Speech [Comparing Pahlavi regime with the Abbasid and Umayyad states- philosophy of mourning for Imam Husayn (`a) - Need for protecting Islamic Republic with Islamic substance]

Comparing Pahlavi regime with Umayyad and Abbasid states

Pahlavi regime and former regimes like Umayyad and Abbasid states were similar in that all of them did not want Islam to be realized as it is. Both were apparently Muslim in that they took such steps as holding Friday congregational prayer. However, they did not want Islam, as prescribed by the holy prophet and his household, to find reality. Islam was a religion whose leaders were the holy prophet and Imam `Ali (`a), who led a simple life. If they wanted to present Islam as represented by the household, they could not live in palaces and in luxury. They lived in glorious palaces while people were in slums. After the death of some of them, their gold was broken with a pickaxe into pieces and distributed among people. Islam does not accept capitalism in the prevailing sense of the word. Islam has some principles. So, they did not want it to be as it is. All royal regimes including the former regime had been corrupt from sole to crown. I do not think that you can find two or three kings who have been the right people. Those known as" heaven-dwellers" are in fact" hell-dwellers". Among them were one who made his son blind for such and such reasons «1» and the one who is known as `Anoushiravan, the Just' «2» who has blackened the history with his oppression and cruelty. Before this late regime, Umayyad and `Abbasid regimes and other royal regimes had accepted Islam on the face of it, but in reality they did not want Islam as it was. They wanted everything for themselves. They wanted to expand Islamic territories to increase their influence. They wanted everything for themselves and their bands. But, this corrupt regime wanted these for others. When Rida Khan came to power, he started with hypocrisy. This gentleman said he did not remember, «3» but I do. I was in the know from the outset. When he was established, his first aim was Islam, but he did not announce the aim. The ulterior motive was to annihilate Islam under the auspices of strangers. Then he began with clerics. He blocked religious gatherings. They started from this point so that they can destroy the very foundation, of which the foreign powers were afraid.

They have done extensive research on the eastern countries including Iran; they are aware of Iranian resources much better than Iranian themselves. They have studied tribes to see what they are after and how they can be trapped. They wanted to unite clans within cities not in the name of Islam.

During the reign of Rida Khan, I witnessed that they had turned everybody such as poets, writers and speakers against clergymen. These people had, of course, some link to the regime. A poet, for instance, said" we are ashamed of having mullahs and Qajar around here in Iran." They regarded mullahs as a matter of shame and were hostile to the Qajar. I heard at that time that they had arranged a session to picture `Arabs' victory over Iran, wherein the bare-footed Arabs occupied their palaces. Here, some began crying," Islam conquered Iran".

Even at present, some feel sorry that Islam has prevailed over their nationality. They are, in other words, against Islam. Now some writers, speakers and west-oriented intellectuals say that we want our nationality, not Islam. When they speak about their nationality, they associate it with the kings who are wellknown in history.

At the outset, Rida Khan held mourning gatherings and participated in such sessions. Even in Muharram, he attended all mourning sites. After the simple-hearted nation had believed in him, he disclosed his real identity. He banned all mourning sessions across the country. He set the situation such that no cleric could come out. They took some clerics to police station and cut their traditional cloak short with a knife to make it look like a suit and then set them free. They had forbidden the drivers to pick up clerics. Some drivers showed their servility to clerics. They aimed all this at Islam not clerics. The clerics were seen as the main obstacle on this way. So they had to remove the obstacle before destroying Islam. The theory of" Islam without clergymen" is in line with this approach. Some of those who are entertaining the idea are aware of it and some others are not.

The idea has now been inculcated in our youth as to how long are we to practice the mourning ceremonies. Let us mount protest. They do not understand what mourning ceremonies are for and who has maintained this basis up to present time. One cannot make them understand it. They do not know that this mourning and crying mend man's way. These mourning gatherings for Imam Husayn (`a) are propaganda against oppression and against oppressors. Expression of oppression against the oppressed should be maintained. These same people once cried for the slain youth, but they are now deluded, saying 'forget those youth'. Those who regard Imam Husayn (`a) as the foundation, which has kept Islam alive, indoctrinated the youth. The holy prophet said:" I am from Husayn." «4» This means he preserves the religion of Islam and his self-sacrifice has preserved Islam. Then we must protect it too. These youngsters are inattentive. Obviously, they consist of a group who has been indoctrinated by individuals who want Islam to cease to exist. They want to destroy mourning ceremonies. They do not know that the mourning arouses people's emotions to the extent that they are ready to do everything. When they see how Imam Husayn sacrificed his youth, people do so much easily. And it was with this sense of loving martyrdom that our nation advanced the concept. The very concept, which was reflected from Karbala on our nation, made them long for martyrdom whose master was Imam Husayn. They do not know that these concepts have preserved Islam and that those who know this suggest otherwise and deceive people.

Those who talk and write against clergymen know that clergymen have protected Islam, which is in contrast with their interests. This is the Islam, which supports the oppressed." We decided on and determined the oppressed tribe of that land, they were made leaders and heirs of Pharaoh rule." «5» Islam has made the promise, which will be fulfilled. Top class considered people as by the low class. This was the logic of arrogant people who looked down on the people. Then, who were the high class? Mr. Aryamehr and his bands! They were over the top. They did not count on the whole nation saying they are nothing.

The meaning of being oppressed could be traced to the diction used in the Qur'an i. e. the oppressed not the poor. It means that they have the power of faith, but those in offices regard them as the oppressed. Some people, who do not understand this, resist the term. My contention is that you are not weak; rather they regard you as weak. You have the power of faith whereby you forced back such a great power. It was the power of faith along with the love for martyrdom and self sacrifice that made an empty-handed nation conquer the oppressor.

We must preserve the basis that is Islam and the Islamic Republic. You must try to keep these Islamic gatherings. Both aspects should be preserved, not like the gatherings held in the past when they did not confront with oppression. It was due to same propaganda. We should not simply say our prayer and go after the business at home. The pulpitors preach a few moral points and confine themselves to their homes. We should confront with oppression.

The sentence;" everyday is `Ashoura, everywhere is Karbala," has a great connotation which is not understood. People think that they must cry everyday. However, it is not the case. What over role Karbala played on the day of `Ashoura should be replicated on other lands? Karbala was the setting where Imam Husayn and his followers of a few confronted with Yazid's oppression. They countered with the emperor of the time and devoted themselves but did not yield to oppression and defeated Yazid. This should be done everywhere and everyday. Everyday people should think that" today is `Ashoura and we must resist repression"; and here is Karbala and we must play the role played there' because it is not exclusive to certain land or certain people.

All nations must not fail to stand against oppression. According to some quotations whose veracity is not clear, an advisable thing for the pious in expectation during occultation is to have an available armed gun «6» to fight against oppression. As a branch of forbidding the creedal error, it is mandatory to resist oppressive systems, which are particularly against Islam.

The former system was akin to other royal systems in that it wanted to do everything for itself. It was not clear whether it is against the basis. A system, which is against basis, does not want Islam and Islamic gathering to persist. Instead, it is in favor of non-Islamic entities even though nation and nationality.

We want" nationality" in the light of Islamic teachings. We will do anything for the Iranian nation only in the name of Islam not nationality or Magism. The bounds of nationality are those of Islam, which support the idea to protect Islamic nations. Defending Islamic nations is an obligation. But it does not mean that we put Islam aside and cry for nationality and" pan-Iranism".

They studied anything ranging from our resources and their durability to ethnic groups and nomadic tribes to see how long they can take our reserves away and turn the country into a military base. But they found Islam as a stumbling block and decided to dispose of it by people. They decided how good it is to do so with the aid of some Iranians and were successful to a great extent. Once, if a mullah talked about a political matter, they were branded as" politicized" and nobody said prayer with him. Then, what was the matter? This was a plot to push mullahs out of politics and to separate Islam from politics. In their view, a mullah had to sit at home reading the Qur'an. At most, he was to give people some words of ethics. The plot aimed at isolating Islam from politics and taking hold of the latter and putting the former aside.

The day when I was to be released from prison and to be imprisoned again, Pakravan «7» told me-" politics signifies telling the lie and engaging in deception. It is 'mischief'" he said. Then, leave it to us. He wanted to do his mischief at this point; that is, he wanted to cheat me. I told him that we did not have such a politics of fraud and deception. He left and told the press that" we have arrived at an agreement with Khomeini and he is not going to deal with politics any more. Briefing people about our conversation on the pulpit, I contradicted him. They want to deceive us into learning politics with the idea that politics is deception. Politics is no fraud or deception rather it is a reality, which runs a country. Islam is a religion of politics. Friday prayer, for instance, is a political gathering, which unfortunately has been lost for a long time and become an object of sarcasm.

The gathering of Hajj is one of the political aspects of Islam people who can afford it from among any Islamic nations to come together in a place to talk about their problems and get them solved. No power could make such gatherings that Islam has made. All Islamic nations and their heads could not take a population of half a million to somewhere, even if they make exorbitant expenses or advertisements. But the God, the exalted, has sent people there with the verse," It is essential that people pay pilgrimage to the House." «8» Unfortunately, little use is made of such gatherings. Before the revolution whenever our pilgrims moved there, Aryamehr was to be praised, while these gatherings are essentially socio-political. In such gatherings, the speakers and writers of all Muslim countries should put forward the problems, which the Muslim world wrestles with. They should identify the sources of problem and decide how to treat them i. e. the states that have inflicted those problems. They must try to enforce unanimity." Covet to God's rope" is a good model to follow. God, the Blessed and Exalted, has provided the means but we cannot utilize it; we are incapable of seizing the opportunity offered by God through such a Hajj, a uniquely enormous congress. People, who go there, have trivial matters like buying souvenir and presents, in mind. They do not think of what they should. They simply perform Hajj rituals and then do not talk about the preoccupations of Muslims. Hopefully, the reality of Islam will be revealed and Hajj will be performed properly.

You must protect the revolution. You conquered a great empire, if not the world, with empty hands. Now, they argue that Iranians do not know what they have done. But, it is well reflected outside Iran. Everybody who comes from abroad including a group from Bangladesh, acknowledge that Iran is now under the spotlight. Iran has set an inspiring example for all Muslims. But beware that we are nothing; it was God who helped us to win over the Shah. You conquered through chanting," God is the Greatest" and through the force of your own faith, while you were empty-handed. Faith in a God, took everybody from children and the elderly to men and women out to battle an oppressive system. It was Islam, which did all this, not people. You must preserve Islam and this Islamic revolution. May God keep you all to protect the revolution!

You should not worry while you have the revolution. Do not listen to those who say Kurdestan and Balouchestan are such and such. They are our brothers who helped expel the evildoers. You should not think that we, who crushed a great power, are afraid of a party like Democrats and a few youngsters. It is not the case at all. God has ensured your country. And he will never leave you alone, if you fulfill your duties. If you pay attention to Islam and act accordingly, God will support you.

May God grant you health, grandeur and power! I will serve you all!