Although Imam Khomeyni and other sources of emulation opposed the State and Provincial Associations Bill, the Shah thought that such objections have been raised because Asadollah Alam, the Prime Minister of Iran, had proposed the bill and that considering his popularity among people – that was nothing but a delusion – if he would push for American reform no serious opposition will be aroused and it will meet with success.
What prompted the Shah to assume this responsibility was a commitment he made to the United States to dismiss Ali Amini, the Prime Minister. He had to implement these plans. Hence, on January 9, 1963, (the anniversary of the land reform program which was part of the White Revolution), the Shah formally announced that he wants to hold a referendum on six issues which he called the White Revolution. This was a “revolution from above” that the United States had dictated to other underdeveloped countries. Imam Khomeyni invited the sources of emulation and scholars of Qom to a meeting so that they will talk about the current situation.
In the end, it was decided to ask the Shah about the dimensions and aspects of the referendum. After initial contacts that were made between the court and the sources of emulation of Qom, the head of the office of formalities in the court and the chief of the SAVAK came to Qom to talk about the six bills, but finally, the issue was not resolved. Therefore, they sent Ayatollah Ruhollah Kamalvand to the Shah to ask him about the matter and inform the scholars about the real intention of holding the referendum. Instead of giving a clear and correct answer, the Shah pointed to the importance of what he has accepted and tries to threaten and entice sources of emulation to accept the referendum, saying: “Whatever happens I must carry out this plan because if I don’t, I will lose power and then some people will take power whom not only have no faith in you and your ideology but also they will ruin the mosques and kill you. If the clergy agree to this plan and do not show any disagreement, I assure them that their suggestions and demands will be met.”
Finally, he also complains about Iranian scholars who, like their counterparts in other Islamic countries, do not pray for their rulers. In response, they said that “It is so because one of the unique characteristics of Shi’ah scholars is that, throughout their history, they have never been under the influence of the governments.”
The sources of emulation and scholars of Qom held a meeting with Ayatollah Kamalvand to find out about the outcome of his meeting with the Shah. Upon hearing his remarks, Imam Khomeyni quickly realized that the Shah’s alleged principles are fully supported by the United States such that his reign rested on their implementation which would serve the interests of the United States to the detriment of the country.
Therefore, in a speech, he illustrated the Shah’s main goal of the referendum and explained the position of the regime as well as the scholars and the clergy against it:
“Be aware! The future is dark and we have a big responsibility. What is happening now threatens the foundation of Islam with the danger of elimination. A carefully calculated conspiracy against Islam and the Islamic nation and the independence of the country is formed. It should be noted that this incident cannot be compared and dealt with the issue of the bill; Since it was related to the government and the regime failed to implement the bill. However, the failure or even the collapse of a government does not matter much because it will not undermine the foundation of the regime and sometimes even the regime would be preserved at the expense of the collapse of the government.
But now we face the Shah who is on the verge of destruction, and as he has declared, his retreat in this situation will result in his downfall. Thus, he must carry out this program at any cost in which he will not give up and keep going with all his power while ruthlessly suppressing the oppositions. Therefore, one should not expect the regime to go back on its decision as was the case with the issue of the Bill and that is why our main duty is to stand up against the regime. If we do not make people aware of such conspiracies and do not prevent them from falling into the colonial trap, the Islamic nation will be subjected to destruction... if we could make people aware of the machinations of the Shah preventing them from being influenced by his deceptive plans, we will surely make him fail and helpless.”
In response to some of the scholars who likened the confrontation between the clerics and the Shah to a war between empty hands and bullets calling it fruitless, Imam Khomeyni stated:
“We don’t want to go to war and confront an army that you would say, ‘we cannot do this because on the other side there is an army and we have nothing!’ the best thing that we can do is to make people aware of the situation. Then you will see what a powerful force we have, which is invincible and the weapons cannot confront it. Yet we have a difficult and dangerous path ahead, and those who regard fighting as their duty should be aware, consider the consequences, and see to some extent they are ready to endure hardships in this regard.”
On January 22, 1963, Imam Khomeyni issued a declaration through which he pointed out the illegal components of the referendum calling it a “compulsory referendum” that is worthless and fruitless through the eyes of Islam and the constitution.
Following Imam Khomeyni’s declaration and other announcements that were issued simultaneously, the Tehran market was closed and people in the south and center of the city took to the streets. They went to the house of Ayatollah Sayyed Ahmad Khansari to invite him to join the demonstration and declare opposition to the referendum. He accepted the people’s invitation and marched to Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Behbahani’s house in front of the crowd. Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Falsafi made a speech at Ayatollah Behbahani’s house announcing the objection of the scholars and the people to the nominal referendum and then the people chanted “The country is suffocating, death to suffocation” in the streets. Ayatollah Falsafi was going to deliver a lecture in Sayyed Azizullah Mosque on the same day, but along the way, military and police forces clashed with people and therefore some were arrested and beaten and also, they insulted Ayatollah Khansari, who was forced to return to his house. The houses of Ayatollah Behbahani and Ayatollah Khansari, as well as the Sayyed Azizullah Mosque, were besieged by the agents of the government and therefore Ayatollah Falsafi’s speech was cancelled.
The demonstrations continued the following day and dozens of Tehran clerics gathered at Ayatollah Gharavi-Kashani’s house, but all of them were arrested and sent to prison by security agents. Similar demonstrations also took place in Qom, with people shouting against the referendum. Eventually, that procession also turned into a violent confrontation and the government agents smashed the windows of Feyzieh Seminary. On the other hand, on January 24th, the Shah decided to come to Qom to speak with and convince sources of emulation of the city. One day before his arrival, the sources of emulation and grand Ayatollahs of Qom including Imam Khomeyni held a meeting to discuss the current situation. The governor of Qom also attended the meeting and while regretting the unfortunate events that had occurred invited the attendees to have a meeting with the Shah. He stated that if they accept this request, the Shah would respond positively to all their demands. Imam Khomeyni immediately began to speak out in order to thwart this new trick that could lead to the creation of divisions among the sources of emulation. He stated: “There is no place for any more interaction and cooperation with the rulers with yesterday’s brutal onslaught launched by the government officials on Tehran’s noble scholars and people, as well as the desecration of the sacred institution of religious authority and the today’s inhumane behaviour of officials regarding the Qom residents and the clerical community of the city. There is no way to meet with the Shah unless he ousts Prime Minister Alam the main cause of all those incidents to compensate for the insults and aggressions that have been committed by the government agents and stops the arrests and suppressions...”
Imam Khomeyni then suggested that the people of Qom should not leave their houses when the Shah arrives. On January 24th, the Shah entered the city of Qom, but almost no one went to welcome him except the mercenaries who had already been brought to the streets to do so. since the clergy had discredited the Shah and asked people not to leave their houses, he became so upset with them such that in his speech he called them a “black reactionary,” worse than a “red reactionary” and “a hundred times more traitorous than the “Tudeh Party” and” opposed to reform.” On January 26th, a referendum was held while people in most cities had boycotted it; but the mass media publicly declared that the Shah’s proposed principles have been approved with 5,600,000 votes in favour and 4,150 against! Soon after the results of the referendum were announced, President Kennedy warmly congratulated the Shah on his victory in the referendum and supported the path he had taken. In response, the Shah pointed to the people’s approval of his proposed principles and stated:
“I am sure that we can trust our American friends in implementing our social and economic plans.” While referring to holding the referendum and the implementation of reforms by the Shah, the New York Times wrote: “A more proper condition has been created for helping Iran.”
The other American newspapers and media, in line with their rulers, supported the Shah’s “revolutionary action.” The Soviet state media also referred to the White Revolution of the Shah as an anti-feudal movement and stressed that its opponents are the feudal and former rulers who are standing up against the Shah because of their interests.
January 8th was the first day of Ramadan. During a meeting with the scholars of Qom, Imam Khomeyni suggested that during this month delivering speeches and performing congregational prayer be cancelled in all mosques across the country so that people will become aware of the ominous nature of this anti-Islamic referendum. Subsequently, in many Iranian cities, the mosques were closed, and people became more aware of the Shah’s goals and the reason for the opposition of Imam Khomeyni and scholars. Of course, some of the scholars did not follow this decision.
On February 26, 1963, a large number of people of Tehran and other cities came to Qom to visit sources of emulation and Imam Khomeyni gave a keynote address at his house that exposed the nature of the Shah’s nominal referendum. In his speech, Imam Khomeyni stressed that the negative reaction of people is a great defeat for the Shah, and insisted that the regime could not stop the people’s movement by “rusty and rutted bayonets” as well as by arresting and imprisoning the clerics and that sooner or later It will fail. In a speech made by the Shah on March 14, 1963, he insulted the officials and scholars who had opposed the referendum and warned about imminent repression.
In 1963, Norouz was designated as the national day of mourning by Imam Khomeyni in an attempt to continue the struggle and make people more aware of the intention of the Shah. Also, to that end, Imam Khomeyni convened a meeting with the sources of emulation and scholars of Qom and suggested that on the occasion of anti-Islamic and repressive actions of the regime, the Norouz days will be declared as national days of mourning to which some of the sources of emulation and scholars of Qom opposed.
However, that year Norouz was designated as national days of mourning due to the separate declarations issued by Imam Khomeyni, Ayatollah Milani, Shariatmadari, Rohani and Behbahani along with forty-six other prominent scholars and clerics of Tehran making a joint announcement.
Following the activities of Imam Khomeyni, SAVAK ordered his agents to observe the private and secret meetings of Imam Khomeyni and prevent the publication and distribution of leaflets issued by him. Despite the strict controls carried out by SAVAK, those leaflets were widely distributed in Qom, Tehran and other cities, and even were thrown overnight into the houses of army personnel. It was clear how much such an important movement could reflect in the community.
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