Gholamreza Hosseini, Former Friday Prayer Leader of Urmia, Passes Away

Reports indicate that Gholamreza Hosseini, the former Friday prayer leader of Urmia, passed away on the evening of Tuesday, May 20, due to old age and illness. Gholamreza Hosseini, known as 'Molla Hosseini', was born in 1927 in the village of Bozorgabad, 30 kilometers from Urmia. He served as the representative of the Supreme Leader in West Azerbaijan Province and the Friday prayer leader of Urmia from the early years after the revolution until 2013. He was removed from this position due to illness and old age. According to ISNA, he was an opponent of the Pahlavi monarchy and had engaged in armed struggle against this regime. In the early days after the revolution, Gholamreza Hosseini was appointed as the Friday prayer leader of Urmia by the decree of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. He also won a seat in the first parliamentary elections in 1979. On April 2, 2011, he was awarded the 'First Degree Courage Medal' by former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his 'struggles in the early years after the victory of the revolution and participation in the Iran-Iraq war'. Gholamreza Hosseini, as he wrote in his memoirs, actively participated in the suppression of Kurdish groups in the early years after the revolution. It is said that Rashid Hosseini, the eldest son of Molla Hosseini, who was a member of leftist groups, was arrested and ultimately executed in the early years after the revolution due to information he provided to the authorities. Gholamreza Hosseini also drew media attention for his controversial speeches against reformists during Mohammad Khatami's presidency.