Death and state funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini

The first funeral On 5 June, the coffin with Khomeini's body was transferred to the Musalla, a vacant lot in north Tehran. The body was displayed there on a high podium made out of steel shipping containers, in an air-conditioned glass case, wrapped in a white shroud. It stayed there until the next day allowing hundreds of thousands of mourners to see the body. At the cemetery, the crowd surged past the makeshift barriers and the authorities lost control of the events. According to journalist John Kifner of The New York Times: The second funeral The body was taken back to north Tehran to go through the ritual of preparation a second time. To thin the crowd, it was announced on television and radio that the funeral had been postponed. Five hours later, the body was returned to the cemetery and this time the guards were better prepared. The body was brought out of a helicopter, sealed in a metal box resembling an airline shipping container. Once again, the crowd broke through the cordon, but by weight of numbers the guards managed to push their way through to the grave. There, according to reporters for Time magazine: In 1992, the construction of the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini on the burial site was completed. == See also ==