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Religion & Spirituality

Khamenei’s death highlights the powerful role of martyrdom in Shiite theology — and the deep political divisions within Iran.

Congressional Oversight of Military Action in Iran

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  <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eric-lob-1479664">Eric Lob</a> | <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/florida-international-university-729">Florida International University</a><br>Mar. 2, 2026

  <p>The day Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, the Iranian government <a href="https://gulfnews.com/amp/story/world%2Fmena%2Fkhamenei-dead-40-day-mourning-declared-iran-state-tv-1.500459085">called for 40 days</a> of public mourning in line with Shiite tradition. It <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/israel-iran-live-updates-rcna261099">also praised the</a> <a href="https://www.academia.edu/39134486/_Martyrdom_and_Masculinity_in_Warring_Iran_The_Karbala_Paradigm_the_Heroic_and_the_Personal_Dimensions_of_War_Behemoth_12_no_1_2019_35_51">supreme leader for his martyrdom</a> – a concept considered <a href="https://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/martyrdom_in_shii.php">sacred and significant</a> in the Islamic Republic and Shiite Islam. </p>

<p>While some Iranians <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/polarised-iran-khameneis-death-triggers-celebrations-grief-2026-03-01/">came out</a> to commemorate Khamenei, others celebrated his demise. The scenes reflected the contradictions in how Khamenei was perceived: by some as a martyr, and by others as an oppressor.</p>

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 <figcaption>Flowers placed at the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan in memory of the Ayatollah Khamenei, March 4, 2026 (Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ilham_Aliyev_visited_Iranian_Embassy_in_Azerbaijan_to_offer_condolences_5.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</figcaption> 
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<h2>The theology of martyrdom</h2>

<p>The roots of Shiite reverence for martyrdom date back centuries. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-shia-sunni-divide-78216">a dispute emerged</a> over who would inherit the leadership of the Muslim community. On one side was the prophet’s senior companion and father-in-law, Abu Bakr. On the other was his cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who became the first Shiite imam. </p>

<p>In 680, the Battle of Karbala took place in present-day Iraq between Hussain ibn Ali – the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Shiite imam – and Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. Yazid was the second Umayyad caliph, which means deputy of God, and the ruler of the early Islamic empire.</p>

<p>Before the battle, negotiations had failed between Hussain and Yazid’s governor. Hussain refused to swear allegiance to Yazid, believing him to be unjust and not the rightful successor. In a 10-day battle that followed, most of Hussain’s army, including some of his closest companions and relatives, was slain. Hussain’s followers, who believed him to be the third Imam – after his father Ali and older brother Hasan ibn Ali – came to be called Shiites. Since then, martyrdom has held a central place among Shiites. They comprise the smaller of the two main branches of Islam, with Sunni being the larger one. </p>

<p>Iran has become the epicenter of Shiite Islam, which is the official state religion. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2009/10/Shiarange.pdf">Ninety to 95% of the population</a> identify accordingly. </p>

<p>Every year on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar and the same day as the Battle of Karbala, Shiite Muslims inside and outside of Iran <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-ashura-how-this-shiite-muslim-holiday-inspires-millions-122610">observe Ashura</a> and commemorate the slaying of Hussain by reenacting his death and performing self-flagellation, among other rituals.</p>

<h2>Iranian political rhetoric</h2>

<p>In Iran and other parts of the Muslim world, contemporary politics is often framed in this seventh-century language of moral resistance.</p>

<p>After the Islamic Republic of Iran was established under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979, martyrdom appeared as a central theme. This was particularly the case during and after the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War">Iran-Iraq War</a>, which lasted eight years in the 1980s and was perceived and portrayed as a holy war.</p>

<p>During the war, the Islamic Republic suffered <a href="https://kurzman.unc.edu/death-tolls-of-the-iran-iraq-war/">hundreds of thousands of casualties</a>. After Khomeini reluctantly accepted a United Nations-brokered ceasefire, he compared the decision to drinking a “<a href="https://www.meforum.org/meq/vindicating-the-poisoned-chalice-irans-creeping-invasion-of-iraq">poisoned chalice</a>.” In other words, he considered the compromise a crushing defeat that contradicted his goal of overthrowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, even if it enabled the Iranian regime to survive. </p>

<p>After the war, <a href="https://alexshams.com/2011/12/05/memory-and-public-space-in-tehran/">public space</a> in Iran was increasingly filled with revolutionary and religious symbols related to wartime sacrifice and martyrdom. They included street signs named after prominent people who died in the war, murals and posters of the fallen, and media programs and publications dedicated to the conflict – symbols which were still prominent when I visited Iran between 2009-2011. </p>

<p>The Islamic Republic’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs – Bonyad-e Shahid va Omur-e Ithargaran – provided services for veterans and families of the fallen in the war and other conflicts. Like other foundations under the purview of Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini after his death in 1989, it also participated in <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bonyad-e-sahid/">profit-seeking activities</a>. </p>

<p>It is against this backdrop that Khamenei’s actions leading up to the American and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 that cost him his life must be seen.</p>

<p>During the <a href="https://theconversation.com/failure-of-us-iran-talks-was-all-too-predictable-but-trump-could-still-have-stuck-with-diplomacy-over-strikes-277209">three rounds of U.S.-Iran negotiations</a> in Oman and Geneva before the current conflict, Khamenei <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5gk15rr70o">refused to capitulate</a> to President Donald Trump’s demands. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/failure-of-us-iran-talks-was-all-too-predictable-but-trump-could-still-have-stuck-with-diplomacy-over-strikes-277209">comprised curbing</a> not only Iran’s nuclear enrichment, but also its missile program and support for its regional proxies. Khamenei directed his negotiators not to yield ground, particularly on those last two points, seen as red lines in Tehran – even as Trump <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/02/26/us-military-assembles-largest-force-of-warships-aircraft-in-middle-east-in-decades/">amassed</a> the most military assets in the region since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. </p>

<h2>Authoritarianism, protests, polarization</h2>
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  <figcaption>Iranian protestors on the Keshavrz Boulvard, Tehran, September 20, 2022. Photo via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uprising_in_Tehran,_Keshavarz_Boulvard_September_2022_(3).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption>
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<p>For over three decades, Khamenei subjected Iranians to severe authoritarianism and repression, culminating in him <a href="https://www.en-hrana.org/day-44-since-the-start-of-the-protests-student-gatherings-warning-from-the-head-of-the-judiciary-and-the-continuation-of-arrests/">ordering the security forces to shoot and kill</a> thousands of Iranians during the protests in January 2026, not to mention those in previous years. </p>

<p>He deprived the families of deceased protesters from holding funerals for their loved ones. His regime also reportedly <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-13/iran-protest-deaths-regime-conditions-releasing-bodies/106220598">required them to pay</a> for the ammunition that had been used to kill their relatives before receiving the body for burial.</p>

<p>And despite <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-us-nuclear-tensions-economy-be92269aa913782c82a3fe5aa93a6adf">recurrent waves of protests</a> – the January unrest followed similar waves in 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2022-23 – Khamenei refused to listen to the demands of demonstrators for political, economic and social change. The furthest he was willing to go was to make cosmetic concessions while ruthlessly repressing citizens. </p>

<p>He also refused to reform the system from within and placed the political elites who pushed him in that direction under <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-opposition-leader-karroubi-be-freed-house-arrest-2025-03-17/">house arrest</a> or <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy03gnd74n5o">in prison</a>.</p>

<p>During his almost 37-year rule, Khamenei accumulated massive power and wealth. As supreme leader, he commanded the armed forces, appointed the head of the judiciary, supervised the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2026.2629789">state media</a>, and possessed a <a href="https://www.shora-gc.ir/">parallel body</a> that vetted electoral candidates and vetoed parliamentary legislation.</p>

<p>Although Khamenei appeared austere in public, he held sizeable assets. Setad, a quasi-state organization under his direct control, was estimated to be worth <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/iran/#article/part1">US$95 billion</a> as of 2013. </p>

<p>He continued support for regional proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, while maintaining a <a href="https://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=101179">confrontational rhetoric</a> toward the U.S. and Israel. Since 2024, these actions led to Israeli and American intervention in Iran that <a href="https://www.en-hrana.org/twelve-days-under-fire-a-comprehensive-report-on-the-iran-israel-war/">brought death</a> and destruction to the country, and ultimately the strikes that killed him. The strikes also killed some of his <a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a724-d479-ad9e-f76cb5b90000">closest relatives</a>, including his daughter, son-in-law, grandchild and daughter-in-law.</p>

<p>In the end, some Iranians will remember Khamenei as a martyr – someone who stood firmly by his principles and faced a more powerful enemy, even if it meant losing his life.</p>

<p>But others, now rejoicing in the streets, will remember him as an oppressor who put personal power and profit above the public interest.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/277207/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" /></p>

  <p><span><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eric-lob-1479664">Eric Lob</a>, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/florida-international-university-729">Florida International University</a>.</em></span></p>

  <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ayatollah-ali-khameneis-killing-plays-into-shiite-islams-reverence-for-martyrs-but-not-for-all-iranians-277207">original article</a>.</p></em>
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Killing Plays Into Shiite Islam’s Reverence for Martyrs, but Not for All Iranians

Across the country, faith communities and people of goodwill are embracing an ethic of accompaniment to defend the dignity and humanity of immigrants.

Immigration Policies That Honor Human Dignity

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  <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristy-nabhan-warren-1445286">Kristy Nabhan-Warren</a> | <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-iowa-723">University of Iowa</a><br>Feb. 24, 2026

  <p>In Portland, Oregon, people wearing inflatable frog costumes  – <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/22/trump-ice-portland-no-kings-protest">The Portland Frog Brigade</a> – danced outside immigration offices. In Chicago, parents and neighbors walked children to and from school, forming “<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/12/02/as-immigration-agents-swept-chicago-this-fall-communities-stepped-in-to-get-kids-to-school-safely">magic schoolbuses</a>” for families who feared detention. </p>

<p>Thousands of Americans have taken to the streets since fall 2025 to protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s tactics. These public demonstrations include the more familiar-looking protest signs and chanting, as well as other everyday ways of showing solidarity with minority groups being targeted. </p>

<p>The Americans taking part come from many different faith traditions, and none. But this type of solidarity reminds me of “accompaniment,” a concept I study as a <a href="https://religiousstudies.uiowa.edu/people/kristy-nabhan-warren">scholar of American Catholicism and Roman Catholicism</a> more broadly.</p>

<p>The idea of accompaniment is rooted in modern Catholic social thought. It was first coined by the late Pope Francis in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation “<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html">Evangelii Gaudium,” or “Joy of the Gospel</a>.” </p>

<h2>Accompaniment and its history</h2>

<p>Apostolic exhortations are letters written by popes that urge Catholics and non-Catholics alike to demonstrate their faith in everyday actions such as caring for neighbors, the poor and the dispossessed. They also respond to specific issues and challenges of the particular time, such as famine, war and poverty.</p>

<p>Francis penned <a href="https://www.dominicanajournal.org/the-art-of-accompaniment/">his call to action</a> soon after he became the pope in the midst of escalating global humanitarian and refugee crises – notably, the death of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to the island of Lampedusa, near Sicily, in June 2013. </p>

<p><a href="https://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/FrancisEssay8-21-15.pdf">Francis demanded</a> that Catholics and the broader global community pay attention to the dignity and humanity of migrants and called for a reawakening of people’s consciences “so that what happened would not be repeated.” Francis called the apathy to the death of migrants “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/08/pope-globalisation-of-indifference-lampedusa">globalization of indifference” to suffering</a>. </p>



<p>He urged Catholics around the world <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#Kerygmatic_and_mystagogical_catechesis">to show love and mercy</a> for the most vulnerable people in demonstrable ways. Calling it the “art of accompaniment,” he used the imagery of walking alongside the poor and taking off sandals in a sign of solidarity. </p>

<p>As the first pope from Latin America, Francis’ teachings on accompaniment were rooted in the Catholic liberation theology that spread throughout the region in the late 1960s and 1970s. </p>

<p><a href="https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/option-for-the-poor-and-vulnerable">Liberation theology embraces</a> putting the needs of the most vulnerable first and is grounded in biblical teachings. It prioritizes a “<a href="https://uscatholic.org/articles/201501/what-is-the-preferential-option-for-the-poor/">preferential option for the poor</a>.” </p>

<p>Francis stands within a long tradition of Catholic social teaching that can be traced back to Pope Leo XIII. Leo was the first modern pope to coin the term “social doctrine,” an official Catholic teaching on how to build and maintain just and equitable economies. </p>

<p>Leo issued the papal document “Rerum Novarum” – “<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html">On Capital and Labor</a>” – in May 1891 in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Rerum Novarum emphasized the dignity of work and called for fair wages and humane working conditions.  </p>

<h2>The Catholic Church today and immigration</h2>

<p>In more recent times, Pope Leo XIV – like his predecessor Francis and the earlier pope whose name he chose – has embraced a preferential option for the poor and an ethic of accompaniment. On Oct. 9, 2025, he issued his first exhortation, “Dilexi Te” – “<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html">I Have Loved You</a>” – continuing Francis’ and the modern church’s focus on caring for vulnerable people. </p>

<p>In a section dedicated to migrants, he wrote that <a href="https://www.chicagocatholic.com/vatican/-/article/2025/10/11/love-for-the-poor-is-hallmark-of-faith-pope-says-in-first-exhortation">humans will be judged by how well they treat people</a> who are poor, sick, imprisoned and foreign. Demonstrating love and concern for the poor, Leo emphasized, was a “hallmark of faith.” </p>

<p>Leo also endorsed a Nov. 12 pastoral message from the U.S. Catholic Council of Bishops urging immigration reforms that “<a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/us-bishops-issue-special-message-immigration-plenary-assembly-baltimore">recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons</a>,” while maintaining national security interests, as both were possible. He urged Catholics and other “people of goodwill” to “listen carefully” to this message.</p>

<h2>Accompaniment and people of goodwill</h2>

<p>Accompaniment is uniquely Catholic, but the social thought it describes goes far beyond any religious denomination. From Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., everyday Catholics and non-Catholics alike have been <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-04/la-archbishop-immigration-mass-for-peace">demonstrating solidarity</a> with the immigrants.</p>
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<p>They are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/ice-arrests-five-year-old-boy-minnesota">rejecting ICE’s aggressive tactics</a> while <a href="https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/2026/02/16/no-kings-protesters-upper-bucks-county-presidents-day-decry-ice-tactics/88701162007/">demonstrating that they value human dignity and human rights</a>.</p>

<p>Accompaniment appears to be a common language of solidarity – a way for “people of goodwill,” as Leo put it – to stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable people and refuse to accept immigration policies they see as being dehumanizing.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/275224/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" /></p>

  <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristy-nabhan-warren-1445286">Kristy Nabhan-Warren</a>, Elizabeth Kahl Figge Chair in Catholic Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-iowa-723">University of Iowa</a></em></span></p>

  <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-standing-in-solidarity-with-immigrants-is-an-act-of-accompaniment-in-catholic-philosophy-275224">original article</a>.</em></p>
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Why Standing in Solidarity With Immigrants Is an Act of Accompaniment in Catholic Philosophy

Faculty across red and blue states disagree on free speech and DEI—but they share rare consensus on the importance of supporting students of all faiths and beliefs.

Supporting Religious Inclusion in Higher Education

Supporting Religious Diversity Is a Surprising Consensus Among Faculty Across the Red—Blue Divide