God, Shah, Homeland - God, Supreme Leader, Guards

Most people born before the 22nd of Bahman 1357 (February 11, 1979) remember the slogan "God, Shah, Homeland." God for the Shah was the traditional God. The Shah often recounted many reports of the Imams' views about himself. In fact, in this triad, there was no mention of God, but all officials of the Pahlavi regime were constantly engaged in praising His Majesty and their servitude and loyalty. A kind of Iranian nationalism was also being created, of which patriotism was a child. It is good to make a comparison between the Pahlavi regime and the Islamic Republic regime in this regard. The God of the clerics and the God of the Shah. The God of the clerics is the God of the legislator who grants special discriminatory rights to the clergy. The God of the Shah also had a special view of him, but he was not the God of the legislator - in the sense that the clerics have in mind. According to the clerics, the right to govern belongs to the God of the legislator. God has entrusted this right to the Prophet, then to the Imams, and during the endless occultation, to the clerics. The clerics will implement the Sharia or the laws of God. They consider opposition to this idea as polytheism. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei considers governance as the right of the God of the legislator, which has been entrusted to certain individuals and a profession. On July 9, 1990, he said: "In Islam, the guardianship of the community belongs to the Almighty God," therefore, whoever becomes the guardian and leader of the people will realize God's guardianship through him. On December 17, 2003, he said: "In Islam, no guardianship and authority over humans is acceptable unless specified by the Almighty God." The principle is non-guardianship unless the legislator has endorsed it. On June 3, 2006, he said: "What is considered the source of legitimacy of this system, that is, divine guardianship transferred to the cleric, is conditional on adherence to divine laws." Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, as a scholar and ideologue of the conservatives, has said many things regarding this matter, of which we mention three: On April 6, 2013, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi said: "We have not explained the issue of the guardianship of the jurist as we should have, as according to the sayings of the infallibles, opposition to the guardianship of the jurist is tantamount to polytheism against God." On February 28, 2015, he said: "If the ruler of the community is not authorized by God, his rule is illegitimate, even if all the people accept it... Based on evidence, the ruling of the representative of the Imam of the Time is in fact the ruling of the Imam of the Time, and obedience to him is obedience to the Imam of the Time, and opposition to him is tantamount to polytheism against God." On October 4, 2015, he said: "Monotheism without accepting guardianship will be useless. In fact, the Almighty God has a fortress, and that fortress is monotheism, and the issue of guardianship is a necessity of monotheism... Obeying laws from others and without God's permission is polytheism; because if someone is placed alongside God, it will be polytheism; but if obedience and lawfulness from individuals is with God's permission, it is not only not polytheism, but that obedience is necessary." Making the invention of the guardianship of the jurist and belief in it a fundamental pillar of belief in God and monotheism is itself a polytheistic act. The perfection of monotheism is the absolute negation of anything other than God, not placing a new partner named clerics alongside God. If human legislation is a polytheistic act, more than 95% of the laws that have been enacted in the Islamic Republic over the past 38 years have been human laws, and there is no trace of them in Islamic Sharia. The clerics' response is that the God who has appointed the jurist as the representative of the Imam of the Time has also granted him the right to legislate. However, God has neither entrusted the right to govern to a family (the family of Ali ibn Abi Talib) as an inheritance, nor has he personally or through that family considered political governance a "special right" of the clerics. The Quran is silent on this matter, and only a part of the Twelver Shiites holds such a belief. The clerics elevate themselves to the rank of divinity and are, in fact, pursuing the goals of Satan - in the words of the Quran (refer to the article "Court Clerics; Becoming Divine or Agents of Satan"). Khamenei and the Shah's courtiers and servants have left nothing unsaid in praise of the Shah and Ali Khamenei. Now, look at a few examples of the court clerics' statements about Ali Khamenei: Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi said on September 27, 2014: "Between God and me, I do not see a greater blessing than the existence of the esteemed leader. His virtues are not hidden from anyone, and every day a manifestation of his virtues appears; so much so that both friends and enemies in the world have acknowledged that he is an outstanding personality." On August 16, 2016, he said: "Thank God after the Imam, God placed his substitute in his place, and certainly this is one of the divine confirmations." On January 1, 2017, he said: "Today, the highest blessing that God has given to the Iranian community is a wise leadership." Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi said: "A person like the esteemed leader of the revolution, who has the responsibility of the Islamic community, is assisted by the Imam of the Time, because in some matters the entire Islamic community is at risk, and the esteemed leader is responsible for protecting this community, and if the Imam of the Time leaves him alone and makes a wrong decision, the Islamic community will be harmed. Therefore, I see the special attention of the Imam of the Time behind all the strategies of the esteemed leader. For this reason, sometimes he comes and goes to Qom without anyone noticing. I believe he has the best strategy in events; after the late Imam, one of the precious reserves that God has stored for this community and for the conditions of this time is Ayatollah Khamenei (may God protect him), and when we calculate, if someone other than him were in the leadership position in sensitive conditions like today, it is unclear what would happen to this country." Mohammadi Golpayegani, head of Khamenei's office: "This message has been received many times from different individuals that in dreams and revelations; the Imam of the Time says: We will not leave Seyyed Ali alone." Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: "If it were not for the wise management of the esteemed leader [in the events of 2009], the enemies would certainly have achieved their demands." He addressed the members of the Assembly of Experts and said: "The guardianship of the jurist is the same as the guardianship of the Messenger of God, and we believe that the guardianship of the jurist is the guardianship of Imam Ali, and if it is not accepted, the system cannot fulfill its mission. Therefore, I ask you to pay attention to this point during the time we are serving you, and God willing, we hope that under the shadow of the esteemed leader, we can do something that pleases both God and the esteemed leader and the people." Sadegh Larijani on January 26, 2013, regarding Ayatollah Khamenei's role in suppressing the Green Movement said: "During the events of 2009, the enemies of the Islamic system sought to create turmoil, and some from within the country poured water on the enemy's mill... The role of the esteemed leader in dealing with the events of 2009 was unparalleled. The esteemed leader was very patient in dealing with this turmoil, and when he concluded that the rioters were not seeking legal rights but wanted to confront the system, he effectively guided the people and awakened their insight, which led to a revolutionary confrontation with the rioters and the creation of the epic of the 9th of Dey." Major General Firouzabadi about Ayatollah Khamenei's scarf said: "The esteemed leader is a sun from which the caravan of the revolution distinguishes the right path from the wrong path; sometimes he lovingly places his hand on a person's head; sometimes he gives away his ring, and sometimes the scarf he has on his shoulders to the one who desires that scarf. The scarf of the leader is like an attractive secret that perhaps no one has been able to discover that secret yet, and whoever is cleverer can take the leader's scarf in a gathering where he is present as a blessing and wear it around their neck for the rest of their life, proudly telling everyone that this scarf was taken from the shoulders of the leader and has reached me. Those who have had the honor of being in the presence of the leader have witnessed that every time someone has asked for the leader's scarf, he has fully consented to one of his companions saying, 'Take this scarf from my shoulders and give it to him.' Everyone remembers that Saeedi, the Friday prayer leader of Qom, announced that at the time of Ali Khamenei's birth, he said 'O Ali' and was born. Everyone remembers that in April 2011, Sedighi at the leader's house ceremony, in the presence of Ali Khamenei, told all the leaders of the system and the people: 'This year, the esteemed leader has met the Imam of the Time.' The clerics have turned Ali Khamenei into the God of the Ash'ari, who has absolute power and is not accountable to anyone (refer to the article Khamenei, God of the Ash'ari). The Guards and the Homeland. The army and the imperial guard during the Shah had a special status. Nevertheless, the slogan of the Pahlavi regime was 'God, Shah, Homeland.' However, the practical slogan of the Islamic Republic is 'God, Khamenei, Guards.' The Shah never allowed the army to intervene in political affairs. The army's duty was to defend the homeland and the Shah's regime. Except for a few commanders, most of them were not involved in economic corruption. Khamenei has turned the Guards and Basij into the most important political and economic powers in the country. Everyone is aware of this. In every election, the military systematically intervenes in the elections in favor of the conservatives. In 2005, they made Ahmadinejad president, and then Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the deputy commander of the Guards, said that "with a well-designed and multi-layered plan," they managed to make Ahmadinejad, who is 'the symbol of conservatism, faith, revolutionary spirit, and justice,' president (Iran Newspaper, July 9, 2005). The 2009 elections are also clear that the Guards not only played a main role in the elections but also in the subsequent suppressions. Now, about 12 years have passed since General Qalibaf's mayorship. He has run for president several times and is one of the candidates for this term. No matter what corruption or crime he commits, the Guards and conservatives support him (refer to the article Leaders and Lifetime Rulers of the Islamic Republic). Mohsen Rezaei has also run in elections several times and has never received votes. Nevertheless, he is currently active simultaneously in the Guards and the 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces,' which is supposed to introduce the rival candidate of Hassan Rouhani from the conservatives. General Ismail Qotbari, after several terms in parliament and cooperation with the 'Steadfast Front,' has now returned to the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters after not receiving votes in the previous elections. In other words, the Guards are tasked with engaging in political party activities within conservative groups and whenever necessary, returning with the Guards to continue their economic and political activities. The Guards' role in smuggling is so significant that even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said it is the work of 'our smuggler brothers.' My final words. The article "The Shah and Khamenei; Corruption and the Collapse of the Regime" made a comparison between the corruption of both regimes and discussed its consequences. However, the structural corruption of the Islamic Republic has spread so much that it seems incurable. The Islamic Republic has replaced the slogan 'God, Shah, Homeland' of the Pahlavi regime with the slogan 'God, Khamenei, Guards.' Here, God has only one role, and that is to endorse his power to the jurist. The main power belongs to Khamenei and the Guards. However, society, intellectuals, critics, and even rivals continue on their path. The clerics' achievements from a social perspective have been so poor that when a report of it was presented to Ali Khamenei, he cried intensely. A moral judgment about the direction of society is one thing; the fact that this direction is tearful for Khamenei is another. Now the voices of the 'others' and 'different ones' are heard more than the voices of Khamenei and the members of the regime. Where? In social networks. Everyone has started their own network, and Iranian society has become an archipelago that no discourse has dominance over.