DNA Explainer: Why did deceased Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi wear black turban?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, known for implementing brutal crackdowns on political opposition and regarded as a potential successor to the supreme leader, has died in a helicopter crash occurring in the country’s north, state media reported. He was 63 years old.

Raisi, a conservative hard-line cleric, took responsibility in August 2021 after numerous popular candidates were disqualified from the election, which had low turnout. 

His tenure led to a crackdown of mass protests after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed in 2022.

Raisi was also notably regarded as the “Butcher of Tehran,” as activists accused him of being one of the four judges who ordered mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 after the Iran-Iraq war. 

Why dis he wear black turban?

He wore a black turban, which symbolised that he is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.Two other former Presidents, Ali Khamenei and Mohammad Khatami, wore black turbans. However, there was a slight difference in Ibrahim Raisi's style of wearing the black turban. 

Raisi was the first person to win the presidential election while holding the stature of Ayatollah. Whereas other people held the degree of Hojat al-Islam. This is a middle-ranking title for Shia clerics.