Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Rips U.S. Police, Says #BlackLivesMatter On Twitter
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has been busy on Twitter, expressing his support for the Ferguson protests and Palestinians in Gaza. With hashtags like #Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatter, he explained that Christians are expected to fight oppression and arrogance.
Since the beginning of the Ferguson protests, national leaders from across the globe have used the opportunity to chastise the U.S. for police brutality. North Korea even issued a statement calling America the “graveyard of human rights,” despite receiving its own condemnation from the United Nation over its political concentration camps.
Now, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is putting in his two-cents with a new religious slant, comparing the struggles of Jesus Christ to those of the black protesters in Ferguson and around the country.
It’s expected that followers of #Jesus follow him in his fight against arrogants and in his support for the oppressed. #BlackLivesMatter
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 28, 2014
#Jesus endured sufferings to oppose tyrants who had put humans in hell in this world& the hereafter while he backed the oppressed. #Ferguson — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 28, 2014
Ali Khamenei is also using the hashtags #Gaza and #Ferguson side-by-side to draw a parallel between the two situations.
If #Jesus were among us today he wouldn’t spare a second to fight the arrogants&support the oppressed.#Ferguson #Gaza pic.twitter.com/P0N8jmKyQU
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2014
The Ayatollah is both the political and religious leader of Iran. According to CNN, his Twitter account, although unverified, is widely considered the mouthpiece for the supreme leader, one that he uses regularly to denounce the U.S. and Israel to nearly 91,000 followers. Earlier in August, Ali Khamenei issued this post at the end of the Gaza war and beginning of the turmoil in Ferguson.
US govt has subjugated a great nation w/ massive resources to a criminal regime like #Israel.10/31/12 #Ferguson #Gaza pic.twitter.com/XU3dJgkVsp — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) August 20, 2014
The Guardian describes the twitter feed as an interesting look into the thinking of a man who has ruled Iran for 25 years, rallying against the United States the entire time. In addition to condemnations against Israel and the U.S., the feed acts as a megaphone for Iranian public policy.
According to the Guardian, Khamenei also chimed in on the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, saying that it would eventually bring down the entire capitalist system. A prediction that may have been premature.
Whether or not he’s taken seriously, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has certainly found a voice in social media.
[Image Credit: Sajed.ir/Wikimedia Commons]
