IRAN: Tehran students hold a vigil for Edoardo Agnelli hailed as a martyr for Islam, some carrying placards reading "down with Israel"
Record ID:
316298
IRAN: Tehran students hold a vigil for Edoardo Agnelli hailed as a martyr for Islam, some carrying placards reading "down with Israel"
- Title: IRAN: Tehran students hold a vigil for Edoardo Agnelli hailed as a martyr for Islam, some carrying placards reading "down with Israel"
- Date: 16th November 2005
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FORMER ITALIAN DIPLOMAT, MOHAMMAD GHADIRI ABYANEHI SAYING: "His writings (manuscript) have just been published which demonstrate he is Muslim. So, we ask that an investigation be carried out: if he was a Muslim or not. The Italian government should carry out an investigation. If he was a Muslim, then we ask his body be buried in a Muslim cemetery." (TRANSLATION TO FOLLOW)
- Embargoed: 1st December 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAEWWYV5QS4L6X9MR91YZ8YQQHF
- Story Text: In Italy the death of Fiat heir Edoardo Agnelli five years ago is viewed as a tragic suicide. In Iran, he is venerated as a martyr for Islam, supposedly murdered in a Zionist-orchestrated boardroom putsch.
On the fifth anniversary of his death, some 200 Iranian students gathered on Tuesday (November 15, 2005) in a candlelit vigil outside the Italian embassy in Tehran, carrying placards reading "Death to Israel".
"We gathered here to announce to the world that Edoardo Agnelli, he was a martyr of Islam," said Hamideh Taghizadeh, among a group of young women in all-enveloping black chadors, clasping posters of Agnelli. His fall from a motorway viaduct in northwest Italy offers all the ingredients Iranians need in their conspiracy theories -- a heady mix of Judaism, family rivalries and ruthless big business.
The conspiracy runs as follows: after Agnelli converted to Shi'ite Islam, Israeli agents decided Fiat could not fall into such hands, murdered him and ensured the Elkann family, of Jewish origins, should run the carmaking dynasty. Italian investigators found no suggestion his death was anything other than suicide.
Agnelli did have a strong interest in Shi'ite Islam, once visiting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual father of the 1979 Islamic revolution. But the graduate of oriental literature and philosophy was also interested in other religions and travelled widely in Asia and Africa. He never worked for the Turin-based car empire.
The Agnellis buried him in their Christian family tomb. Mohammad Ghadiri Abianei, a diplomat who said he had known the Fiat heir during a posting in Rome, claimed Agnelli had converted to Islam and changed his name to Mehdi. Abianei also said that Agnelli's body should be buried in a Muslim cemetery if investigations prove he was Muslim. "His writings (manuscript) have just been published which demonstrate he is Muslim. So, we ask that an investigation be carried out: if he was a Muslim or not. The Italian government should carry out an investigation. If he was a Muslim, then we ask his body be buried in a Muslim cemetery," he said.
Iranian television and radio hailed the reclusive Agnelli as a martyr and showed clips of him at prayers with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. To be hailed as a martyr is a great honour in Iran, usually awarded only to those who died fighting in war. The protest outside the Italian embassy comes amid strained relations between Rome and Tehran, after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
His remarks sparked a demonstration of up to 3,000 people outside the Iranian embassy in Rome, carrying Israeli flags and chanting "Israel, Israel". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None