Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi (; ; 1912–2007) was a prominent Shia marja' who was born in Najaf. He was known as Seyyed Hassan Qomi. Seyyed Hassan was inhabitant in Mashhad, and was opposing (against) Pahlavi reign. He is the son of Seyyed Hussein Qomi, and the brother of Seyyed Taqi Qomi. Seyyed Hassan had teachers, amongst: Mohammad Hussein Naini, Seyyed Hussein Qomi, Mohammad Hussein Qaravi Esfahani, Sheikh Kazem Shirazi, Mirza Mohammad Aqazadeh. He has repeatedly criticized the velayat-e faqih, and because of his critique, the Iranian government, beginning with Ruhollah Khomeini, placed him under house arrest  from 1984 until his death in 2007. His younger brother Taqi Tabatabaei Qomi is also a Twelver Shia Marja'. Background. Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi, the son of the Grand Ayatollah Qomi from Mashhad, remained under house arrest from 1984 to 2007. Beside his house arrest and limited opportunity to lecture and advice students, his importance as a theological authority was also decreased by virtue of the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically promoted Qom throughout the past 30 years as a center of theological learning at the expense of the city of Mashhad. In an interview with the  London-based Kayhan International newspaper in June 1997, he condemned the theological basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran and described the Vilayat-e Faqih as violating Islamic principles. He also commented on the election of Mohammad Khatami to the presidency in 1997 as an indication of the rejection of the Vilayat-e Faqih on the part of the Iranian people. Bibliography. Amnesty International Report 13/24/97