procession. The demonstration ended outside Saanei's home, Fars said, but it was not clear whether it was linked to the attack on Saanei's house reported by the aforementioned reformist website. The demonstrators chanted "The city of Qom is no city for hypocrites," and signed a statement calling for Saanei to be defrocked, Fars reported. One of the signatories, cleric Ahmad Panahian, said: "The trenches of the hypocrites in Qom must be destroyed." On 3 October 2010, news sites linked with Iran's political opposition movement reported that Saanei's website was blocked. According to The New York Times, "Internet users who attempted to access them ... were automatically redirected to a standard Iranian government filtering page which offers links to government-authorized web sites ... and the official web site of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei." Demotion from religious authority On 2 January 2010, a top clerical body in Qom, (The Qom Theological Lecturers Association, Jame-e-Modarressin), declared that Saanei no longer qualified to be a marja al-taqlid, or a source of emulation – the highest clerical rank in Shia Islam. The body said that it had launched a yearlong investigation into the qualifications of Saanei in response to repetitive inquiries on the issue. In a statement bearing the signature of Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the former head of Iran's judiciary, the body announced that the result of the investigation indicate that Saanei is not eligible to be a marja'. Conservatives and traditionalists condemned this move by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi of Hoze Modaresin to disqualify Ayatollah Saanei as a Marja', questioned the authority of the government sanctioned and subsidised association, and pointed out that even Ayatollah Sistani is not even listed by them as such. References External links Saanei.org, official website RoozOnline.com, An interview with Ayatollah Sanei 1937 births 2020 deaths Muslim reformers Shia clerics from Isfahan Islamic democracy activists Sharia judges Iranian grand ayatollahs Iranian democracy activists Members of the Guardian Council Islamic Republican Party politicians People who have been placed under house arrest in Iran Politicians from Isfahan