Fellow Iranians,
Since the day of Khomeini’s helicopter landing at the graveyard, and the conquest of nothingness, full of its emptiness, over our sacred country, the phrase “Second Qadisiyyah” resounded. The deceitful and shameful execution of our country’s courageous military officers, the murder of patriotic politicians, the especially vicious execution of the first female Iranian minister, and the systematic execution of all those brave, young, innocent Iranians who chose to dissent and, like Babak, held their position and rejected the jurist of ignorance and tyranny, all in all demonstrated one thing: our country is under another siege of darkness and domination by outsiders.
My countrymen,
Ata Malek Joveyni, the great historian of our land, describes the raid of the Mongolian army on Iran as such: “They came, uprooted, burned, killed, took and left.” This concise sentence, in my opinion, is the grandest and most descriptive short story of the long reprehensible history of desert-dwellers in our country. And I have no doubt that on the day after the fall of the current evil regime; history will bestow a similar phrase to describe their deeds.
Fellow Iranians,
Enough is enough. The time has come to accept our historic duty. Our nation is still suffering from historic shortcomings due to external or internal causes. But a new millennium has begun, and we are standing on the verge of a historic moment. It is in this vein that I ask each and every one of you to think clearly and choose wisely a way forth for our nation.
My dearest,
Let us come together and collaborate regardless of our ethnicity, kin, class, language, religion or beliefs. Let us do our historic duty in both the cultural and political arenas, and once and for all, close this chapter of our nation’s history. I, for my part, cannot tolerate seeing the children of Cyrus tossed like sacrificial lambs from university windows to their deaths while their murderers scream that this is being committed in the name of such-and-such “pious ones”. I, for my part, cannot tolerate seeing the sons and daughters of this ancient land raped, tortured and killed and their lifeless bodies burned or covered in cement in this regime’s Halls of Injustice while they shamelessly and foolishly call this barbarism “jihad in the name of Allah”. And it is in this vein that I address every figurehead of this insane regime of jurisprudence, especially those within the religious institution affiliated with the regime. It is the institution of religion that is today, without a doubt, at a great crossroads of historic destiny, not only for Iran, but for the whole of Iranian civilization. The choice is this: Stand with the people and depart wholly from this regime, or remain allied with the regime and maintain the doctrine of tyranny and culture of torture.
Gentlemen,
It is in this vein that I address you and all those leaders who have ruled this land for 1,400 years in the name of religion, at times through an arbitrator, and for the past thirty years directly. I ask you to answer the simple questions of this unassuming Iranian:
How and with reference to which religious code is it that you gaze at this land as if it were foreign to you?
How and with reference to which religious code is it that you treat our country as if it is an orphan of history?
How and with reference to which religious code is it that you consider Iran’s historic inheritance worthy of sale and burning and flooding and destruction?
How and with reference to which religious code is it that you treat Iranians as servants, worthless and small, abusing their children, selling their women in different corners of the world, and mistreating and oppressing their men?
I ask you how and with reference to which religious code is it that the raping of the sons and daughters of this land is considered legal?
Gentlemen,
Today it is you and only you who rule our nation. In the end, it is you and your religious traditions that will have to answer for the past thirty years of legalized felony and destruction, so, why are you silent and remain indifferent? Why do you, the religious authorities and defenders of conscience, not acknowledge the endless injustice which has been unleashed upon the gentle and patient people of this land?
Why are you deaf to the incessant screaming of the victims, and why do you not reject the violence that has been unleashed upon the children of this ancient land, such as Mehdi and Taraneh? Why do you not stand with the people against the flagrant violence of the most deceitful regime in history which does not have an ounce of regard for human dignity? Seriously, why? Tell me, what is the motivation for this indifference against such clear oppression?
Clergymen,
I respect any faith which honors human dignity regardless of the culture and society from which it originates, and of course I will stand against any faith which disrespects human dignity, especially that of Iranians. So clarify your stance because my choice is as clear as day.
In choosing between that young Iranian who is sacrificed by being thrown out of the window and your altar, without a doubt, I will stand on the side of that broken Iranian, the afflicted son of Cyrus, and not at your altar.
May God protect Iran!
Reza Pahlavi
