Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom


The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom was founded in 1961 by the leading Muslim clerics of Qom, established by the students of Ayatollah Khomeini after his exile to Iraq in order to organize political activities of Khomeini's followers and promote his revolutionary interpretation of Islam such as the idea of Islamic government.
Since the 1979 revolution, it has largely become the body to keep the regime's registrar of who counts as a grand ayatollah, an Ayatollah and a Hojjat ul Islam. It has a head who is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. It currently heads the Supreme Council of Qom Hawzas, and proposes judges to the judiciary system.
The body gained international prominence when it announced in 1981 that Ayatollah Shariatmadari was no longer a source of emulation. It has demoted a number of clerics over the last three decades. A recent case was that of Ayatollah Yousef Saanei who for his solidarity with the green movement was demoted from marja' to hojatoleslam. The Society also include Ayatollah Sistani on its list.

Founders

Its founders comprising :
The Society approves a list of marjas in Qom. In 1963 the Society declared Ayatollah Khomeini as marja'. In 1994, after the death of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Araki, the Society nominated seven of the Ulama as his successors to be marja', including Ayatollah Khamenei.