Ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from ...
Gholamreza Hassani ( fa, غلامرضا حسنی, az, Qulamrza Həsəni) 21 July 1927 – 21 May 2018) was the previous
Friday prayer
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
, first
First imam of
Masjid-e-Jamé mosque of the city of
Urmia
Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...
in northwest
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
after
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
., member of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly
The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...
in the first term from
electoral district of Urmia and representative of the Iranian
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنهای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
in
West Azarbaijan Province.
["Iran: Top cleric says women without veils must die"](_blank)
, adnkronos.com , 19 December 2009 He has been described as one of the most, if not the most, conservative voices in Iran and
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
world.
He is known for the highly challenging religious and political positions taken and his ultimate
opposition to Caliphate and
Anti-Sunni theories advocated in his controversial Friday sermons, which have reportedly drawn criticism from many of the
Sunni leaders,
Iranian reformists
The Reformists ( fa, اصلاحطلبان, Eslâh-Talabân) are a political faction in Iran. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005—the length of President Mohammad Khatami's two terms in office. The ...
,
Pan-Turkists,
radical left organisations,
Kurdish nationalists with adherence to Sunni tradition and
Southern Azerbaijan patriot movement and been accused by "Iranian political satirists in their works."
In the aftermath of the 1979 revolution in Iran, he led the militia Javanmardan and fought the Kurds. He was involved in massacre in the village
Qarna
Qarna ( fa, قارنا, also Romanized as Qārnā; also known as Karna and Qārneh) is a Kurdish village in Beygom Qaleh Rural District, in the Central District of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its populatio ...
.
After a failed assassination attempt on him in 1981 he was flown to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
for treatment.
Hassani's devotion to the Islamic Revolution was such that in 1983, several years after the Revolution, he informed authorities of the hiding place of his son, Rashid, a member of the opposition leftist guerilla group
Fadayian Khalq, who was then executed by firing squad with Hassani's approval.
["Qarna Massacre Mullah Awarded with ‘Medal of Bravery’ in Iran"](_blank)
, insideofiran.org , 5 April 2011 Hassani is quoted as telling an American journalist, "Abraham didn't sacrifice his son, but I did. Even today, I don't regret it."
By John F. Burns , nytimes.com , 1 January 2000
In 2001, articles appeared in the English-language media about a Friday sermon he delivered that condemned the practice of owning and holding small dogs as un
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic. The
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
reported him as saying, "I would like to thank the honorable police and judges and all those who worked to arrest dog lovers and to confiscate short-legged dogs in this city," Several years later a crackdown on dogs and dog owners was launched in Tehran. He has also been quoted as saying that "Women who do not respect the hijab and their husbands deserve to die ... These women and their husbands and their fathers must die."
In 2011 he was reportedly presented with the national "Medal of Bravery", "one of the most significant official medals awarded in Iran,"[ by president ]Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), . The medal was reportedly awarded for his record of resistance against the Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
's regime prior to the Islamic Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
, against the Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
ish opposition in the first years of the Islamic Republic, and for his participation in the Iraq-Iran War.[ In February 2014 he was dismissed from his post as a representative of Ali Khamenei.]
As of January 2014, Hassani had two living wives. He has seven sons and four daughters.[ Hassani died on 21 May 2018 at the age of 90.
Hassani's children have become known figures in various fields with contrasting political leanings, most recently his granddaughter Ana Diamond has been recognized for her human rights activism in the United Kingdom following her false trial, imprisonment, and acquittal in Iran.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassani, Gholamreza
1927 births
2018 deaths
People from Urmia
Deputies of Urmia
Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly
Representatives of the Supreme Leader in the Provinces of Iran
Recipients of the Order of Courage (Iran)