Iran Analysis: The Unexpected Fight Over "Khomeini"

Occasionally, in this crisis of almost a year, there is an unexpected twist of events. On the surface, that development may not fit the narrative of Green Movement v. regime, but its significance intersects with it and may propel even wider shifts in Iranian politics.

So it is with the Friday incident when the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, Seyed Hassan Khomeini (pictured), was shouted down at the commemoration ceremony of his grandfather's death. Having watched the episode live, we soon noted that it might overshadow the regime's efforts --- through the speeches of President Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei --- to bolster its legitimacy. We could not have expected, however, that by yesterday the episode would be the dominant story in Iranian politics.

The attempt to use the legacy of Khomeini --- by all sides --- has now become a fight over Khomeini.



A stream of clerics, reformist parties, and opposition figures defending Hassan Khomeini became a torrent yesterday. Equally significant, that defense of Khomeini --- from Grand Ayatollah Sane'i to Mehdi Karroubi to key Principlist MP Ali Motahari --- was also a sharp attack on the Ahmadinejad Government.

Even if the most dramatic of the allegations --- that the President encouraged the shout-down of Hassan Khomeini on Friday to humiliate him --- is not substantiated, how can a government which claims to take its ideals and principles from Imam Khomeini stand by while his descendant is forced to sit down and shut up by a group of unnamed hecklers?

The countering argument would be that Hassan Khomeini has thrown in his lot with the Green Movement and thus has abandoned the regime that his grandfather founded. That, however, is a risky course to take publicly --- the named attacks on Hassan Khomeini usually come from "hard-line" publications and not from officials in the Iranian Government. A regime which spent so much time trying to degrade the Green Movement by claiming that it burned photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini may not get away with, even if it took the chance, the public burning of his grandson's reputation.

The weekend, however, poses an even more imminent challenge for the regime: dare it say nothing at all? As the defences of Hassan Khomeini mounted, there was a loud silence. No words from the Supreme Leader, who had sought to use Friday Prayers as a high-profile exaltation of his position --- and denunciation of the opposition --- through Ayatollah Khomeini's image. Not a sound from the President. No utterance from the "security forces" who purportedly were keeping order at the Khomeini Shrine.

Not all in the opposition are comfortable embracing the legacy of Ayatollah Khomeini; there was also a silence over the weekend from activists in the Green Movement beyond the reformist parties and dissident clerics. Throughout this crisis, however, they have had an ally in Seyed Hassan Khomeini, who has signalled that he will not ostracise opposition figures (and that he will not allow his grandfather's Shrine and foundations to be used in that mission).

We shall see if --- perhaps inadvertently --- Hassan Khomeini, as he endured his public torment, did that opposition an even greater service on the anniversary of his grandfather's death.

Three days after that anniversary, five days to 22 Khordaad.