as a martyr (shahid) to Islam and the motherland.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Among historians outside of Iran he is known for having originally supported the constitutionalist revolution but having reversed himself when it was no longer politically expedient, for being "responsible for the murder of leading constitutionalists"^[2] by inciting mobs and issuing fatwas declaring parliamentary leaders "apostates", "atheists," "secret masons" and koffar al-harbi (warlike pagans) whose blood ought to be shed by the faithful;^[6]^[1] and (contrary to the mythology his opposing foreigners encroaching on Iran's culture, economy and society) for having taken money and given support to foreign interests in Iran.^[7]

Nouri was a financially successful court official responsible for collected religious funds, for conducting marriages and contracts, including the wills of wealthy men.^[8] Under the monarch Mozaffar al-Din Shah, who accepted demands for democratic reforms and agreed to surrender political powers to the parliament, he sided with the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. However, Noori turned against the revolution after Mozaffar al-Din's death and his successor (Muhammad Ali Shah Qajar) moved to close the parliament and return to the country to monarchical absolutism.^[9] He joined the Shah in a vigorous propaganda campaign against modern parliamentary system, insisting that the role of the elected parliament (majles) was as a forum for consultation, whereas the laws should come only from Sharia.^[10]^[11]

^ ^a ^b Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions by Ervand Abrahamian, University of California Press, 1999 p. 24
^ ^a ^b Abrahamian, Khomeinism, 1993: p.96
^ Molavi, Afshin (2002). Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 192-. ISBN 978-0-393-05119-3. Retrieved 1 June 2015. The Tehran billboard of Nouri, erected shortly after the revolution by the Islamic Republic of Iran, presents a different story, one of martyrdom. ... The message is not subtle: the Unjustly hanged Sheikh Fazlollah Nouri, ... was martyred for his defense of Islam against democracy and representative government.
^ Moin, Baqir (1999). Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. I.B.Tauris. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-85043-128-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference Basmenji was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Taheri, Amir, The Spirit of Allah by Amir Adler and Adler (1985), pp. 45–6
^ Abrahamian, Khomeinism, 1993: p.95-6
^ Farzaneh 2015, pp. 195.
^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Farzaneh 2015, p. 201.
^ Jahanbegloo, Ramin (2004). Iran: Between Tradition and Modernity. Lexington Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7391-0530-6.

[Abrahamian,_Ervand_p.24-1] Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions by Ervand Abrahamian, University of California Press, 1999 p. 24

[KEA1993:96-2] Abrahamian, Khomeinism, 1993: p.96

[Molavi-2002-192-3] Molavi, Afshin (2002). Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 192-. ISBN 978-0-393-05119-3. Retrieved 1 June 2015. The Tehran billboard of Nouri, erected shortly after the revolution by the Islamic Republic of Iran, presents a different story, one of martyrdom. ... The message is not subtle: the Unjustly hanged Sheikh Fazlollah Nouri, ... was martyred for his defense of Islam against democracy and representative government.

[:0-4] Moin, Baqir (1999). Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. I.B.Tauris. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-85043-128-2.

[Basmenji-5] Cite error: The named reference Basmenji was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Taheri,_Amir_1985_pp._45-6] Taheri, Amir, The Spirit of Allah by Amir Adler and Adler (1985), pp. 45–6

[KEA1993:95-6-7] Abrahamian, Khomeinism, 1993: p.95-6

[FOOTNOTEFarzaneh2015195-8] Farzaneh 2015, pp. 195.

[:2-9] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEFarzaneh2015201-10] Farzaneh 2015, p. 201.

[Jahanbegloo-82-11] Jahanbegloo, Ramin (2004). Iran: Between Tradition and Modernity. Lexington Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7391-0530-6.

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