Massacre Mullah Awarded with ‘Medal of Bravery’ in Iran

According to Fars News Agency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awarded the [national] Medal of Bravery at the April 3rd cabinet meeting to Gholamreza Hassani.

Hassani received the award for his record of resistance prior to the Islamic Revolution [against the Shah’s regime], fighting against Kurdish opposition in the first years following the Islamic Revolution, and participation in the Iraq-Iran war.

In the early years after the Revolution, Hassani reported on the hiding location of his own son, who was a member of [the opposition group] Fadayian Khalgh, to the Islamic Revolution committee members. Hassani’s son was arrested then executed.

Earlier, Assadollah Alizadeh, the director of the Cultural Heritage Institution in the Western Azerbaijan province had requested from the institution to submit Hassani’s name into the “Spiritual Heritage” list. Alizadeh told ILNA that he hoped Gholamreza Hassani would be recognized as an Iranian Cultural Heritage.

Alizadeh added that, in the events that occurred in the early years following the Islamic Revolution, [mullah] Hassani played the “main role” and was the “key element” in confronting groups like the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and Komeleh in the Naghadeh area [E.g. the Qarna massacre]. As a result, Gholamreza Hassani should have his name recorded as an Iranian Spiritual Heritage.

For years, Hassani has been acting as the Friday Prayer Imam in the city of Orumiyeh. His political stances in the Friday sermons have drawn criticism from many of the reformists and political satirists have used his theories in their works.

In an interview in 2008 with the Chelcheragh monthly publication, Hassani said, “There are two types of Cultural Heritage sites: the ones that serve Islam and should be protected and the ones that [do not serve Islam] and should be destroyed and annihilated.”

The Medal of Bravery is one of the most significant official medals awarded in Iran, based on a person’s record and following a committee evaluation of credentials.

Translation by Siavosh Jalili, Persian2English