The Funeral of Velayat-e Faqih & Trump?

The funeral prayer of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, who held the position of Velayat-e Faqih, has been offered in Mashhad after ceremonies in Tehran, Qom, Karbala, and Najaf. He has now been laid to rest within the shrine complex of Imam Ali al-Ridha (peace be upon him), one of the Twelve Imams revered by Shia Muslims. Everyone is familiar with the religious importance of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, where the shrines of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) and Imam Ali (peace be upon him) are located. In Iran, after Mashhad, the city of Qom also holds exceptional significance because it is home to the shrine of Lady Fatimah al-Masumah. It is also the principal center of Shia religious scholarship, where Imam Khomeini and many leading Ayatollahs received and imparted their education.

Without question, millions of people gathered at all of these sacred sites. In Tehran especially, the crowds stretched for miles. For people in other parts of the world, particularly among Sunni communities and in the West, such an immense public display of grief and mourning, even four months after a person’s death, was difficult to comprehend. Perhaps that is why U.S. President Trump remarked that it was impossible to believe people were still genuinely mourning a dictator more than one hundred days after his death. The President failed to understand the profound religious reverence that Shia believers have for their spiritual leadership. Had he understood it, he would never have claimed that these scenes were staged or that the mourners were pretending. Someone should remind him that the followers of Imam Ali have not forgotten the bloodshed inflicted upon the Prophet’s family even after fourteen centuries. The wounds suffered by the descendants of Imam Ali remain as fresh in their hearts today as ever. Anyone who doubts this need only witness the mourning on Ashura in Karbala, or observe similar commemorations held throughout the world.

It was deeply inappropriate for President Trump to let his negative mindset surface even during a funeral and burial. He declared that the United States had generously allowed its enemy, the Iranian regime, an entire week to conduct funeral and mourning ceremonies, suggesting that America could have launched an attack if it had wished. In the writer’s view, this statement does not represent the sentiments of the American people. Instead, it reflects Trump’s own negative outlook, the same mindset that continues to be overshadowed by the Epstein scandal.

If you begin with George Washington and continue through Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and even the comparatively weaker President Biden, you will not find this kind of coarse approach in any of them. Yet today, the world is witnessing it in Donald Trump. What kind of language is it to say, “I will erase Iran’s centuries-old civilization,” or “I will destroy Iran’s bridges and infrastructure”? On what grounds? Who has given you the right to attack civilian infrastructure? Does the U.S. Constitution permit such statements or actions? Do the rules established under the Geneva Conventions allow such conduct? The United States has long presented itself as a champion of constitutional values, while the principles behind the UN Human Rights Charter have been strongly shaped by America and many of its distinguished leaders. Have you ever taken the time to reflect upon that legacy? How can you now say that you wish to welcome Mojtaba Khamenei to the White House? On what basis? Even if, as you claim, his late father promoted terrorism in the region, that accusation should have remained limited to him. What fault was there on the part of Mojtaba’s mother? What crime had Ali Khamenei’s wife, daughter-in-law, or his fourteen-month-old granddaughter committed? What do the Geneva Conventions say about the 160 innocent schoolgirls who lost their lives during the war because of your recklessness? Are you not accountable for these alleged war crimes? Is this not the reason your public approval within the United States has fallen to its lowest levels? Have many of your Western allies not distanced themselves from you? You stand accused not only before the East, but also before the values of Western civilization.

The writer is equally astonished by those respected individuals who, despite what they describe as crimes against humanity, have nominated you twice for the Nobel Peace Prize. On what grounds? At the same time, many of these very people have been seen offering prayers at Ali Khamenei’s funeral, speaking of his dignity and greatness, and describing him as a great martyr. Viewed honestly, do these scenes not resemble Karbala, where people appear to stand with the killer while also expressing sympathy for the victim?

(To be continued)