ABNA24 - Kenyan Islamic says Ayatollah Khamenei's legacy of self-reliance, resistance and Islamic sovereignty will continue shaping the Global South's pursuit of dignity and independence.
In this exclusive interview with Pars News Agency, Dr. Hassan Kinyua Omari — lecturer at the University of Nairobi with over 20 years of experience in education, ethical leadership, and intercultural dialogue, Islamic scholar, interfaith consultant, translator, and author of more than 40 books — offers a profound spiritual and political assessment of Ayatollah Khamenei's legacy and its enduring significance for Muslims worldwide. Drawing on his extensive background in Islamic governance, interreligious dialogue, and African intellectual traditions, he examines the deep religious meaning of Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral, his model of integrating faith with statecraft, and the lessons his leadership holds for Africa and the Global South.
The following is the full text of the interview:
Q- For millions of Muslims around the world, Ayatollah Khamenei was not only a political leader but also a religious authority. In your view, what is the spiritual significance of his funeral ceremony for Muslims inside and outside Iran?
The funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei carries deep spiritual, religious and historical meaning. For many Muslims, especially those who regarded him as a great imam, leader of believers, scholar, jurist and guardian of Islamic identity, his funeral is not merely the burial of a political leader. It is a moment of reflection on leadership, sacrifice, mortality and accountability before Allah.
In Islam, death reminds us that every leader, however powerful, finally returns to Allah to account for his leadership. A funeral of such magnitude becomes a collective spiritual gathering where people express joy and celebrate life well lived, at the same time grief for loss of loved one, pray for the deceased, renew their faith and reflect on the values the leader represented.
For Muslims inside Iran, the ceremony is a moment of national celebration of a great martyr, mourning and religious solidarity. For Muslims outside Iran, it is a reminder of the role Iran has played in shaping modern Islamic political consciousness, especially around independence, resistance, dignity and the refusal to surrender religious identity to external pressure.
Q- You have previously spoken about the concepts of religious legitimacy and moral leadership in relation to Ayatollah Khamenei. How do you assess his legacy as a leader who sought to integrate religious authority with state governance?
Ayatollah Khamenei’s legacy is great symbol of a role model leader which must be understood within the Islamic Republic’s unique model, where religious authority and state governance are closely connected. He represented the continuation of the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih, where the jurist is not only a religious guide but also a guardian of the moral and political direction of society.
The world will remember him as a leader who preserved Islamic identity, defended national sovereignty and insisted that politics must remain connected to moral and spiritual responsibility. He stood for the idea that governance should not be separated from ethics, faith and accountability before Allaah
At the same time, any serious scholarly evaluation must also examine the challenges of such a model: the balance between authority and consultation, unity and diversity, state security and civil rights, religious leadership and public accountability. His legacy is therefore powerful, complex and worthy of deep academic study.
Q- In your opinion, which aspects of Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership model will influence Islamic political thought in the coming decades?
Several aspects of his leadership will continue to influence Islamic political thought. First is his emphasis on Islamic independence. He consistently argued that Muslim societies should not imitate Western political, cultural or economic models , rather it should preserve its identity and moral values.
Second is his concept of resistance. For him, resistance was not merely military or political; it was also intellectual, cultural, economic and spiritual. He presented resistance as a duty of dignity when a nation faces domination or humiliation.
Third is his insistence that religion must remain visible in public life. His leadership model challenged the idea that faith should be confined only to the mosque or private life. Whether one agrees fully with his model or not, future scholars will continue to study how he attempted to make Islam a guiding force in governance, diplomacy, education and national identity.
Q- In your view, how should scholars and students of Islamic governance in Africa study and evaluate Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership experience?
African scholars and students should study Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership with intellectual honesty and academic balance. We should not approach him with blind admiration, nor should we judge him only through hostile external narratives. His leadership should be studied historically, theologically, politically and ethically.
African students of Islamic governance should examine how Iran built institutions, protected its sovereignty, invested in education and science and maintained a strong Islamic identity under pressure. At the same time, they should also ask important questions about political participation, consultation, internal diversity, human rights and the role of religious authority in modern state systems.
Africa can learn from Iran’s courage in defending identity, sovereignty and intellectual independence. The real task is to draw lessons while remaining faithful to African realities, constitutional governance, peaceful coexistence and interreligious harmony.
Q- What lessons can African societies draw from his emphasis on self-reliance, cultural self-confidence and resistance to external pressures?
One of the greatest lessons for Africa is that no society can build a dignified future if it has no confidence in itself. Ayatollah Khamenei repeatedly emphasized self-reliance, not as isolation, but as the refusal to allow external powers to define a nation’s destiny.
Africa must learn to believe in its own people, institutions, languages, resources, faith traditions and intellectual capacity. We must invest in education, research, agriculture, technology, local industry and moral leadership. We cannot remain dependent on external approval, external funding and external definitions of progress.
Africa should engage the world not as a weak partner but from a position of dignity. We should cooperate globally without surrendering our identity, our values or our resources.
Q- As a scholar in the field of interreligious dialogue, how do you assess Ayatollah Khamenei’s contribution to promoting dialogue among different religious communities while maintaining a strong Islamic identity?
From the perspective of interreligious dialogue, Ayatollah Khamenei’s example is important because it reminds us that dialogue does not require the weakening of one’s faith identity. Genuine dialogue is not about abandoning what one believes. It is about being deeply rooted in one’s faith while respecting the dignity of others.
His leadership showed that a Muslim can maintain a strong Islamic identity while engaging wider questions of justice, peace, morality, human dignity and social responsibility. In interreligious dialogue, this is important because weak identity often leads to shallow dialogue, while strong and respectful identity can lead to meaningful engagement.
At the same time, dialogue must be measured not only by statements but also by lived realities, policies, relationships and the treatment of religious minorities. Therefore, his contribution should be studied both through his speeches and through the broader social and political experience of Iran.
I personally have attended several intra religious as well as inter religious conferences both in Iran and elsewketre globally organized by Iran institutions. This is evidence of Imam’s support for interreligious dialogue.
Q- In your opinion, will the vast scale of public participation in the funeral ceremony challenge some of the narratives typically presented in Western media about Iran?
Yes, if the expected scale of public participation is realized, it will challenge some simplified narratives often presented about Iran. Western media frequently presents Iran mainly through the language of sanctions, repression, confrontation and crisis. These issues may be part of the story, but they are not the whole story.
Large public mourning would show that many people inside and outside Iran saw Ayatollah Khamenei as a great, signifcant religious and political figure. It would show that Iranian society cannot be understood only through foreign political categories. Its identity is shaped by religion, revolution, sacrifice, history, nationalism and resistance.
Large funeral attendance is a powerful symbol of attachment and loyalty, therefore the large numbers confirm the great man’s love, when alive and even when he is alive in the hereafter.
Q- Beyond the ceremony itself, in your view, what impact will Ayatollah Khamenei’s passing have on the future direction of the Islamic world and the Global South more broadly?
Ayatollah Khamenei’s passing marks the beginning of a great brighter era in modern Islamic political history. Where the enemies of Islam learn that death might be a great honor if it is martyrdom. This martyr, For decades, represented a powerful voice for Islamic sovereignty, resistance to domination and the defense of an independent civilizational path.
To the world, all will learn about continuity, leadership, unity, global relations, governance and the future of resistance movements, indicating that no one can stop an idea whose time has arrived-aluta continua. It will also reopen debates about the relationship between religious authority and state power.
For the Global South, his legacy will continue to influence conversations about independence, sanctions, multipolarity, cultural dignity and the right of nations to define their own future. Many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America continue to struggle with external pressure and dependency. In that sense, his message of self-reliance and resistance will remain relevant beyond Iran.
The deeper question his leadership leaves behind is this: is death the beginning or end of resistance? can a society be modern without becoming spiritually empty? Can a nation engage the world without losing itself? Can religious values shape public life while still respecting justice, diversity and human dignity? These are the questions scholars and leaders must continue to examine.
SD
The views, analyses, and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position, policies, or views of ABNA24.
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