Ayatollah al-Udhma Yousof al-Sanei is an Iranian reformist Ayatollah and a Grand Marja of Shia Islam. A marja, or marja-e-taqleed (Arabic and persian مرجع تقليد), literally source of imitation or source of tradition, is the second highest authority on religion and law in Shia Islam after the prophet and (Shia) Imams. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ...

Born in Isfahan in 1927, he quickly rose to high ranks in his seminary studies at Qom's Hawzahs, and ranked first in the advanced level examinations in 1955, and was thus awarded the commendation of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi for his exceptional achievement. Part of Shah Abbas large urban project in his new capital, the Chahār Bāgh Four Gardens, is a four-kilometer avenue in the city of Isfahan. ... Qom is famous for the shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh, first built in the late 8th century. ... Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn Borujerdi (آیت‌الله سیدحسين بورجردی in Persian, 1914 -2003) was a Grand Shiite ayatollah. ...

He is particularly noteworthy for issuing a fatwa in which he declared suicide bombing as haram and a "terrorist act".[1] A fatwa (Arabic: ) plural fatāwa , is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. ... A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide). ... Haraam (harām) (Arabic: حرام ) is an Arabic word, used in Islam to refer to anything that is prohibited by the faith. ...

His views about Nuclear weapons and WMDs

In an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle ([2]), Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sanei said: "There is complete consensus on this issue. It is self-evident in Islam that it is prohibited to have nuclear bombs. It is eternal law, because the basic function of these weapons is to kill innocent people. This cannot be reversed.". Ayatollah Yousef Sanei said clerical authorities have quietly expressed opposition to the development of weapons of mass destruction for many years, and he described it as the reason that Iran never retaliated with chemical weapons when Saddam Hussein used them to kill Iranian troops and Iran-backed Kurds during the 1980- 88 Iran-Iraq war. "You cannot deliberately kill innocent people," he said. The San Francisco Chronicle, the self-described Voice of the West, is Northern Californias largest newspaper. ...

External links

• His official website
• An interview with Ayatollah Sanei (in persian)