The Mullah Who Could Melt A Snowstorm: Another Of The 200,000 Or So Mullahs Spread Across The Spectrum Of Iranian Life
23 March 2013
By Amir Taheri
Until just a month ago few people had heard of
Azizullah Khoshvaqt. Most of those who had heard knew
him as just another of the 200,000 or so mullahs
spread across the spectrum of Iranian life. To a
smaller number, Khoshvaqt was an advisor to "Supreme
Guide" Ali Khamenei. The two also had family bonds.
One of Khoshvaqt's daughters is married to one of
Khamenei's sons.
Now, however, a book presented as Khoshvaqt's
biography claims that he was more- much more. "Hidden
Pearl" was published last year amid general
indifference. Few people read it and no one reviewed
it (It had a print run of 1,000 copies, according to
the daily Kayhan).
Last week, however, there was a rush to buy the book
with all available copies snatched up within 48 hours.
Following this, Kayhan, published under Khamenei's
supervision, urged the book's author Abbas-Ali Mardi
to rush new editions onto the market. That Khoshvaqt
enjoyed special favor in Khamenei's household was
highlighted when the "Supreme Guide" personally led
the man's funeral procession.
Mardi's book depicts Khoshvaqt as the favorite
disciple of the late Ayatollah Muhammad-Hussein
Tabataba'i who died in 1981. Shi'ite scholarly
folklore represents Tabataba'i as heir to Mullah Sadra
of Shiraz often acknowledged as the last great Iranian
religious philosopher.
Tabataba'i was a charismatic figure and, in his
private life, a model of purity. To describe him as a
philosopher, however, would be off the mark if only
because religion, the realm of belief and certainty is
quite distinct from philosophy which is the domain of
doubt and speculation. The chief function of
philosophy is to pose questions while religion's chief
claim is that it has the answers.
Attending Tabatabai's lessons, especially those held
in the evenings at his home, was always a pleasure
even for those whose interest in religion is only
cultural. His elegant language and his tremendous
ability to conceptualize elements of his faith
appealed to a wide range of scholars, including the
French scholar of Iranian Shi'ism Henry Corbin. Known
as the "Allameh" (The All-Knower), Tabataba'i even
included among his fans no lesser a personality than
Empress Farah, the wife of the Shah. Another
enthusiastic follower was Hussein Nasr who headed
Empress Farah's office and who has done more than most
to popularize Shi'ism in the United States.
I interviewed Tabataba'i in 1970 regarding the manner
in which a grand ayatollah emerges as "Marja'a Taqlid".
He dismissed the question by suggesting that there
were "more important issues to consider", his deep
blue eyes and ringing Azerbaijani accent barely hiding
his humor.
With all that in the background, readers of "Hidden
Pearl" (ad-Dorrat al Maknouna) would be surprised by
the assertion that Khoshvaqt was Tabataba'i's favorite
disciple and rightful successor.
"Hidden Pearl" provides little evidence that Khoshvaqt
enjoyed a special position in Tabataba'i's household.
Khoshvaqt is presented as an Ostad (master) of Ethics
and a grand ayatollah and a Marj'a al-Taqlid (Source
of Emulation). Overall, however, the image that
emerges is one of an apparatchik theologian with
barely hidden messianic pretensions.
According to the book, Khoshvaqt regarded the
scientific vision of existence as one that doomed
mankind to destruction. People like Galileo and
Copernicus were guilty of trying to destroy "the
sacred quality of the cosmos". Other scientists
depicted the limits of perfection for mankind, thus
mocking the religious concept of "The Perfect Man"
(al-Insan al-Kamil).
"Hidden Pearl" claims that Khoshvaqt possessed
"super-human qualities" that enabled him to melt down
a snowstorm," and also to "feel" the true intentions
of the "Hidden Imam." It was because of those
qualities, if not Khoshvaqt's actual communication
with the Mahdi, that Khamenei regarded him as
something of a last resort on theological issues.
Khamenei has described Khoshvaqt passing as "a great
tragedy for Islam".
He is also quoted as advising the Iranian leadership
to "when facing a storm, cling onto Khoshvaqt's robe."
Clearly, Khoshvaqt was something of a guru to Khamenei.
Another mullah, Kazem Siddiqi, goes further by
claiming that Khoshvaqt was "far above what humans
could imagine."
"He was one of Allah's owlya (confidants) who are
offered cups of knowledge by Imam Ali himself,"
Siddiqi is quoted as saying.
The book depicts Khoshvaqt, who died in Mecca during
Haj al Umrah last month, as a man who believes he is
living at the end of times. What he sees coming is
"the decisive battle" between the "armies of the Imam"
on the one side and "the forces of kufr" (unbelief) on
the other. One event that could hasten the coming
battle "at the End of Time" is the Islamic Republic's
success in developing an arsenal of nuclear weapons.
According to the book, Khoshvaqt believed that what
people did in their daily life affected the way nature
was "modulated by the Creator" to provide a response.
For example, if Iranian women became lax about their
hijab, Tehran could be hit by an earthquake that could
kill millions of people. Women who tanned their skin
made the pillars of Islam tremble with incalculable
consequences.
The book offers only glimpses of Khoshvaqt's political
life, clearly trying to build his image as a great
theologian preparing Islam for the return of the Mahdi.
Khoshvaqt, however, is known to have played an
influential political role behind the scenes. He was
one of three mid-ranking mullahs who were elevated by
official propaganda to the position of "grand
ayatollah." Another was Mujtaba Tehrani who died just
weeks before Khoshvaqt. Now only one of the three is
still alive: Muhammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi.
The trio built a reputation as pillars of Khamenei's
position as "al-Faqih al-Wali" (Theologian-Guardian)
and "Supreme Leader of Muslims" throughout the world.
Khamenei has used the trio to issue fatwas (religious
edicts) against his political enemies. Twenty years
ago, Khoshvaqt issued "fatwas" ordering the
assassination of several Iranian intellectuals during
Muhammad Khatami's presidency. More recently,
Khoshvaqt, Tehrani and Mesbah-Yazdi described the
leaders of the opposition Green Movement as "infidels"
with "no place in Islam."
The three had vastly different scholarly backgrounds.
Tehrani was the product of the Qom hawza (seminary)
and a traditionalist mullah. Khoshvaqt dabbled in
philosophy by attending Tabataba'i's classes.
Mesbah-Yazdi was a part-time pupil of Ahmad Fardid,
Iran's best-known disciple of Heidegger.
The trio played a crucial role in creating an alliance
of mullahs and elements of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC). Six years ago they helped propel
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into the presidency. Over the past
two years, however, the trio turned against
Ahmadinejad, suspecting him of harboring secret
designs to push the mullahs out of politics.
"Hidden Pearl" provides a partial, though no less
instructive, glimpse into the mindset of a coterie
that, for the time being at least, dominates Iranian
politics in the name of the "Hidden Imam."
I wonder what Tabataba'i would have said had he read
this book about his supposed disciple.
Dorr Maknun (Hidden Pearl)
The Life of Ayatollah Azizullah Khoshvaqt
By; Abbas-Ali Mardi
234 pages
Published by Amir-Kabir in Tehran, 2012
Amir Taheri was born in Ahvaz, southwest
Iran, and educated in Tehran, London and Paris. He was
Executive Editor-in-Chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran
(1972-79). In 1980-84, he was Middle East Editor for
the Sunday Times. In 1984-92, he served as member of
the Executive Board of the International Press
Institute (IPI). Between 1980 and 2004, he was a
contributor to the International Herald Tribune. He
has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York
Post, the New York Times, the London Times, the French
magazine Politique Internationale, and the German
weekly Focus. Between 1989 and 2005, he was editorial
writer for the German daily Die Welt. Taheri has
published 11 books, some of which have been translated
into 20 languages. He has been a columnist for Asharq
Alawsat since 1987. Taheri's latest book "The Persian
Night" is published by Encounter Books in London and
New York.
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