Aghajari's speech hit at the very core of Iran's 25-year-old Islamic government, calling for a reformation in the state religion and asserting that Muslims were not "monkeys" and "should not blindly follow" religious leaders. - Al Jazeera
In June 2003, against a backcloth of pro-reform demonstrations in Tehran, Mr Aghajari was reported to be among 250 intellectuals who issued a strongly-worded declaration accusing the ruling clerics of setting themselves in the place of God. -BBC