Azad University - Qazvin

The campus of Islamic Azad University in Qazvin. Azad (“Free”) University is Iran’s largest with over 1 million students and 350 campuses covering all major population centers in Iran, and campuses in foreign countries such as UK and UAE. Recently, the university has been the subject of a power struggle between its independent board of trustees and the Ahmadinejad administration. The government is trying to take over the private institution, but is facing stiff resistance from its board led by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Khamanei Rules to Nationalize Free University of Iran- UPDATE

In a major blow to Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s attempt to maintain the status of Iran’s Islamic Free University as an endowed private institution, the country's supreme leader today ruled that the university, the country’s largest, is a public institution and should be managed by government’s Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution [Mashreq Website, 11 October]. Rafsanjani is the founding chairman of the university’s board of trustees and now has to relinquish his authority to President Ahmadinejad who chairs the Supreme Council.

The ruling supported Ahmadinejad’s argument that the Free University should be state-owned and managed like other institutions of higher learning in Iran. But Rafsanjani argued that the university was founded privately in the early years of the Islamic Republic and has been managed by its own board of trustees for nearly three decades, growing into the largest university in Iran and in the region, with campuses across Iran, UAE and Britain. Khamaeni’s ruling against Rafsanjani effectively nationalizes the Free University. The move is also seen as yet another indication of Khamenei’s siding with Ahmadinejad on important issues against his political opponents.

UPDATE: Immediately after Khamenei’s ruling on Azad University’s status, Rafsanjani’s website posted a historical note saying Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, had personally donated 1 million toumans to the university. It also quoted Rafsanjani of reporting to Imam Khomeni that there were forces that wanted to nationalize the university and Khomeini told him not to worry, to continue keeping the university private, and he (Khomeini) would take care of the opponents.

Uskowi: This issue has all the markings of a major power struggle centered on the fate of a university.

Khamenei Stops Government Takeover of Azad University

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has nullified a recent ruling by High Council for Education that would have transferred the control of Azad ("Free") University of Iran, the country’s largest, to the government. The move is a major victory for Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the founding chairman of the university’s board of trustees, and a defeat for Ahmadinejad’s attempt to take over the university.

The government’s High Council for Education had approved new by-laws and a new board of trustees for the university. Those moves became nullified by Khamenei's order. The government had also encouraged student demonstrations against Rafsanjani and his control of the university and the influential extreme right daily Kayhan had strongly pushed for the government takeover.

Anti-Majlis Student Protest in Tehran

Student Demonstrators at Majlis

The sign at far right reads: 'How Much Money For Each Vote?'

Tehran. 22 June 2010. Fars Photo

In a large student demonstration in front of Majlis, the Iranian Parliament, the protesters demanded that the parliament reverses its recent vote to allow the Free Islamic University of Iran to continue as an endowed private institution. The Free University, as it is popularly called, is the largest and arguably the richest institution of higher learning in Iran. The Majlis action legalized its status as an endowed private institution governed by its board of trustees, a common arrangement in the West, but an oddity in Iran’s system of government ownership of universities and colleges.

The semi-official Fars News Agency reports from Tehran that the student demonstrators were chanting slogans against the Majlis and its speaker: “Traitor Deputies Shame on You!”, “Larijani Shame On You, Resign, Resign!”

Some fundamentalist deputies joined the demonstrations and spoke at the gathering condemning the 134-72 vote on Sunday legalizing Free University’s status.

Implicit in the angry protests is the fact that the university, created during the first years of the Islamic Republic by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, is believed to be controlled by pro-opposition personalities. Fars News Agency highlighted related chants by protesters: “Larijani, Hashemi Have United!” , “Majlis, Mafia Have United!”