Among those commemorated was a figure controversially known as "the Butcher of Tehran." This tribute, along with others, has sparked outrage due to Iran's connections to international terrorism.
The Islamic House of Wisdom announced on its Facebook page that it was standing in unity with the people of Iran and global advocates of "peace and justice." The memorial honored Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan province's governor-general Malek Rahmati, and Iranian jurist Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, who all died in the crash on Sunday. A cleric who died separately was also remembered.
The helicopter carrying Raisi, Amirabdollahian, Al-Hashem, and Rahmati crashed in Iran's East Azerbaijan province's Dizmar Forest. They were returning to Tehran after inaugurating a dam on Iran's border with Azerbaijan alongside Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
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The mosque's flyer stated, "The global community is grappling with this tragedy, unsure whether it was a catastrophic accidental crash or a deliberate evil act of terrorism." The crash claimed eight lives, including three crew members.
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Raisi, infamously known as the "Butcher of Tehran," is most notorious for overseeing mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. This led Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to appoint interim leadership for Iran's executive branch.
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The Biden administration and the United Nations Security Council have faced criticism for expressing condolences and observing a moment of silence for the crash victims, despite Iran's well-documented human rights abuses and its support for terrorism worldwide, particularly against Israel and the United States.
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State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated on Monday, "We have been quite clear that Ebrahim Raisi was a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades. He was involved in numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure as president, especially the human rights abuses against the women and girls of Iran."
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The memorial service on Thursday also paid tribute to Ali Al-Kourani, a senior ayatollah in Lebanon, who passed away on May 19 in Iran. The Islamic center stated in the flyer that it was honoring the memories of the "Righteous souls of the Martyrs of the Islamic Ummah," referring to the Muslim community.
