Naqi Akbar
Tehran; eight in the morning; warheads from the aircraft carriers and IDF jets in the air rained ammunition on ‘Paigah Rahbari’ (The leader’s House) in bid to end the war before it even started. The prime high value target of the strike was the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei. Having worked as the President of the Republic between 1981-1989, and donning the hat of the supreme leader of the Republic till his demise in ‘active duty and combat’; the man initially a reluctant occupier of his seat, without doubt craved a place for himself, not just in the history; but in the timeline of the development of the republic he led for almost last 37 years of his life. He is credited with working with patience among diverse set of ideas germinating in the society he led, without antagonizing the stakeholders, yet allowing the society in making the steady progress as needed and when required to be met. Surely, he will be remembered as a leader who treaded his path of nation building and his absence will be felt equally by friends and foes.
Born in April 1939 and initially a cleric who could not complete his doctoral equivalents in the religious seminaries, he learnt through the experience. One of the students of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini, much of his student years from 1965 onwards were spent in political struggle against the Monarchy of Pahlavi. That struggle coupled with frequent prison terms and banishment to distant towns within Iran did not allow him the peace of mind to complete his studies as should have been. It was pure twist of fate that the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty precipitated the release of many dissidents including him. The new republic needed politically committed people and for him it was easy to climb the ladder within the system.
That exposure within the system enriched him to take on the responsibilities which lay ahead. If he was the representative of Khomeini in the armed forces during the early years of war(1980-88); he had first-hand knowledge of the issues of the Air Force which was not able to get the jets air borne during the most demanding period, and as the president for eight years, he knew the insides out of how the system can work and where are the administrative interventions needed.
Consequently, for the alert eyes within the Nezam, he was the foremost choice for taking the banner of the Islamic Revolution ahead into the modern times. Towards that end, he was intellectually equipped to do the needful. He despite being a seminary student was at ease with poetry and literature, knew new disciplines, not superficially but as an alert reader and observer. It was part of the routine to meet people of literature, creative arts, scientists’ and above all the representatives of the new millennium, the younger generation; to hear them out and get the pulse. It was infact the trait which he accrued during his years of struggle against the Pahlavi. If he was talking with the renowned Islamic radical like Dr. Ali Shariati on the sidelines of Hosainiya Irshad debating setup in mid 70s, (an early form of discussion forums); he was equally at ease with scholars like Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti, who later went on to frame the first draft of the constitution of the Islamic Republic.
It was his resilience with diverse thoughts that empowered him to tread a difficult path as the supreme leader. Despite having the power to disrupt the system for his own perspective, he allowed the administrations to have their perspectives, even if he disagreed with them, the latest diplomatic somersaults of the incumbent administration with the west practically cost him his very existence.
As the Islamic Republic faces the greatest existential challenges of its 47 years of existence, the Iranians will not find him standing besides them. That might be the defining moment for the Iranians who oppose the Nezam to realize, what they lost in the ongoing strife with the greater powers, whose rationale for intervention into Iran was provided by these very disgruntled countrymen. Khamenei will be remembered among his comrades in the seminaries, as an exceptional student, among the revolutionary rank as person who listened to all and allowed them the freedom of action, despite being in control of things himself. The world will surely miss you Syed Ali Hosaini Khamenei!
