In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The crimes committed by the Shah in many cities, particularly in Isfahan and Najafabad where his agents committed unprecedented savagery, and which is said to be a plan to be repeated in other cities through which no one, small and big, will be spared, and all the houses, shops and religious centers will be set on fire, are a sign of the instability and weakness of the martial government and the Shah's disappointment at continuing his diabolic power. And now that he is definitely on the verge of collapse, he wants to complete his crimes and as he has said he wants to reduce Iran to a pile of earth.
The wakeful nation must know that this is the last attack, stemming from the madness and mental breakdown of the Shah and such foolish and savage attacks must not demoralize the nation. The Shah finds himself isolated and separated from the nation and has helplessly taken refuge in the bosom of the hooligans and mercenaries in order to remove his mental complexes. The Shah finds himself dismissed from his perceived monarchy and in the light of the Tusou`a and `Ashoura referendum considers the continuation of his rule impossible. Therefore, he will not spare any inhumane crime and is trying to fire the final shot with the help of the hooligans and some commanders of the Army who are an accomplice to his crimes. The Shah has to go! But the commanders of the Army who commit crimes with him and at his behest must revise their policies and be fearful of the consequences. The young officers should not tarnish themselves with these terrible crimes. Don't they want to live in this country honorably after the [collapse of the] Shah?
The crimes committed in Isfahan, Najafabad and some other cities are so distanced from human dignity that terribly torture any human conscience. According to some reports, the agents of the Shah have entered the houses of the defenseless, disinherited people and attacked them with their machineguns, set the mosques ablaze, harassed the women, immediately killed anyone who would not say" long live the King" and fairly and quickly enforced freedom as defined in Carter's logic.
Now, taking into account the Tasou`a and `Ashoura's referendum- that proved the illegality of the Shah and his government to the world- and according to the commandment of Islam and the law, it is the duty of the nation to disobey the Shah and his government: they should not pay taxes and should continue their strikes in all government offices, organizations and firms, particularly in the oil industries until the Shah and the government have gone, and it is the duty of the nation to support them through expanding their strikes.
I condole all brothers and sisters across the country on the tragedy inflicted upon them and beseech the Almighty God to grant them fortitude and reward and also grant His extensive blessings to the martyrs of the Way of Allah and announce Monday, the 17 th of Muharram al-Haram [December 18,1978], marking the seventh day of the martyrdom of the martyrs, a day of public mourning.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini