Recruiting the seminary students for troops and its reflections


One of the moves of the regime to break down the revolutionary sprit of seminary students and combatants was calling up draftees. After the revolts lunched, suddenly they rushed to recruit the seminary students for troops. Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani was one of them. They took him to a military base and after awhile he send Imam a letter from there expressing that he is fine and doing well and it was good for him to do his military service. This letter had perhaps made Imam pleased. For sure Mr. Hashemi and other seminary students were so handy where ever they were.

The regulation was that the one who violates the regulation will be punished. In most of the military bases this was done, naturally these regulations were applied to break down the character and the spirit of the soldier to be completely in the hands of his superiors but when the seminary students came to military bases changed this atmosphere by telling the edicts and enlightening others about what happens in Qom, therefore Imam was pleased and told how good! Let’s recruit the seminary students for troops.


Islamic allied groups and their moves


When the Islamic allied groups were formed, some of the clergies played a rolled in them including Mr.Beheshti, Motahari, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Anvari.

Islamic allied groups were of religious bands and weeping bands of some active mosques in Tehran whom were mostly Muslim shop keepers in the bazaar and they played a very important role in supporting the movement about the case of “provincial and local congresses”. In that case each of them went to Qom separately and some of them had a close contact with Imam.

These Islamic allied groups were formed in a way that none of the groups or parties had been formed before and even after. In their sessions, religious debates were begun by Mr. Motahari and Mr. Beheshti the departed martyrs. After the exile of imam, the martial branch was formed too and Hassan Ali Mansur (who was the prime minister that time) was assassinated by them on the first day of Bahaman 1343.

One of the greatest moves of the allied groups was terrorizing Mansur. Those who assassinated him were some religious minded youngsters and they did that totally on their sense of religion. Inside allied groups who had links with religious authorities especially who had connection with imam, were Beheshti the departed, Motahari the martyr, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mr. Anvari. Mr. Anvari being in charge of taking the Fatwa for the terror was kept in prison for 12 years.


Tortures in the prison


I was arrested on 7th of Mehr in 1351 by the officers of the regime. Savak tortured me a lot to make me confess but from 1352 their tortures got harder and harder. Tortures were very tremendous. Once Manouchehr came into my cell and while he was whipping me and taking me for interrogation he hit me with a cable and broke my head I bleed and they he took brought a doctor for me.

In another time they crucified me to the iron window of Komiteh (the name of the prison) they tightened me hands and whipped me in face, hands and whole my body while one of them pricked me with a needle in lips, chest and face and another one burnt my chest with his cigarette. There was one or two of them there who yelled to me and insulted me and imam. When they untied me I couldn’t stand my self upon my feet and fell down.

I recall that Mr. Taleghani was not tortured in the prison even in the last of prisons we were with each other, he rejected to wear the uniform of prison and told them that he had wanted to pray and that he could not had prayed with those uniforms and rejected to wear them.

Others were tortured including Rafsanjani, Lahouti, Mahdavi Kani, Rabbani Shirazi and Montazeri. Mr. Montazeri and Mr. Taleghani were in the prison till almost the triumph of the revolution. Mr. Mahdavi Kani and Mr. Lahouti were fellow prisoners and Mr. Mahdavi says that Mr. Lahouti was tortured very hard. It was a very good year for me to be in same prisons with these guys that some of them were expert in interpreting religious and legal matters independently. Mr. Rafsanjani was writing some discussion issues about Koran there. Mr. Taleghani used to teach interpreting. Mr. Montazrei continued his Islamic jurisprudence and discussed about gavel.

I clearly recall that when we were reaching to the end of our imprisonment, Nickson, the president of United States abdicated because of the “Watergate” and Jerald Ford became president of America. He was interested in Shah and advised him not to release political prisoners consequently they declared that they are not going to release prisoners any more. After awhile they arrested Lahouti, Taleghani, Mahdavi Kani and Rafsanjani and moved Anvari and Rabbani Shirazi from the Qasr and took them to the Evin. They arrested Mr. Montazeri again and gathered all of us together and we were nine persons totally.

Then they brought about 30 persons and took them away we got that Savak wants to make them plight not to cooperate with the irregular troops. After that, the secession of Monafeghin took place. We all were of the opinion that they are Monafegh so for what should we confirm them?

Mr. Hashemi and Taleghani accepted that they are deviated and we should not cooperate with them any more and in no armed uprising we should collaborate with them in contrary we should just fight in the memory of Mr. Khomeini and we should fight against Marxists more and more.


Scientific activities in the Qasr prison


When I attended the prison I started studying and teaching. The chair man in the prison believed there is no senses in letting the prisoners keep their books in the prison. But there were book like “social justice”, “logic”, “fundamental law” and some of my books in the prison and some of the young prisoners used to read them. I also thought philosophy and logic in the prison. Leftists and religious persons used to come to me and I thought them both and while I wrote an interpretation on the Surah of Baghareh.

Simultaneously Mr. Taleghani used to teach interpreting in Evin and Mr. Montazeri used to teach Asfar and they both attended the classes of each other. For some days they were very concerned about the classes of Mr. Taleghani and told that what he teaches is disadvantageous and his beliefs are corrupted. This was the time when they took 30 persons from other prisons and they attended the classes of Mr. Taleghani and all these talks started from then on. I must say that I was pleased in the way Mr. Rafsanjani handled the problems. He was very clever and was not impressed with by the talks and never left the classes of Mr. Taleghani while even me my self (Ayatollah Gerami) was impressed by the rumours and talks and didn’t attend his classes for a day or two.


Source: memoir of Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Gerami/ the publication of the center of the documents of Islamic revolution/ 1381