Bahman 29, 1356 Solar Hijri

Two days after the publication of the article “Iran and the Red and Black Colonialism” in the “Etela’at” newspaper and insulting Imam Khomeini (ra), on January 9, 1978, people and seminary students held demonstrations in Qom. By attacking these demonstrations, the Pahlavi agents killed and injured some people. As the Arba’in of the Martyrs of Qom (the fortieth day after their martyrdom) was approaching, the maraje’ (sources of emulation) including Sayyed Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani, Sayyed Shahaboddin Marashi-Najafi and Sayyed Mohammad-Kazem Shariatmadari announced February 18, 1978 (Bahman 29, 1356 Solar Hijri) as a national day of mourning commemorating the Arba’in of the Martyrs of Qom protest and calling for a general strike all over the country.

On February 14, 1978, eleven scholars of Tabriz, including Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Qazi-Tabatabai, asked the people of Tabriz to attend the Arba’in ceremony of Qom martyrs on Saturday, February 18 which would be held in Mirza-Yusuf Mojtahedi Mosque near Bazar.

Groups of people from Tabriz gathered in front of the mosque one or two hours earlier, but SAVAK agents did not allow the mosque servant to open the door. Major Hoseyn Haqqshenas, the head of the police station in that area, was standing in front of the mosque with his officers. Meanwhile, Mohammad Tajella, one of the students of Azarabadegan University (Tabriz), said to Haqqshenas: “Why are you preventing people from entering the mosque?” In response, the Major said insultingly: “Don’t you see that we have closed the door of your stable!” Following this insult, Tajella attacked the Major with a brick and he also shot Mohammad with his gun and killed him. Following this action, a fierce conflict started and people held demonstrations in the streets of the city. The enraged people set fire to 43 banks, a rural cooperative company, the building of Rastakhiz Party, Metropol Cinema, Crystal Cinema, dozens of liquor stores, six police cars, etc. and smashed the windows of the building of the Cultural Association of Iran and the United States. One of the slogans of the people of Tabriz during the demonstration was: We do not want Shah. Then the security forces opened fire on the crowd, and six people were killed on the same day and eight of the wounded were martyred in the following days. In these street clashes, more than 100 people were injured and about 600 people were arrested. This conflict continued until the afternoon and finally, the agents with the help of Chieftain tanks and auxiliary forces who had come to Tabriz from Ajab-Shir and Maragheh barracks managed to suppress the demonstrations.

After this incident, some officials of Tabriz, including the governor, Lt. Gen. Eskander Azmoudeh, and the head of East Azerbaijan SAVAK, Colonel Yahya Liqvani, were dismissed and a delegation headed by Army General Jafar Shafaqat, the deputy chief of the Imperial Iranian Army, was appointed to investigate this incident.

They introduced the perpetrators of this incident as a number of deviant and misguided people, servants of the red and black colonialism and ill-wishers of Iran who are anxious because of the victory of the Shah’s revolution and the people. This committee also declared Major General Qahremani, head of East Azerbaijan Police, Captain Ahmadi, head of the police intelligence department, Yaqub Yaqini, head of internal security of SAVAK in East Azerbaijan, Colonel Yahya Liqvani, head of East Azerbaijan SAVAK, and Major Haqqshenas, head of the local police station, guilty in this incident. In the same year, Jamshid Amouzegar, the Prime Minister, visited Tabriz and made a speech in the municipal hall of this city: “Our people are not the ones who caused this incident; the main perpetrators are the rioters who entered the country secretly and fled after the destruction of the city.”

In a message to the people of Azerbaijan on February 27, 1978, Imam Khomeini (ra) stated: “Greetings to the courageous and religious people of dear Azerbaijan! Salutations to the worthy people and the zealous youths of Tabriz! Salutations to the people who rose against the very nasty Pahlavi dynasty, and with their roars of – Death to the Shah, brought them disgrace for all their absurdities! Long live the dear mosque-going people of Tabriz.”

February 18, 1978, was the first Arba’in ceremony that continued until 1979 and led to the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979.

Reference: The Encyclopedia of the Islamic Revolution