Tehran (AFP)

Singer and composer Mohammad-Réza Shajarian, a monument of traditional Iranian music with strained relations with the authorities, died Thursday at the age of 80, causing sorrow and emotion in his country.

Very soon after the news of the death of the "Ostad" ("Master" in Persian), thousands of admirers of all ages converged on the Jam hospital in Tehran where the singer had been admitted a few days earlier. in critical condition.

Forgetting the social distancing rules linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the crowd sang in a loop and in unison "Mogh-é Sahar" ("Bird of Dawn"), a historic song with which Shajarian all ended his concerts.

Some more political slogans, quickly contained, were chanted such as "Dictators die, Shajarian never dies", or even "shame, shame on our public television", but without really disturbing a collected atmosphere paying homage to an eminently popular figure.

By mid-evening, there were still hundreds singing in front of the hospital.

The broadcast of Shajarian's works has been banned on state broadcasting since the singer took a firm stand in favor of the demonstrators during the 2009 crackdown on the protest against the re-election of the ultraconservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

- "Eternal melodies" -

President Hassan Rohani, a moderate who has never hidden his admiration for the deceased, sent a message of condolence to his "family and to his admirers", greeting a "kind artist", creator of "eternal" melodies including " the grateful nation will always keep the name, the memory and the works alive. "

Suffering from cancer for several years, Mohammad-Réza Shajarian "flew to meet his beloved (God)", soberly wrote his son, Homayoun Shajarian, on his Instagram account.

The state television news channel announced the musician's death, recalling his artistic career, but without making the sound of his voice heard.

On social media, his death sparked countless saddened comments.

"Maestro Shajarian was truly a huge Ambassador of Iran, of his children and above all of his culture", reacted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter, offering his "deepest condolences to the Iranians all over the world and in particular to his relatives ".

Singer, instrumentalist and committed composer, Mohammad-Réza Shajarian has embodied more than any other Iranian traditional and classical music for half a century both abroad and in Iran.

A true national monument in his country, he nevertheless maintained difficult relations with the authorities in Tehran throughout his long career, first under the reign of the Shah then with the Islamic Republic.

During the 2009 protest, he released a song, "Zaban-é Atache" ("Language of fire"), in which he launched a "Leave your gun on the ground my brother", immediately understood as a message to the paramilitary forces who were shooting at the demonstrators.

- "Voice of the people" -

The artist then assured that his songs were always related to the political and social situation of the country, even when he sings the lyrical poems of Hafez or Rumi, two of the greatest poets in the Persian language.

Mohammad-Réza Shajarian has often been very critical of an Islamic Republic that he once accused of being opposed "to the very idea of ​​the Persian identity of the Iranians" and of wanting to impose on them a "Muslim identity".

But his death seems to erase for an instant these divisions and the Fars press agency, close to the ultraconservatives, paying homage to him by titling: "The bird of the dawn is silent".

In front of Jam Hospital, housewife Maryam says she is "very affected" and greets in Shajarian a man who "was the voice of the people".

He "was always with us", abounds Nader, a trader.

"Condolences should go to all of Iran," said Chodjai, a woman.

Addressing the crowd, Homayoun Shajarian asked the Iranians to disperse so as not to expose themselves to the coronavirus.

But he was booed when he announced that his father would be buried in Mashhad, a Shiite holy city in the northeast where the singer was from, some claiming that the body remains in the capital.

© 2020 AFP