Quick Facts
Biography
Seyyed Abdulkarim Hasheminejad (Persian: سید عبدالکریم هاشمینژاد) was an Iranian dissident cleric of the Pahlavi regime who was assassinated after the revolution of 1979.
Early life
Hasheminejad was born in 1932 in the province of Mazandaran. He studied under Ayatollah Koohestani before moving to Qom to further his studies. He was at the center of the religious debate set by Hassan Abtahi. He married Abtahi's sister, who died in 2007.
Education
Hasheminejad was a disciple of Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He began his higher education at age 27 and reached the rank of ijtihad. He then migrated to Mashhad. He studied many fields apart from religion, holding discussions and classes with young people, especially students, from which some of his books resulted. He was a writer, a passionate and knowledgeable public speaker and a famed Seminary teacher.
Political activities
Hasheminejad was among the first arrested in the June 5, 1963 demonstrations in Iran. He was arrested five times between 1963 and 1978. He gave a speech on 14 October 1963 against what he thought was the promiscuity of women. After the end of the second arrest he resumed political activities and religious meetings. He was later arrested once more. The Islamic Revolution led to his release after one day. Hasheminejad was one of the main instigators of the Islamic Revolution in Mashhad.
After the revolution
After the revolution, he became the first representative of Mazandaran province during the drafting of the Iranian constitution and played an important role in the adoption of important principles. After the revolution, he refused any official capacity. He was party secretary of the Islamic Republican Party in Mashhad.
Death
On 21 September 1981, a suicide bomber infiltrated the office of the Islamic republican party and assassinated Hasheminejad. He was buried at the shrine of Imam Reza (the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims).