I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Carter's logic the same as Mu`awiyah's
When `Ammar Yasir, who rode with the Commander of the Faithful, was killed fighting in the battle of Siffin against Mu`awiyah, word spread among Mu`awiyah's troops that the Prophet had once told `Ammar he would be martyred by a rebellious, traitorous group, «1» and now, because he had been martyred by Mu`awiyah's army, it meant that the rebellious, refractory group must be Mu`awiyah and his army. Mu`awiyah disagreed saying it was the Commander of the Faithful who had actually killed him because he was the one who had sent him into battle, thus the traitorous group comprised the Commander of the Faithful and his followers.
Carter's reasoning is the same as Mu`awiyah's, for he has said that it is the `ulama' of Islam who are killing the people. «2» Now we must put his reasoning to the test using the criteria that Mu`awiyah used to see whether his logic is the same as Mu`awiyah's, or even maybe a bit worse, or whether it is a correct logic.
From the beginning of Muharram in Iran, the people began to express their revulsion for the Shah's government while at the same time holding their mourning ceremonies. On Tasou`a and `Ashoura, «3» the people marched in a perfectly peaceful manner and negated the rule of Muhammad Rida Shah. He (Carter) says that the people had no authority to do this, and so the following day the Shah had no option but to give the command to kill the people! Are these peaceful demonstrations which the people held and in which they determined their destiny not conformable to Mr. Carter's logic? Does he see something wrong in this? Does he believe that the people of a country, all the people of a country, have no rights where their destiny is concerned?! Does the" declaration of human rights" in Carter's logic mean that man does not have the right to determine his own destiny? Is this what he understands by man's right to be free as stipulated in the declaration of human rights to which he is a signatory? The most basic right of man is that he should enjoy freedom of expression, freedom in determining his own destiny. Does he (Carter) understand from the Declaration of Human Rights that no one is free in these matters? Or is it only with regard to Iran that he has this opinion, and as far as other people are concerned, they can be free, it is only the Iranians who cannot?! Indeed, they say that in some of his statements he has said that there should be no talk of freedom and human rights in those countries where they have interests. They (the Americans) should not speak about human rights in such countries. Iran is seen by them as being a strategically-import country, consequently, they should not speak about human freedom and human rights there! Does the world view this as being a sound logic? Are the right-minded people of the world of the opinion that because a country is beneficial to America, because America profits from a country, then the people of that country should not be free? They should just sit by with their arms folded until all their interests, all their resources, are taken by America and its like?!
Carter, a defender of massacre and plundering
He says that it is the `ulama' of Islam who are getting the people killed; but were the peaceful demonstrations held by the people on these two days, demonstrations which passed off without incident and through which the people proved to the world that Iran can take control of its own affairs and can determine its destiny in a rational, correct manner, were they the reason behind the killings that were started the following night, on the evening of the eleventh? «4» What caused the slaughter of the people on this occasion?
Well, at Siffin at least this matter was brought up during a battle when one side was fighting the other and both were killing one another. Under such circumstances, Mu`awiyah can use such a sophism saying that he who sent `Ammar Yasir to battle is the one who killed him. This is Mu`awiyah's logic! This is the sophism that Mu`awiyah employed. But under the circumstances today, the argument being used is much worse, for today the people have not gone to war! The people merely marched in the streets of Tehran and other cities shouting that they didn't want the Shah; does this constitute war? If someone says:" My country's destiny lies in my hands, we want human rights to apply to us too," then wouldn't everyone in the world accept this? Don't they accept that every human being is free to determine his own destiny, to vote freely, to determine if his country should be ruled by a king, a president or by whatever system he chooses? And on the basis of human rights, shouldn't his choice be carried into effect and all governments sanction it?
Well, this is precisely what happened in Iran, nothing more than this. On the ninth and tenth, on Tasou`a and `Ashoura, nothing other than this took place, as all the press correspondents witnessed; those who went to Iran and watched the events taking place there all saw a country whose inhabitants throughout the land set off walking peacefully in their millions. Men and women, old and young alike took to the streets saying:" We don't want this Shah." Even if we suppose that the Shah is truly a righteous man and a faultless person who serves the people well, when the people do not want his services he should step down. Let us suppose that he has the interests of the country at heart, that he wants to grant freedom, he wants to make the country independent, he wants to take the country to a new civilization; let's suppose that all these things are true of him, still don't the people of the country have the right to say they don't want him to rule over them, that they want the destiny of the country to be in their own hands, that they do not want him to serve them, and if he steps down, they will put someone else in his place to serve them, if they so wish? Let's suppose that all these things are true of him and that like other human beings he possesses some human decency, still the people of the country have the right to say that they don't want this servant, this very righteous and good person who wants to make their country a heaven here on earth! They don't want him to make their country a heaven on earth! Don't they have the right to say so? Don't human rights mean that every person, every human being, has the right to determine his own destiny? The Iranian people want to determine their own destiny and they do not want this Mr. Servant.
The argument so far has been based on him being a servant of the country; however, this is not the case, and he is in fact the servant of foreigners! For the sake of foreigners, he has destroyed this country of his, he has taken it to rack and ruin. He is someone who has given away whatever we had, who has destroyed everything we had. Everything which was of benefit to the country, and which the people, the nation, could profit from, he has either given to others to steal or he has stolen himself and put the money in bank accounts abroad. «5» Just like his father before him, who took the crown jewels of Iran only to have them taken off him by the British during his journey into exile. He has taken the money of Iran himself and has given some of it to these sixty thousand people- whom it is said are connected to him in some way, who are either his friends or relatives- to steal, and to his masters, to Carter and others like him, and to America and other countries.
He has devastated everything of value in Iran. If he leaves now, it will take ten to fifteen years before this country, through the efforts of righteous people, can be returned to its former state, that is to how it was before he and his father came along. It will take this period of toil and effort. Do not suppose that as soon as he goes this country that he has laid to waste will become a heaven on earth. He has destroyed everything; he has devastated this country and has given it the appearance of a wasteland. Today, our country can boast no agriculture, its pasturelands and forests do not lie in the hands of the people, the waters of this land have been misused, these dams that they have built have all been to the advantage of others. «6» There will have to be a period of toil and effort before the country can be returned to the state it was prior to this man's arrival. The people will have to endure hardship for a time, our youth will have to take pains, our experts will have to take pains before this country can be retrieved from this shambles which he has created and before reconstruction can begin.
Carter's excuse for killing the people
So is Carter saying that these peaceful demonstrations, upon which the people embarked and during which they stated that they didn't want the Shah, are the reason behind the people being killed?! Is he saying that the people have to say they want the Shah so they won't be killed?! He claims that the people's words are unreasonable and accuses them of lacking control. Well, we will repeat our words, and his too, at public gatherings around the world, and we will see whose words are deemed to lack balance.
This is what we are saying: this man and his father, this dynasty in fact, has betrayed us, has perpetrated crimes against us and is presently doing so every day. At this very moment as we sit here, the Shah and his regime are busy perpetrating crimes. Just yesterday they set Qum alight. Two days ago in Khorasan, Tabriz, Yazd, indeed in any city that you may care to name, they brought in a gang of people and wreaked havoc there. These were the deeds of the same person who came forward and repented, this is the meaning of his repentance! These actions that you are all witnessing are being carried out by someone who came before the people telling them to stop what they were doing for he had realized that he had made mistakes which he would make up for and not repeat. Does Mr. Carter not know about these actions, or does he know only too well but he pretends not to? Well, he (the Shah) is indeed carrying out such acts. We here, who are citizens of that country, along with the other people of the country, are saying that we don't want him. He has betrayed us, he has perpetrated crimes against us, he has given our resources to you (Carter) and others like you, and now we want to be free, we want to be independent, we want to administer our country ourselves. Is there any ambiguity about the fact that we want to administer our country ourselves, we don't want it to be run by you all or by your servants?! There is nothing obscure in this. Do the people of a country not have the right to state peacefully that they do not want him?! As witnessed by the world on Tasou`a and `Ashoura, nearly everybody, all the bazaars in Iran, the whole of Iran, the provincial cities and the villages of Iran stated in a peaceful manner that they did not want the Shah. If, following this action taken by the people, this referendum that they held, he had said:" Alright, if you don't want me I'll go and you can bring someone else in my place," would there have been such conflict and contention as there has been? Did this warrant such trouble? He has acted against international law: after the people had stated in a peaceful manner that they didn't want him, he brought in his club-wielders, his army and his security forces to hit the people, and disguised as club-wielding thugs his men entered the cities shouting:" Long Live the Shah"! «7»
So this is what happened, the people said" no" in a very peaceful manner, and in return he lashed out at them, he killed them, attacked their homes with automatic weapons and set the mosques aflame. He carried out all these acts of savagery, yet even after all these appalling atrocities you (Carter) say that you still support him and maintain that those who ask why such deeds were perpetrated, those who held peaceful demonstrations are the ones who are speaking irrationally! That their words lack reason! This is what we are saying and that is what you are saying, now tell us whose words lack reason? Whose words would a right-minded person judge to be irrational? The criteria are taken from the principles of human rights which state that all the people of a nation are free to express their opinions and to determine their own destiny. Well, this is what the people of Iran are saying, but you are saying something to the contrary. Whose statements are balanced? Which one of us is speaking irrationally? You say that it is us who have killed the people! Mu`awiyah used a similar argument, but his was more plausible than yours. Mu`awiyah said that because Hadrat Amir had sent `Ammar Yasir to do battle, even though it was his forces who had killed him, in reality it was Hadrat Amir's doing, because he had sent him there in the first place. This is the same as saying that were an oppressed person to come along and cry out at the injustice he suffers at the hands of another and is killed by that oppressor as a result, then he has in fact killed himself, for why did he cry out? Why do the people of Iran cry out?! They can be hit over the head as much as possible, but they should not cry out! This is what Mr. Carter is saying, he is telling you to keep quiet no matter how much they hit you over your head, no matter what they do to you, because if you don't, you will be killed! So in other words, you are getting yourselves killed! Is it right that a nation of thirty million, of thirty-odd million, should suffer blows, witness treachery and crimes against them, be deprived of freedom and suffer suppression, then be killed for crying out:" Why do you beat us around the head so?!" Is it then their own fault for asking why?! This is Mr. Carter's logic!
Logic and balance is ours not Carter's!
If we tell the oil workers to go on strike and not let this oil leave the country because the profits from the oil that they are sending out of the country do not reach the people- in actual fact they were the ones who went on strike and we supported them and continue to do so now- if we support the oil company and the oil workers in their action, telling them not to let this oil be given away for nothing without good cause for it is a reserve for future generations and is a source of this country's wealth for the present and future, are we speaking illogically? For how many years do you want to continue to devour Iran's oil and give nothing in return? Haven't you had enough yet? If we tell the people to go on strike, the oil company and the oil workers to go on strike, to continue with their strike so that this God-given wealth of the nation is not taken off the nation for nothing in return, is this unreasonable?! Because it is going to you does this mean that human rights do not apply in this case? If we say that these strikes are right, are holy, are obligatory, are we speaking illogically simply because it is you who are getting the oil and are giving nothing in return, indeed are building bases for yourself in our country to use against Russia? Or are you the one who is speaking illogically, you who tell us not to say such things? You who tell us not to utter such words lest the oil ceases to flow into your pockets?! Are our statements balanced, or yours? What we say is valid and it is something which any right-minded person would accept; you are taking our wealth free of charge, you don't give us money in return, you give us weapons, weapons which you use to create your own bases in our country! You have installed your servant there to accomplish this task for you. Is this talk then unreasonable?!
Calling the oil workers to go on strike
Apparently, some of the `ulama' from Qum went to Abadan to study the situation there; and it was said that these 600,000 barrels of oil which are being exported are being sent to Israel. Some of the workers did not go on strike, and now 600,000 barrels are being sent abroad out of a total of some ten million barrels that were exported previously. The regime deceived these workers by telling them that this oil was to be used for the running of the country! They said it was for us! And so the poor workers carried on working. However, now it is clear from what is being said that this oil is going to Israel. It is illegal, it is sinful [haram], for this group of people who have disregarded the strike by others and have been deceived by the government into believing the oil is for domestic consumption, if they know that this oil is destined for Israel, the enemy of the Qur'an and Islam, and yet they do not join in the strike. They will have to answer to God and the nation. All of them (the oil workers) should go on strike, so that not even one drop of oil leaves the country. The nation of Iran is ready to suffer from the cold if it means that Israel, which is harming Islam so, which is killing the Muslims so, or America, which is the instigator of all crimes being carried out against us, or other countries, does not take its oil.
I now address the workers of the oil company and tell them that it is their religious duty; it is their divine obligation to make their strikes universal and stop the export of oil. And I tell them not to let" His Imperial Majesty" frighten them as he did yesterday when he said that they should be arraigned. You wretch, who do you think you are, saying that they should be put on trial? You are no longer the Shah, you are a usurper. Who can put them on trial? You are not the Shah to give such a command, and even if you were the Shah, this would not mean that you could give such an order for you would be a constitutional Shah and thus you would not be able to give the command for their trial and punishment! Do not be afraid of him, of a man who turns to a book on the interpretation of dreams for help.[The audience laughs]. Do not be afraid of him, he is on his way out. Do not be afraid of him nor of the ballyhoo that his agents create. Pay no heed to their entreaties nor let their words unnerve you. Have no fear at all. Continue your strikes.
It is necessary that the Iranian nation help these people in the oil company who have gone on strike and are in straitened circumstances. The nation should pay them something just as the government did. Indeed it is incumbent on them to do so. I have given permission for monies from the sahm-e Imam to be used for this purpose. As a sayyid, «8» I also give permission for monies from the sahm-e Sadat to be used also. Both the descendants of the Prophet and those who are not will consent to this. The poor people too will be happy to see this money go to these workers, who are performing a service to Islam and their country, so they can fill their stomachs. Give the sahm-e Imam monies to these people. And the people themselves are charged with the duty to help them. Do not let these words intimidate you, do not be afraid of the threats he makes saying that he will do such and such to you. Tomorrow he will be gone and you will be dealing with a just government which will assist you in every way. For now we will help you. Do not listen to their words. Are we speaking irrationally when we tell the workers to strike, when we tell them that it is their religious duty to strike, that it is for the good of the country and the good of the nation? And are you (Carter) in the right by telling them not to strike? What else can we do if we don't strike? Should we just give the oil away? What Carter is really saying by telling the workers not to strike is:" Extract all the oil from the reserves you have and give it to us! The hell with the next generation and the hell with how poor you become!"
Warning Israel and reassuring the Jews and other minorities
Whose statements are balanced, yours or ours? Are we speaking irrationally when we say that if Israel... they have frightened the workers by saying that they will bring in experts from Israel, and sometimes they say they will bring them from the Hijaz. The Emir of Hijaz has said he will send experts to Iran. «9» How can he say such things? Is he not a Muslim? He says he is, but is it a Muslim who wants to plunder the wealth of the people and give it to foreigners? He will not do such a thing. He is seriously mistaken if he thinks we will let him do so.
On occasion, the Shah and his regime say they will bring in experts from Israel; we know what to do with these experts if they do bring them in. Not one Israeli... I'm not talking about the Jews here, no one has the right to lay a finger on the Jews in Iran, they are under the aegis of Islam and the Muslims; no one has the right to attack the Jews or the Christians who adhere to a religion revealed by one of God's prophets. Recently the government attacked the Baha'is, this was spurred by devilish motives and the Muslims should pay no heed to this devilry of theirs. Their aim is to make other groups rise up against the Muslims. Pay no attention to these things; oppose anything that the governmental organizations become in any way involved with, because they harbor ill intent toward you. If the Israelis come to Iran in order to export the oil, it will be the duty of all Muslims to throw them out or kill them all. They are at war with Islam, they are at war with the Muslims, they are in a state of war and if we are able, we will cut them all down. If they set foot in Iran, if even one Israeli sets foot in Iran, it will be the duty of the people to destroy them. The Israelis will come! The hell they will! They are trying to frighten you with this talk. Continue with your strikes, and you people assist them, it is incumbent upon you to do so. I have given permission for monies from the sahm-e Imam to be used to help the strikers and administer to their needs in a manner better than the time when the government administered to them. Let the government not pay them their wages, to hell with the government!
Forbidding pillage and anarchy
Have we said something wrong by telling the workers to continue with their strike and not to give the oil of a nation away to foreigners in such a prodigal manner?! Yet you who say that the people should take the beatings, should give their resources away and not utter a word... you who are saying that they should not say anything about all these killings that are taking place, you are speaking rationally, are you?!
Strikes are taking place in many places in Iran. And in Mashhad, where the Shah's forces entered a hospital and carried out iniquitous acts, the `ulama' entrenched themselves in the hospital, and, as it is said, about one hundred thousand people joined them, establishing themselves around the hospital in protest at the wickedness that had been perpetrated there. «10» Are the people speaking irrationally if they cry out asking:" Why do you hit us? Why do you kill our children? Why do you attack our homes? Why do you plunder the bazaars?- Do the" disciplinary" forces plunder the bazaar? Do the" security" forces kill the people? Well, these are your forces that you have named" disciplinary" and" security"! These" security" and" disciplinary" forces are killing the people, are destroying everything they have, are plundering the bazaars Are these gentlemen in Mashhad and other places who go on strike or hold a sit-in saying that they will not leave until the wickedness is brought to an end, speaking irrationally? You tell the people to go back to where they came from and just sit silently by watching while the club-wielders beat up people and kill them! All those who went on strike should these club-wielders deserve to be killed. They should all be killed. Whoever encounters one of these club-wielders, who are the depraved of the earth and who create corruption on the earth, should kill him. We say we want to defend our country, defend ourselves, yet our words are not rational, while you who tell us to say nothing while the club-wielders do whatever they like are speaking rationally are you?
Synchrony between Carter's support and Shah's massacre
Some of the gentlemen have looked into this matter and have discovered that each time Carter announces his support, the following day beatings occur or killings take place! They have written to me about this citing a date when support was announced and subsequent killings took place somewhere. On a certain date following `Ashoura, support was announced and, subsequently, Muhammad Rida's massacre took place! You who through your support bring about mass killings, who give encouragement to a congenital murderer, who support a killer, your behavior is not unreasonable, but we who ask why, are acting contrary to reason are we?! Come to your senses.
In any case, our problems are not limited to one or two. At present, our country is plagued by this man and by the support he gets from these governments, but you can be sure, please God, that we will be hearing the last of such comments ["God willing" from the audience]. I hope that God, the Blessed and Exalted, will grant you all success ["Amen" from those present]. And may He grant the nation of Iran health and success ["Amen" from the audience]. May He assist Islam and the Muslims ["Amen" from the audience].