Rage as major UK university’s Islamic society mourns ‘martyr’ Khamenei | UK | News
The Islamic community at a London university has been dragged into controversy after publicly celebrating the life of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following his death in joint US-Israeli attacks, urging Shiite Muslims in the West to be “aware and ready”.
The Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Society at University College London paid tribute to the Supreme Leader on Instagram, with the society’s mental health team writing that his killing was “an unimaginable loss for the entire ummah” (the Arabic term for the global Muslim community) along with a broken heart emoji.
The group made a broad statement saying, “We express our sincere condolences for the martyrdom of our beloved” and called on its followers to “Do not let the enemies of justice rejoice in Muslim blood.”
The man they mourn had presided over decades of systematic human rights violations, the torture, rape and murder of thousands of Iranian citizens, the suppression of women’s rights and the financing of terrorist organizations in the Middle East. President Trump confirmed the religious leader’s death, calling him “one of the worst people in history.”
‘Shameful’
The Daily Mail reported how former Home Affairs Minister Suella Braverman took the issue to Parliament, where she delivered a harsh condemnation. “The pro-Ayatollah student community shamefully plans to host a commemoration event on the University College London campus in support of the ‘fallen’, that is, those who supported the brutal Revolutionary Guard regime,” he said.
“It is completely wrong that taxpayer-funded university resources are being used to promote the murderous ideology of the Tehran regime, which has attacked UK bases and with whom we are effectively at war.”
UCL student and author Dov Forman said the posts went well beyond acceptable campus expression. “UCL student body openly mourns the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and calls on Shiites in the West to remain ‘aware and ready’ on the UK campus. Universities cannot continue to claim this is merely ‘student testimony’,” he said.
Society responds
Faced with a wave of criticism, the public tried to reframe the debate by drawing a parallel between Khamenei’s position among Shiite Muslims and the Pope’s role in Catholicism.
In a post on Monday, they wrote: “For millions of Shiite Muslims around the world, Ayatollah Khamenei fills a role within Catholicism broadly similar to that of the Pope. A supreme religious authority whose death or targeting is experienced not only as a political event but also as a profound social and spiritual shock.”
The group insisted that respect for the Iranian leader fell within the bounds of “lawful expression” within the framework of freedom of expression and academic freedom, arguing that his praise amounted to neither “incitement of violence nor illegal mobilization.”
The Express has reached out to the UCL Islamic Society for comment.
