Millions of mourners attended funeral of Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 6, 1989, millions of Iranians took to the streets to bury Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The situation quickly got out of control.

People in the crowd beat their chests rhythmically in the intense summer heat, and the women’s wails cut through the noise. Mourners rushed to the coffin and the white-wrapped body of the 86-year-old religious leader tumbled into the crowd.

Initial reports said the chaos killed at least eight people and injured nearly 11,000. Recognized by Guinness World Records An estimated 10.2 million people make up the largest percentage of the population attending a funeral; This means approximately one-sixth of Iran’s population at that time.

Now, as Iran prepares to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Associated Press is publishing its story and historic photos of Khomeini’s funeral. The story has been edited for typos but retains the AP style of the day.

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Mourners Obstructed Funeral, Postponed Burial; Points Crushed in Chaos

By ALEX EFTY

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Millions of mourners blocked the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini today by beating their heads and chests, and scores of people, including Khomeini’s son, were crushed in the chaos.

The unyielding crowd forced the authorities to postpone the funeral.

There is no statement yet on how many people died, were injured or fainted due to the 91-degree heat. At least eight people died and hundreds were injured in a similar massive demonstration of suffering on Monday.

Security forces fired into the air to disperse the crowd, but the mourning crowd was still there, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Revolutionary Guards beat the hands of mourners to release Khomeini’s coffin.

Khomeini’s only son, Ahmed, 43, was laid out in a dusty northern Tehran square outside the Mosalla Mosque, where Khomeini’s body has lain in a coffin encased in air-conditioned glass since Monday.

Ahmed Khomeini’s white turban fell while being lifted over the crowd, and he was carried from hand to hand to the ambulance at the edge of the square. He looked pale and sleepy, but was conscious.

IRNA said the hearse carrying the body was stranded in a sea of ​​black-clad mourners and could not proceed due to the crowd.

Tehran television said it was “impossible” to pass through the grieving crowds to bury Khomeini before sunset. Islam prohibits burying the dead after nightfall.

Khomeini died on Saturday at the age of 86.

He was to be buried in the Baheshte Zahra cemetery, 35 kilometers south of Tehran, next to the victims of the Islamic revolution that brought him to power 10 years ago and the thousands killed in the Iran-Iraq war.

Alternative arrangements for Khomeini’s funeral will be announced later, the television said.

“Allah Akbar!” The words “God is Great” echoed throughout the city. Two hours before the funeral, the hearse had not traveled half a mile.

Most of Tehran’s 6 million people gathered to bid farewell to Khomeini. Millions more people arrived in the city from other regions, according to official media reports.

The parade began at 7 a.m. with Khomeini’s religious militants, the Revolutionary Guard, carrying his body down from the coffin.

Five helicopters hovered overhead while a martial band played somber tunes.

Khomeini’s body was draped in the flag of the Islamic Republic and laid on the ground outdoors while the white-bearded Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Golpaygani prayed. Golapaygani, one of four remaining senior ayatollahs in Iran, often choked up and lifted his glasses to wipe his tears with his handkerchief.

After the 30-minute ceremony, Khomeini’s body was placed in a wooden coffin covered with a white cloth and then carried from hand to hand by the Revolutionary Guards into a white van.

The crowd cried hysterically. The holy book of Islam, the Holy Quran, was read from the minaret of the mosque and the masses chanted “Farewell, dear imam!” he shouted. and “Oh Khomeini, why did you leave us?”

They beat their heads and chests with clenched fists, a traditional Shiite Muslim expression of sadness.

Amid the chaos, women clad head to toe in black chadors stood shoulder to shoulder with men, defying the Islamic ban on physical contact between a woman and a man other than her husband.

Fire crews sprayed water on citizens to cool them down.

Nearly 2 million frantic mourners had held a candlelit vigil around the coffin throughout the night.

Some mourners scratched their faces until blood flowed and threw the ashes on their clothes.

Khomeini died of a heart attack 11 days after intestinal surgery, without resolving the issue of who would replace him. He left a 29-page “political will” that was read on Tehran radio on Monday.

The quotes made no reference to how Iran should be governed after his death. However, such offers may have been in sections that have not yet been made public.

President Ali Khamenei, 49, was appointed interim leader on Sunday. The presidential election and a referendum on constitutional reforms that are likely to increase the president’s executive power are planned to be held on August 18.

Khamenei’s swift appointment is designed primarily to fill a vacuum amid political turmoil that has prevailed since Khomeini launched a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism in February by calling for the death of British novelist Salman Rushdie.

In the absence of a single personality who could rival Khomeini’s religious and political authority, it seemed likely that Iran would be governed by a collective leadership.

Khamenei approved the presidential candidacy of his political ally and the only declared candidate, 55-year-old Parliament Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Former Iranian President Abolhassen Bani-Sadr, while in exile in France, said Khamenei’s appointment marked the government’s “complete failure”.

“Imagine a church that can’t find a pope. Just like a dynasty that can’t find a king. This won’t last long,” he said.