Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mojtaba Tehrani


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   keep. Note that WP:NOTENGLISH is not a reason for deleting. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 08:36, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Mojtaba Tehrani

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Delete: impossible to gauge the notability of this individual as all source references are in Farsi; what tiny amount of explanatory text exists in the article provides no particular evidence of notability. Quis separabit? 00:49, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Keep This man was a Marja', a very high ranking cleric in Shiite Islam. He was a Grand Ayatollah, and here is an article from Tehran Times about his funeral. Here is a story from Iran English Radio. Farsi sources are perfectly fine, and the article should be expanded not deleted.  Cullen 328   Let's discuss it  01:17, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I know foreign language sources are accepted but we should have some idea what they say. And I admit to not being an expert whether or not all ayatollahs are equally notable. Quis separabit?  02:18, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I read both English language sources . They are almost identical and neither provides any particular notability aside from the presence of the country's most powerful men at his funeral, which would likely be customary anyway. Quis separabit?  02:22, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * You are correct in suspecting that all ayatollahs are not equally notable. I don't claim expertise either, but have read about Shiite Islam as an outsider for decades. The claim to notability is that he was a Marja', a Grand Ayatollah, a much higher religious rank than lower ranking ayatollahs. My understanding is that there are only about 70 Grand Ayatollahs among approximately 200 million Shiites. This book describes him as "imam of one of Tehran's largest and most important mosques". It is not impossible to gauge his notability, as we have many Farsi speaking Wikipedia editors who can assist, and Google Translate will give you a rough idea of what Farsi sources say.  Cullen 328   Let's discuss it  03:20, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Indiana University Press has published a book solely about the history and religious importance of the marja'. In my opinion, a marja' is as notable as a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church or a U.S. Senator. It is just that most of the references are likely to be in Farsi.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  03:29, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I've expanded the article a bit, adding the references discussed here.  Cullen 328  Let's discuss it  00:50, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Iran-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:56, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Islam-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:56, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:57, 19 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Keep For the reasons outlined about about the significance of the position. To put things in context a Grand Ayatollah is Shiite Islam's equivalent to a Catholic Cardinal. Due to its significant role, there are currently lists on wikipedia of both current and deceased marja.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Maraji and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deceased_Maraji.Kabirat (talk) 06:33, 21 February 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.