Iran’s Friday Prayers: Elections, infiltration, and Syria
(Photo: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his son-in-law Mehdi Khorshidi attend the Friday prayers. YJC/Arash Mirsepasi)
Friday prayers were held across the country on November 27th, with infiltration still top on the chart of themes discussed by the leaders of the ritual. This week, Friday prayers leaders linked infiltration to the February elections for both the parliament and the Council of Experts (which is theoretically responsible for supervising the Supreme Leader’s conduct and electing the next leader of the country), warning the audience not to elect candidates who pave the way for infiltration.
In Tehran, Ayatollah Movahhedi Kermani addressed the upcoming elections for both the parliament and the Council of Experts. “The Council of Experts’ election is more important,” he said. “Our vigilant leader should have no worries.” In Shiraz, Ayatollah Imani also called for vigilance, and warned about “the enemy’s plot” to form a parliament similar to the Sixth Majles, in which Reformists held the absolute majority. “Failed political elements” and “vakil-od-doleh”, a pejorative term for pro-government lawyers, should not enter the Majles he said.
Infiltration did not fall off the radar. In Tehran, Movahhedi Kermani reiterated warnings about ‘infiltration’. The West intends to use the nuclear deal and the ensuing rapprochement as a platform to carry out cultural, political and economic plots in Iran, he said. The sermonizer also warned that certain demographics such as the religious community and “committed” officials are the main target of the enemy’s plan.
In Mashad, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda expressed similar remarks. “Any individual not aligned with the Supreme Leader has the potential to become the enemy’s pawn,” he said. “Some may think ‘infiltration’ is a partisan illusion. They are either short-sighted or God forbid do not dislike the enemy.” He also demanded the government to stop what he called “infiltration through communication”, complaining that “red carpets are unfolded for [foreign] delegations every day.”
Syrian developments, especially the downing of the Russian bomber by Turkish fighters, were also addressed by the sermonizers. “God help Russia in uprooting ISIS,” prayed Tehran’s Friday prayers leader Movahhedi Kermani. He also expressed hope that both Russia and Turkey act prudently and exercise self-restraint after the Sukhoi incident. In Ardebil in the Azerbaijan region of Iran, the sermonizer, Ayatollah Ameli, criticized “the neighboring country” whose government “embarrassed both itself and its nation” with its mistake of downing the Russian bomber.