The mourning show: the politics of Khamenei’s funeral
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The Economist.
Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from The Economist. I'm Rosie Blore. Today on the show, Japan's divorce laws get a rethink. And this week, as America's iconic Route 66 turns 100, we take you on a road trip. First up though
Today in Tehran, huge crowds of mourners gathered, for the main funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The former supreme leader of Iran was killed in February, on the first day of massive strikes by America and Israel. With the ceasefire holding, at least for now, the Iranian authorities have finally deemed it safe to allow this very public demonstration.
It's a religious event as devotees mark the death of their spiritual figurehead. But as others out on the streets raise their fists or wave flags with Donald Trump's face on, some chanting slogans calling for vengeance, this is also a deeply political moment.
Authorities are billing Hamali's funeral as a referendum on the future of the Islamic Republic.
Nicholas Pallam is our Middle East correspondent.
They're celebrating his death and the funeral not as a defeat but as a vindication, a final triumph over foreign enemies, something very much in keeping with the arc of Shia tradition. So it's a display of strength, but at the same time, there are deep cracks in the regime's hold on the show.
Nick, we'll come on to what this all shows in a minute, but just explain to us what an Ayatollah is and why this moment of the funeral is so important.
Ayatollah is the spiritual authority in Shia Islam. They have command over followers across the Shia world. But what was particularly unique in Iran was that the spiritual authority was also the political authority, was the supreme leader that the country, ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, had been, to all intents and purposes, a theocracy. And at the The film of this was Ali Hamanae, who had ruled over Iran as both a spiritual authority but as a supreme leader for the last thirty seven years. The country is now at a crossroads. It's really not clear whether that theocracy is going to survive.
This funeral has been delayed since February when he was killed. What have we seen in the days of mourning so far?
They're an extraordinary six days of funeral ceremonies, and we're about halfway through. Until now we've seen him lying in state surrounded by red tulips in a stadium sized prayer hole, the Masalah in central Tehran. Today we're going to see his coffin carried through the capital before travelling to Khum, one hundred and fifty kilometres to the south. It will then go across into Iraq, thereby revealing the Islamic Republic's reach in the region, and from there it will be flown to Mashhad, which is the birthplace of Hamanei, and will become his burial place nearly one thousand nine hundred kilometres to the east. It's about demonstrating the strength of the Islamic Republic and its rulers at home.
They've had a very rocky past few months, not just because of the war which pummeled many of their bases, but also because of the demonstrations that preceded them when there were nationwide calls for the Islamic Republic to go. And It's also demonstrating its strength in the region and to the world. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's overlapped with the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the United States.
And who's at the funeral?
Pop stars have been enlisted to Composed elegies to Khamenei. Businessmen have been prevailed upon to donate meat and rice by the Tan. There are tents of supplies lining the procession route to encourage Iranians to join the procession.
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