Sources in Iran say riot police are massing in Qom, the home of Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, the senior Iranian cleric and longtime regime critic who passed away this morning.
The timing of Montazeri's death is potentially significant for the Iranian opposition: Yesterday was the first day of Muharram, a month that has several major Shi'a mourning ceremonies. The most important is Ashura, a ceremony commemorating Husayn's martyrdom at the Battle of Karbala. It falls on December 28 this year.
Opposition leaders could use the Shi'a ceremonies, and mourning for Montazeri, as a pretext to launch more protests. The regime cannot crack down too strongly during a major Shi'a ceremony.
Montazeri was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and at one point was considered the likely successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the original supreme leader. But he became an increasingly vocal opponent of the regime, and spent a number of years under house arrest for criticizing Iran's leaders.
Montazeri has been particularly brash since the stolen election in June. He released a statement in August calling the regime a dictatorship; another letter, released in July, called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei illegitimate.
His most recent letter, published by reformist Web sites in November, condemned the Basij for acting against Islam and "going down the path of Satan."
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Categories: Iran, Iranian Elections (2009), Politics, Regional News
Tags: Ashura, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Basij, Iranian revolution, Muharram
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