These fundamental desires are elaborated in the qualities of the great Islamic revolution of Iran, and the revolutionary process of the Muslim people, from the beginning to the victory; principles which were crystallized through the decisive and strong slogans of all segments of society. Now at the dawn of this great victory our nation longs wholeheartedly to realize this demand. The definitive characteristic of this revolution, apropos other uprisings of Iran during this century, is its ideological and Islamic nature. After experiencing the anti-despotic constitutional uprising and the anti-colonial uprising for the nationalization of oil, the Muslim nation of Iran learned the invaluable lesson that the specific and essential reason for the failure of these uprisings was the non-doctrinal quality of the struggles. Although the Islamic line of thinking and the leadership of the clerics have played an essential and fundamental role in these recent uprisings, the latter declined quickly because they departed from the authentic positions of Islam. As a result, the alert conscience of the nation, under the invaluable leadership of the source of religious emulation (marja’-e taqlīd) the exalted Grand Ayatollah Imam Khomeini, perceived the necessity for following the path of an authentic, doctrinal, and Islamic uprising. This time, his leadership provided a new momentum for the committed authors and intellectuals and the country’s defiant clerics who had always been in the forefront of massive uprisings. (The beginning of the recent uprising of the nation of Iran was in the year 1382 of the lunar Islamic calendar, agnate to 1341 of the solar Islamic calendar.)
The catalyst for the nation’s united movement was Imam Khomeini’s objection to an American scheme, “the White Revolution,” which was a step toward strengthening the foundations of tyranny and increasing Iran’s political, cultural, and economic dependency on world imperialism. The ensuing grand and bloody revolution of the Muslim community in the month of Khordad, 1342 [1963], was in fact the germination of this splendid and vast uprising. This strengthened and sealed the focal position of Imam as the embodiment of Islamic leadership. In spite of his exile from Iran as a result of his objections to the outrageous capitulation law (which ensured American advisers’ legal immunity), the firm ties between the Muslim community and the Imam remained intact. The Muslim nation, and especially the committees of intellectuals and the militant clerics, carried out their objectives amidst imprisonment, torture, exile, and execution.
In the meantime, the conscientious segment of society was enlightening the rest of the population from the barricades of the mosques, the theological seminaries, and the universities. Inspired by the prolific and revolutionary doctrines of Islam, they struggled relentlessly to raise the level of the nation’s revolutionary consciousness, and ideological awareness. The despotic regime began suppressing the Islamic uprising by vehemently attacking the Islamic theological seminary Fayziye, the university, and all the other vital centers of the revolution, and committed the most cowardly and brutal acts in an attempt to escape the revolutionary anger of the people. Execution by firing squads and subjection to medieval torture and long prison terms were part of the price that our Muslim nation paid for its firm determination to continue the struggle. The Islamic Revolution was invigorated by the blood of hundreds of young, devout men and women who cried out “Allāho Akbar” (God is great) before the firing squads at dawn, or before succumbing to the enemy’s bullets in the streets and bazaars. Imam’s continuing messages and declarations [of support] on various occasions increased and expanded the level of awareness and determination of the Muslim com- munity.
Historical Background of Islamic Revolution: How Shia Islam Shaped the Revolutionary Mind?
