Message [Assault of the police forces and SAVAK agents on the people and students in Faydiyyah Madrasah and in the streets of Qum]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

" Lo! We are Allah's and Lo! Unto Him we are returning." «1»

After so many admonitions and fulfilling my duty as a clergyman, it yielded no good result and today- which is Sha`ban 26- a bunch of ruffians along with the government agents have been going around in the holy city of Qum, since morning, assaulting the defenseless people of Qum, tullab and the clergy, dishonoring, beating and arresting many. A number of the agents and ruffians attacked Faydiyyah Madrasah, beside the holy shrine, shooting and beating the meek tullab with truncheons and sticks. Then they assailed the Qum marketplace and avenues, plundering some of the stores, shattering many shop windows, and no one turned out to help the devout people and the clergy. We are under such conditions right now, at noon, and we do not know what will happen in the end. This is what is meant by government support of religion, and this is what is meant by free elections and a free electorate. We shall let the public be the judges of what actually took place in the religious city of Qum, in the vicinity of the holy shrine and in the city's theological center. We ask God Almighty for the dominance of Islam and independence of the country. May Allah Almighty protect Islam and the Qur'an!

Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini