The political figure of Imam Khomeyni was first shown in the year 1962; it was the year when the government of Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi approved the State and Provincial Association Bill.
Sayyed Khamenei was among the first who joined Imam Khomeyni with the start of the struggles; he admits to this fact saying: “From the first hours of the struggle, we went around him and started working for him, in his path.”
Among the very first Activities was copying and distributing his manifestos. He and his friends prepared copy machines. Some printed the manifestos and took them to Tehran. There were manifestos printed in Tehran for taking to Qom.
Printing and distributing the manifestos was among the main demands of the Imam in his meeting with top scholars of Qom. With the announcement of the approval of the State and Provincial Association Bill in the newspapers of Tehran, Ayatollah Haeri, Golpaygani and Shariatmadari gathered in the house of the late Ayatollah Abdolkarim Haeri-Yazdi with the demand of Imam Khomeyni; Imam explained the consequences of the bill for those present in the meeting. After agreeing upon sending telegrams to the Shah and opposing the bill, Imam had suggested the text of these telegrams be printed and distributed among people.
With the insulting response of Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi to the telegram of the scholars and succeeding the issue to the Prime Minister, the scholars sent telegrams to Asadollah Alam, the Prime Minister, asking him to disapprove the bill which is against the constitution. The Imam had emphasized that the scholars of Iran and Iraq will not remain quiet if the government does not disapprove of the bill.
Sayyed Khamenei witnessed how in the absence of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, a personality whom the governmental organizations had great respect for, and at a time when some scholars were willing to compromise with the local authorities of their city, let alone the top governmental authorities, there comes a man who writes to the prime minister of the regime: “If you have problems, come to Qom and kneel down for the scholars to tell you And to teach you what’s wrong with this bill in terms of religion.”
Even though the struggles had not entered its complex stages for Sayyed Khamenei, and it was only printing and distributing the manifestos, but in the Islamic Seminary, he was categorized among the followers of Ayatollah Khomeyni.
Imam Khomeyni’s written disputes with Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi and Asadollah Alam was a clear sign of the bravery of the new man for his followers like Sayyed Ali. It was around these times when [probably] Sayyed Mostafa Khomeyni heard that his father only sleeps two hours every night; he spends the rest writing letters to individuals, groups, and scholars. He wrote the letters himself.
The Roots of the Uprising
Sayyed Khamenei witnessed his teacher having both political awareness and “Political Courage” together; two principles which he had never seen in anyone altogether. He got to the conclusion that other than the influence of Ayatollah Sayyed Hasan Modarres and Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad-Ali Shahabadi on the thoughts of Imam Khomeyni, the talents, bravery, and intelligence of Imam Khomeyni in social issues and his deep understanding of Islamic issues have put him in the position of a great revolutionary and a unique transformer.
Now you can witness a collection of religiosity, bravery, political understanding, and gaining from the political ideology of Ayatollah Modarres and Shahabadi in the uprising of Imam Khomeyni. Sayyed Khamenei witnessed all these factors as “religious motivation.”
The Trip to Tehran
In the two months after the approval of the State and Provincial Association Bill, Sayyed Khamenei had some trips to Tehran. He went to the lectures of Mohammad-Taqi Falsafi. He tried to bring his session closer to what was going on in Qom. He sometimes called Agha Falsafi as a stranger and encouraged him to fire up the movement.
Disapproval of the Bill
He remembers that with the start of the issue regarding the State and Provincial Association Bill, the primary goal of the Imam was not to overthrow the regime of the Shah. Such a demand was not desired. The goal was the cancellation of the bill; but with the next steps of the regime, a new thought came to the Imam.
On December 1, 1962, the newspapers of Tehran wrote on their front page that the bill approved on October 6, 1962, will not be taken into action. Before this, Asadollah Alam, the Prime Minister, had given the news of the regime’s decision in a press conference.
The Six Bills Referendum
Sayyed Khamenei headed towards Mashhad in late January before the start of the month of Ramadan. What was heard in the meetings of Mashhad was the six bills referendum. “Most people believed that they should be in contact with the scholars of Tehran and especially the scholars of Qom to negotiate and exchange ideas.”
Confronting the referendum started in Mashhad. Most congregational prayers were canceled to show the confrontation. Sayyed Hasan Qommi announced participating in the referendum as a forbidden act. On January 23rd, a pro-referendum gathering was held by the regime organizations. They gathered in Eram Square and chanted slogans in favor of the six bills. A big fight started. Moreover, the news of protests in the Bazar of Tehran and Bouzarjomehri Street on January 22nd which was accompanied by Ayatollah Khansari with the people and the insult of the soldiers to him got to Qom and increased the turbulence.
Sayyed Khamenei who was placed during the referendum issues was appointed to take the letter of Ayatollah Milani, written for Imam Khomeyni, to Qom.
The New Face of Qom
The house of Imam was under control. They avoided commuting too much. The government agents had not shown their true face yet. This issue increased people’s motivation for attending different protests. Some believed that the regime is giving some freedom on purpose for people to come forward so that they can start a massive suppression. “I truly regard this to be untrue. At that time, the regime had encountered an unexpected and unknown incident; they didn’t know what’s happening and what its consequences are.”
The Mourning New Year
Imam Khomeyni continued informing people of ‘the dangers for the Quran and the country of the Quran’ by declaring national mourning for the New Year holidays. He emphasized that the national mourning announced for New Year is not for the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, rather it should be announced for ‘the harms that have been inflicted on Islam.’
The many struggles and efforts of those days had taken away calmness from Ayatollah Khamenei and his friends. With all the commuting and efforts, hunger and thirst was nothing for them. They had printed so many manifestos saying that “We don’t have celebrations this New Year.” They distributed them in every gathering held in the yard of Lady Ma’sumah’s shrine. They hoped that the pilgrims who had come to Qom would take the manifestos to their cities and distribute them.
The Attack on Feyzieh Seminary
On the morning of the second day of New Year, Imam Khomeyni had a mourning session in his house. There was also a mourning session held in the courtyard of Feyzieh Seminary by Agha Shariatmadari. A day before a troop of police forces came to Qom. A sheep was slaughtered and flowers were thrown for them as scheduled when they entered Qom. They rallied for a kilometer in the city and showed their power. A group of these soldiers went to the mentioned session to ruin the session. Sadeq Khalkhali said in the house of Imam Khomeyni that if the forces dare to insult the scholars, they will receive a reaction.
Sayyed Khamenei, who was tired of the incidents of that day, fell asleep in his house. He got ready to go to Feyziyeh at around 4:30 – 5:00 in the afternoon. Ayatollah Golpaygani had held a session there for the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him. Sayyed Jafar Shobeyri-Zanjani arrived. He accompanied Sayyed Khamenei. They went through the Alley of the Shrine to get there sooner. It was almost at the end of the alley when they saw some scholars with a disheveled appearance running away, getting closer to them. One with his turban in his hands, the other without shoes and one holding his cloak; they said it is dangerous, go back.
They decided to go towards Imam Khomeyni’s house. The main street was empty. There was no commuting. Some were standing at Ark Alley, not having the permission to enter the street. It was like the blockades they had when the Shah or other authorities were passing.
On that day, none of the scholars were supposed to get away with the beatings of the soldiers. An hour before this, the forces had ruined the session of Ayatollah Golpaygani in Feyzieh Seminary and beaten up the students; they broke the doors of rooms and threw the students down from the second floor. They martyred Sayyed Yunos Roudbari and left many wounded. He had to witness the revenge of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi being humiliated in his trip to Qom on January 24th and gave a lecture at the Shrine of Lady Ma’sumah, peace be upon her.
A few athletic scholars like Ali-Asghar Kani were standing in front of Imam Khomeyni’s house. It was sunset. They entered Imam’s house. Imam was praying. He came out and talked to the young scholars about how to guard Imam Khomeyni’s house. When he asked the reason why the door is left open and why they don’t close it as a precaution, he heard that “Imam said the door shouldn’t be closed.” Sayyed Ali suggested preparing a wood or stone; a tool to defend, something to be ready at hand if there was an attack.
Imam Khomeyni was finished with his prayers. They went in to listen to their teachers’ words. The room was full of scholars. Sayyed Ali stood at the door. Imam started speaking; he said: “Don’t be anxious. Get rid of fear. You are the followers of leaders who stood patient against calamities… our leaders had such incidents as the day of Ashura and the eve of the eleventh of Muharram… what do you fear? Why are you anxious? It’s a fault for those who claim to be the followers of Amir al-Muminin and Imam Hussain, peace be upon them, to lose out against such infamous acts of the regime… Today, it’s our duty to be ready for all the dangers that Islam and Muslims are facing and any kind of difficulties.
The students scattered. Sayyed Ali first sent a message to Mashhad to inform his parents of his wellbeing. Then he wrote a will, mentioning all the debts he had to his friends and shopkeepers of his neighborhood.
The Results of the Attack on Feyzieh Seminary
The day after the incident, Sayyed Ali heard the story in detail from those who were in Feyzieh Seminary. On Farvardin 4 (March 24), fear was spread in all of Feyziyeh school. The forces’ duty was not over. They went to Feyzieh Seminary again in the afternoon of that day. This time, instead of the students, they threw their belongings into the yard; blankets, carpets, and ground clothes, and they burned.
On March 25, the environment of the city of Qom was like a military rule. No scholar had the guts to enter the streets. On this day, the forces had their third attack on Feyzieh Seminary, leaving nothing they could have done that they didn’t do.
The Reactions of Imam Khomeyni
The words of Imam Khomeyni on March 22 and his later actions removed the fear in the seminary but it didn’t result in removing the concerns heard by some people. But the response of Imam Khomeyni to the scholars of Tehran changed the environment of the Seminary of Qom again. Imam impeached Asadollah Alam in his letter on April 2nd.
Imam Khomeyni by mentioning that the attack on Feyzieh Seminary reminded us of the attack of Mongols “with a slight difference that they attacked a foreign country but the [forces] attacked their Muslim nation;” the slogan of the attackers was “Shah-loving.” Can we conclude that Shah-loving means looting? Disrespecting Islam? Violating the rights of Muslims and attacking the centers of knowledge? Shah-loving means striking the body of Islam and the Quran?
Forty Days Later
The classes of the Islamic Seminary were off for around forty days. Imam Khomeyni entered Feyzieh Seminary to recite Surah al-Fatihah and to commemorate the incident right after his first-class in Azam Mosque after the incidents. “No one predicted the Imam suddenly doing so. We went. I was with the Imam that day. There were many scholars. We arrived at the school. Imam entered. On the left… he sat down in the first or second room… the students gathered around him. The Imam’s face was filled with a big sorrow. He was very sad. One said: someone should recite eulogies… A Sayyed started reciting eulogies; everyone cried…” This act was greatly effective for the spiritual recovery of the Seminary of Qom.
Preparing for the Month of Muharram
Imam Khomeyni, to spread the news of Feyzieh Seminary all over the country and to keep it alive in the minds of people, spent the two months of Dhil-Hijjah and Dhil-Qa’dah for preparing the scholars and people to get to his goals in the Month of Muharram. “They started writing letters privately… and clearly… when it got close to Muharram, he managed a plan for the cities… that the scholars who go for propagation tell the local scholars and scholars to dedicate [their lectures] to the incidents of Feyzieh Seminary from 7th of Muharram. Meaning that the scholars elaborate on the incidents of Feyzieh Seminary in their lectures, and from the 9th of Muharram reciters do this and bring up the issues of Feyzieh Seminary in their eulogies so that all Iranians get informed of what had happened in the incidents of Feyzieh Seminary… I was among those sent for religious propagation and I saw the results.”
The Military Service Trick
Before the month of Muharram, the regime took its decision of taking the seminarians to military service into action. It was unprecedented. The seminarians were exempt from going to the military service. The paper issued by the Islamic Seminary and signed by two witnesses was an exemption card. The police forces were supposed to arrest the scholars in the streets and take them to garrisons. When the news got to the Imam, he said: “Do not worry, wherever you be, you are the soldiers of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him; you have to act upon your duty as a soldier. The heavy-duty that you have now is to inform the soldiers and colonels whom you deal with.”
“One day my brother Sayyed Mohammad and I [either going to or coming back from Shaykh Ali Hamadani’s house] were passing a bridge when two soldiers ran before us as if they wanted to tell us something… we felt like we have to run away… we ran away… we got to a safe place… after a few hours, we learned that today the soldiers were arresting scholars in the city, taking them to military service. I think they arrested 400 scholars on that day.”
The regime wasn’t able to keep the scholars in garrisons until the month of Muharram. They decided to release them at the same pace that they decided to take them to military service; they learned that new trouble was coming.
The Printing Movement
Sayyed Khamenei’s main mission after the incidents of Feyzieh Seminary until the month of Muharram was printing and distributing manifestos. This was done in the house of Sayyed Ja’far Shobeyri-Zanjani. He had rent a house with many rooms in Qom. His wife could not stand living in this big house. One of the friends of Sayyed Khamenei who used to come to this house often was Sayyed Ja’far Tabatabaei-Qommi. He was coming from Tehran. He filled his suitcase with manifestos.
Dealing with printing machines, took Sayyed Khamenei’s name to the intelligence services. The story began when he and his friends decided to buy the printing machines of Shaykh Mohammad Sadeqi-Tehrani who had fled Iran. The machine was in the hands of Amir Sadeqi. Sayyed Ja’far Qommi who was related to Amir Sadeqi introduced a stranger to buy the machine. He was Sayyed Ali Khamenei. Amir Sadeqi who was arrested and prisoned, later on, mentioned Agha Khamanei’s name as well but his information wasn’t correct: Khamenei, Sa’id Khamenei, Ali Khamenei, Sayyed Khamenei… the sentence for that stranger was six months in prison. Years later in interrogations “They asked me if we have Sa’id in our family? I said yes, we have a Sa’id who is in the United States. He was in the United States. They asked: who is sayyed? I said: My father, my brother; all the Khamenei’s are sayyeds. They were so confused; it was not proved to them who is Sayyed. They announced in the newspapers that Sayyed Khamenei or Sa’id Khamenei and Ja’far Tabatabaei come to the prison and present themselves… we didn’t do that… we never tried the six months.”
Printing all the copies of a work printed at one time More (Definitions, Synonyms, Translation)
Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei
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