{"id":258507,"date":"2022-05-03T15:52:21","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T14:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=258507"},"modified":"2023-02-04T22:50:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T21:50:25","slug":"khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Khamenei and His Imams\u2019 Difficult Task: Controlling Iran\u2019s Volatile Society"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_258508\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-258508\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon\" class=\"wp-image-258508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon.jpg\" alt=\"iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon\" width=\"1000\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-1024x448.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-768x336.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-1536x672.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-150x66.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-696x305.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-1392x609.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon-1068x467.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-258508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In April 2018, protesters in Kazeroon, Fars province, invaded the city\u2019s Friday Prayers venue and chanted angry slogans against the regime.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Iran celebrated Eid-al Fitr on Tuesday. Aside from bogus claims of \u201cvictory\u201d over their \u201cenemy\u201d and anti-West rhetoric, the handpicked Imams acknowledged the country\u2019s economic crunch, the presence of organized opposition in society, and the menace of a looming uprising.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">These prayers come shortly after the Friday Prayers sermons, which reflected the regime\u2019s absolute domestic and international deadlock.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cWe are facing skyrocketing prices, which is very painful,\u201d Ahmad Khatami, the Eid prayer leader in Jamkaran, near the city of Qom, acknowledged on Tuesday.\u00a0 \u201cThe Islamic Republic has not reached a dead-end and will never reach one,\u201d he claimed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irna.ir\/news\/84740639\/%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%84-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%B4%D8%AF\">according to the state-run IRNA news agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Besides the undeniable facts on the ground that point to the regime\u2019s absolute deadlock, if the regime is \u201cpowerful,\u201d why does Khatami have to underline it?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The prayer leaders in Iran are appointed by the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. They hold prominent positions and enjoy social privileges. The Friday prayer sermon, and other prayer sermons like the one on Tuesday, have become a significant place to spread propaganda and boost the morale of regime forces.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Since hijacking the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution, Iran&#8217;s ruling theocracy has used prayer sermons to transmit the supreme leader\u2019s messages. The content of these messages stems from the regime&#8217;s situation. Thus, soon after the revolution, the mullahs established a multi-task religious apparatus to undertake the mission to fully implement their backward interpretation of Islam and destructive policies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cOfficials should prevent prices from rising. Local officials in Gilan province should endeavor to prevent people from having difficulties,\u201d Rasoud Falahati, a prayer leader in Gilan province, northern Iran, said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.farsnews.ir\/gilan\/news\/14010213000092\/%D8%AA%D8%A3%DA%A9%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%AB%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%82%DB%8C%D9%85%D8%AA%E2%80%8C%D9%87%D8%A7\">as quoted by Fars news agency on May 3.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">It seems that Khamenei\u2019s representative in Gilan forgot that prices don\u2019t obey orders and regime officials should abandon their corrupt policies for prices to decrease.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cThe country suffers from two problems. First is the skyrocketing prices and those behind creating them. Second is the mal-veiling,\u201d Ahmad Alam-ol-Hoda, Khamenei\u2019s representative in Mashhad, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Alam-ol Hoda, aka \u201cruler of Khorasan province,\u201d speaks of people\u2019s livelihood while he oversees a financial empire, and his children occupy top positions. In addition, his son-in-law, Ebrahim Raisi, is now the regime\u2019s president.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cThe absence of virtue seriously impacts people\u2019s living conditions,\u201d he claimed, according to Fars news agency, an outlet linked to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.farsnews.ir\/razavi\/news\/14010213000100\/%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A4%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%B9-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%AA%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%86%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B9%DB%8C%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AD%D9%84-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%86%D8%AF\">Revolutionary Guards (IRGC<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">It is worth noting that there have been several acid attacks and hit-and-runs against women in Mashhad under the pretext of \u201cpromotion of virtue and prevention of vice.\u201d Last week, the regime forces attacked women who attempted to attend a soccer match in Mashhad. These attacks were encouraged and later revealed to have been organized by Alam-ol Hoda.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cSome people are suffering from rampant prices and expect these problems to be resolved,\u201d Kazem Sediqi, Eid prayer leader, admitted on May 3, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.farsnews.ir\/news\/14010213000088\/%D8%AE%D8%B7%DB%8C%D8%A8-%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B9%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%81%D8%B7%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B1%D8%A6%DB%8C%D8%B3%E2%80%8C%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%88-%D9%87%D9%85%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B4-%D8%A2%D9%86%DA%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%87\">according to Fars.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">While acknowledging the increasing support of the Iranian Resistance and the role of social media, Sediqi called for \u201crestraining social media platforms\u201d that have been exposing regime officials\u2019 misdemeanor and showing their true color.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Meanwhile, teachers and workers held nationwide rallies on May 1 and 2. The regime security forces later announced they had arrested some activists who were allegedly connected with Iran\u2019s principal opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Yet, Sediqi did not shy away from claiming that \u201cworkers have zealously supported the Islamic Republic and never answered the [MEK] calls to protest on the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The emphasis spoke volumes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Iran has suffered from its worst economic and social crisis in the last century. Thousands of advertisements selling body parts or preselling babies on walls, images of children searching for food in the trash, and protests by people from all walks of life are testaments to the country\u2019s triste yet an explosive state.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Facing a vibrant society, the regime has been rigorously holding these sermons as it desperately needs to legitimize its political, religious, and sectarian presence since the mullahs preserve the regime on the country\u2019s ruins.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In other words, these sermons are politicized, intended to implement Khamenei\u2019s policies, and proclaim political victory. To this extent, Khamenei has established offices and bodies supervising the appointment and dismissal of Friday prayer leaders. But the question is:\u00a0 would Khamenei and his <em>Imams <\/em>attain their objectives?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Let us not forget that in 2018, in the midst of the Friday prayer sermon, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiofarda.com\/a\/iran-isfahan-farmers-protest-friday-prayers\/29105563.html\" rel=\"noopener\">people in Kazeroon<\/a> turned their back to the Friday Prayer Imam, chanting: \u201cWith our backs to the enemy, our eyes are on the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran celebrated Eid-al Fitr on Tuesday. Aside from bogus claims of &ldquo;victory&rdquo; over their &ldquo;enemy&rdquo; and anti-West rhetoric, the handpicked Imams acknowledged the country&rsquo;s economic crunch, the presence of organized [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":258508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9,10],"tags":[130,202,229,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-258507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-resistance","8":"category-iran-protests","9":"category-economy","10":"tag-iran-protests","11":"tag-mek","12":"tag-irans-economy","13":"tag-iran"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Khamenei and His Imams\u2019 Difficult Task: Controlling Iran\u2019s Volatile Society - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Iran celebrated Eid-al Fitr on Tuesday. 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Aside from bogus claims of \u201cvictory\u201d over their \u201cenemy\u201d and anti-West rhetoric, the handpicked Imams acknowledged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NCRI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-03T14:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-04T21:50:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sedighe Shahrokhi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@iran_policy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@iran_policy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sedighe Shahrokhi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sedighe Shahrokhi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/192dca518f3da7c19e0aef04ffe2247e\"},\"headline\":\"Khamenei and His Imams\u2019 Difficult Task: Controlling Iran\u2019s Volatile Society\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-03T14:52:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-04T21:50:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":796,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/05\\\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Iran Protests\",\"MEK\",\"Iran's Economy\",\"Iran\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Iran Opposition &amp; Resistance\",\"Iran Protests &amp; Demonstrations\",\"Iran Economy News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/\",\"name\":\"Khamenei and His Imams\u2019 Difficult Task: Controlling Iran\u2019s Volatile Society - NCRI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/news\\\/iran-protests\\\/khamenei-and-his-imams-difficult-task-controlling-irans-volatile-society\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/05\\\/iran-kazeroon-2018-friday-prayer-sermon.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-03T14:52:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-04T21:50:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"Iran celebrated Eid-al Fitr on Tuesday. 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