The battle over Islamic Azad University
Recent clashes between moderate conservatives in Iran’s parliament and hardliners in the executive branch have moved to an unlikely battleground — the Islamic Azad University, the largest institution of higher learning in Iran. Since the start of his first term in office, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began a series of attacks against the management of Islamic ...
Recent clashes between moderate conservatives in Iran's parliament and hardliners in the executive branch have moved to an unlikely battleground -- the Islamic Azad University, the largest institution of higher learning in Iran.
Since the start of his first term in office, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began a series of attacks against the management of Islamic Azad University, criticizing administrators on a variety of grounds -- including the life-term presidency of Abdullah Jasbi and high tuition rates. Ahmadinejad and his allies have also accused the university's top officials of stealing public funds (the university is funded by the public). But the most important aspect of this new wave of attacks is the involvement of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who -- as founder and chairman of the board of Azad University -- is at the center of the firestorm.
Recent clashes between moderate conservatives in Iran’s parliament and hardliners in the executive branch have moved to an unlikely battleground — the Islamic Azad University, the largest institution of higher learning in Iran.
Since the start of his first term in office, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began a series of attacks against the management of Islamic Azad University, criticizing administrators on a variety of grounds — including the life-term presidency of Abdullah Jasbi and high tuition rates. Ahmadinejad and his allies have also accused the university’s top officials of stealing public funds (the university is funded by the public). But the most important aspect of this new wave of attacks is the involvement of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who — as founder and chairman of the board of Azad University — is at the center of the firestorm.
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