"Well, there goes the neighborhood, dammit."
Posted on 02/17/2008 1:58:56 PM PST by forkinsocket
TEHRAN, Feb 17, 2008 (AFP) — An Iranian ayatollah died suddenly of a heart attack during an impassioned speech lashing out at insults against the family of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the run-up to elections, the press reported on Sunday.
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Tavassoli, a former head of Khomeini's office, died while delivering the speech to Iran's main arbitration body, the Expediency Council, of which he was a member, the Kargozaran daily reported.
He had been responding to unprecedented ultra-conservative attacks against Hassan Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini's respected grandson, who had criticised mass disqualifications in the March election and military interference.
"He was attacking those people with fossilized minds who attack the family and the ideas of the Imam Khomeini when he had a cardiac arrest," Mohammad Hashemi, brother of council head Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, told the paper.
He also quoted a letter from Khomeini from the early days of the revolution denouncing "reactionaries who attack the family and friends of the Imam Khomeini under the pretext of defending him."
"Defending the Imam until the very last moment," lauded the headline of Kargozaran next to a picture of Tavassoli, 77.
The manner of Tavassoli's sudden death underlines the tensions ahead of the March 14 parliamentary election.
Hundreds of reformist candidates have been disqualified in initial vetting while the head of the Revolutionary Guards made a surprise announcement that the elite force favours conservatives in the race.
Hassan Khomeini, who rarely makes comments in public, had bitterly criticised both of these events prompting extraordinary attacks against him by ultra-conservative websites.
In a piece entitled: "The secrets about the rosy cheeks of Seyyed Hassan Khomeini", the Nosazi (Restoration) website made allegations about him owning a BMW car, having a personal steam sauna and living in affluent north Tehran.
This in turn prompted another backlash in the press against the radical websites denouncing Khomeini's family, a taboo in the Islamic republic.
The judiciary subsequently shut down five unnamed internet sites for disturbing public opinion, one of which was believed to be Nosazi which is now impossible to access.
Let me get this straight. I have just reread the entire article to make sure I get it. It seems there is a respected grandson of Khomeni who favors a more moderate course and was catch heck from the untraconservatives who have again restricted more moderate condidates from running for election.
It sounds as though the man who died was defending the grandson, and several extreme conservative sites were shut down for criticizing the grandson. Am I reading this right? If so, then this would make the dead men sort of a good guy, or at least a not too bad guy. This sounds really complicated and Byzantine. Anyone have a clear picture of what is going on right now in Iran?
Thanks for the ping!
I don’t have a clear picture of what’s going on in Iran, but I can tell you that your post was basically correct. Hassan Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini’s grandson, is being bashed primarily because of a statement he made that Khomeini would be against military intervention in politics. From what I know about him, he does appear to be a moderate or at least as close to a moderate as is possible.
This dead Ayatollah, Mohammad Tavassoli, was defending the grandson as a respected member of Khomeini’s family.
My first thought!
Second was why aren't we so lucky?...
Yeah. *shrug* They were going to cling to power anyway. We are in for bad times any way you cut it.
May as well "Laugh-a while you-a can, Monkeyboy!" < /Dr. Emilio Lizardo>
Having been?
Ummmm, yes. They invented Byzantine!
Praise be to Allah.
And is.
I was silently referring to the British Foreign Office sending some 400 observers to the USA to see if the Soviets would buy Carter’s re-election when he ran against Reagan.
Actually, I believe this guy is someone we should have wanted to live!! "Ultra-conservative" in the Iranian context are the hardline Islamic theocratic leaders that back Ahmadinejad.
These hardliners are the ones that have been beating up students demonstrating for democracy and disqualifying reform candidates for election that are trying to foster a more democratic Iran.
It's hard to keep the players straight in Iran, but I think this was one of the goodguys. RIP
Agreed. This Ayatollah was likely a nut himself, but he was nutty enough to support Khomeini’s family just because they’re Khomeini’s family. Khomeini’s grandson is being attacked & he does appear to be one of the better guys in Iran. See posts 75 & 85.
PWND
From wiki
“He was a member of The Combatant Clerics League which was part of the left-wing view favoring a focus ‘on exporting the revolution and calling for the state’s monopoly over the economy.’”
Some moderate...
Sounds like Allah was trying to send a message.
one nut down, too many to go.
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