The Economy of Mourning in Iran

Mourners, as a religious collective, had little influence during Ayatollah Khomeini's era, and he did not grant them much space. However, the next leader of the regime, lacking the same charisma and stature, adopted a different strategy to mobilize political power, which included organizing mourners and granting them religious, political, and economic status. This process intensified particularly during Ahmadinejad's presidency, making the role of this group more explicit in economic and political spheres, with their connections formalized through organizations like the Tehran Mourner Society or the Basij of Mourning. In this context, mourners have shown serious determination to expand their activities, recently publishing a 21-volume series on the principles of mourning by the 'Qadim al-Ihsan' institute. According to Hassan Ahi, the Vice President of the House of Mourners of Iran, the economic and cultural activities of mourners have expanded, and their applied science college has begun accepting students. The establishment of such governmental organizations—within the framework of a rentier government—aimed at mobilizing public opinion and constraining the emergence and movement of civil society and NGOs is referred to as 'group formation' in social economics. The multiple political and security roles of mourners cannot occur without political and economic consequences. Therefore, it is not surprising that this group has now officially demanded a special political share and expressed their willingness to present a list in the parliamentary elections. Recently, Saeed Hadadian, one of the famous mourners in Tehran, threatened conservatives that if they did not achieve unity, they would separate from them and present a separate list in the parliamentary elections. However, shortly after, he changed his position, stating that mourners do not intend to present a list for the upcoming Islamic Consultative Assembly elections and do not wish to enter parliament. It should not be assumed that this was the only political expression from the mourners; they also strive to have an impact in diplomacy and foreign policy. Sadegh Ahangar, a war front mourner, referred to the meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry in Geneva as a 'disgrace' in the history of the Islamic Revolution, arguing that such an 'insult' to the Iranian people is unjustifiable. In this context, he added: 'It has never been the case that a person from a revolutionary country walks with a 'bloodthirsty wolf' who has massacred millions.' Haj Mohammad Farahani, the head of the Basij of Mourning, also questioned the diplomacy and foreign policy of the eleventh government, stating: 'With the start of negotiations in the new government and the perspective of the statesmen, some were misled into thinking they could bridge relations with the U.S. through negotiations and forget the principles of the revolution, thus opening the way for American infiltration into the country.' Mansour Arzi, another well-known mourner in Tehran, also expressed his desire to compete with other mourners in the anti-American stance by wishing death upon Rafsanjani, calling him 'an old man' and 'a hyena,' stating: 'He, meaning Rafsanjani, makes incorrect statements about eliminating the slogan 'Death to America,' and some of his money-loving and unprincipled supporters back him up. However, it should not be assumed that the function of these mourners is limited to the aforementioned areas. They have also shown their readiness to produce other services such as psychological repression, covert repression, and even overt repression when necessary. The commander of the police force emphasized the role of some mourner groups in the 2009 crackdowns, stating in an interview: 'The kids from the Tehran University association and Mr. Panahian and Saeed Hadadian came and organized a demonstration. That same crowd came out and was very effective in breaking the spirit of those protesting the election fraud of 2009.' The economy of mourners: An ISNA reporter, who claims to have 'sought out one of the old servants of the Ahl al-Bayt,' writes: '... It is the wealthy in society who ruin things by giving unchecked amounts of money; I do not know if it is out of love for the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) or out of envy. But when they write a check for 3 million tomans for half an hour of mourning and put it in the mourner's pocket, they call it a gift.' According to these 'old servants of the Ahl al-Bayt,' some mosque sponsors: 'For 20 nights of speeches by a famous speaker during the holy month of Ramadan, they pay him 30 million tomans; because his presence multiplies the number of worshippers and listeners several times, and even the share of donations to the mosque increases significantly.' The same media adds: 'One of those who is closely related to some famous mourners, and of course does not want to be named, says: This year, during the first ten days of Muharram, one of the famous mourners received 40 million tomans for ten nights of mourning, which is a 15 million tomans increase compared to what he was paid last year.' According to the analytical news site Asr-e Ghanoun, the wages of some mourners for a night of mourning and recitation fluctuate between 100 to 200 million tomans. Jam-e Jam newspaper reported: '... The base price for ordinary mourners in Tehran starts at 100,000 tomans per night and can reach up to 500,000 tomans, but some well-known and famous mourners who usually recite new poems and styles each night may receive more than these amounts for a night's mourning.' Despite some government officials stating that mourners do not receive wages and receive 'gifts' for their services, Hojjat al-Islam Mortazavi, the head of the Islamic Propagation Organization of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, previously expressed dissatisfaction with the behavior of some mourners, stating: 'Mourners in the province receive 7 to 10 times the determined wage rate.' However, the economic activities of mourners are not limited to these matters, and they seek to expand their activities in other areas such as 'cooperative' matters and possibly credit matters. Recently, Hassan Ahi, the Vice President of the House of Mourners, noted that the House of Mourners, which has 1,700 members, plans to start economic activities for revenue generation this year. Part of these programs includes establishing a consumer cooperative and an economic cooperative. Thus, the cycle of status-wealth-power is completed. In conclusion, according to some social economists, rentier governments, for example, by utilizing oil revenues and granting privileges and rents to certain social groups, form their 'showcase civil society' and prevent the emergence of independent civil organizations or protest groups. The distribution of rents among citizens and the formation of 'groups devoted to the revolutionary and wise actions of the leader' to garner their support are other manifestations of this group formation. Various studies show that the group formation of rentier governments is an obstacle to the emergence of an independent civil society and social capital.