In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
I wish to congratulate the brave Muslim nation of Iran on the occasion of the great and blessed Islamic `Id. Congratulations, in spite of all the tyranny and bloodshed endured in order to find the path to deliverance, and the brave attempts made for the cause of Islam. The past month was a month of sacrifice for the sake of Truth. It was the month of the obvious conflict between good and evil." Falsehood is ever bound to vanish." «1» This year's Fitr was an epic of the all-out campaign of all the segments of the Iranian nation. The day which proved to the world the nation's intellectual and experiential growth. It also proved the hollowness of the widespread propaganda of the opponents of the movement. While showing the solidarity of all segments of society, it very explicitly announced the nation's demand for the Shah to go and the apparatus of oppression and plunder of the Muslims to be dismantled.
Following the `Id prayers, the Muslims of Iran performed another type of valuable worship; their vociferous cries against the apparatus of oppression and plunder, and in support of the installation of a government of Islamic equity. The struggle for this cause is a greater form of worship, as also making sacrifices in adhering to the path of the great prophets, especially the venerable Messenger and his great successor, the Commander of the Faithful. I hereby thank the Iranian nation for its devotion and pray to God the Almighty to make it great and strong under the protection of the Qur'an and the precepts of Islam.
The duty now of all the Muslims, particularly the clergy, the political factions and community elders is very important. Our nation is at the crossroads: achieving victory and success by driving out the Shah, or being crushed for ever under the boots of the tyrants. Honor and respect before the Creator and His creatures or, God forbid, everlasting humiliation and wretchedness. The Muslim nation of Iran will never allow itself to be humiliated.
The distinguished nation of Iran! Continue your campaign and do not ever allow apathy to overtake you, which I am sure you will not. Rest assured that with the grace of God, victory and honor are at hand. Do not think that the conclusion of the month of Ramadan has made any difference in the duty towards God. Forceful demonstrations to attain Islamic objectives is worship that does not depend on the days or months as the goal is the deliverance of the nation, the enforcement of Islamic justice and establishment of divine rule on the solid basis of justice. At every opportunity and on every tragic occasion, you must hold as many gatherings as you can in mosques, meeting places and public outdoor places. You must defend the Qur'an and Islamic justice in these, gatherings. Whatever is said and by whoever it is said that is contrary to these is satanic and to the benefit of the ruling oppressors, and to the detriment of Islam and the nation. Do not pay heed to the misleading words of the Shah, the government and their few friends, as they are only for the purpose of getting hold of some devilish opportunities.
The prisons of these people, who talk of freedom to deceive the nation, are brimming with clergymen, the university fraternity, traders, politicians, workers and farmers. The senior clergymen and politicians are in exile because of the crime of uttering the truth and desiring freedom. What kind of freedom is this that press censorship is still in place with the printing of political and vital issues strictly prevented, and quasi-military rule in face throughout Iran?! The people of Iran will on no account accept the orders of the Shah's police; they will continue with their protests. The Iranian nation will not be deceived by this juggling again.
According to the indications and the verification by the bereaved people of Abadan, the cinema in Abadan was set on fire by the criminal Shah and his government. Nearly four hundred people were burnt to death so that the promised" big terror" would serve as propaganda against our holy movement, which, as you saw, was not so. In the near or distant future, someone or some people will be presented to confess that they have had a hand in this! Those people are either agents or are some of the best and the most pious of people for the killing of whom, they know of no better way.
The Shah and his government who have staged an armed uprising against the nation seeking its rights, against the constitution and, more than anything else, against the freedom-fostering tenets of Islam, are, as a matter of course, traitors: Obeying them is tantamount to obeying the Devil. Do not give them any opportunity, and, with protests and demonstrations, make the world aware of their savage deeds.
It is essential that the combatant Muslims give as many interviews as they can to news reporters, clearly pointing out to them the conspiracy of the Shah and his government in continuing the repression and the violation of the constitution. They must make the world understand that the former Shah had, by force, incorporated his kingship in the provisions of the constitution, and that this article is not acceptable to any Iranian. They must disclose the false propaganda that they are making abroad against the benevolent movement of the Muslim nation, and not allow them to portray the movement in a contrary way, the people who are ignorant of the facts. The campaigners abroad should undertake widespread publicity, and expand their activities as much as they can in connection with the situation in Iran.
I am thankful to the esteemed Iranian army for not having opened fire- in the massive demonstrations held in Tehran and the other provinces- on their patriotic countrymen, who are at the end of the their tether because of the fifty-year tyranny of the Pahlavi dynasty, and for not having tainted their hands with the greater crimes that are usual with rulers. In these critical times when our country and homeland is on the edge of the precipice and is faced with the dilemma of subjugation or independence, I extend my hand to the Army, Air Force and Navy that are faithful to Islam and the country, and seek their hope in securing independence and in throwing off the yoke of bondage and humiliation.
O you zealous soldiers who are making sacrifices for your homeland! Rise! Enough of this abjectness and bondage! Strengthen your bonds with your dear nation and do not slay your worthy children and brothers for the sake of the lewd desires of a plundering family.
It is the duty of the speakers and writers to try harder in enlightening the opinion of their brothers in the army. The nation should respect them; they are our brothers.
Is it not advisable for the government to step aside and not let itself be further disgraced in the eyes of the public? Has not the time come for the Shah to relinquish affairs and leave the nation to itself so that it may take its destiny in its own hands; so that it may distinguish the traitor from the patriot and punish him for his misdeeds? Is it proper that hundreds of thousands of the sons of this meek nation roll in their blood so that the Shah may continue his oppression for a few days more? Can any steps be taken to save Iran when the traitors to Islam and the nation, at the head of whom is the Shah, are around? It is hoped that the power of the traitors to Islam be curtailed in the near future so that the wise people determine the final outcome at that time.
The matter to which the utmost attention must be paid is that subsequent to the extirpation of the base of oppression by the blessing of the progressive tenets of Islam, we will announce our basic program. At that time they will see that the things the traitors have attributed to Islam- whether on the issue of the social rights of women, the rights of the religious minorities, or other issues- have been nothing other than cowardly accusations. The Shah's propaganda machinery in Iran and abroad has started this venomous propaganda in order to sway public opinion and put a stop to or stamp out the movement. It is hoped that in the near future, after the set-up of oppression and oppressor has been dismantled, our agenda will become clear in all its dimensions.
I pray to God the Almighty for the full blossoming of the movement and for the intensification of the liberating demonstrations of the nation until the downfall of the base of oppression and tyranny. May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini