Speech [Sowing seeds of discord between the clergymen and intellectuals]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I thank the gentlemen who have come here and expressed their kind regards for me. Among the things and fruits I have reaped in this movement, one is meeting new faces we had not seen before. They (the regime) had segregated all walks of the nation from each other. They had separated the clergymen from the intellectuals, that is, from thinkers and they pitted them against each other. This resulted from the iniquitous efforts taken by the colonial powers, which wanted to plunder our resources. They did this in order to sow seeds of discord among the enlightened walks of the nation, the effective people who could resist against and push back the foreign powers. They did so to prevent their unity and keep them estranged from each other and belligerent toward each other, and at times, with great and severe differences. They took many efforts and, of course, achieved what they wished. They presented such an (ugly) picture of the clergy to you, thoughtful men of letters that you were not prepared to even mention their names. Likewise, they painted such a portrait of you for the clerics that they, too, did not wish to mention of you. This discord caused them to accomplish their wishes and they looted our resources gratis and gratuitously as if there was no hurdle before them. They pushed the country backwards and kept it backward and prevented our manpower from blossoming.

We can say that in this recent movement the best achievement garnered is the unity, which had been created among various walks of life: academicians have now become closer to the clergy, and vice-versa; the merchants, too, share affinity with them, and likewise the farmers. Now you see that all classes of people all over Iran share the same ideas and beliefs and are unanimously saying they want an Islamic republic. The secret of our success, which had pushed back great global powers and made the satanic

power of the Pahlavi family crumble, is this very unity of all walks of life and the unity of expression. If the clerics had waged war against (satanic powers) alone, they would have been strangled. If writers wanted to fight alone, they would have been destroyed. If the academicians had done so by themselves, they could not (have succeeded). If the merchants had done so alone, it would not have been possible. The fact that we have achieved everything, and, God willing, will achieve more, is due to this very same solidarity among the walks of the nation. We should safeguard this solidarity.

Gentlemen! You, the writers, have now a very great responsibility upon your shoulders. They( the regime )had forbidden you to use your pens but now you are free to write; use your pens in the path to the nation's freedom and Islamic teachings. This nation before your eyes has found unity under the banner of Islam. Otherwise, this Islamic unity and convergence would not have been possible. Now, everyone, from a child of a few years to an eighty-year-old man, is participating in this movement and all of them have a role in this victory. With one unified voice, they demand freedom and independence, and thank God, these have been achieved. Moreover, they want an Islamic republic. God willing, that, too, will be attained through a public vote. What is now incumbent upon us is to protect this unity.(Political) convulsions, whether deliberately instigated or not, have, at times, been observed occurring at universities. If they are perpetrated intentionally, I have to say that it is tantamount to a treachery. If it is done unintentionally, then I have to say it is ignorance. Today is not a day that this nation should upset this achieved victory by engendering these convulsions. It is not a day that we can afford to pollute this movement by attacking public and private centers. Today is a day of unity of expression. All of us, each and everyone in whatever path we tread, and whatever creed we have, must all converge under one banner. If we do not, we will all be annihilated.

When I was in Paris, some would come to me and advise me to opt for a step-by-step movement, saying we will keep the Shah and let him reign but not rule. Then we could set up a parliament, attend to other things, and eventually eliminate all of them.

I asked that gentleman, who was a righteous man but who thought wrongly, if he could guarantee that we could rekindle the flame of the movement that had come into being once it was extinguished. He said no. I asked if he could guarantee that the Shah would not destroy all of us if we gave him a grace period and let him take a step forward. He said not. I said we had to make use of this flame that had been lit. If we do not attain our goals now, we will definitely face a defeat. We must put forth our ultimate goals now.

Our ultimate goal is the toppling of the contemptible monarchial regime, whose crimes are vividly depicted in history and the elimination of the left and right wings and advocates of the imperialists and leftists, who want to hold us captives. We must be independent from now on, not leaning toward the right or left, but rather independent with everybody under the banner of Islam. If you want your country to be independent and attain freedom, you must brush aside disturbing thoughts and bring home victory together with one unified voice.

You know that our country is now a country in turmoil. Everything that we have is a shambles: an economy kept backward, that is, they had done this to us. They have kept our agriculture so backward that everything is dependent upon foreign aid. They did not allow our industry to flourish and destroyed small industries and you had seen what had been done to our military. Everything we had was decimated, including our manpower.

Throughout the course of history, they (exploitative powers) had taken so many efforts to stifle our thoughts so that the idea of independence would not occur in our mind, so that walks of people would not think of being independent. They never thought that such a monarchy could ever be toppled. They never imagined that America and the USSR, with all their accouterments, could not intervene in Iran's internal affairs. They wanted to do this and, of course, sent words of intimidation and launched into a harangue in order to shove us backward. However, we were not driven backward into retrogression. Instead, we became aware that our task was to move ahead. I told everyone who called on me and advocated a gradual approach to the path and wanted to mediate in our affairs that our task was Godly; it was not part of our task to enter into a compromise. I am not the sort of person who will tread the path with even a bit of leniency. I have a divine task and will act upon it as a divine task requires. I will perform my divine duty even if I get killed (in this path). And if I got killed, then I have fulfilled my divine duty; and if I advanced forward, I had fulfilled my divine duty.

You have a divine duty. Rely upon the Imam of the Time, may God's peace be upon him, and you will prosper, God willing. Keep your unity of expression, which is the secret of our victory. We have moved forward and will move further until we reach our ultimate goal. We will no longer allow our wealth to be plundered and the poor to sleep in alleys without bread or water. If, God forbid, this unity of expression is shattered, be aware that they (foreign powers) are ever alert and discerning. The day we lose this unity of expression, they will surely attack and install in power another thug like Rida Khan or somebody in his name or anybody else. They will establish any regime in power. Things will revert to the way they were before; it will be the same old story: the same backwardness, abjectness and the like.

Unity of expression must be preserved. We see that now there is unity of expression among all walks of life. Elements who want to break up this unity of expression and enervate those who engendered this unity should do some rethinking and pay attention. We are your well-wishers. We wish the nation's well-being. Islam wishes your well-being. Islam will make you prosper in this world and the other.

Those who are estranged from Islam should reconcile their ideas with it, come under its banner and learn its teachings. The foreigners did not let its teachings be understood. They let loose a clique who was ignorant of Islam and forbade us from delving into studies or publish our writings. Likewise other groups who were opposed to their interests, but who were connected to Islam and were qualified to teach it. You should be aware that Islam has everything. It affects every aspect of life a man and a woman from their marriage to their interment. It has decrees and rules all of which are progressive. All its commandments aimed at human prosperity, whether in this life or the afterlife, are beneficial. What I want of the writers is that it is their duty, as well as mine, who is a theology student, to utilize their pen for the well-being of the nation. Use your pen to exhaustion for the welfare of this community. May God grant you all health and honor.