Iran: Ayatollah Montazeri Funeral Today

Over the weekend, one of Iran’s most respected religious scholars and outspoken critics of the regime, Grand Ayatollah Hosein-Ali Montazeri, died in his sleep. As Time Magazine reports, Montazeri “was known as Iran’s defiant cleric, first in challenging the autocratic rule of the Shah, and then later in confronting the very revolution he had helped foment.” In Montazeri’s own words, “The goal (of the revolution) was not simply to change the names and slogans but keep the same oppression and abuses practiced by the previous regime.”

The Guardian offers an obituary, praising Montazeri for expanding “the boundaries of Shia jurisprudence into the realm of human rights.” Muhammad Sahimi at Tehran Bureau profiles the life of Montazeri, who taught “that one can be a Muslim, but also a progressive and a democrat and to be proud of it.” Juan Cole explains how Montazeri “became an Islamist democrat, putting more emphasis on popular sovereignty, without denying a role for learned clerics in guiding society.” Thus Cole contends “Montazeri aspired to be the Gorbachev of the Khomeinist regime, but although he died in his own bed, he was more analogous to its Trotsky, a road not taken.”

The Daily Dish quotes Robert Worth‘s explanation for why Montazeri matters: “Ayatollah Montazeri, who long advocated greater civil liberties and women’s rights in Iran, was angered by the bloody crackdown that followed the June election and issued a series of remarkable broadsides against the authorities.”  As such, the Dish also cites Scott Lucas, who calls Montazeri “one of the most vocal supporters of the opposition movement, going as far as to criticise the legitimacy of the Supreme Leader.”

Meir Javedanfar therefore argues “the death of Grand Ayatollah Hosein Ali Montazeri is a loss for the opposition in Iran. However, much like his legacy, they will march on.” In fact, as The New York Times reports, his death is “widely expected to be a catalyst for possibly violent confrontations between protesters and the police.” Both Time and niacINsight observe the dilemma facing the regime, which has the choice of either allow mass opposition demonstrations or clamping down on the funeral of one of Iran’s most respected clerics. Further raising the stakes, tradition calls for a second mournig ritual a week after death, which circumstantially coincides with Ashura, the holiest day in the Shi’ite calendar that commemorates the martyrdom of Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed fighting tyranny.

In preparation for Montazeri’s funeral today, the regime deployed riot police,  shut down major highways and intelligence officials warned to not attend the funeral. But at the same time, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his condolences, describing Montazeri as a “well-versed jurist and a prominent master.” As opposition leaders called to declare today a national day of mourning, the regime continued to arrest its citizens, including a key disciple of Montazeri, Ahmad Qabel.  

But as the New York Times reports, the regime eventually “allowed the mourners through, apparently deciding that the funeral of an esteemed figure was too sensitive a venue for a confrontation with the opposition.” Thus Time repoorts that “tens of thousands” of mourners flocked to Qom today for Montazeri’s funeral procession, chanting opposition slogans against the regimes. While they were largely allowed to demonstrate in large numbers, Al Arabiya reports that “hard-line vigilantes clashed with mourners” in some places as authorities slowed Internet connections “down to a crawl.” Enduring America provides a timeline of today’s events and several videos, including an interview with Montazeri’s son discussing his father’s beliefs and last words.

In another important interview, Mehdi Karroubi tells BBC that President Ahmadinejad will not last his four-year term, explaining “the government has only been kept in power by force.” Responding to increasing rumors of his imminent arrest, he said, “No one wants to go to prison, especially a prison belonging to the establishment that he has helped establish. But either way, if this happens, I am ready for arrest and detention.”

Meanwhile, the AP reports that the Iranian regime has admitted that at least three people held during the post-election upheaval were beaten to death in captivity and announced it will prosecute 12 prison officials with murder and other crimes. In response, opposition members accused officials of seeking to displace blame on low ranking guards. The government has confirmed 30 people died during the post-election crackdown, but the opposition claims at least 72 were killed. Separately, Laura Rozen reports that the Obama administration has praised a U.N. resolution calling on Iran to respect human rights.

Finally, as pressure to impose enhanced sanctions increases, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s head nuclear negotiator, has called for a global nuclear weapons ban while also affirming the right for all countries to develop nuclear energy. Zvi Bar’el  argues ”sweeping sanctions on gasoline imports into Iran could quiet down for a while those who seek to acquire the bomb, but they will not effect change in Iran. They will only help cement the solidarity between the opposition and the regime.”