Throughout Australia, mosques have honored Iran’s Supreme Leader with numerous tributes overnight. In their sermons, some religious leaders referred to his passing as ‘inspirational,’ urging their congregations to remain steadfast in their ‘struggle.’
In the wake of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, vigils have taken place in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Khamenei was killed in his compound by a US-Israel airstrike on February 28.
Khamenei held sway over Iran for more than 30 years as its supreme leader, during which he orchestrated a campaign of state-sponsored terror that claimed countless lives both within Iran and beyond its borders.
Ascending to power in 1989, Khamenei became the commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces and led the ‘axis of resistance,’ a coalition of anti-Western terrorist groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, Shia militias in Iraq, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Domestically, Khamenei ruthlessly suppressed dissent, with over 30,000 protestors reportedly killed by his security forces in January alone, marking the highest death toll in Iran’s recent history.
In Iran, women endure systemic oppression and violence, facing severe penalties such as arrest, flogging, imprisonment, or even execution for violating compulsory dress codes. Moreover, they are required to secure permission from male guardians for travel, employment, or education.
Despite this, Ali Safdari, who preaches at the Al Zahra Mosque in Arncliffe, in Sydney’s south, described Khameni as a ‘noble man’ and ‘the embodiment of everything we wanted in a leader.’
‘Will we turn our backs on a time like today? Never. Brothers, we lost someone very special, we lost someone who is very dear to us, but we cannot lose our vision, we cannot lose our fight,’ Mr Safdari told worshippers at a service on Sunday night.
The Al Zahra Mosque in Sydney’s south is holding a three-day long service to mourn Khamenei
Ali Safdari, who preaches at the Al Zahra Mosque, told worshippers Khameni’s death was an inspiration
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in his compound by a US-Israel airstrike on Saturday
‘We cannot lose the strength in our hearts. Think about it this way – maybe a few years ago, you would have woken up to the news of the Sayed dying a of a heart attack, of old age?
‘It was bound to happen. The fact that he has been taken in this way is truly an honour.
‘We should take it as inspiration.’
Services have also been held at the Flagbearer Foundation in Sydney, the El Zahra Centre in Melbourne and the Zainabia Islamic Centre in Brisbane, with one preacher noting: ‘He didn’t shout, Yazid held his hands. Congrats on your martyrdom dear leader.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns condemned the services taking part in Sydney.
‘I think it’s atrocious, I mean by any objective measure, the Ayatollah was evil and I don’t think that we should be mincing words about this,’ he said.
‘The truth of the matter is weeks ago, he and his regime were responsible for killing 30,000 protesters within that city for simply demonstrating against the regime and their brutal practices.
‘This is a regime that murders young boys for the crime of the suspicion of being gay. I think we can call the mourning of this tyrant atrocious and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’
Thousands of Iranian-Australians gathered in Sydney to celebrate Khamenei’s death
Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was locked up in Iran for more than 800 days, also urged those mourning the Ayatollah’s death to instead think about the hundreds of thousands of people he had killed.
‘I would say that almost all of these people aren’t Iranians, they’re almost Shia-mosques frequented by non-Iranian, Shia-Muslims who have their own relationship with Iran,’ the political scientist told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
‘I would urge such people to think about that the Iranian people are telling them, who would absolutely not want to be mourning such a mass-murdering tyrant.
‘He has the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands.’
It comes as thousands of Iranian-Australians gathered in Sydney’s Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the downfall of Khamenei.
Minoo Ghamari, who fled Iran 19 years ago told the ABC this was Iran’s ‘Berlin Wall moment’, referring to the collapse of the Iron Curtain in Europe in 1989.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fronted a snap press conference on Sunday in which he shared support for ‘the brave people’ of Iran.
‘Ayatollah (Ali) Khamenei was responsible for the regime’s nuclear program, support for armed proxies and its brutal violence and intimidation against its own people,’ he said.
‘This claimed many lives in Iran but also internationally. He was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil. His passing will not be mourned.’
However, Australian left-wing party Socialist Alliance strongly condemned the attacks and claimed the bombings were ‘illegal and break international human rights rules’.
Dozens of its supporters gathered outside Town Hall on Sunday to call for an immediate end to the conflict.
