Message [Proclaiming public mourning and emphasizing on the continuation of strikes]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Respected and oppressed compatriots:

Now that a week has elapsed since the atrocious massacre of the first group of our oppressed people; now that it is a whole week that the great nation of Iran is writhing under the boots of the tyrants and the burst of fire from tanks and machine-guns; now that the Shah is talking of an" open political climate" and is mowing down the saplings that are our brave and stately youths; now that the fascist government, at its last gasps, has stifled the breath of the people in their chests; now that the cemeteries are filled with the graves of the noble children of Islam and the Qur'an; now that the Shah's executioners are stomping their feet and rejoicing boisterously over the death of our dear ones; now that the Shah wants to make a cemetery out of Iran and turn it into ruins; now that his godless lackeys have collected in the Majlis, and by means of some commonplace and deceitful contrivances intend to exonerate the actual criminal and attribute his great crimes and betrayal to others who are nothing but stooges, and so draw themselves close to the Shah; now that all the traitors, internal and external, are supporting the Shah's criminal actions; now that the veil has been lifted from the loathsome faces of those aspiring to freedom and the support of human rights, the great oppressed nation of Iran must go on strike and sit in lamentation. They must officially declare Thursday, Shawwal 11, as a day of mourning. Following the sacrifices and the countrywide mourning, we should await happy times. By the will of God, you will be witness to independence and freedom. You, on your own, so drove the enemy away from the fray that he was forced to proclaim martial law in most of the provinces and in Tehran the center and base of the heroic men and women thereby disgracing himself in human society and undoing his deceitful scheme with his own hands. Rest assured my dear ones that you stand triumphant and honorable before God the Almighty.

Your insurrection against the real dictator, who has trampled on all the national and religious mottos, is like that of the Commander of the Faithful against Mu`awiyah whose misdeeds were not greater than those of the dictator. `Ali (`a) confronted a despot who, by his being a Friday congregational prayer leader and by making use of Islam, used to drain the people of their blood. Ali's uprising was against oppressor and oppression in the course of which thousands were sacrificed, one of whom was `Ammar ibn Yasir. You, too, should not allow despondency to overtake you, nor listen to those who do not know anything about Islam, in confronting the present-day dictator who, in the name of Islam and by making use of the Qur'an, is sucking the blood of the nation, though the number of those slain on our side is still less than that of Siffin. «1» You should continue on your path which is that of God and the Saints of God. Do not be deceived by the puppetry of the government and the Shah's deputies who, by their inveigling words, want to save the dying Shah. The world has condemned him, and has risen to support you, although a few criminals, who want to grab the nation's resources and trample on the people's rights, have pinned their hopes on him. No power on earth can stand up against the everlasting might of the nation. The Exalted Lord has promised you victory and is with you. May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.

Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini