Tehran holds its breath

Hussain Ali Montazeri, one of the Iranian Revolution's Grand Ayatollahs and not simply a mufti as the official Iranian communiqué that announced his death shamefully said — was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's eminence grise, as well as his first heir apparent. Though Montazeri emerged as a spiritual leader for the opposition after he denounced the June 2009 presidential elections as fraudulent, his differences with the theocratic hierarchy were long-standing, which raised serious questions. With the passing of one of the last marja-e-taqlids of the Islamic Revolution, who will now shoulder the Khomeini mantle, and how well?

Along with Grand Ayatollahs Mohammad Reza Golpaygani, Mohammad Guilani and a handful of other senior clerics, Montazeri formed the nucleus of Qom's marja-e-taqlids, who justified the 1979 Revolution through the velayat-e-faqih, or rule by Islamic jurists. One of the most educated, Montazeri was hand-picked by Khomeini to succeed him, though the founder of the revolution opted to sideline him in 1988, after the designated heir publicly criticised the mass execution of political prisoners. According to Saeed Mohammad Hossaini, the current Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister, Montazeri's theological disagreements with Khomeini were so blatant that it was right to supplicate God's lenience to forgive alleged sins.

In the event, what were these differences, and how did Montazeri address them? It would be safe to write that Khomeini and Montazeri diverged on a very basic premise, namely that religious authorities should not legislate, but confine themselves to supervisory roles. Of course, Khomeini proved to be as astute a political genius as any contemporary Iranian, although he managed to morph earthly interpretations with his undisputed religious credentials. One could make the argument that under his governance, policies adopted by the state remained, with rare exceptions, subservient to religious teachings.

Montazeri, on the other hand, believed in the Islamic revolution with reservations. Though he was a veteran of the Shah's jails, and even supported the various purges of the armed forces that occurred after 1979 allegedly because officers who served the Shah and opened fire on fellow Iranians were guilty Montazeri concluded that executions should not be indiscriminate, as such a penchant demonstrated unbecoming vengeance. Mass killings were senseless and un-Islamic, he reasoned, even if some of his views were likely shaped by the fate that befell one of his relatives, the Iran-Contra personality Mahdi Hashemi, who was executed for various breaches of the law.

Passed over

When Khomeini perceived Montazeri as a danger to the revolution, he replaced him with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which devastated the stoic cleric. The erudite scholar criticised Khamenei in 1997 by questioning the latter's qualifications as a source of religious guidance, which only enlarged the gulf separating the two men. An additional six-year sentence was added to his long-standing house arrest term. Though Montazeri seldom ventured into the political arena after that date, both Ayatollah Mahdi Karroubi and Mir Hussain Mousavi sought and received his backing, further irking the Supreme Leader.

Remarkably, and despite his isolation, Montazeri's theological reputation was intact as few could dismiss his authoritative religious pronouncements. He often told visitors that the Islamic Revolution's main shortcoming hovered around its poor appeal to the public. Even if that did not make him a Jeffersonian democrat, the mere rejection of sloganeering distinguished him from fellow marja-e-taqlids. It was not enough to shout "independence, liberty, Islamic republic," he repeated, for one needed to fulfil these goals. This amply illustrated his vision.

The hundreds of thousands of mourners, many chanting anti-government slogans, who confronted security forces in Qom during Montazeri's funeral processions last Monday highlighted the largely unresolved dilemmas confronting Iran. Montazeri was buried at the Masoumeh shrine, one of the holiest sites in the Shiite world, where special ceremonies will be held on Sunday — coincidentally, also the Day of Ashura. How Tehran will react to these ceremonies is anyone's guess.

Ayatollah Khamenei probably recognises that severe errors were committed during the past few years. One of the gravest was the tragedy of June 23, 2009, death of 26-year old Neda Agha Soltan, whose senseless execution illustrated the failures of the revolution. At the time, Montazeri called for three days of public mourning for Neda. It may be argued that Montazeri forfeited the mantle of supreme leader in 1988 to retain his moral standing, even though he probably knew that principles seldom move societies. Still, his exemplary conduct inspired Neda, and many others, to assume a more equitable mantle.

Dr Joseph A. Kechichian is a commentator and author of several books on Gulf affairs.