Ayatollah Emami-Kashani calls Americans 'murderers'

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Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani fiercely lambasted Americans as an occupier in Iraq for not caring about the fate of Iraqis during Friday prayers at Tehran University. During the same prayers he stated that vanity and arrogance are the root of all evil.

Emami-Kashani is a senior member of the Assembly of Experts; the Assembly of Experts is a clerical body charged with reviewing the actions of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to ensure conformity with Islamic laws. Furthermore, the Assembly of Experts chooses a new Supreme Leader should Khamenei become incapable of leadership.

Emami-Kashani told prayerful supporters,

He also spoke about the Social Security Plan of Iran. However, he wasn't referring to social insurance; Emami-Kashani meant the necessity of ridding Iran of moral corruption: "It is not right for an Iranian mother to stare worriedly at the entrance door of her house till hours after midnight for the return home of her daughter, lest an ethically corrupt boy would have cheated her."

He also said that Americans care only about U.S. deaths.

Last month, he said that the West wants "a strife between Islamic countries so that Muslims would kill each other."

In December of 2006, Ayatollah Emami-Kashani ran for re-election and garnered 823,308 votes in his district. This may attest to his popularity, that was second only to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the 2006 Assembly of Experts vote.