His selection had happened for one reason—he was the only one among the candidates for Faqih who totally endorsed Khomeini’s vision of Islamic government.In addition, traditionalists did not approve Montazeri’s designation as successor due to several reasons, including his problematic persona in Shiite seminaries during the reign of the Shah and his support for Ali Shariati’s and for Nematollah Salehi Najaf Abadi’s works.