Popularity of Iranian Friday Prayers Imam Growing in Tabriz

Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Al-e Hashem leads Friday Prayers in Tabriz, the capital of the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan.

Recently, he went to a theatre in Tabriz to watch a show featuring the lives of disabled war veterans suffering from psychological problems, reports the Persian-language Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

The play depicts the hidden mental aspects of the war veterans who have suffered serious maladies during their lives, who are grappling with those problems today as well.

The cleric is popular not only because he went to watch a play. Al-e Hashem’s behaviour towards the general public after he was appointed as the Friday Prayer Imam of Tabriz last year has been the focus of attention by media and people alike.

His social conduct, which has been warmly welcomed by people and has received widespread coverage in media outlets and the cyberspace, includes his praising the elite during the sermons of Friday Prayers, following up on issues pertaining to journalists, using public transport in times of severe air pollution in Tabriz, using taxis, visiting universities and having lunch with students at the university restaurant, and going to the stadium to watch football matches, among other things.