Grand Ayatollah

Ayatollah

Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...

 Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini Alavi Gorgani (born 1922) is an Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian Twelver shi'a marja

Marja

Marja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...

. He was born in a religious family in Golestan, Iran

Golestan, Iran

Golestan is a city in and capital of Golestan District, Robat Karim County, Tehran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 231,882, in 57,216 families....

. He rose to a leading scholar in Najaf

Najaf

Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...

, and moved to Qom

Qom

Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....

 in 1979. Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani studied under the late Ayatollah Bourujerdi.

Opposition

Grand Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani is a leading critic of Khamenei and has repeatedly questioned his clerical credentials.