The State and Provincial Associations law was passed on May 13, 1907, by Mohammad-Ali Shah but left in suspense for more than fifty years until the government of Asadollah Alam on October 6, 1962, when the National Parliament was suspended, amending the election law. At the time, it was raised under the bill of “State and Provincial Associations” in the Cabinet of Ministers then adopted.
State and Provincial Associations were supposed to be councils in each province and county to decide on the issues. In the new bill, the article “being Muslim necessity” was taken away from the voters and the electorate and replaced by “taking an oath to one of the scriptures.”
Passage of the bill received widespread opposition. Numerous leaflets were issued by Grand Ayatollahs such as Khomeini, Shariatmadari, Khoei, Marashi-Najafi, Golpaygani, Mirza Hashem Amoli, etc. Many letters and telegrams were also dispatched to the royal court.
Ayatollah Khomeini’s first telegram to the Shah was on that subject. One part of the telegram reads:
“As the newspapers have published, the government has not made Islam a condition for voters and electors in the law of State and Provincial Associations. This is the concern of the scholars and other Iranian Muslims.”
Khomeini also sent a telegram to Prime Minister Asadollah Alam, which read in part:
“If you think you are going to put the Holy Quran at an equal level of Zoroaster’s Avesta, the Bible, and some other scriptures, you are badly mistaken.”
Addressing the nation, Ayatollah Khomeini revealed the nature of the bill:
“They want to hand over the fate of Muslims to non-Muslims like Jews and Baha’is by passing a State and Provincial Associations bill and abolishing the requirement of being Muslim about the voters and the electorate. There may be voices other than the Quran from their vicious throats! Awake, believers! Many have thought of destroying Iran and the Muslim country and seen no obstacle but the Quran, forcing their mercenaries to do whatever they can. Now it is Friday... Whoever hears these words must tell the others. Get people to tell the government that we don’t want the provinces of our country to be taken over by Baha’i Jews.”
Following the enlightenment, people closed bazaars and mosques and lectures, showing their opposition. It continued until the cabinet decided to remove the State and Provincial Associations bill from its agenda. Asadollah Alam said in a message to the maraja’ (sources of emulation) that the bill would not come into force. But Ayatollah Khomeini insisted that the cancellation announcement of the bill must be officially reflected in the widely-circulated press.
Finally, the Alam government had to repeal the bill on December 1, 1962 and announced in a press release that the law of State and Provincial Associations would not apply.
People celebrated the success and lit the cities, and congratulatory messages were exchanged among the clergymen as well. In a gratulatory message, Ayatollah Khomeini addressed the nation:
“Very truly, in this Islamic movement, you have exalted yourself before the sacred presence of God and have become honourable to Hadhrat Wali al-Asr (the twelfth Shi’ah Imam, Imam al-Mahdi). God Almighty’s hand is with you.”
Archive of The History of the Islamic Revolution
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