As Khamenei son takes over, Nigerian Shias mourn Iran’s old supreme leader

In northern Nigeria, Shias see new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as a ‘continuation of his father’s resistance’.

Kano, Nigeria – As the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei takes over as Iran’s supreme leader after the assassination of his father in a United States-Israeli attack, hundreds of mourners gathered in a mosque far away from the war in the Middle East to grieve the late leader.

The adherents in northern Nigeria’s Kano State solemnly chanted prayers. At one point during the recitations, the voice of the religious leader that carried over the microphone to all corners of the hall, cracked with grief. Among the crowd, one young man wiped his eyes.

On Sunday, Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as his father’s replacement. In Kano, the community sees it as a move ensuring the “continuation of his father’s resistance”. The assassination of the elder Khamenei last week in an air strike has stirred deep emotions among Nigeria’s minority Muslim Shia, a group that sees its faith and identity intertwined with that of the larger Shia community in Iran.

For 60-year-old academic Dauda Nalado, the elder Khamenei’s killing was not merely another event in foreign politics; it was the silencing of a revered spiritual teacher.

“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not only a leader of the Shiite community or even Muslims alone. He is regarded as a leader of oppressed people across the world,” the university professor told Al Jazeera. “If you look at Iran’s involvement in issues concerning Gaza and Palestine, you will understand why many people admire his leadership.”