Speech [The Islamic government of Hadrat Amir (`a) as the model of all governments]

The festival of `Id al-Ghadir is one which commemorates the day when the Most Noble Messenger, may God's peace and blessings be upon him and his descendants, determined the duties and the form of Islamic government for all time. He demonstrated that a governor in Islam should be an individual who is righteous and highly qualified in every way. Of course, the Most Noble Messenger knew that no one except Hadrat Amir, upon whom be peace, could satisfy these qualifications, but he determined that the governor for all times should strive to emulate Hadrat Amir's example.

Amir himself, in his instructions to Malik Ashtar, laid down the program of Islamic government and determined the duties of those whom he appointed as governors. «2» According to the stipulations of the Most Noble Messenger concerning the caliphate and based on the program laid down by Hadrat Amir for government, which embraces the attributes those who govern should possess, all those governments which have come to power after Imam `Ali, apart from the few days that Imam Hasan, upon whom be peace, ruled, up until the present, whether those which were educated in the correct behavior of rule and to a certain extent adhered to the example of the Prophet- if indeed any can be found- or those which did not at all, all of them have not been fit to rule.

Amir, upon whom be peace, himself rose up against Mu`awiyah, even though Mu`awiyah too was an adherent of Islam, performed Islamic acts and possibly even held Islamic beliefs, then there again maybe he didn't. In any case, Hadrat Amir did not pay any heed to the words of those who thought they were giving him sound advice when they told him to leave Mu`awiyah in power in Syria for the time being until the foundations of his own rule had been strengthened, then depose him. Hadrat Amir's argument for not listening to their advice was that he could not tolerate someone who was acting against the divine laws and establishing oppression throughout the land to remain as governor for even a moment. «3» Had he allowed Mu`awiyah to remain in his seat, he would have set a precedent for a corrupt individual to be appointed governor by the one who holds authority [waliyy-e amr]. Hadrat Amir refused to do this, even though it may have been to his advantage to wait until his rule was stronger, when he could have possibly deposed Mu`awiyah; but this he didn't do, he did not allow himself to permit Mu`awiyah to govern even for a day.

His action is proof that, if we are able, we should dispose of oppressive governments. However, if, God forbid, we cannot do this, then to give our approval to such governments, even for a day or an hour, is to approve of oppression, tyranny and the plunder of the wealth of the people. No Muslim has the right to give his approval to an oppressive government, not even for an hour. We are all duty bound to wage war against these governments which contravene divine ordinances and secular law, and which even contravene their own laws. Everyone should oppose them and wage war against them to whatever extent they can; no excuse is acceptable today.

Today, the vigilance of the Iranian people and their awareness of the problems have led them to rise up. The cities, villages and hamlets in Iran all resound with one call which is that they don't want this oppressive government, they want an Islamic government, they want to be free, they want to be independent and they want their government to be an Islamic government. This is the response that the people have given to the command of the Prophet of God, may the peace of God be upon him and his descendants [The audience says a s alawat]. The attributes which are found in the government that the Prophet established are attributes necessary for valid government. We should take our example from the nature of the government of Hadrat Amir, upon whom be peace. Of course, we cannot observe the manner of his government in all its aspects, for in addition to those attributes which it possessed inherently, there were some exemplary deeds which derived from the nature of that great man. The principal thing is that government must be just and not oppressive in any way. Under an Islamic government, if someone kills another, he is arrested and punished by the law of retribution; and if any one even slaps the murderer, then the latter has the right to seek retribution for the slap he was given, because it was something in excess of his (prescribed) punishment. To imprison someone wrongly for a day contravenes the Islamic system of government. Sometimes circumstances demand that a person be imprisoned, but it is not as if under an Islamic government anyone who is arrested can first be made subject to beatings for a while, then tortured during internment, as people so often are under some governments in power today; or when after a period the authorities carry out investigations and realize that they have made a mistake, they cannot simply turn around and say:" We made a mistake," and that is an end to the matter!

This wretch (the Shah) has ruled the people for twenty-odd years and in that time he has persecuted them. He has robbed them of their peace of mind and deprived them of their freedom; he has deprived the press of its freedom; he has kept the educational system in a state of backwardness; he has given the Muslims' resources away to the unbelievers, to foreigners; and he and his friends have plundered the wealth of the Muslims. Now he turns to the people, to the great maraji` and the most learned `ulama' and says:" I apologize, I made a mistake! Come, make peace and cooperate with me!" «4» He extends his hands to others too. But this has no meaning, it is wrong. Even asking God the Blessed and Exalted, who is the most compassionate and merciful, for forgiveness carries with it certain conditions. If someone who has tyrannized the people, taken their wealth, oppressed, persecuted and imprisoned them- the very things that this man has done all along and is still doing- now comes forward saying:" God, I repent," does that mean an end to the matter?! The hell you have repented! You have truly shown repentance when you have made up for all the deeds you have done up until now. Only after you have done this, will it mean something when you say you have repented. Is everything he has done of no consequence? He sent respected people to prison for sometimes ten years or more, thousands of people were tortured in his prisons, their feet were sawn off, they were burnt, they were subjected to all kinds of disgraceful acts, «5» and now when he says:" I have repented," should we reply:" Very well, all is forgotten! He has repented and his repentance has been accepted"?! How can it be accepted? He has to make up for his actions to really repent and for God to accept his repentance. We cannot assume that he is being truthful in what he says and that he does not want to trick the people, for the evidence points to the contrary.

At the very same time that he made his address saying he was sorry and that he had made mistakes which would not be repeated in the future, he installed a military government, and the persecution and killing of the people continued! The day before yesterday there were killings in Mashhad, but I do not know how many people were killed in this incident. Killing is however something quite normal in Iran nowadays. It is now normal for the (various) governments to kill the people and wipe out our youth. So then as soon as someone addresses the nation saying that he has repented, should someone else say that it is enough he has repented? That everything should end now?! No, the Shah is doing this to fool the people and strengthen his position. If he succeeds in doing this, then the situation will be worse than before, a hundred times worse, because now he knows his enemies and once his enemies are known and his position is strengthened, his actions will be more severe.

Islam has determined the nature of government and has prescribed the program for government. It is not the case that Islam does not have a program for government. This is just the nonsense that has been uttered. The attributes of the ruler have been made clear and laid down in Islam, and the program for government has been determined by Hadrat Amir: the kind of government an Islamic government should be; how justice should be administered; what qualities its judges should possess; and how the various branches of government should function, have all been made quite clear.

So when this gentleman (the Shah), or his friends, say that if he is not around a vacuum will be created, this is just sheer nonsense. The vacuum exists at present. His existence has caused the vacuum since everything has been emptied of reality. We have no realities, everything is superficial, just talk, vain talk. All his words are empty. Everyone knows that there is nothing in all that bluster about how we have arrived at the" gates of civilization" and are ready to go through them. Civilization is not in sight. The first step toward civilization is the freedom of the nation. A country which has no freedom has no civilization. A country which has no independence and is

dependent on others, this being because of his actions, cannot be said to be a civilized country. A civilized country is one which is free, one whose press is free and whose people are free to express their ideas and opinions. No one (in Iran) is free!

He kept going on about how we had reached the gates of civilization, etc. Every day he would go on about this and rant on about this party business saying that there should be a popular party and what have you, but afterwards it became clear that all of this talk was literally just that, words which had no meaning. Everything we have now is hollow, empty, nothing more than a sham. It is now that a vacuum exists. If this man were to go, then there would be no vacuum, for there are just, educated people who can be found both here abroad- for they cannot return to their country- and within Iran itself- those who have retired from public life- who can fill this vacuum as soon as he has gone.

Islam's program is clearly laid down, the qualities of a ruler and the kind of person he should be having been determined. We are telling the people that a ruler who meets the specifications laid down in Islam and who is their choice should be appointed. The parliamentary representatives likewise should be chosen by the people. It is the people who should decide on everything. There will be no vacuum if he goes, indeed once he leaves the country all the vacuums will disappear. This talk of a vacuum appearing is just that, talk and nothing more, this is just a myth they have created.

I hope that God will show us mercy in these days and grant us success in this struggle. May He grant victory to the Muslims in their struggle, strengthen Islam and bring about the establishment of an Islamic government so that the world will see what the attributes of a government are; what the meaning of government is; how a ruler behaves; and how he treats his subjects, so that these are made clear. The kind of people the government employees should be; the kind of people the judges should be; the kind of people the teachers should be, all of these things have been stipulated. If, God willing, an Islamic government is established, all of the country's affairs will, please God, be carried out according to the will of the nation [The audience says "God willing"].