In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
His Imperial Majesty:
I was most grateful to receive your telegram stating that His Majesty was concerned with maintaining religious customs more than anyone else, and that my telegram had been sent to the administration for consideration, wishing me success in promoting the Islamic precepts and in guiding the people. Of course, that is what the Muslim nation of Iran expects from His Majesty. His Majesty's words accord with what is quoted from the Prophet of Islam (s) as saying:" When a heresy crept in my ummah the religious scholar is obliged to reveal it and if he shirks, then God's curse will be upon him." «1» Of course, a clergyman's obligation is to guide the nation.
Regretfully, even though I reprimanded Mr. `Alam because of this innovation he wishes to introduce to Islam, and although I made him aware of the evil of this deed, he has neither obeyed God's laws, the laws of the Constitution, congressional laws nor the royal decree. Nor has he heeded to the advice of the `ulama' of Islam; pay any attention to the wishes of the Muslim nation whose innumerable letters, telegrams and individual papers from all around the country are here with me and with other prominent `ulama' of Qum and Tehran. He even ignored respect for the huge gatherings in Qum, Tehran and other provinces and the valuable advice of the preachers of Islam.
Mr. `Alam still prevented public opinion from being published in the press and the telegrams of Muslims and their complaints from reaching His Majesty and the `ulama' of the country. He has brought the press under censorship, in spite of the Constitution, and is causing terror and threat through his agents among the Muslim people all over the country, who want to make His Majesty and the `ulama' hear their supplication. Mr. `Alam has formally announced, and made public, his violation of the Islamic law and the Constitution. Mr. Asadullah `Alam assumes that it is possible to make unofficial the position of the Holy Qur'an by just changing the `swearing on the Qur'an' into the `swearing on the Holy Book' and in so doing either to substitute it with Avesta, «2» the Bible or some certain misleading books, or to give them all the same standing. This man has made international obligations an excuse for violating the Constitution, while international laws do not interfere with religion and national law. Making international obligations a pretext for suppressing the Holy Qur'an, Islam, the Constitution and the nation is a grave crime and an `unforgivable sin'.
Out of benevolence for the Islamic nation, I do hereby notify His Majesty of the point that you had better not trust the boot-licking persons in your entourage who want to commit everything against the religion and law, and attribute them to His Majesty, and who want to discredit the Constitution, which is the main guarantee of the nationhood and monarchy, through their treacherous and erroneous bills, to implement the sinister plots of the enemies of Islam and the nation. It is the expectation of the Muslim nation that His Majesty strictly oblige Mr. `Alam to abide by the laws of Islam and the Constitution, and to apologize for his impudence to the Holy Qur'an. If he fails to do this I shall have to resort to sending another open letter to His Imperial Majesty and to bringing other matters up. I implore God Almighty for the independence of Muslim countries and their protection from turmoil and revolution.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini