Speech [The oppressed in history; treasons of the Shah's regime, affiliated small groups]

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

All the heavenly religions have arisen from among the masses and with the help of the oppressed, have attacked the arrogant oppressors. Throughout history, the oppressed have arisen with the help of the prophets and placed the arrogant oppressors where they belong. In Islam, the honorable Prophet rose from the ranks of the weak and with the help of the downtrodden, either he enlightened the oppressors of his own era or he defeated them. The oppressed have a claim on Islam; the oppressed have a claim on all religions; because this group assisted the religion of Islam, throughout the 1400- year history of Islam; they propagated the religion of Islam.

The path of the monarchial and oppressive regimes affiliated to that regime, was always other than that of Islam and by fighting with Islam, they would carry on with their inauspicious lives. It was the downtrodden who followed the prophets, who followed the theologians, who followed the custodian. Our movement too, advanced with the help of the oppressed. The arrogant either fled or sat in their homes. Where were the ones, who now illegally want to make use of the situation, on the day when the oppressed were giving their blood? They were either in their secluded dwelling or abroad. The oppressed have carried our movement forward, and they have shed their blood. It was the university youth, the youth of the bygone theological schools, the youth of the bazaars, the respected tribal people- it was these classes with their uprisings that pushed back the ominous regime, and chopped off the hands of the parasitic petroleum plunderers.

Of the treasons that the royal Pahlavi regime committed to Islam and to Iran was the prevention of the traditional migration of the tribes and forcing them to live in particular settlements they wanted to take away this supportive pillar of Islam. They wanted to break-up our tribes and clans so that our national unity would be destroyed so that our Islamic unity would be destroyed. Throughout the despotic reign of this father and son you the Bakhtiyari tribes were not the only ones who suffered from cruelty and oppression and were overcome with inadequacies; all the tribes of Iran; all strata of the people of Iran were suffering, and with toil and hardship managed to survive. They destroyed not only your agriculture; they destroyed the agriculture of the whole of Iran. Not only were you oppressed, all of Iran was oppressed. Iran was one big prison with a 35 million-prison population. Now, praise be to God, all of you have been freed from this prison, and in gratitude for this favor, you must have revolutionary patience. Give time for the republic of Islam to be firmly established, and then all of you will, God willing, attain your due rights.

Islam has not given preference to one class over another. Islam does not have materialistic tendencies. Islam has regarded all classes to be equal; and has given preference to one people over another only in respect of piety. Now we are suffering from many problems and vast destructions that must be remedied with the powerful hands of all the strata, and especially the tribes. Strive to restore calm in your country. The remnants of the former regime, with various names, do not want calm to be restored, because they think the return of calm will enable the people to attain their due rights and consequently, their hands will be cut off. Now that they have witnessed their defeat in the referendum- their convincing defeat- and felt the attraction of the nation to Islam; and tasted their own defeat, they have resorted to desperate actions; to desperate moves. They have assassinated our important personalities, and they perceive that with their assassinations, things will go their way. This assassination of martyr Murtada Mutahari has proven that the more blood the people of Iran see and the more hardship they suffer, the stronger they. The steely determination of our nation is not in a manner that you can defeat it with these desperate moves. Our nation has found its course, and now will not rest until it has implemented the beloved Islam, until it has chopped off the hands of all traitors, and until it has put a stop to the plunder of the parasites.

You, O my brothers! O my tribal brothers! Beware, do not let the poisonous propaganda of these people influence your youths. Do not let them in your midst so that with their propaganda they pave the way for the return of the previous problems and enable America to plunder our resources. They are the lackeys of America in any form that they are.

Those who in the name of `democracy' «1» want to defeat our movement are the lackeys of America. And, they must know that with these words they cannot attain their aspirations. Those who in the name of the masses «2» want to make the impoverished masses more impoverished and give foreigners a free hand in Iran must know that it is all over with these moves; they cannot bring back the former regime. Our nation, has with its unity and focus on the beloved Islam, carried the movement forward, and will carry it forward. Our uprising will not settle down until all the Islamic aspirations have been realized.

I express my greetings and salutations to the entire nation of Iran, to tribesmen of Iran, and to all the Bakhtiyari tribes.

May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.