Mick Hartley

From the JC:

A student society has given advice on how to deal with “collective grief” following the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Israeli strikes on Tehran on Saturday.

On university campuses across the country, dozens of Ahlul Bayt Societies, also known as Absocs, have posted messages mourning the regime leader.

The Muslim Student Council (MSC), the national umbrella organisation overseeing dozens of Absocs (many of which are officially affiliated to British student unions), posted a black and white image of Khamenei and informed followers that an Iftar event to break fast for Ramadan had been cancelled “out of respect and in honour of our beloved Shuhada [martyrs]”.

Greenwich Absoc shared an image mourning Khamenei and reposted material about the ICE vigil on Sunday, including the statement that “our leader is today a great martyr”.

UCL Absoc encouraged its followers to recite a mourning prayer for Khamenei, sharing a post on Instagram stating: “Please recite Surah Al Fatiha [the first chapter of the Quran] for our beloved Sayed.”

“Condolences on the martyrdom of Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei,” it said, adding: “We will remain steadfast.”

The student society, which is affiliated with the UCL student union, has posted three videos of Khamenei and has organised an event in a UCL campus building, which will “commemorate the fallen”.

The society also shared a post from Absoc Mental Health, a separate group that claims to be “breaking stigma [about mental health] through the Quran & Ahlulbayt,” which stated: “ABsoc Mental Health send their condolences to you all on the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is an unimaginable loss for the entire Ummah.“