February 2, 2024
A public claim by Supremae Leader Ali Khamenehi that God once spoke through him has led to sharp criticism and charges of blasphemy on social media, suggesting a further erosion in respect for him.
On December 31, Khamenehi was meeting with the family of the late Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleymani when he stated that more than 20 years ago he was in the company of a group of Pasdar officers when he started conveying an inspirational message to them.
“Almighty God was speaking! In fact, it was my tongue, but it was God’s words; it was a very extraordinary session,” Khamenehi said. “I delivered a very warm and eloquent speech. But I hadn’t prepared it. God kept uttering the words. It was my mouth but God’s words.”
In Islamic theology, an assertion that God spoke through a person can be ruled blasphemous. According to religious teachings, God communicated exclusively with the Prophet Mohammed as emphasized by some Iranian critics in the past few days. In Shiite oral traditions, there is no mention of any occasion where God spoke to Imam Ali, the revered figure in the faith, or to any other Islamic saint, Iran International noted.
An Iranian literary critic in exile and political commentator, Faraj Sarkouhi, wrote on X, “Megalomania, self-center-edness, self-deification, claiming to be a prophet or the voice of God, a sense of exceptional wisdom, and extreme narcissism are considered characteristics of despots at the end of their reigns. Despots gradually fall into the trap of power, oblivious to the fragility of authoritarian power.”
Some social media users called Khamenehi’s statements blasphemous. One social media user commented, “According to the Islamic Penal Code, which is used to suppress anti-government dissent, Khamenehi’s statements are punishable.”
Another individual wrote on X, “If an ordinary person had uttered the same statement, they would have been executed on charges of blasphemy, insulting sanctities, insulting the Supreme Leader, blasphemy against the Imams, and more.”
Regime officials have been quick to defend Khamenehi. An official from Imam Khomeini’s foundation wrote on the Tasnim news website, affiliated with the Pasdaran, that attacks against Khamenehi are orchestrated by foreign-based Persian-language media networks.