Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Gholamreza Hassani (, ) 21 July 1927 – 21 May 2018) was the previous

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

, first First imam of Masjid-e-Jamé mosque of the city of

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

in northwest

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

after

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

; member of the

Islamic Consultative Assembly The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

in the first term from electoral district of Urmia and representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in

West Azarbaijan Province West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey (Ağrı, Hakkâri, Iğdır and Van Provinces), Iraq (Erbil and Sulaymaniy ...

."Iran: Top cleric says women without veils must die"
, adnkronos.com , 19 December 2009

Career

He has been described as one of the most, if not the most, conservative voices in Iran and

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

world. He is known for the highly challenging religious and political positions taken and his ultimate opposition to Caliphate and

Anti-Sunni Anti-Sunnism, also described as Anti-Sunni sentiment, or Sunniphobia; the "fear or hatred of Sunnism and Sunnites" is hatred, prejudice, Religious discrimination, discrimination, Religious persecution, persecution, or Religious violence#Islam, ...

theories advocated in his controversial Friday sermons, which have reportedly drawn criticism from many of the Sunni leaders,

Iranian reformists The Reformists () are a political faction in Iran. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005—the length of President Mohammad Khatami's two terms in office. The Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front is ...

, Pan-Turkists, radical left organisations, Kurdish nationalists with adherence to Sunni tradition and Southern Azerbaijan patriot movement and been accused by "Iranian political satirists in their works." In the aftermath of the 1979 revolution in Iran, he led the militia Javanmardan and fought the Kurds. He was involved in massacre in the village

Qarna Qarna (, also Romanized as Qārnā; also known as Karna and Qārneh) is a Kurdish village in Beygom Qaleh Rural District, in the Central District of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 813, in 12 ...

. After a failed assassination attempt on him in 1981 he was flown to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for treatment. Hassani's devotion to the Islamic Revolution was such that in 1983, several years after the Revolution, he informed authorities of the hiding place of his son, Rashid, a member of the opposition leftist guerilla group Fadayian Khalq, who was then executed by firing squad with Hassani's approval. , insideofiran.org , 5 April 2011 Hassani is quoted as telling an American journalist, "Abraham didn't sacrifice his son, but I did. Even today, I don't regret it.""Praying for a Century That Is Not the American One"
By John F. Burns , nytimes.com , 1 January 2000 In 2011 he was reportedly presented with the national "Medal of Bravery", "one of the most significant official medals awarded in Iran," by president

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

. The medal was reportedly awarded for his record of resistance against the

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

's regime prior to the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

, against the

Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

ish opposition in the first years of the Islamic Republic, and for his participation in the Iraq-Iran War. In February 2014 he was dismissed from his post as a representative of Ali Khamenei.

Personal life and death

At the time of his death, Hassani had two living wives. He has seven sons and four daughters. Hassani's children have become known figures in various fields with contrasting political leanings, most recently his granddaughter

Ana Diamond Ana Diamond (born August 1996) is a British-Iranian scholar, author, and an advocacy strategist who is one of the founding members of The Alliance Against State Hostage Taking. The organization was formally founded in New York on 24 September 20 ...

has been recognized for her human rights activism in the United Kingdom following her false trial, imprisonment, and acquittal in Iran. Hassani died on 21 May 2018 at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassani, Gholamreza 1927 births 2018 deaths People from Urmia Deputies of Urmia Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Representatives of the supreme leader in the provinces of Iran Recipients of the Order of Courage (Iran)