RNA – Speaking during his jurisprudence class in Qom, Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Seyfi-Mazandarani commemorated the anniversary of the bloody uprising against the tyrannical Pahlavi regime on the 19th of the Iranian month of Dey (January 9, 1978) by the people of Qom and said that this day is considered the day on which the first sparks of Islamic Revolution began.
“The students, scholars and elders of the Islamic Seminary were pioneers on this day and led by the clergy of Qom, the general people also participated in these protests,” he said.
The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom noted the memories of the bloody uprising by the people of Qom and said that the sources of emulation and scholars began a protest wherein they delivered speeches in support of Imam Khomeini and condemned the sacrilege of him in reaction to the publication of a derogatory article in the Ettelaat newspaper, which openly introduced hijab as the symbol of obscurantism and reaction, insulted Imam Khomeini and called the uprising of 15 Khordad (June 5, 1963) a conspiracy by “Red and Black Colonialism.”
“Inspired by the Islamic Seminary, the merchants of Qom decided to close their shops in the following day and this increased the numbers of participants in the protest,” he said.
Ayatollah Seyfi-Mazandarani emphasized that the pioneers and flag-bearers of this movement were the clergy and scholars of the seminaries and added, “While most of the sources of emulation sympathized and supported the people in their struggle against the Pahlavi regime, some of them went further and unequivocally stood against the tyrannous regime and made beautiful statements and declared their stance publicly.”
His Eminence praised the outspoken, daring and unique position taken by Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Nouri-Hamadani at that time and said, “One of these great scholars was Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani who read a poem which had a strong meaning in that extremely stifling and repressive atmosphere that the tyrannous Pahlavi regime had created.”
The Iranian cleric added that when the crowd moved away from the house of Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani, agents and officers of the regime fired shots at the people at the Shohada intersection and martyred a large number of people.
In other remarks, Ayatollah Seyfi-Mazandarani referred to the emphasis by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, that the seminaries must remain revolutionary and said that some individuals have misinterpreted his remarks.
“That which the Leader has stressed in this regard is that in recent years, the signs of the Islamic Revolution in the seminary have begun to weaken and erode,” he explained.
He stressed the need to support the revolutionary students and scholars further and pointed out that under no circumstances should we allow the revolutionary movement and spirit in the seminaries to become weak.
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