In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Once again, for the umpteenth time we have to mourn on the occasion of the fortieth day anniversary of those slain in Qum and other cities. Once again we have to mourn for the mothers and the women who have lost their dear ones, and who have condemned the Shah by their courageous demonstrations. Once again we have to be witness to the killing, beating, and wounding of the dear students and seminarians, the destruction of the seminaries and universities, and the expulsion of the students from their learning and living complexes. By means of a bunch of his undiscerning agents, the criminal Shah has once again plunged into mourning the Muslim nation of Iran, particularly the brave devotees of Islam in Qum who rose gallantly for the sake of Islam, and for overthrowing the despotic Pahlavi regime.
We have sorrowfully and honorably sacrificed our dear ones for the sake of our objective which is to overthrow the Devil's regime and raise the glorious banner of Islam. This is precisely the way of Islam; the agenda of the true and topmost Muslims, and will be so in the future course of history." Verily in the Messenger of Allah ye have a good example." «1» The great Prophet of Islam sacrificed all he had for the sake of Islam so that he could hoist the banner of monotheism. We, in following that great person, should sacrifice all we have so that the banner of monotheism remains aloft.
Now the Shah is at the edge of the precipice. On the one hand he is confronted by the immense power of the brave nation of Iran that has wholeheartedly risen for its liberation and will not rest until his oppressive establishment is uprooted, and on the other, by the reflection of his atrocities and crimes in the world's organs of propaganda owing to which he fears his masters will forsake him. On the one hand he is facing the decay and collapse within the regime itself and the ignominy of his American-inspired revolution as also the scandal of the party-by-decree, while on the other the displeasure of the noble civil and military authorities who are at their wits end over the killings and the alignments.
In these turbulent conditions, he has amazingly started making fresh attempts and adopting new ploys. At times, he wants to show himself as being unaware of the atrocities that he has perpetrated during his illegitimate monarchy, throwing the blame on others for all that the nation and country have suffered. For this purpose, his lackeys are engaged in hectic activity, using the press and the organs of propaganda. The recent changing of his pawns is part of this scheme, heedless of the fact that, by changing the tools of crime, who are nothing but puppets in the hands of the real criminal, the watchful nation of Iran will not be deceived and will not forget the real culprit, nor accept the farcical changes.
By means of the archaic weapons of falsehoods and deceit, he, at other times, presents certain people as planning to partition Iran or bring it under the influence of foreign powers. Everybody is aware that his opponents constitute all he patriotic people, including the respected Religious Reference Authorities [maraji`] the distinguished `ulama', the respectable, informed orators, the upright political dignitaries, the self-sacrificing seminarians and university students throughout Iran, the deceived farmers, the workers who have been told lies and the committed conscientious traders all over the country. Which one of these is a separatist or approves of foreign influence? It is the Shah himself who has allowed the foreigners, especially America, to dominate all the affairs of the country, unsparingly offering them its resources and giving them immunity and even giving them command over the army while turning Iran into a submissive consumer of American goods.
At times, he frightens the nation of the communist menace saying that the country will fall into communist hands should he go. Perhaps those who are not aware of the realities might be deceived. America brought communism into being in Iran, as in the case of England and the Toudeh Party. According to well-informed sources, the most radical communists in the region are American agents meant to neutralize the liberating national and religious uprisings of nations enslaved by capitalism and communism, a manifest example of which we have been witnessing in recent years.
The savior of every nation from the clutches of Imperialism is religion which is deeply rooted in the soul of that nation. Sometimes, by spreading rumors that he has come to terms with some factions of the clergy, the Shah intends to sow dissension among this massive group itself and between it and the rest of the patriotic Muslims. The outcome of this would be nothing but the welfare of the real criminal, the enervating efforts of the nation coming to naught and the blood of those killed, from the time of the Gauhar Shad Mosque incident, and Khordad 15 up to now, having been shed in vain. He is heedless of the fact that no clergyman nor any religious person will ever be, and cannot be, reconciled with an anti-Islamic system as it is tantamount to rejecting the Holy Qur'an and the honorable religion of Islam. It is up to the zealous and informed nation to ensure that such rejection results in the mortal fall of the compromiser. Having all its things ruined by this regime, the nation is now watchful. It wants to see who or what group will be deceived by the Shah's farcical deployment of pawns or, by attending the peace talks, and gaining some imagined advantages, will attach himself to the seat of power, whereas this system is heeding towards antiquation and ruination, and its structure, infested with internal termites, is sure to collapse.
From the rues and tricks stemming from the foreign and worse still, the local experts, the tune of granting freedom is being heard in all its dimensions except in treachery to the country. The killings of the recent months, incarceration and torture, exile and suffocation are among the freedoms and the royal gifts. Now that the great nation of Iran has arisen with awareness, and every now and then the seminaries, universities, schools, societies, bazaars and the cities come to a standstill in protests against the Shah, and the honorable nation, announcing its support of Islam and the Holy Qur'an, is getting killed for the sake of liberty and independence, it is essential for the community leaders to neutralize the Shah's deceitful plans that are solely geared to the obliteration of Islamic commandments and the country. They should continue the struggle with vigilance and awareness until this regime is overthrown. In maintaining their unity of expression and direction, they should not allow the campaign for their rights to slacken.
I pray to God, the Exalted, for the country's independence and the people's freedom, and hope that the foreigners and oppressors will be deprived of their power.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini
Rajab 4,1398 AH