Interviewer: A reporter of the German Spiegel magazine
Question: [Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of thousands of people have come to the streets and staged demonstrations against the Shah in your name. Over one thousand people have lost their lives in facing the army and the police. Have you organized this civil uprising, and for what purpose?]
Answer: The main reason for the people's uprising is the Shah himself and his regime. Firstly, it is his father and himself who have, vengefully shown animosity toward Islam and have tried to destroy Islam under the pretence of protecting the country's freedom and independence for the past fifty years, Secondly, they have disregarded the nation's rights and laws specified in the constitution; thirdly, have totally destroyed the country's independence. Every economic, political, social and cultural foundation that has been laid by the nation for centuries, with the intention of achieving independence, has been destroyed by this regime. Furthermore, the economic schemes that the Americans have administered very treasonably, have destroyed the economic system, and today, people are living on the oil exports and goods imports. But this type of living will result in the destruction of the country's economy in the future, when the oil resources will come to an end and the income earned from them, decreases. The nation has become aware and started to move. I speak for the people. We are all in this together and say one thing. We want neither the Shah nor the monarchy, and that means freedom and independence. Islam guarantees the unity of the country along with freedom and independence. This is the reason for the people's uprising.
Q: [Since the year 1963, «1» that is when the Shah forced you to leave Iran, you have always said that your condition for returning to Iran is the eradication of the Shah; does this condition still hold?]
A: I lived in Iraq in exile from 1964 until my departure from there, by the order of the Shah, and for the time being, I am not returning to Iran.
Q: [There are some unconfirmed reports from Tehran according to which, you will consent to the Shah's departure, and cooperating with his successor Cyrus, his 19 year old son, under certain conditions. Is this true? And what exactly are those conditions?]
A: No, this is not true, and I'm against the continuation of monarchy and the rule of this dynasty.
Q: [The wrath of the local clergies and the demonstrators has mostly been executed upon many public places, and banks and cinemas have been set on fire, and large stores have been looted.]
A: Setting cinemas and banks on fire is not what we had called for. The Shah's regime has overused these establishments in order to destroy the country's economy and culture, and that's why they have become the targets of people's oppositions; the people are not angry, they are conscious. The West is not well aware of the destructive role these institutions play. They don't know that the banks have severely exploited the people. They have taken away from the hardworking people the motivation to produce, to the advantage of the international corporations and in the promotion of foreign products. The cinemas' role is to deteriorate the resisting power of the country's young generation. Today, even the engineers of the regime's propaganda organizations admit it. But, of course, the people follow our sincere and honest guidance.
Q: [If we understood it correctly, your goal is not only overthrowing the Shah, but it is also destroying the monarchial regime. But what do you think it should be replaced with, a parliamentary democracy a people's republic of the Marxist kind, or a theocratic rule as Prophet Muhammad (s) has ordered?]
A: Selecting a political regime will be done by resorting to the people's votes. We will put the layout of the Islamic republic to the people's vote. The nation is now standing on the junction of life and death, freedom and slavery, independence and expansionism, economic justice and exploitation. This rule must protect the existence of the nation. It must bring back freedom to the nation and independence to the country, and replace the exploiting system with economic justice.
Q: [Who is supposed to turn the nation's will into political power in Iran, which is a developing country on its course to industrialization? What would happen to the minorities of such a society with a Shi`ah majority?]
A: The elected representatives would turn the nation's will into a political decision and strategy and a political leadership that is clean of corruption, and at the people's service. The religious minorities would enjoy all their rights in the best manner.
Q: [Setting aside the small group consisting of the current political leaders and the profit-seekers of this regime, in what aspects will Iran of the future differ from the Iran of today?]
A: In your fifth question, I gave you the differences between the Iran of today and the Iran of tomorrow. Here, I'll add these points to them: a.) the political leadership would be free of foreign influence, and clean of financial and political corruption; b.) the country's economy would come out of foreign control, and other economic plans won't be programs to promote international targets in Iran; c.) our future society will be a free one, and no type of pressure and strangulation, as well as exploitation, will any longer exist; d.) the person who is deprived of intellectual activities and freedom at work in this policing system, will gain every means of real advancement and innovation. Tomorrow's society would be an assessing and a critic one, in which, the whole nation would take part in engaging in its own affairs.
Q: [A strong wave of Islamic unity has started in many Middle Eastern and Asian countries. There's no doubt that the intervention of religion in these countries' political life has been growing. How strongly is the present condition of Iran related to this" Islamism"?]
A: This is a worldwide phenomenon. In fact, today's man is putting an end to the period of the separation of materialism and spirituality. Materialism is now re-finding its stance in man's inspiration of spirituality, everywhere. Materialism, which meant gaining materialistic power by any means, and in any way, has brought the man to a deadlock. It is now the time for materialistic activities to be construed as being ready to advance man's spirituality, and it is this interpretation that would bring the man of today and tomorrow back to religion. Islam is a religion that clears the path to the advancement of human's spirituality, by modifying materialistic activities. This is the real advancement that the growth of man himself becomes the target of materialistic activities; and Islam is the religion of this advancement.
Q: [This spring, the Soviets had also attended the First Islamic Unity Conference in Afghanistan with a lot of delegates. In your opinion, are there any common grounds between the socialist countries and the new Islamic movement?]
A: Such conventions are held under the name of Islam, but carry no Islamic goals, and those who participate in them as the Muslims representatives, do not represent the people. The Soviets play a two-sided coin. On one hand, they are anti-Islam and have taken away the religious freedom of the Muslims living under their rule, and on the other hand, they become the representatives of these Muslim people! The Soviets, due to their actions, and for practically taking the Muslim states in their control, no longer qualify for even claiming to be the supporter of the oppressed and oppose the exploiters.
Q: [There have been talks among religious opponents and the Marxists in Iran, at least about the common enemy, the Shah. For what purpose?]
A: There have been no talks.
Q: [French newspapers have reported that you will move out of your compulsory residence near Paris, in the near future, and will continue your struggles against the Shah from Afghanistan. What do you have in mind by this change of location?]
A: I have not yet made a decision on leaving France.