Young cleric names and shames Iran's luxury-loving elite
With 233,000 followers, a young cleric from Qom has become the voice of Iranians who resent the ruling class' lavish lifestyles while the rest of the country is in dire need.
Iran’s high-living aghazadehs — a satirical moniker for the offsprings of the Iranian ruling class — have an outspoken critic in a young cleric from Qom who uses their favorite medium — Instagram — to name and shame those who flaunt their luxurious lifestyles or land cushy jobs.
With 233,000 followers, Seyed Mahdi Sadrossadati has become the icon of a “no to aristocracy” campaign in Iran. Since the beginning of this year, he has been sharing the pictures and videos of some Iranian officials or their relatives living in luxury. His accompanying critical remarks have been "liked" by thousands of Iranians.
The 31-year-old cleric, who is a father of two, has been outspoken and active in other social causes such as raising money to buy food and other goods for the needy.
His exposure campaign spares neither end of the political spectrum or even the clergy. On Feb. 25, he posted a picture of Mohammad Naghi Lotfi, the Friday Prayer Imam in the western province of Ilam — the highest representative figure of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the province — who rides in a foreign-made luxury car. His comment next to the photo reads, "Before the revolution many of our scholars were exiled in remote villages and towns and they used to ride donkeys, just like farmers. Now after the revolution, the farmers still ride the same donkey. [So, do we], as simple clerics, ride in a Prado for the sake of our safety and prestige? Is this what our martyrs gave their lives for?"
