Speech [Fifty years of crimes committed by the Pahlavi (dynasty)]

I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The gentlemen shout the slogan," We will kill your bloodthirsty enemy;" «1» he is not only my bloodthirsty enemy; this man and his father before him have been the bloodthirsty enemies of the nation for fifty years! He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our country's independence. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our nation's freedom. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our nation's abundant resources. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our culture and education. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our economy. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of our armed forces. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of all classes of our society. He is the bloodthirsty enemy of Islam, of the `ulama' of Islam, of the children of Islam and of Iran.

Now that our nation is aware of this animosity, and this great Islamic movement has begun, he has resorted to various measures. Before this movement began, he turned to two means of recourse the most important of which consisted of what he said, the speeches he made and that which was written for him in books, such as Mission for My Country and others- which were written in his name by other people and published by him. By this means he propagated the notion that Iran had progressed because of him, because of" His Imperial Majesty the Aryamehr!" That America was no longer like our `grandfather' whom we must obey! That the hands of foreigners had been severed from this land and the Soviet Union no longer had the nerve to lay a hand on us nor America the power to attack us! There is no end to this talk that he delivers in his speeches and whenever the opportunity presents it self he delivers such speeches! You have all seen in his books what he has said about things like the `great civilization' and the like.

Another recourse he resorted to using was coercion. Before the advent of this movement, he used SAVAK, the army and the police to attack the people and their property. As this movement entered its first year and as day by day it spread further throughout the whole of Iran- God willing this movement will be retained and will become more and more widespread until it achieves its objectives- he resorted to different measures and sought refuge in a number of shelters. At one time he sought the solution by bringing in a `reconciliation government' which was supposed to act in accordance with the desires of the nation and meet the nation's demands. He also did some childish things. So many centers of corruption exist in Iran and are supported by him and his regime, yet at the time (of the national reconciliation government) the authorities announced that they were closing down the casinos and changing the calendar. «2» But this was just to deceive the people. Later, when the Shah saw that the people had not been taken in by this tactic and that they continued to shout out, when he realized that this maneuver had only served to enlighten the people and that they demonstrated against it, he resorted to imposing martial law! So while the government was a government of national reconciliation, martial law governed! And the killings and murders which you all know about ensued! So, first of all, there was a `reconciliation government' and then when that failed, the bayonet and a military government were brought in! Still our countrymen paid no attention to this. This spiritual change which has taken place in our society, a change which has embraced all areas of our country, has no precedent anywhere, not even in the history of Iran. One of the rules of martial law, or at least, one of the announcements made, is that a gathering of more than two people is illegal. Even so, groups of two hundred thousand people, three hundred thousand people, half a million people, in the very city at the center of martial law, come out onto the streets and set off shouting," Death to the Shah!"

The regime realized that nothing was being achieved by martial law, so, a few days ago, the carrot and stick treatment was brought into use: in one hand the Shah held a declaration of repentance, while in the other he gripped a bludgeon! I guessed that this repentance of his was just a ploy, and indeed it has proved to be so. In that tripartite meeting with the Shah, «3» it was planned that he should begin speaking like a man who had repented, that he should make promises to the nation, admit that up until now mistakes had been made but to pledge not to repeat these mistakes, and commit himself before the nation to refrain from repeating his past deeds and mistakes. Upon doing this, he then turned to the different sections of this society, to the clergy, the grand maraji' and the most learned `ulama'- as he called them- requesting that they guide the people and pacify them saying that he has decided from now on to allow free elections to be held, to give the nation freedom, freedom in the fullest sense of the word, but first the clergy must pacify the people. Then he turned to the politicians and asked them to help prevent the people from doing anything like this again and told them that he would give freedom, he would allow free elections and set up a legitimate Parliament and he would not repeat deeds done in the past or mistakes made. Then he turned to the youth telling them that they were part of this nation, and to the fathers and mothers of the youth telling them not to allow their children to come out into the streets and do such things. He addressed all sections of the society and confessed before the nation; and as I have been told the radio mentioned this in all of its programs and the declaration of repentance was read out.

Thus he has admitted that what he has done until now was a mistake; he has confessed that he is guilty of a crime! He has conceded before the nation that he has up until now deprived the nation of freedom. Now he says he wants to cease making such mistakes, that he has realized that his actions were mistakes and he doesn't want them to be repeated. He is admitting that the Parliament has not been a national Parliament but a Parliament of the bayonet! He is saying now that in this too he made a `mistake' but from now on the elections will be free! He is admitting that he ordered the killings, beatings and the plundering to be carried out by his agents from SAVAK and other agencies, and he is now saying that this was a mistake which he will not repeat in the future! He is admitting that he ordered these imprisonments and sent members of the `ulama', politicians and others to prison for ten, fifteen years or more, and now he is saying that this was a mistake that shouldn't have happened, but well it just did! He says it won't be repeated, that he won't do such things again. He expects you (the people) to extend a brotherly hand and for him to remain king and you the subjects! He expects you to settle down so he can have a trouble-free rule, so he can do whatever his heart desires; meanwhile he promises, he pledges and guarantees that he won't do such things again! This is the hand in which he held the `declaration of repentance. '

This was the plan, for him to come before the nation and say these things. Following this, the Prime Minister «4» repeated his words and both he and the Shah called on the nation, on all the classes of people who had risen up, to come together with them and think about Iran, to stop doing these things and all join together and think about Iran! This is the hand of repentance that he held out, the hand in which he held the declaration of repentance. At the same time, he held up his other hand and the killings began in earnest. At the present time in Iran the regime is busy killing the people. We heard just this morning from Qum that the city has never before been in such a state! The person who telephoned here said that Qum had never before witnessed such an uprising as that which is taking place there today, that never before had the city witnessed such scenes of depravity, with fires burning and guns blazing. I do not have information at the moment as to exactly what is happening in other places, but I know that the situation is the same. It is said that Zanjan is witnessing the same scenes as Qum and that the situation there is serious too.

So in one hand he holds his declaration of repentance saying:" God, forgive me! I repent, I admit that I was wrong," while in the other he holds a sword which he uses to strike the people. In view of this can the people really believe that he has repented?! Perhaps some uninformed people would believe this if martial law were not still in place and instead of the military government a national government- as he sees it- were in power. But those who have studied the mentality of this man, who have seen what kind of a person he has been over the past twenty-odd years or more, who have seen him dress up in a different guise and present another image, one minute appearing to be a devout worshipper and the next grabbing five at a time, «5» realize what is happening and don't believe a word he says. If he had merely presented the people with his apologies and his declaration of repentance, then possibly some of them, those who don't look too deeply into matters, would have believed him. But he didn't do this; he used both the carrot and the stick at once! This is sheer ignorance. Either that, or those who are instructing him have a score to settle with him and want to get rid of him, but they want to do it in an oblique manner, they want to indirectly make the people realize just what his repentance really means. They want them to see that along with his show of remorse, his pleas to the nation to forgive his shortcomings, his pledges and his guarantees, he carries a gun beneath his `aba [cloak]! Should the nation believe such a person? Which nation, which fool would ever believe him? Who could be taken in by what he is saying? Even those who know nothing about him could they be expected to take his words to be true when he is repenting and killing at the same time? Does anyone consider it possible that the army could kill people without the Shah having ordered it? Could the army open fire on the people without first receiving direct orders from the Shah to do so?!

In their meeting, their impaired way of thinking led them to the conclusion that in order to solve the current problem they had to keep His Imperial Majesty free from blame, that he had to say he had repented and the army was acting on its own! They want to make it appear that the army is committing these atrocities not the Shah! But they have gone about it in such a way that it is clear what the true story is! It is obvious that this is just a face-saving policy. At the same time one cannot help but think that those who arranged this realized that hypocrisy, martial law and the bayonet were not leading anywhere, so they came up with this plan to make the people understand that he is not sincere when he says he has repented, or he will allow free elections and will create a proper, independent and free country. At this very moment as he calls on God for forgiveness and claims to have repented, his machine-guns have, on his command, opened fire on the people! At this very moment, with the ink on his declaration of repentance not yet dry, Qum and Zanjan have been set aflame. The same is most certainly happening in other towns in the country and we will probably hear news of it later on in the day. These plans of theirs will come to nothing; these people can no longer be fooled. They (the superpowers and the regime) will have to come up with something else.

If this is a plan of the superpowers, then they are indeed stupid! And if it was thought up by the regime, well, idiots can be found among those in the regime too; but there are also smart people among them. If the plan was conceived by the idiots among them then that explains its absurdity, but if it was conceived by those who understand a thing or two, then it was done so against him. It seems they are on the side of the people too! They want to awaken the people to the fact that this man's repentance is attack, not death! It is said that the repentance of a wolf is for the wolf to die, but that of the Shah is for him to attack!

Under such circumstances, how can the deadlock which exists now be brought to an end? How can a nation that has risen up and seeks its rights, a nation in which all social classes have awakened and have a correct understanding of the situation, a nation to whom the treachery has become clear and who witnesses the crimes every day, now allow someone from among the people, one of the people's leaders, someone from the clerical establishment or a politician, a merchant of the bazaar or someone from the universities to act as a go-between telling the people to accept that this man has repented, that he is asking their forgiveness so forgive him?! As I have said before, even if we assume that this man has repented and that from now on he will strive to introduce democracy and provide independence for our country, and even if, according to an impossible assumption, he were to carry out nothing but good deeds from now on, what about the things he has done up until now? Should we just forget about them, about all the crimes that he has committed? A person who has left thousands of families without fathers, who has left thousands of mothers and fathers childless, now comes before the nation saying:" I'm sorry, forgive me!" And should the people just accept this? How would the person who did accept it justify his action before these mothers and fathers? If we accept that the Shah `reigns' but does not `rule'- even if we were to presume that this were not a trick on the Shah's part, which it most certainly is- what answer would we have to give the people? What would we say to the old woman whose children have all been killed and whose home is now bereft of her offspring? Should we say that `His Imperial Majesty' will now remain `His Imperial Majesty, ' but will only reign?! Should we tell the people to go and pay tribute to `His Imperial Majesty' and pray for his well-being?! Should we tell them that everything he has done until the present, the ten years of the lives of the `ulama' of Islam, the politicians of Iran, the merchants of the bazaar and the academics and students of the universities that he has wasted in his prisons is of no consequence now that they are free? By freeing them can he give them back the years of their lives that they have lost?! Isn't it the case that these wasted lives have been lost and cannot be returned? Young people have grown old in these jails of his. When I compare the state of young people whose acquaintance I made and with whom I shook hands before they were sent to jail with how they are now, it is like comparing a strong athletic man with an old man! Is everything finished then? Are all these things that he has done of no consequence now?! The beards of these men were black before their imprisonment, now they are white; these men were in a good state of health, now they are afflicted with ill health and need medical treatment. Even if we suppose that he is sincere in his repentance, what about the crimes that he has committed until now? Are these no longer of any consequence? Have they all been pardoned? Should the nation forgive him for these?

He and his ministers order us to" come, think about Iran." Well, in actual fact we are thinking about Iran. We have been thinking about Iran now for a few years, this Iranian nation is thinking about Iran and that is why it has embarked on this movement. The people realize that they are losing Iran, that they have lost Iran. They want to save Iran. They are thinking about Iran and are presently trying to save it. Are we expected now to open up the way once more for the Shah to plunder Iran further and make Iran even more dependent on the superpowers, to show that we are thinking about Iran?! Should we think about Iran (in a way that he wants us to) and allow him to betray Iran? He thinks that the Iranians have not reached the stage where they can be given freedom! In his view, the Iranians have to be spurred on by suppressive measures and the military and have to be under the heel of foreign and domestic forces! He says that the Iranians have still not reached the stage whereat he can give them freedom. This is his logic. And that wretch (Carter) says that it is because the people have been given so much freedom that this hullabaloo has started. Carter says that the regime has given a" fast" freedom and that is why the people have raised their voices!

These are his words. How should we deal with such people? What else can we do with them other than squeeze their sordid throats until we are rid of them? Do we have any other alternative? Is there room for compromise? Is the solution for the Shah to remain in Iran? This would mean the death of the nation. This is a solution which would destroy our nation. This is a theory which would be the ruination of Iran or worse. All his deeds up until now have been corrupt, and now he wants a respite in order to get ready for further attacks! God knows that if the people of Iran give him a respite he will deliver them a blow from which they will not be able to recover. I have spoken of this previously, that you must not give him respite; you must not give him the chance to strike you further. You have been reeling from his blows for one year now, and matters will only get worse.

These statements that he is making now- if they are indeed his words- are childish:" Let's think about Iran! If I go, Iran will be destroyed! If I go, Iran will be divided! Russia will move in from one direction and America from the other! It is because of my might that they do not move in now!" As if they haven't already done so (the audience laughs). Our army is being run by American advisers; bases which have been built in a number of places in the country have been done so by the Americans; they are devouring our oil, while the Russians devour our gas. Are we then free and independent? He himself said that a list used to be sent from the American and other embassies citing those whom they wished to see made parliamentary delegates, and there was no alternative but to obey! Then he claimed that this was only the case at one time; that is, at the time of his father, the father whom he praised so highly. The Shah admits that it did happen in his father's time, but he claims that he does not allow such things to happen now! That they are not even on friendly terms now either! These statements are hollow, they are not truthful statements.

Today, there is only one duty for the Iranians, and that is to staunchly support and sustain this movement and to strike at this regime in any way they can until it is destroyed. If we show weakness, we will have betrayed this nation, Islam and the Qur'an, because this person is against everything we have, he is the bloodthirsty enemy of everything of ours! If someone shows weakness, is remiss or speaks a word of compromise with this man then he is a traitor to the nation and a traitor to Islam and should be shunned. The duty of all you, all of you who are abroad, is to assist the Iranian nation, to unite with the Iranian people.

Now I would like to turn to a matter brought to my attention by a group of gentlemen who visited me here from Germany and who felt that what they were doing there was of no benefit to Iran, that indeed it presented a danger for Iran- only a few days before their arrival another group came to see me and said exactly the same thing. These gentlemen «6» explained that by the time our oil reserves are exhausted, atomic energy will be of no use to us either. It will not take the place of oil because it will last no longer than oil. This is what those gentlemen told me, and they should know, they are the ones with the information. They said that in their work at the institute «7» they are only permitted to go to a certain point beyond which they are not allowed to develop their scientific studies, so they are neither achieving any scientific results nor are they doing a service to their country, rather they say their work is detrimental to Iran. If this is how they feel then they should no longer go to this institute. They should do something else. You have to decide what your duty is. If you discern that this is all a ploy to prevent you, the youth (of Iran), from developing your strengths and capabilities, then you should turn your attention to something else. Our universities are just like this, indeed everywhere in Iran the story is the same, they (the foreigners) do not want you to progress; they want to keep you at a certain stage of backwardness so that you will not resist their rule. They keep you at a certain level, bring in experts from abroad and expend our nation's strength on carrying out the orders of the foreign experts, in other words the Iranians labor while the foreigners act like lords, the Iranians labor for a pittance while the foreign consultants sit smoking pipes and drawing up plans against the nation of Iran and receive God knows how much every month for doing so.

Indeed, this was the plan from the start, these plans to keep the nation in a state of backwardness and dissociate the nation from its religion, have existed since the time of Rida Shah. They (the foreigners) know that which will oppose their plans, that which will stimulate individuals and society is the Holy Qur'an and those who submit to its teachings. So from the time of Rida Shah, Islam and the servants of Islam have been suppressed. During the Rida Shah era, no one ascended the pulpit to give a sermon, for sermons were banned and not even one was delivered throughout the whole of Iran; during the months of Muharram and Ramadan no religious ceremonies took place at all throughout the whole of the country! Any akhound who ventured out of his home was arrested and taken to the police station where the police would rip up his `aba and his clothes and then tell him to get out. As one was released another was arrested. Such crimes this man (Rida Khan) committed against Islam and the Muslims. Then this one (Muhammad Rida) inherited his father's throne and you are all witnessing what he is doing, of course you can see only what is apparent, none of us knows what is going on behind the scenes, and those who do are afraid to speak out about it, perhaps later they will do so, and his crimes are many in number. At present we cannot begin to imagine what they have done to this nation, to Islam, to the Muslim people, the nation and to our resources.

We have two kinds of resources; all nations have two possible kinds of resources and Iran had them both: one comprised the minerals which lay beneath the ground, and the other was the youth- for they are indeed one of the nation's resources- but both of them have either already been or are presently being destroyed. With regard to the natural resources,(in accordance with the plan) the country's oil and its gas are being given away to foreigners and the country's pasturelands, which according to the regime have been `nationalized, ' have in fact been given away to foreigners too, along with the forests. I have documented evidence of this but the document is not with me at the moment, it is in Najaf. Our agriculture has been totally destroyed. In thirty years' time, if the situation continues as it is, our oil reserves will have finished! If they continue to give our oil away to foreigners so liberally, then in thirty years' time it will be finished, and then the nation will have neither oil nor agriculture. If this man remains (in power), in thirty years' time Iran will be a nation of beggars! At the present time half the nation is made up of beggars, but if the situation is allowed to continue then in thirty years' time beggars will comprise the whole of the nation. If you give this man a reprieve, he will destroy all of your material and spiritual resources.

So much for our resources which lie under and above the ground; now what about our youth who comprise one of our greatest assets? They are not allowed to be educated properly; their intellectual development is not permitted. The foreigners want to keep our youth at a certain level whereby they can do nothing only labor for them, even those Iranians who study abroad are not given a proper education. They will not allow an opposition force to spring from the ranks of the youth, they will not allow our youth to develop intellectually for fear that if they do they will stand up to them and not allow them to plunder us so.

But now, praise be to God, this idol has been smashed and this barrier removed. Our nation has risen up and has recorded its bravery and its vigilance in history. The nation has proved that neither imperial trickery nor the imperial club can stop them! Neither martial law nor a military prime minister can stop the nation. Even today, with martial law and a military government in place, the movement in Iran continues, and the cries of" Death to the Shah" continue to ring out.

This nation cannot be deceived any longer. Carter's statements that America will co-operate with him (the Shah); that America cannot afford to lose such a servant as he; that he (Carter) will do whatever he has to do to preserve American interests in Iran, no longer frighten the Iranian people. That wretch «8» from Britain also said that they could not sit back while someone who is preserving their interests is in trouble. Well, the reason for our shouting is precisely because this man was put on the throne to secure the interests of Britain, America and the Soviet Union. He is a traitor! He is opposed to everything our nation has, so by law he is no longer king. He was not legally so from the very beginning. These Pahlavis have ruled illegally from the very inception of their dynasty. From that time on, Parliament has been created at bayonet point. We have never had a national assembly, the Parliament which established Rida Khan's rule was a parliament created at bayonet point. I can tell you about this because I myself witnessed events just as many others of my age did. An illegal monarchy, an illegal Parliament and an illegal government is now governing us, and now this man has the nerve to say that he intends to allow free elections! Elections are illegal as long as he is on the throne! His rule is illegal so what talk is this of elections? What do free elections mean in this context? Elections should be held in conformance with the law, and according to the law the Shah must give the order for elections to be held; but he is not the Shah! He is a bandit! A bandit who sits on the throne illegally!

Gentlemen, do not give him a reprieve. We all are duty bound and if we are negligent, we will all be traitors. (Salawat from the audience). I hope that you young people will raise one call and will support this movement with unity of purpose and action, shunning all differences, for this movement is of benefit to your country, it is of benefit to you. This propaganda which is being disseminated on this issue is coming from the Shah. These views that Islam is no longer able to administer a country; that it belongs to fourteen centuries ago; that an Islamic system would mean a second dictatorship; that Islam cannot meet the needs of modern-day man; that Islam invites reaction, come from the Shah and are all outmoded views. Perhaps ten or twenty years ago someone could have got away with saying such things, but today these ideas are outworn. Just look at what the very same man who spoke of the two unholy matters of the black and red «9» reaction is doing to the country! Now he comes forward, holds out his hand and asks the great maraji` and the most learned clergymen to help him continue with his crimes and carry out more! (The audience laughs). Such is his present situation. These statements are old news now.

Islam is that which within the space of half a century had conquered all those lands in order to make the people true human beings. The victory of Islam is not like that of a king or of Nadir Shah. No, that is not the way of an Islamic government; an Islamic government seeks to create true human beings. You must look at the leaders of Islam themselves, such as the Most Noble Messenger, who was the head of Islam, and the Commander of the Faithful, who was leader after him. You must look at their form of rule. Was it a dictatorship? When the Prophet was seated with others, one could not distinguish the master from the servant or the Prophet from the disciple. The Prophet used to sit in this manner with the people discussing matters with them, with a people who were indigent and some of whom had been slaves. Indeed, the life of the Prophet was that of a poor man, the money in the treasury belonged to the people and nothing was ever misappropriated. Toward the end of his life when he stood before the people and told them that if any one of them had suffered an injustice at his hands or could claim that he had unlawfully taken even the smallest amount of money off anyone to come forward and seek redress. Not one person was found who could say that he had suffered an injustice or had been spoken to badly, not one could say that, God forbid, the Prophet had betrayed or deceived the people. One man did stand up and say that the Prophet had once struck him upon his bare shoulder, but when the Prophet told him to come forward and return like for like, the man approached the Prophet and kissed his shoulder saying he had lied so that he could kiss the Prophet. Can you find a leader who acts in this manner in any of the world systems? We would like such a leader, of course we will never be able to find one, but we are searching for one who will at least act according to some of the precepts of this leader (the Prophet), someone who will not betray this nation, who will not devour the wealth of the nation, who will not take this nation's money in America and other countries and build villas for himself, his children and relatives!

When the Prophet departed this world, he had nothing. As for the second leader (Hadrat `Ali), whose realms extended throughout the East and nearly reached Europe in the West, he had only a pelisse on which he and his wife, Fatimah az-Zahra (`a), slept at night and which he used during the day to feed grass to his camel. This was the court and throne of His Excellency the Sultan! He worked just like other laborers did, but not for himself, rather for giving to others. On the very day that the people swore their allegiance to him, he took his spade and pick-axe in hand and went to finish a job he was doing! He was digging a well, digging it with his own hands. And to whom were congratulations to be extended when water sprung forth? He said that congratulations were to be given to those who would inherit this and asked that he be brought a pen and paper so that there and then he could dedicate the well to pious purposes. This is how he lived, and as for the food he ate, this was nothing more than a few morsels of oaten bread. We are looking for such a leader. But we will not find one like Imam `Ali, he himself told his people that they did not have his fortitude, but even though that was the case, they must still have piety.

We are looking for a virtuous leader, one who possesses political virtue at least, one who will not devour the wealth of this nation, who will not throw the wealth of this nation away. We are calling for an Islamic government, a government which acts a little like our leaders (the Prophet and Imam `Ali) did. In what way has an Islamic government ever been dictatorial that these men are so afraid of it?! What dictatorship? An Islamic government is a government of law. Under an Islamic government, if the first person of the country commits an offence, Islam calls for his removal. If he acts tyrannically, if he slaps someone across the face unjustly, Islam will dismiss him, he will no longer be worthy to rule. Is this the manner of a dictatorship? This is the manner of a government based on law, the law of God. If someone has a complaint against the leader of the country, the first person of the state, he can go to the judge who may then compel the leader to come before him. The leader must comply; indeed this actually happened to Hadrat Amir (Imam `Ali). This is the kind of government we want, a government of law, a government based on the progressive laws of Islam.

They are trying to frighten you away from an Islamic government. They say that if an Islamic government were set up, women would be locked up in rooms. This is not so, in the early history of Islam, women went to battle! They stayed with the armies throughout the years of battle and tended to the soldier's wounds, more than is expected. If you (the Shah) were to produce one cinema, you would not find one person who would oppose it. An Islamic government is opposed to centers of corruption, not civilization. Is this civilization which has filled a country with centers of corruption? Should a country have no libraries but be filled with centers of corruption? An Islamic government is opposed to such things, it does not oppose progress. In one of the speeches «10» the Shah gave while I was in Qum, the wretch said that the akhounds proclaim that they do not want this civilization! They want to ride around on donkeys! What can one do with such a person? After years of describing the mullahs as unclean animals that the people should shun and likening them to worms which wallow in the filth and dirt, he now turns to the clerical establishment calling on the `great maraji`' and the" most learned `ulama'" for help. Well, they (the `ulama') know that he is lying! (The audience laughs). It is possible that he is slightly deranged.

May God protect you and may you be successful. Unite, for if you are divided, gentlemen, you will not achieve anything. You cannot progress by working individually; you must be united. The hand of God is with the group.(Salawat from the audience).