Imperialism And Resistance

click here to view (Urdu lectures by Ustad Syed Jawad Naqvi)

Imam Khomeini did not just “lead” a revolt against US imperialism, and its puppet the “shah” – his efforts led to a a revolutionary reclaiming of Islam as a force for liberation. Not liberation in the Marxist materialist sense of the word, but something much more comprehensive that encompasses all aspects of human nature. It is true that Imam Khomeini was not the only one who contributed – but he provided a profound level of leadership. Beginning from years in Qum and Najaf, where he led efforts to revitalize the scholarship of Islam, to the early years of the Islamic Revolution, until he met his Creator.

Translation of Ayatollah Khomeini Letter Dismissing Montazeri

The text of Ayatollah Khomeini’s historic letter

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. To Mr. Montazeri.

My heart is broken and filled with blood now that I am writing a few words to you. Perhaps one day the people will realize the facts by reading this letter.
In your recent letter to me, you said that, in accordance with the Shari ah, you give priority to my views over your own. I consider God my witness when I point out the following issues:

Since it has become clear that after me you are going to hand over this country, our dear Islamic revolution, and the Muslim people of Iran to the liberals, and through that channel to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq], you are no longer eligible to succeed me as the legitimate leader of the state. You, in most of your letters, speeches and stances, have shown that you believe the liberals and hypocrites should rule in this country. It is so clear that your remarks have been dictated by the hypocrites that I did not see any point in sending a reply. For instance, thanks to your speeches and written work, the hypocrites took advantage of your stance in defense of their ilk to promote a number of their comrades who had been condemned to death on charges of waging an armed struggle against Islam and the revolution to positions of authority. Can you see what valuable services you have offered to arrogance? On the issue of the murderer Mahdi Hashemi [a supporter and relative of Ayatollah Montazeri, who was later executed], you considered him to be the most religious person on earth. Despite the fact that it was proved to you that he was a murderer, you kept sending messages to me to spare his life. There are so many other examples, similar to that of Mahdi Hashemi, that I cannot be bothered to mention them all.

You no longer have the power of attorney on my behalf. Tell the people who bring you gold and money to take them to Mr. Pasandideh s [Khomeyni s elder brother] residence in Qom or to me in Jamaran. Praise be to God, you yourself will not have any financial commitments from this date.

If, in accordance with the Shari ah, you do consider my views to be superior to yours (which certainly the hypocrites will advise you that it is against your interests to do so; and no doubt you will become busy writing things which will further deteriorate your future), then you should listen to the following words of advice I am giving you. It breaks my heart and my chest is full of agonizing pain when I see that you, the fruit of my life s labor, are so ungrateful. However, by relying on Almighty God, I give you the following words of advice, and it will be up to you whether you make a note of them or not:

One: Try to change the members of your bureau so as to avoid feeding the hypocrites, Mahdi Hashemi s clique, and the liberals from the sacred charity funds donated to the Imam.

Two: Since you are a gullible [sadeh lowh] person and are provoked easily, do not interfere in political matters, and maybe then God will forgive you for your sins.
Three: Do not write to me ever again, and do not allow the hypocrites to pass state secrets to foreign radio stations. Four: Since you became a mouthpice of the hypocrites and your speeches have conveyed their wishes and letters to the people via the mass media, you have inflicted heavy blows on Islam and the revolution. This is a great act of treason against the unknown soldiers of the Lord of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him, and against the sacrifices made by the illustrious
martyrs of Islam and the revolution. If you wish to save yourself from hell fire, you had better confess to all your sins and mistakes and maybe then God will help you.
I swear to God that from the start I was against choosing you as my successor, but at the time I did not realize you were so gullible. To me you were not a resourceful manager but an educated person who could benefit the religious seminaries. If you continue your deeds I will definitely be obliged to do something about you. And you know me, I never neglect my obligation.

I swear to God that I was against appointing Mahdi Bazargan as the first prime minister, too, but I considered him to be a decent person. I also swear to God that I did not vote for Bani-Sadr, as the president either. On all these occasions I submitted to the advice of my friends. In the midst of my pain and suffering, I wish to address our dear people from the bottom of my broken heart:

I have made a pledge with my God not to forgive evil individuals ever, if I am not obliged to do so. I have made a pledge with my God that pleasing Him [God] is much greater priority than pleasing my friends and other people. If the entire world were to rise against me, I would never abandon justice and the truth. I do not care about history and current developments. I am only interested in performing my religious duties. In addition to my pledge with God, I have promised the decent, noble, and honest people to inform them of the facts when the time is appropriate. Islam s history is full of instances of treason by its prominent figures against Islam. Try to make sure that you are not influenced by the lies broadcast by foreign radio stations. These radio stations dictate their lies with so much joy and enthusiasm these days. I beseech Almighty God to grant patience and tolerance to this old father of the dear Iranian people. I beseech God to forgive me and to take me away from this world so that I no longer have to experience the bitter taste of my friends treachery. We all submit to God s will. We have no power without God s will. Everything comes from Him. Wishing you peace:

Ruhollah al-Musavi al-Khomeyni; dated: Sunday 6 Farvardin 1368.

I earnestly call on you, however, not to get trapped, while tearing down the walls of Marxist illusions, in the prison of the West and the shaytan al-Kabir

Imam Khumayni(A)’s Historic Letter to Mr Mikhail Gorbachev

On January7 ,1989 an Iranian delegation met with Mr. Gorbachev in the Kremlin Palace at 11 a.m, and delivered this letter:

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Your Excellency Mr. Gorbachev,(1) Chairman of the Presidium of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

With due wishes for the happiness and prosperity of Your Excellency and the people of the Soviet Union.

Since your assumption of office there has been the impression that Your Excellency, in analyzing world political events, particularly those pertaining to the Soviet Union, have found yourself in a new era of reassessment, change and confrontation; and your boldness and initiative in dealing with the realities of the world is quite likely to bring about changes that would result in upsetting the equations of power dominating the world. I have therefore found it necessary to bring certain matters to your attention.

Even if your new approach and decisions are merely used as a means to overcome the party crisis, and to solve some of the problems confronting your people, your courage in reappraising a school of thought that has for decades enchained the revolutionary youth of the world behind its iron curtain is indeed worthy of praise. If, however, you are considering taking a further step forward, the first thing that will ensure your success is that you reevaluate your predecessors’ policy of obliterating God and religion from society(2), a policy that has no doubt given the heaviest blow to the Soviet people. Rest assured that this is the only way whereby world problems can be dealt with realistically.

Of course it is possible that as a result of wrong economic policies of former communist authorities, the Western world, an illusory heaven, will appear to be fascinating; but the truth lies elsewhere. If you hope, at this juncture, to cut the economic Gordian knots of socialism and communism by appealing to the center of Western capitalism, you will, far from remedying any ill of your society, commit a mistake which those to come will have to erase. For, if Marxism has come to a deadlock in its social and economic policies, capitalism has also bogged down, in this as well as in other respects though in a different form.

Continue Reading »

This is an open source epub version of Imam Khomeini’s famous work 40 hadith, you can download a copy and read the book on a variety of e-readers. For the iphone, I recommend Stanza – it appears to be the least buggy, and can be downloaded free (for now). You’ll have to set up the Stanza desktop, and import the ebook to the iphone (instructions on the Stanza website).

Click here for directions on how to read the book on the iphone/itouch.

Forty Hadith (epub) . To download: right click on the link, and choose save as – the file may download with a .txt extension – rename the file with an .epub extension. Let me know in the comments if you are having problems with the file, will try to provide support – but am only familiar with Stanza on the iphone.

This book can also be downloaded in a variety of other e-book formats - click here for more info.

And, of-course, you can always read the book on-line using just about any web browser here.

Forty Hadith

An Exposition on 40 ahadith narrated through
the Prophet [s] and his Ahl al-Bayt [a]

Imam Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni

Translated by:

Mahliqa Qara’i (late) and Ali Quli Qara’i

Published by:
Al-Tawhid
P.O Box 37165-111, Qum
The Islamic Republic of Iran