[IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL]
The oppressive situation
It is unfortunate that I meet you gentlemen now when my power of speech is greatly impaired due partly to my age, which does not allow my voice to carry more than a few feet away from me, and partly to the situation of the Islamic countries in general and Iran in particular which is now enough to distress anyone and sap their strength. I had wanted today to come to the place where you gentlemen had gathered to speak to you about some of the problems we face, but circumstances were such that the French authorities did not deem it wise for me to do so. «1»
Spies masked as travelers
That aside, the situation of the Islamic countries, especially those which have resources like Iran- which leads the others in this regard- has been studied by the experts of foreign powers and superpowers. From perhaps three hundred years ago, those travelers who came to the East, allegedly to tour the countries were all political agents sent to gather information on the situation there. They came to Iran and traveled to all her cities and villages in pursuit of their investigations. Their studies into the geographical situation of the East, and in particular Iran- about which we are informed- took them all over these countries, even through the desert regions where no grass or water existed and which they crossed with caravans, riding on camels and suffering many hardships in doing so. Their main aim was to discover where our mineral reserves lay- our gold, copper, petroleum, gas, etc. They made a careful study and drew maps. Whatever they found which was of use to them, they marked the spot on the map and noted the area, and these records are still in their possession.
Before America set foot into the region, it was Britain which exerted the most influence over these countries, then Russia, then some other countries. For more than three hundred years, they subjected these Eastern countries to their studies and their avarice. As time went on, their specialists developed more expertise, their travels became more widespread and more regular; indeed they found out more about these countries than the indigenous peoples themselves knew. For example, in Iran they studied the mental and spiritual make-up of such tribes as the Bakhtiari, the Qashqa`i Shahsivan in order to find out how these people think and how they could use them to their advantage. They sent their experts to study and gather information on all the provincial cities and villages in Iran; all the villages that exist in Iran came under their scrutiny, even the most remote, mountain village. They drew maps of them all and marked those places where they found something of use to them. They recorded everything and then made themselves ready for plundering our resources. The rulers of the Eastern countries however, whether kings or others, acted differently in complying with the wishes of the imperialists; some allowed their countries to be pillaged in all aspects whereas others were not as traitorous as they were.
Memories from Hamedan
Once when I was in Hamedan, «2» one of my friends brought a map to me, a large map which perhaps measured one square meter. It was a map of Hamedan province which, he said, showed all the villages of that province, and which was covered with many colored dots. He told me that these dots indicated where minerals, such as copper or petroleum, lay beneath the ground. These minerals had not yet been mined, but the foreign experts knew their location. They made their designs and then entered the countries of the East and studied their situation, and in Iran, which directly concerns us, they drew up plans and marked where all its natural resources lay.
Islam and the clergy, obstacles in the way of imperialism
They then undertook some psychological studies to determine how they could easily lay their hands on these countries' abundant resources without inciting opposition and confrontation from the people. The imperialists carried out extensive studies in this regard, and they came to the conclusion that in the Islamic countries there were two possible barriers which could block their way; one was Islam itself. They realized that were true Islam implemented, that is the Islam that God, the Blessed and Exalted, has established, then it would sound the death knell for all their hopes. And the other obstacle to their designs they perceived as being Islam's religious scholars. The imperialists realized that if the religious men became powerful, as they should be in these lands, then they would not be able to profit from these countries the way they wanted to. So they decided to smash these two barriers, which they deemed more dangerous than anything else to their designs, in whatever way necessary. They started devising schemes by means of which they hoped to make the people themselves whichever group and whenever they maybe crush these two barriers for them, and so from that time on, the propaganda against Islam and the clergy began. With such propaganda, they would manage to remove the threat of these two obstacles, which if empowered would be the greatest threat to the imperialists and their interests.
Facing cultural independence
Of course there was something else which also constituted an obstacle to their contrivances, and that was the culture of these communities. The imperialists have studied the latter and have discovered that if their culture were an independent, correct culture then it would produce loyal and independent political groups which would prove to be counterproductive for them. Thus, on one side they saw the two barriers of Islam and the clergy, and on the other they saw the prospect of an independent culture, which would train the youth and nurture leading personalities who, even if the imperialists were to hold sway over the country, would still prevent them from attaining that which they desired, and that which they desired lay beneath the ground. They directed their efforts to acquiring the resources which lay above the ground as well, but the most important for them were those which were to be found underground. Hence they set about destroying these three barriers.
Propagation of a distorted Islam
With regard to Islam, they began to propagate the idea- gradually as is their wont- that Islam is an acquiescent religion! That it is an ideology concerned only with supplicatory prayer and invocation of God [dhikr], that it constitutes solely a relationship between man and the Creator and has nothing to do with politics or government. They have propagated this idea so well that even members of the clerical establishment have been influenced by it and many of them now believe that they have no role to play in politics or government, maintaining instead that their duties lie only in going to the mosque, engaging in canonical prayer, instructing the people, debating certain matters and presenting the people with legitimate rules of conduct.
The imperialists saw that the prayers of the clergy posed no threat to them. Prayers in Islam are not harmful to their policies, so they deemed that the clergy could pray as much as they like; they could pray until they were tired of praying, as long as they had nothing to do with the oil. They could teach as much as they liked, debate matters to their heart's content, as long as they did not start to question the policies of the imperialists in their countries and begin to speak out against them. This idea that Islam has nothing to do with politics or government was reiterated so much and propagated so well among the people that it became commonly accepted that interference in the affairs of state was incompatible with the status of a clergyman; that it was unbecoming the position of a clergyman to take an interest in the form the government takes or in what these oppressors were doing to the people; that it was only befitting the position of a clergyman to remain in the schools and lead the noon and afternoon congregational prayers; and that the people should expect nothing more than this of the clergy! They said that essentially Islam had nothing to do with politics that politics and religion were separate from one another. Politics is for them and religion is for us! The centers of power are in their hands to do with as they please, and the mosques and the old men who attend them are in ours! This is a division that they created from the beginning.
Religion, opiate of the masses?
Those who were a bit more daring went so far as to describe Islam as" reactionary." They said that basically religion was the opium of the people, that from the very beginning it was used by the capitalists and those with power to stupefy the people so they could take their wealth. Gradually, this notion came to be believed even by the Muslims themselves. Some of the clergy even came to believe that Islam was something which belonged to one thousand and so many hundreds of years ago and could not be put into practice now! This is how the imperialists presented Islam to the Muslim societies; and as for the akhounds, «3» they portrayed them as men who just sit in a corner and survive on the money they take from the people...
Deluding the unaware intellectuals
Thus, they presented Islam as an ideology which was concerned with nothing more than prayer and fasting and which was not involved with the people's lives and their affairs. And on the other hand, they presented the clergymen as people installed by the rulers and the powerful elite to opiate society, to put the people to sleep, stupefy them so that these rulers could plunder them and the people would not utter a word. They propagated this notion so well that even some of our own intellectuals, who were not well versed in the Qur'an and the Prophetic tradition [sunnah], came to believe it and they in turn also began to advance the same idea. We should not just accept whatever we hear or whatever is propagated by some groups as being true without proof of its verity. If someone accepts an unsubstantiated claim then that person suffers from a weak constitution, he is ill! A healthy human being does not accept something he is told without it first being substantiated.
Qur'an the book of clamor, uprising and movement
We need only take a cursory glance at the lives of the prophets and of others who called the people to God to see what their intention was: Were they agents of the powerful elite? Were their aims to enfeeble the people, make them powerless, and lull them to sleep? And we need only carry out a partial study of the Qur'an- it doesn't need to be a detailed study- to see if its purpose is simply to teach us invocatory prayer, supplicatory prayers, deprecations «4» and the like, or whether it has not been properly understood. If you study the Qur'an you will see that there are so many verses encouraging the people to do battle with those holding power. The verses pertaining to battle and the way it must be fought are not only one or two; there are many in this regard. The battles which took place in the early years of Islam's history were between the powerful elite and the Prophet of Islam. The Qur'an is a book which favors" movement"; it awakens the people and stirs them from their stupor to confront the taghouts. «5»
The Prophet's war with the holders of power and wealth
When the Noble Prophet was in Hijaz, he had to confront the plutocracy there. One group was found in Mecca and comprised the town's reputable, powerful merchants, while another was made up of the wealthy, affluent people of Ta'if. «6» People such as Abou Sufyan «7» were like rulers or kings and had everything, yet the Prophet opposed them. When he went to Medina, he associated with the poor people; he did not align himself with the rich to stupefy the community. He was on the side of the poor, he encouraged them to rise up against the rich who plundered the people and oppressed them. The Prophet fought many battles, and in all of them he fought against the rich and powerful oppressors.
The divine prophets (`a) in confrontation with the aristocrats and oppressors
If we go further back [in history], we see that Hadrat «8» Mousa (Moses), may God's peace be upon him, also confronted those holding power. With his staff in hand he confronted Pharaoh; he didn't opiate the people for the Egyptian king! With his staff and his words he encouraged them to rise against the king. And you all know how Abraham (`a) took up his axe and shattered all the idols belonging to the aristocrats (of his time). He confronted the aristocrats in the interests of the masses, to stop them from oppressing the masses. Of course the mission of these prophets was primarily a spiritual one, but when they came across tyranny in the society they deemed it their duty to confront the oppressive leaders and do battle with them in whatever way they could.
Unwary Muslims vis-a-vis Islam
So this notion that the men of religion are used by the powerful elite to opiate the people is one which the imperialists themselves created and advanced to turn you away from the Qur'an, the Book of God, and Islam so that they could smash this barrier to their designs. Indeed, they have been successful in this, for the Muslims have now been lulled to sleep by their propaganda. The Muslims have now risen to do battle with Islam without themselves knowing it. For when a Muslim asks what Islam has to do with temporal issues, this constitutes war against Islam; this is not knowing Islam. When he asks what Islam has to do with politics, again this is like waging war against Islam. These ideas are spread among Muslims by Muslims and the posing of such questions means they have taken up arms against Islam.
Revolt of the masses against the capitalist
We should look at the example set by those who propagated Islam. The Prophet himself battled with the powerful elite of Mecca and the Hijaz, and his immediate successors- whether those we accept or those we do not- formed armies and fought against the kings of the Persian and Byzantine Empires. They fought against these kings; they did not act as their agents creating apathy among the people. They had a mission to arouse the people, to stir the Muslim people and the oppressed to rise up against those who plundered the wealth of the people. At that time it was the Persian and the Byzantine Empires against which they fought and which they subsequently conquered for Islam; never was it suggested that a compromise be made with the ruling classes or the kings. The time of the Prophet and his immediate successors was marked by struggle.
`Ali (`a) confronting the oppressors
Amir [Imam `Ali (`a)], «9» became embroiled in an internal war with Mu`awiyah because he saw that if he didn't do battle with him, Mu`awiyah would destroy Islam. «10» Mu`awiyah was the governor of Sham who had his seat in Damascus and he lived like a king with an army and all the appendages of a ruler. Hadrat Amir was the head of the religious scholars, when we look at his life, his battles and his leadership we see that his aim was not to put the people to sleep so that the powerful ones could come and plunder their wealth. He too went to battle. With whom? With Mu`awiyah who sat in Damascus, who enslaved and oppressed the people and whose very existence endangered Islam.
Underground resistance of the Imams (`a)
All our Imams (`a) were killed because they opposed the tyrannical regimes. Had they sat at home and invited the people to rally round the Bani `Umayyah and the Bani `Abbas, as the imperialists like to say they did, then they would have been shown the utmost respect. But each of our Imams (`a) strove against the oppressors, and although their circumstances did not permit them the military might with which to fight, still they engaged in underground struggle against them. This is the reason why they were arrested and thrown into prison for several years. Was Hadrat Mousa ibn Ja`far (`a) imprisoned for praying, fasting or calling the people to support Haroun ar-Rashid? Was he incarcerated for years because he told the people to compromise with Haroun ar-Rashid and to ignore his oppression? No, the despots saw that our Imams (`a) posed a threat to their rule that is why they incarcerated them, banished and killed them.
The Shi`ah Imams (`a) and Shi`ah movements
Did that wretch «11» transport Imam ar-Rida (`a) to Khorasan «12» simply because he prayed? Was Hadrat [Imam Hasan] al-`Askari (`a) held in Samarra for all those years suffering much persecution and imprisonment because he prayed? «13» The caliphs too prayed; so it was not prayer that upset them. Was it because the Imams were the descendants of the Prophet? No, for if the descendants of the Prophet had sat at home and had had nothing to do with the affairs of the people, then the rulers would not have bothered them so. It was the Imams who encouraged the people to rise up against the illegitimate regimes, and if they seemingly disapproved when one of the Bani Hashim rose up against the ruling powers, they did so out of fear for their religion (for they knew that were their role in the affair discovered they would be destroyed;) otherwise it was they who instigated the revolts. The Imams prayed for Zayd and others like him who rose up against the caliphs and the powerful elite. «14» The clergy have always opposed the ruling powerful elite, and if you find examples of instances when this was not the case and they joined the service of the government or were corrupt, then this has nothing to do with Islam; they did not belong to this school. Sometimes, however, circumstances were such that even the true clergymen of Islam did not deem it wise to act.
Smashing the barriers and plundering
So, by dint of their propaganda, the imperialists have succeeded in smashing these two barriers which the Muslims possessed. They distanced the people from the realities of Islam and made them dissociate themselves from the progressive clerics, so that they could achieve their aims. They created the propaganda and when these barriers were smashed, they came freely and took the oil; nobody could say a word, and nobody did! They reshaped our culture making it into an imperialist one, not one that was independent. Even now our educational system is not the independent one for which the minds of the nation had planned.
They [imperialists] are still interfering; they do not allow our educational system to produce good doctors or good politicians. The politicians that their imperialist culture spawns are those who are of benefit to them. This is what has happened to our education! Unfortunately, I do not have the time now to go into further detail. So they broke these barriers and came freely and began plundering the wealth of the Muslims. You all know the extent to which they are plundering the oil of Iran. They are taking so much of our oil that reserves will soon run dry. They extract our oil from the ground and take it back to their own countries where they store it for themselves because they fear that one day someone may stop them from exploiting our reserves in this way. From the time of Rida Shah, may God punish him severely, until the present day, Iran has suffered under a government which has handed over the whole of the country's dignity and respect to the oil-devourers on a silver platter.
The process of land reforms
Look at the state of our economy; you will see that in the name of `land reforms' «15»- an idea of the Americans- our agrarian economy has been totally disrupted. These land reforms brought such disaster upon us. Our agriculture was completely destroyed. Our country once had a thriving agrarian economy, the produce of its Azerbaijan province or its Khorasan province alone could meet the needs of the whole nation, but now agricultural production is only sufficient to meet domestic demand for the most thirty-three days of the year! So what does the regime do to satisfy demand for the rest of the year? It imports from abroad. The Shah and his regime have turned Iran into a consumer market for American goods! The Americans produce a surplus of goods, which they either burn or throw into the sea. Now, however, they give it to us and in return take money or oil for it! The destruction of our agriculture was one aspect of their reforms that resulted in our country being turned into a consumer market for American surplus goods.
Another damaging effect of the land reforms was that it led to mass migration of the villagers into the towns. When these villagers- whom initially he had said had been taken from their peasant status and were now on a par with the landowners- lost their land, they swarmed into the towns and cities, into Tehran in particular. They settled in areas around Tehran where they now live with their families in hovels, in tents or mud houses. They live at subsistence level and suffer many hardships. They have neither electricity nor water, and there is no asphalt on the roads. They live in pits, in large holes in the ground, and in order to obtain a jugful of water for their children, the poor women, even in the middle of a biting winter, have to take their jugs and climb up scores of steps, perhaps a hundred, out of this pit until they reach a water tap, and then climb back down again. This is how these big farmers that they claim to have created now live and this is the state of their `great civilization'! «16» Our agriculture is now totally paralyzed; we no longer have any agriculture. Where will it all end?
Oil and a base for America
They give our oil to America and what do they get in return? I have spoken about this before, but I feel I must repeat myself every day so that someone who is not aware of the situation may hear my words. They give our oil to America and they get weapons in return. What kind of weapons? Weapons that Iran is unable to use, our army doesn't know how to use them, so why does the government get these weapons for us? It does this in order to build bases for the Americans in the country. Do not suppose that the Americans pay for the oil they take from us with money. They devour our oil and in return they give us arms, arms which have no equal, not even in France. But do they give them to us for Iran to use? No, they create bases for themselves with them. They not only take the oil, they take that which they give in exchange for it as well!
The plundering of oil and destruction of Iran
God only knows what treason this unworthy man, this Muhammad Rida, has committed against Islam and Muslims. You and I cannot yet find out about everything he has done, when he dies or falls from power and leaves our country, then we will discover just what he has done, most certainly some people have recorded what took place during his rule and when these historical accounts are made available, then we will come to understand just what he did to this country. He tells us that our oil reserves will be exhausted in thirty years' time and then we will have to think of ways to use solar energy! Someone who does not even know what to do with an oil lamp now wants to use solar energy! And why is this oil of ours going to finish? Because it is being carried off through huge pipes which, according to those who saw them twenty years ago, are large enough for a man to walk into; perhaps by now they are even bigger. In return, arms come into the country for the (American) bases! If an end could be brought to the thievery of the Shah and his relatives, and the oil were exported and sold in a correct manner, that is, only as much as was needed to satisfy the needs of Iran and administer the country being sold, then we may have oil for maybe the next two hundred years. The Shah says our oil will finish, but who is finishing it? He is! Then what will we do? The nation's oil is finishing, as he says, its agriculture has been destroyed, so what are we to do? What does the future hold for this weak nation? He answers by saying:" We will become industrialized!" But do not be deceived by this. What is happening to our country is not industrialization. The creation of a steel mill does not constitute industrialization; it is not being established for the good of the nation; it is being built to allow the Russians to make a base here, so that they can facilitate the entry of their agents into the country and their activities here! They take our gas and the others take our oil. Soon there will be no gas, no oil, no agriculture, nothing. Then what will this nation do? The Shah once said that if he had to leave Iran he would turn it into a heap of rubble first. He has already done this, and if he stays he'll make things even worse. If he leaves then it's still possible for some true-hearted, upright people to take over and save our oil reserves, to preserve them so they remain for us and to correct the state of our agriculture. If he finishes his ruining of the country and then gets out, even this is to our advantage and is better than if he remains.
Our opinion on the manifestations of civilization
This is why we are shouting so, not because we do not want the manifestations of civilization. He accuses the akhounds of being opposed to civilization, of wanting to ride around on donkeys. What can one say to such a person? We are shouting out that we accept all the manifestations of civilization, but do these include the present actions of the martial-law government? Over the past few days, our young children, eight- and nine-year old girls have been killed. The government agents have shed the blood of the youth in the senior high-schools and the universities, they have committed so many crimes that the students are constantly on strike. Now the regime has turned its attention to the primary school children! Now it is these young children who are being killed. This is how the Shah hopes to destroy us, he hopes to slay the nation and then leave.
American agents for slaughtering the masses
We are crying out that this nation should be in control of its own wealth; it should administer its own affairs. We do not want" advisers" from America! The budget that is allocated to these sixty thousand advisers is so great that you and I cannot imagine it. Do not use the country's budget to finance military advisers. It is truly amazing; they create bases for them here; they bring in the military advisers and then the nation has to pay the cost! The nation gives its oil in exchange for military bases! Just think about it for a moment, the Americans send us weapons that are of no use at all to Iran and never will be, they are only good for use in a war between two superpowers. These weapons are not sent for our use, Iran doesn't need such weapons; machine-guns and the like are all that this regime needs to see to its domestic affairs! Our country does not want to embark on a war. Can we fight Russia or America? No, we can only fight with the bazaar merchants in Tehran; so machine-guns are all we need! We can only fight with the university students! And we have now reached the stage where we are fighting with the primary school children as well, with eight- and nine-year olds! Just yesterday or the day before I was informed that the regime had once again sent its agents to a primary school where they beat up the small children, crippling some of them. Machine-guns are sufficient for slaying our own countrymen; we do not need these other weapons! These weapons that are brought into the country are not for us; they are for someone else, someone who knows how to use them and has use for them; they're here for the Americans! We give them our oil and in return build bases for them! We use the money they pay for our oil to build these bases and buy weaponry to equip them, and then we bring in their military advisers to operate these weapons and pay them for doing this! This is what this regime is doing; it has reduced the country to a state of ruin. Your country is being destroyed!
Assisting the revolutionaries and exposition against the taghouts
Gentlemen, our fellow-countrymen have now risen up. We are duty-bound to help them as much as we can. Your number runs into the thousands; if each of you informs only ten of your European friends and acquaintances of the situation in Iran, then you will have made thousands of people aware of the truth, for the Western newspapers have not painted a true picture of events in Iran. They receive hundreds of millions of dollars from this man for propaganda purposes, so they portray the situation in Iran in a bad light. You are Iranians; you should explain to these European people just what exactly is happening in Iran, what problems the people there face. If you are able, write about it in newspapers or magazines. We should not be indifferent toward a nation which is giving its youth, which is sacrificing lives for a cause which is yours too. Tomorrow is the fortieth day after the massacre on Black Friday. «17» I do not know what disasters lie in store for the nation. The people have arisen, they are sacrificing lives, seven- and eight-year old children have arisen with them and are shouting" Death to this Pahlavi monarchy" are slain. Demonstrations are held and people are slain. Tomorrow the children will be in the streets again voicing their opposition. Iran has risen up and we have a duty to help our fellow-countrymen. We should not be apathetic; we should speak to people and write about what is happening in Iran and publish what we write. We should inform the world of this disaster which has befallen our nation. It is now time for prayer. May God protect you all and may you all be successful.