Introduction to Speech number twenty-six
Date: January 1978 (AD) / Dey 1356 (AHS) / Safar 1398 (AH)
Place: Shaykh Ansari Mosque, Najaf, Iraq
Theme: The crimes committed during the fifty years of illegal Pahlavi rule
Occasion: The murder of the people of Qum on January 9, 1978 (Dey 19, 1356 AHS)
Those present: Religious students, clergymen and others
Circumstances, significance and repercussions of the speech
Imam Khomeini (pbuh) saw the martyrdom of his eldest son as being a "hidden blessing from God." Analysts believe that the death of Hajj Aqa Mustafa actually hastened the victory of Imam's movement at its most sensitive stage. His death inflamed the people of the holy city of Qum and soon Tabriz, Yazd, Isfahan, Tehran and other Iranian cities were engulfed in the flames of protest.
After the martyrdom of Hajj Aqa Mustafa, many of the
maraji'-i taqlid, the `ulama, fuzala, clergymen, merchants from the bazaar, university students and some of the political parties and groups, who until that day had no strong pretext or motive for showing opposition or for loud cries of remonstrance, fulminated against the Shah's regime through statements issued in their individual styles, from the radical to the conservative. When theregime aimed its next blow against Imam Khomeini, protest overflowed into rebellion, and rebellion in turn, matured into revolution.
On January 7, 1978 (Dey 17, 1356 AHS), just one week after President Carter had been in Tehran lauding the Shah as a wise statesman beloved of his people, SAVAK ordered the publication in the
Ittila'at newspaper of a scurrilous article written under the pseudonym Ahmad Rashidi Mutlaq and entitled "Red and Black Imperialism in Iran" attacking Imam as an agent of foreign powers. While pursuing a particular aim in the publication of the article, the regime also wanted to avenge itself on Imam and his followers. The particularly pungent parts of the attack attracted the attention of the leader of the movement. One part of the calumnious article read: "The inception of the Shah-People Revolution on Bahman 6, 2521 of the imperial calendar (February 26, 1963/1341 AHS) united red and black imperialism in Iran, each one of which apparently had a special plan and design in our country, and this warm-hearted co-operation manifested itself in the riots of Khurdad 15 and 16, 2522 (June 5 and 6, 1964) in Tehran.....Ruhullah Khomeini was a suitable agent for this design and the red and black reaction found him to be the most apt individual for opposition to the revolution in Iran."The public reaction was immediate outrage. The following day Qum came to a virtual standstill as the shops and bazaar closed and lessons at the theological centre were suspended. People flooded to the houses of the
maraji' and to the teachers at the theological schools in the city, demanding that something be done to put an end to the overt insolence shown by the regime to Imam and the clerical establishment.On January 9 (Dey 19), as the people of Qum joined religious students in peaceful demonstrations and the houses of the teachers bustled with activity as people came and went, the protests took on a wider dimension. On the afternoon of the same day, the demonstrators gathered in the streets around the home of Ayatullah Husayn Nuri - one of the teachers at the Qum theological centre. Ayatullah Nuri delivered a trenchant and revolutionary speech in which he attacked the policies of the Shah's regime and by exalting the personality of Imam Khomeini and honouring the uprising of Khurdad 15 and subsequent events, he avouched that the uprising of the people in support of Imam's movement would continue until the final victory. When he had finished his speech, the demonstrators set off again, but as they passed by Shuhada Square (then Fatimi Crossroads), armed agents of the regime opened fire on them. The streets around the square and the Hujjatiya Madrasa in Qum became the scenes of further demonstrations and the sound of machine-gun fire and shouts of "Long Live Khomeini" and "Death to the Pahlavi Dynasty" could be heard around the central districts of the city late into the night. The demonstrations were suppressed with heavy loss of life. The hospitals of the city were filled with the injured, and as people flocked there to donate blood, the response of the regime was to send its agents during the night to steal the bodies of some of the martyrs and take away some of the injured. This was the first of a series of demonstrations that progressively unfurled across the country.
Demonstrations held in Mashhad were described by the
Rastakhiz newspaper as an "unholy alliance of red and black reactionaries." On January 7, 1978 (Dey 17, 1356 AHS), which coincided with the anniversary of the enforcement of Riza Khan's decree forbidding women from wearing the hijab, the pious women of Mashhad donned their black chadors and took to the streets in protest at the anti-Islamic policies of the regime. This incident attracted the attention of the world's press and received widespread coverage from the big news agencies. Until the end, barely a single region remained untouched by revolutionary fervour.As incidents like these continued to take place throughout the country, Muhammad Riza Shah and his wife Farah embarked on trips abroad to give the impression that all was under control and events unfurling in Iran were very insignificant and did not warrant concern. As Farah travelled to Egypt as the guest of Mrs Jahan Sadat, the wife of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, the Shah went to America.
Prior to this, the US President, Jimmy Carter, had spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with the Shah in Iran as an intermediate stop in his whirlwind visit to Poland and India. During this visit, Carter held meetings with the Shah and King Husayn of Jordan, who had also been invited, and attended a state dinner and New Years' Eve party. The state dinner proved to be the most notable event of the visit. President Carter used the occasion as an opportunity to reassure the Shah once again that the US-Iran relationship would remain sound and during a toast to the Shah, he produced a line that he later had reason to regret when he said: "Iran is an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world. This is a great tribute to you, Your Majesty, and to your leadership and to the respect, admiration and love which your people give to you. There is no leader in the world for whom I feel such deep gratitude and personal friendship as the Shah." Just one week later demonstrations engulfed the country which were to culminate in the downfall of the Shah's regime.
Before his trip to Iran, Carter had said that he would demonstrate in Tehran just how much importance he placed on Iran-US relations. The Shah too had accepted with a sense of pride and power the words of the American Ambassador in Iran that the friendship between the two countries had never before been so close and sincere and Iran and America would not be parted from one another under any circumstances. The Iranian Ambassador in the United States also reiterated that: "No country has observed the principles of human rights like Iran"!
After receiving news of the events of January 9 (Dey 19) and reports of the killings, Imam Khomeini offered his condolences to the oppressed people of Iran in the text of a hard-hitting speech which he delivered in response to the atrocities. In this speech, Imam also referred to Carter's recent trip to Iran, commented on the fifty years of crimes by the illegal Pahlavi monarchy and spoke of the corruption in the army, university and imperial Parliament. At the end of his speech, he warned the people against division and disunity and urged all classes to unite together in order to maintain the struggle against the regime. On January 22 (Bahman 2), Imam Khomeini also issued a proclamation in which he referred to the events of January 9 (Dey 19) and severely condemned American interference in the country and the crimes of the Shah.
The numerous acts of abomination perpetrated by the Shah during the period from Khurdad 15 1342 (June 5, 1964) until 1356 (1978); the unfolding anger of and increasing protests by the people; the warnings and revelations of Imam and his training of vigilant and revolutionary followers during this period; the increase in the level of public awareness; and perhaps most importantly the martyrdom of Hajj Aqa Mustafa, created circumstances whereby the killings of January 9 (Dey 19) in Qum and Imam's speech and proclamation in this regard opened a new chapter in the continuation of the Khurdad 15 movement. The repeated demonstrations by the people of Iran from January 9, 1978 (Dey 19, 1356 AHS) until February 11, 1979 (Bahman 22, 1357 AHS) led to victory for the Iranian people and the collapse of the Shah's regime. June 5, 1964 (Khurdad 15, 1342 AHS); November 4, 1965 (Aban 13, 1343 AHS); January 7 and 9, 1978 (Dey 17 and 19 1356 AHS) are particularly heart-rending dates and turning points in the history of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
1- In Sahifa-yi Nur, Vol. 1, p. 267, the present speech is said to have been delivered on January 9 (Dey 19), but in view of Imam's remarks this is a definite mistake, the said speech having been made at least several days following the event which occurred on January 9. 2- Situated in Bigdili Road, in Safa`iya Street, Qum. 3- Tarikh-i Ravabet-i Khareji-yi Iran, p. 304. 4- The Rastakhiz newspaper, December 16, 1977 (Azar 25, 1356 AHS). 5- Ibid., December 6 and 16, 1977 (Azar 15 and 25, 1356 AHS).
