Seyyed Hadi Khosroshahi ( fa, سید هادی خسروشاهی; – 27 February 2020) was an Iranian cleric and diplomat who served as Iran's first ambassador to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
.
Career
When he was 15 years old, Khosroshahi joined the leader of militant
Fada'iyan-e Islam
Fadā'iyān-e Islam ( fa, فدائیان اسلام, also spelled as ''Fadayan-e Islam'' or in English "Fedayeen of Islam" or "Devotees of Islam" or literally "Self-Sacrificers of Islam") is a Shia fundamentalist group in Iran with a strong activi ...
(Devotees of Islam),
Sayyid Mojtaba Mir-Lohi, nicknamed Navvab Safavi. He was close to
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. Based on his interviews, in at least two cases, he sought Khomeini's approval for the assassination of the Islamic Republic's first President,
Abolhassan Bani Sadr and Iran's last Queen
Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi ( fa, فرح پهلوی, née Farah Diba ( fa, فرح دیبا, label=none); born 14 October 1938) is the widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was successively Queen and Empress ('' Shahbanu'') of Iran fro ...
, both living in exile in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Khomeini rejected the idea, Khosroshahi maintained.
Khosroshahi was a prominent figure in the
Qom Seminary
The Qom Seminary () is the largest Islamic seminary (''hawza'') in Iran, established in 1922 by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi in Qom. It trains Usuli scholars.
History
Although big Shi'a academies existed in Qom dating back as earl ...
and was a representative of
Ayatollah Khomeini in the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance ( fa, وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی, ''Vâzart-e Ferheng-e vâ Arshad-e Eslâmi'') ("Ministry of CIG") is the Ministry of Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is responsible ...
after the victory of the
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 dyna ...
in 1979. After two years, he became the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to the Vatican. He was the first Shi'a clergy serving and representing the
Islamic Republic at the Vatican. While in the Vatican, he founded the Europe's Islamic Culture Center, a base for propagating
Shi'ism
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
in the West. After serving in the Vatican, Khosroshahi was sent to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, where he represented Tehran for two years at the Islamic Republic's Interest Section.
Death
Khosroshahi died from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
on 27 February 2020, in Iran.
See also
*
List of Ayatollahs
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khosrowshahi, Hadi
1930s births
2020 deaths
Iranian Shia clerics
Ambassadors of Iran to the Holy See
Islamic Republican Party politicians
Muslim People's Republic Party politicians
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran