I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Rida Khan's deceit
Throughout the rule of this dynasty, mistakes have been made which have been most regrettable. Some of them were made during the time of Rida Shah and others during the rule of this man (Muhammad Rida). From the beginning when Rida Shah enacted his coup d'etat on the command of the British, one of the mistakes which were made was that those who knew the facts and understood what was going on did not inform the people.
Rida Shah began his rule doing the same kinds of things that his son does now. He devoted much attention to attending rawdahs. He ordered groups of soldiers onto the streets at `Ashoura «1» to beat their chests in mourning- I myself saw this- and in Tehran, he himself used to go from this takiyah «2» to that takiyah where rawdahs were being held. Wherever he went, the mourning ceremonies were well-attended. It is this type of chicanery that this man (Muhammad Rida) is practicing today. Rida Khan entered the scene with this weapon, and there were those then who knew exactly what was going on, but their mistake was that they failed to show his true face to the people. Later, when his hypocritical show was no longer necessary, he showed his true colors and closed down the takiyahs and banned all religious assemblies such that throughout the whole of Iran rawdahs and other religious ceremonies were no longer held. This action of his is something that you all know took place.
Lack of support for Mudarris was one of the historic errors
Another mistake made at that time by those who should have enlightened the people to the facts was that they did not lend their support to Mudarris. Mudarris was the only great man to stand up and oppose Rida Khan, and while some of those in the Parliament supported his stance, he met with obstinate opposition from others. At that time too, some faction or other could have lent him its support. Had this happened, in the light of the fact that Mudarris was a man endowed with many laudable qualities, being an enlightened individual, a powerful speaker and a brave man, he was the kind of man who could have uprooted the evil of this family there and then. But it did not happen.
More distressing than this, and it grieves me whenever I think about it, is the invasion of Iran by the Allies. At the time, Rida Shah praised himself or other praised him so highly, boasting that Iran (under him) was a mighty country which no other country was powerful enough to attack! (His son's boasting now is just like that of his father before him; he is truly his father's son!) However, once it was clear that this was just empty talk, the first declaration was never followed up by a second! It is said that when Rida Shah chastised one of his commanders as to why it took the Allies merely one or two hours to invade Iran, the reply was:" It should have taken only five minutes... at least we lasted for two hours. They had everything while we had nothing!" All the means of suppression which were brought into being in the country were done so for the purpose of suppressing the power of the nation itself. During the Rida Shah's era, powerful people existed in Iran, men who were ruthless but who were loyal to their country. Rida Shah clipped their wings on the orders of the foreigners and, through the agreements he made with the latter, divested these powerful figures of all their power. In doing this, the foreigners too were acting in accordance with a plan, a plan which was to strip these powerful men in Iran of their power, to disarm them and thus preclude any display of power by them. So this is what Rida Shah did, he divested powerful men of their power and, as you all know, in the end he himself went in the manner that he did, being taken away by the British along with the country's crown jewels! I was told by someone who himself had been told by an officer who had accompanied Rida Shah on his journey to the island of Mauritius, how, upon being told by the British that he had to leave Iran, Rida Shah packed the crown jewels into his suitcases to take with him believing that they (the British) wanted to take him somewhere to live in a palace! During his journey to board the ship that was to take him into exile, he stopped at a bridge and sobbed in vain. The British put him on board a ship with all the jewels in his suitcases and once out at sea, a ship used for transporting animals came up alongside his ship and he was told to board it; on seeing that he had no alternative but to do as he was told, he boarded the other ship. When he asked about his suitcases, the British told him that they would bring them for him, but he went one way and his suitcases the other! God only knows whether the British still have them or not. This is all very unfortunate. The nation has witnessed Rida Shah's transgressions; nothing remains hidden.
Yes, Rida Shah left, and I myself was a witness to this when the armies of three countries invaded Iran and everything was exposed to danger, the people still rejoiced. It was as if they were celebrating the arrival of the Allies, but they were rejoicing because they had been told that the Allies had sent Rida Shah away! For they had experienced Rida Shah's oppressiveness, it was not something that he hid from them, so when the Allies arrived, even though they were the enemy, the people rejoiced for they believed they would act better than he had done. When a personage, a king, a holder of power does not enjoy the support of the nation, the people rejoice when he is removed from power and leaves the country, proclaiming how fortunate it is that he has gone instead of rising up to ask why. Truly, how fortunate it is that he has gone. But here, what is indubitably a source of regret and great sorrow, is that at that time, when the Allies came and Rida Shah left, not one voice was raised to say that the people didn't want his son (to succeed him) and thus stop the Allies from putting him on the throne. For indeed it was they who installed him in power. The Shah himself has admitted this, he wrote this in his book, although I have heard that it was later deleted. The sentence" the Allies thought it fitting that I assume power" was later expunged from his book. If only at that time someone, such as one of the country's leading figures, a member of the `ulama' or a group of people had spoken out to say:" We do not want this dynasty; we have had to endure much at their hands; what did the father do for us that should make us think the son is going to do any better?" This was one of the acts of negligence which took place in the history of Iran; had it not happened, the course of Iranian history could have been changed and we would not be sitting here speaking about it today, neither would I be here, nor you gentlemen, everybody would be going about his own business in his own country.
The negligence of Qawwam as-Saltanah and Dr. Musaddiq
Political personalities, leading clerical figures and other classes of people in our country were grossly remiss in this regard, and thus this man was imposed on us and his rule subsequently strengthened. From that time until the present there have been further cases of negligence. Qawwan as-Saltanah «3» could have done something, but he was careless and weak-willed. «4» More important than Qawwan as-Saltanah was Dr. Musaddiq.«5»
He attained power, but he made mistakes. He wanted to serve his country, but he made mistakes, one of which was that at the time that he assumed power, he did not stamp out that man (Muhammad Rida) and end matters. It was not a difficult thing at all for him to have done at that time, because control of the army lay in his hands, all the organs of power lay in his hands and the Shah himself had not acquired the powerful position that he was to acquire later. At that time, the Shah was weak and was at the mercy of Musaddiq, but the latter was remiss. Another instance of negligence which occurred is to be found in the fact that Musaddiq dissolved the Parliament and ordered the deputies to resign one by one. When they did so, a legal way lay opened for the Shah to reassert himself, because in the absence of a Parliament the Shah reserves the right to appoint a Prime Minister, and this he did! These were the mistakes that the Doctor made, and in their wake this man (the Shah) was once again returned to Iran. In the words of some," Muhammad Rida Shah left and Rida Shah returned." Some people told the Doctor that his actions had resulted in Muhammad Rida Shah leaving- and at the time of his departure he was a man of straw completely at the mercy of Musaddiq- and Rida Shah returning. What they meant by this was that a man of ascendant power returned. They said how at that time they didn't realize that later on Muhammad Rida would be a Rida Shah of a much more fiery temperament. «6» This was one of the mistakes that were made. Today, we are once again at a sensitive period in our history, and I'm afraid more mistakes might be made. Today, it is we who are duty-bound. We have witnessed many mistakes over the years, and I am afraid that this time too, the different classes of our society, our religious and political personalities and our intellectuals, may once again err in such a way that will bedevil us till the end of our lives and dash the hopes of another revolution ever taking place.
You all know, and whoever is familiar with our history knows, that this movement we are witnessing in Iran today has no precedent in the country's history, if not in world history. It is a movement in which seven-year-old children call out in unison with seventy-year-old men:" We don't want him!" A movement in which soldiers take to the streets with bayonets, guns and tanks attacking and killing the people, yet still these people stand firm with fists clenched shouting:" We don't want him." I'm not sure whether world history has ever experienced a story like that of Iran's today, but most certainly the transition which is taking place in the country has no precedent in the history of Iran. I know, and any other discerning individual must surely know, that if this movement loses its momentum, it can never be retrieved. It is not a case of being able to turn this movement on and off like a light switch. This unprecedented movement has come about as a result of much hardship and because the hand of God, the Blessed and Exalted, is involved. Today, even with a military government in place and the cities of Iran occupied- for we must describe them as being occupied by the military- demonstrations are held, voices are raised from every corner and cries of" Death to the Shah" are heard once more. Such a thing has never happened before and there is no hope of it ever being repeated. I am afraid that we, you and others in Iran might err and that this will result in the movement losing its momentum, not being brought to fruition and our country remaining for evermore captive and under the heel of foreigners.
Opposition to the theory," The Shah must reign and not rule"
Now they are expending every effort through every means at their disposal to retain him, either by using those who have entered the Parliament as so-called deputies or those outside the Parliament who support the Shah. These maneuvers that you have witnessed lately in Parliament «7» also form part of their efforts. All this talk of one group constituting the opposition and the other the supporters is all nonsense. All the opponents and the supporters agree on one thing, that the Shah must remain. They go on about" free elections," what does this mean? It means that" His Most Exalted Majesty" will order the people to select their representatives, the regime will be formally retained and the referendum will be in the hands of the Shah. It means that the elections will be free, but free according to his command! This is what free elections mean! There must be a democratic regime and the Shah must reign not govern! This idea must be advanced both inside and outside the Parliament, everywhere it should be voiced that the Shah must reign not govern, and now they are praying to God that the people accept this proposal.
Indeed, this the Shah may do for the first two or three months, even perhaps for a year, but what about after that? Even if we assume (albeit a false assumption) that from now on he reigns and does not govern, that the revolution recognizes him as ruler and he becomes a proper, correct person, nevertheless what about all these crimes that he has committed so far? Are they of no consequence? If your ordinary man in the street were to kill another human being and then say," I'm sorry, forgive me," would he be let off? Would the law set him free? Is it logical then to forgive this murderer? Should we now forgive someone who for the past twenty-five years has ruled the destiny of our country, who for these past twenty-five years or more has betrayed our country, has given its wealth away to others, is exhausting our oil reserves in this way and is giving our gas away, who has killed all these people and perpetrated all these massacres? In the massacre which took place on Khordad 15, fifteen thousand people were killed, and in those which have taken place recently even more have been killed. Now he's telling us that these were mistakes, that he" erred;" and he promises that it won't happen again! Even if we presume that these mistakes will not be repeated, what about those that have been made up until now? You (addressing the Shah) threw political and religious figures into prison for ten, fifteen years or more. You persecuted them terribly and made them endure so much. But now that they have been released, and in such a weak state of health at that, now that a number of them have been released, is everything over and done with? You robbed a human being, thousands of human beings of ten years of their lives. Is this of no consequence? Should we now let this man reign? Should we tell him," Okay, Your Most Exalted Majesty, please, ascend your throne and reign over us"?! And should we all go to pay tribute to him at the" king's reception"! Should he now go and sit in an opulent palace somewhere and busy himself with the pursuit of pleasure for he is no longer required to govern? Have things come to this? Could a just person, could a Muslim accept such a thing? Could a Muslim, a morally-conscious person, a human being be expected to forgive a criminal who for twenty-odd years has ruled over this nation illegally, who for twenty-odd years has squandered the wealth of these people, has committed mass murder and allowed foreigners to dominate our country, as soon as he says:" Well, I made a mistake, forgive me"!? Mistakes have been made which constitute criminal acts for which he should be sentenced in a court of law.
Compromising with the Shah and the monarchy is treason
Let us suppose that now he has indeed become a servant of God and a Muslim! What about his actions up to now? Would he be acquitted of them in a court of law anywhere in the world? Would a religious court acquit him? According to the laws of Islam or secular law is everything finished as soon as he, being the Shah, says sorry? Should we now let bygones be bygones and return to our everyday affairs? To compromise now, to even think of compromising with this man, to even think of permitting him to reign but not govern, or getting rid of him and allowing Farah «8» to reign over us and free elections to take place later, is tantamount to treason against the nation of Islam, against this oppressed nation.
Is the aged mother who yesterday sat and ate lunch with five members of her family but who this evening sits alone with her husband for her children have all been killed, is she of no consequence? He (the Shah) is sorry, so is all forgotten? Can a Muslim accept this? How will we answer those who watch a group of children on their way to school in the knowledge that their child who accompanied them yesterday is not with them today? What will we be able to say to this nation? Will we say that we have made a compromise with" His Most Exalted Majesty" so the blood of your children means nothing now, it is insignificant? Is this not treachery? How can anyone think of doing such a thing?! What kind of negligence, satanic negligence, is this? What kind of devilish insinuation is this that creeps into the minds of some telling them to let bygones be bygones; that it is better to overlook what he has done?!" Everyone has suffered, but we have forgiven now you must forgive and forget!" Which crimes of his should we overlook?! Is it my place to overlook them? It is the right of the nation to say whether we should overlook these mistakes or not. Can this right be overlooked? It is the right of the nation, of Islam, of God. Is he worthy of pardon? I am afraid that such a mistake may be made. The people should all join hands together and prevent such a blunder from being made. All sides are now resorting to various measures in an attempt to make you young people here and those in Iran kick up a fuss about this. At this sensitive period in time, now that the movement has reached the last stronghold, do not let this man win. This is a danger which Iran now faces. If weakness is shown and a mistake made, or if the people are ruffled by the hue and cry Carter is creating by saying that the Shah preserves their interests, that they will not neglect their servant, that this servant must remain- although this is not the actual word Carter used it makes no difference for the substance of what he said is that they could never find another servant like him- then this would constitute a grievous danger for Iran. You should not be frightened by these things.
No weapon is effective against a nation
A nation cannot be intimidated indefinitely. As we saw, they were not able to use the army to do this. He (the Shah) is very eager for the military to commit genocide, to kill one, two or three million people, but it won't happen; this is not how it works. Those overlords cannot do this either. Do not be mistaken in thinking that if you resist their plans then the Russian army will invade from one direction, the American army from another and the British from another. This is all a myth. When a nation does not want something, then it will not be. And now the nation does not want him. It is not a political party or faction or a group of people that are saying" no" now, but a nation, and when faced with a nation's" no" neither bayonets, tanks, guns nor the empty threats of Carter or the Kremlin are effective! They can write all they like in their newspapers and speak out as much as they like, but such a thing will not happen. We ask God to grant the Iranians victory in the struggle for their rights (the audience replies with"Amen"). We ask Him to assist those in Iran who have risen up in pursuit of their rights ("Amen" from the audience). Each one of us, wherever we are, is duty-bound to help these Iranians to whatever extent we can (the audience replies with" God willing"). I don't know the exact number, but there must be many thousands of Iranians living abroad and if they can tell hundreds of thousands of foreigners what they know then it will neutralize the prevailing propaganda abroad now which speaks of the Iranians as a people who seek anarchy and who are not worthy of being given freedom! This is the nonsense trumpeted over the Shah's propaganda loudspeakers. You must nullify this. The Iranians are people who have stood up and are saying that they want their rights, they want to be free, they no longer want to be under the influence of American military advisers. This nation has progressed such that it no longer wants this situation to remain as it is, and God willing, it will not