Iran's new martyr whose voice cannot be stilled

Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri’s death has reinvigorated the Iranian opposition

GRAND AYATOLLAH Hussein Ali Montazeri is more dangerous dead than alive. Alive he was a voice crying in vain for democracy in Iran. But dead, he has become an instant saint whose voice cannot be stilled.

He died on the third day of the mourning month of Muharram.

Rituals to mark the seventh day after his death will fall on the 10th day, Ashoura, when Shias mark the murder of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, with mass processions and flagellation.

Montazeri’s death and funeral have reinvigorated the opposition Green Movement, which has condemned the re-election in June of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and castigated the government for its brutal suppression of protests.

The fact that many Iranians are now referring to the grand ayatollah as the “martyr Montazeri”, although he died of natural causes, is bad news for the regime.

Since mourners processing on Ashoura traditionally chant “Hussein, Hussein”, the name the seventh-century martyr shared with Montazeri, the government will not be able to crack down on such displays.

By sanctifying him as a “martyr”, his followers ensure his place among Shia heroes who have died struggling for their faith.

This amounts to an affront to the government, which has tried to diminish Montazeri’s standing by dropping reference to his rank as grand ayatollah.

Montazeri was one of Iran’s highest-ranking clerics and a stalwart of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, until he became the sharpest critic of the regime established under supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Montazeri opposed Khomeini’s authoritarianism and argued that he should only advise an elected government.

By disagreeing on this central issue, Montazeri challenged not only the infallibility of the supreme leader but also the political system of the Islamic Republic, which he said was “neither Islamic nor a republic”.

His theological discussions on Islamic rule encouraged more timid ayatollahs to express their unease over rule by clerics, and encouraged the opposition to come forward.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi called Montazeri the “father of human rights” in Iran because of his defence of citizens who had been persecuted, detained and executed.

His constant struggle against human rights violations encouraged Ebadi and others to embrace human rights work. He was also a supporter of the rights of women, who have been compelled to don the headscarf and chador and largely relegated to the background since the revolution.

The last thing the regime wants is for the sainted Montazeri’s views to be revived.

This is why Basij militiamen, who have a history of brutality, were deployed in great numbers at the funeral, and attempted to limit the number of people attending. The Basij is a paramilitary force attached to the Revolutionary Guards and is, nominally, answerable to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But in recent years, the Guards Corps has exercised command over the Basij, developed vast business interests, and extended its political authority.

Some claim it is now in charge. Last summer the Guard Corps was accused of mounting a coup by engineering the re-election of its candidate, Ahmadinejad.

If there is widespread unrest, analysts predict a military man could take control to prevent a new revolution.