Mohammad Mofatteh

Mohammad Mofatteh (; 17 June 1928 – 18 December 1979) was an Iranian philosopher, theologian, and political activist. He was a Twelver Shia ayatollah and an important figure in the 1979 Iranian revolution, leading religious and anti-monarchist activities at Javid Mosque and Qoba Mosque. Mofatteh was arrested several times by SAVAK for his activities, and performed the 1978 Eid al-Fitr prayer that led to the Black Friday mass shooting.

In addition to his political activities, Mofatteh was the author of several books such as Translation of Tafsir Kabir Majmaolbayan, The Way of Thought, and Outcomes of Imperialism, among others. He also wrote many articles such as "The Role of Muslim Scientists in The Advance of Science" and "Where Did Islamic Scientific Movements Begin?". He was assassinated by four gunmen, all members of the Forqan Group, in front of the Theology Department of Tehran University on 18 December 1979. The day of his assassination is called the day for "unity among seminaries and universities" in Iran.

Early life and education He was born in Famenin, in Iran's Hamadan province, into a family of religious scholars. His father, Hajji Sheikh Mahmoud Mofatteh, known as Mirza Mahmoud, was one of the eminent teachers of Hamadan Seminary. His father also was knowledgeable in subjects including Arabic and Persian literature. Mohammad used to participate in his father's courses, from which absorbed his primary knowledge.

Mohammad Mofatteh attended Akhund Mullah Ali Hamedani's school in Hamadan. After completing his primary education there, at 16 he left for the well-known Islamic Seminary in Qom,

Activities Political Mofatteh and Beheshti were among those who articulated Khomeini's spiritual and political authority in the Islamic revolution. In other words, they extended the views of Khomeini in politics and ideology. As a religious and political activist, he travelled to different places of Iran in the 1950s and 1960s. Especially during Ramadhan, Moharram, and Safar, he used to go to Khuzestan province to guide the people. After he developed his activities in Khuzestan, SAVAK prohibited his entrance to the province. In 1968 he was fired from the Department of Education for his political activities and was exiled to Zahedan. After the period of exile was finished, SAVAK prohibited his entrance to Qom and instead, "to neutralize his religio-political activities", suggested that he be assigned as a professor at Tehran University.

Mofatteh traveled to Lebanon and Syria and visited Imam Musa Sadr, with whom he aimed to help the Lebanese evacuees and lead cultural activities. During that trip, Musa Sadr and Mofatteh decided to establish a center where the children of evacuees could obtain an education from the primary grades up to the university level. They bought a piece of land for constructing the center but they did not carry out their plan after Sadr's disappearance.

Mofatteh performed the prayer of Eid al-Fitr in 1978 in Gheytarieh, in which an unprecedented number of people took part and which was marked as a "shining point in the history of the Islamic Revolution". After finishing the prayer, he gave a "very revolutionary and crucial" lecture, mentioned "Imam Khomeini", and emphasized the importance of respecting him. The lecture led to demonstrations of 7 September (16 Shahrivar). He was injured in the demonstration, arrested while returning home from the hospital, and then imprisoned for two months.

He was a part of Khomeini's welcoming committee and was responsible for managing the affairs in Behesht-e Zahra. The committee organized 65,000 people as a disciplinary force to protect Khomeini. and was among those who joined secular organizations such as the Teachers Association in order to counter the influence of the Tudeh Party, and to "advance their common cause against the state".

Academic Mofatteh was studying at the university and teaching in the seminary at the same time, which garnered criticism from some people who told him, in a kind manner, that this was tarnishing his status. His doctoral dissertation was "Divine Wisdom in Nahj al-Balagha". He was concerned in the aforementioned essay with the relation of religion and philosophy. Besides those, he authored many works in different fields of Islamic science as follows: A gloss on Hikmat Muta'aliyyeh The way of thought in logic The verses of beliefs in Quran Unity of academics and seminary when he was in front of the building of Theology department of Tehran University along with his two guards, Asghar Nematy and Javad Bahmany, on 18 December 1979, when he was dean of the Theology Department. He was shot at four times, with the bullets going through his head, shoulder, hands, and knees. He was taken to Ayatollah Taleghany Hospital where he died on the same day. Four members of Forghan namely, Kamal Yassini, Mahmud Kashani, Mohammad Nouri, and Hassan Nouri, were charged in the assassination. Kamal Yasini, Mofatteh's assassin, a 20-year-old youth who held the responsibility of planning the groups terror, said that their previous terror attempts, including one at the Pars school, were unsuccessful and that he had aimed to perform the deed by himself.

Reception December 18, the day Mofatteh was assassinated, is called the day for "unity among seminaries and universities".