What Was the Shah's Request from Shari'atmadari Regarding Khomeini?

On the fortieth anniversary of the February 1979 Revolution, an event that has impacted the lives of Iranians over the past four decades, we have highlighted the narratives of historical figures or Iranian activists in a series of forty discussions about this event and its effects, as well as their outlook on the future of Iran. In another program from this series of discussions, we spoke with Hassan Shari'atmadari; a political analyst and activist, and a critic of the Islamic Republic, residing in Hamburg, Germany. He is the son of Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Shari'atmadari and was 31 years old in the days leading up to the revolution, managing the Shahamiyeh Hospital in Qom. In this special interview, we asked Hassan Shari'atmadari about the issues surrounding his father and what transpired during the meetings between Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Shari'atmadari. Mr. Shari'atmadari, if you agree, let us first discuss June 1963 and the arrest of Mr. Khomeini, who was saved from a possible execution through the mediation and intervention of your father, Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shari'atmadari, one of the prominent clerics of the time. Your father actually garnered the support of other religious authorities to prevent the execution of Mr. Khomeini and introduced him as a religious authority and Ayatollah. Did your father, Mr. Shari'atmadari, tell you why he took such action that day? Yes, you see, the Shah had stated in a speech that he would bring him to a military court. A military court usually issues death sentences. Therefore, Mr. Khomeini was at risk of execution. Of course, no court had been established, nor had he been sentenced. He was at that time in prison and under detention. The Shah was not very pleased with this statement and thought that executing Mr. Khomeini would cause many problems for him both internationally and nationally. Therefore, Mr. Ali Abadi, the then prosecutor, came to my father and asked if he would like Mr. Khomeini to be saved from execution. My father said, of course. His crime was a speech, and no one should be executed for a speech, and if a way could be found, I would certainly take action. Mr. Ali Abadi said that legally there was only one way. Mr. Khomeini was one of the clerics, but since Mr. Boroujerdi had expelled him from his house due to his support for the Fadaiyan-e Islam, he had been housebound for about eight years until the death of Mr. Boroujerdi, and no one recognized him, he had not become a religious authority and had no treatise. There was a principle in the former constitution called the balance principle or the fourth principle of the former constitution, which stated that five top clerics had to approve the conformity of parliamentary resolutions with Ja'fari Sharia, and since they held such a position, they were effectively on par with the law and had legal security above the courts. This meant that if someone was considered a top cleric, they could have legal security and not be tried by the courts. Mr. Ali Abadi said that legally the only way was for you to confirm that he is a top cleric, and then this would prevent him from being tried. My father, along with two other clerics of that time, namely Mr. Amoli Tehrani and Ayatollah Milani, who were religious authorities, signed a certificate stating that Mr. Khomeini was a cleric, and his clerical status was confirmed, which was indeed true, meaning he was a cleric, and there was nothing wrong with that. Based on this, the Shah was able to escape from this predicament he had fallen into. Khomeini was also saved from execution, and the verdict of this military court for Mr. Khomeini turned into exile to Turkey. However, two points should be considered. First, in 1963, Mr. Khomeini, the Khomeini who revolted and dominated Iran, was not present. He was a cleric who had made a strong speech against the Shah and was detained for the crime of a speech, and he had no involvement in the riots that occurred after his speech because those riots happened after his arrest. Therefore, all principles of human rights law state that one must act to save such a person. Secondly, it was with the Shah's agreement and through the mediation of Mr. Ali Abadi, who was the prosecutor of Tehran at the time, that the Shah had sent for my father, and on the other hand, no court had been established, nor had a death sentence been issued, and Khomeini had not been executed. He had only threatened to do so in a speech. Therefore, since some people argue that Ayatollah Shari'atmadari, by doing this, allowed Khomeini to dominate Iran, I must say that Ayatollah Shari'atmadari did not claim prophethood, and at that time, Mr. Khomeini was not the Khomeini of 1979, and the Shah himself was satisfied that he would be saved, and it was the Shah who sent a mediator to my father, and in any case, this predicament was removed from before the Shah, and Mr. Khomeini was also saved. Yes. Mr. Shari'atmadari, let us move from 1963 to 1979, which is the main focus of our discussion today. What was happening in the days leading up to the revolution at your father Ayatollah Shari'atmadari's house, who was one of the prominent clerics? In the days before the revolution, my father was indeed the most prominent Ayatollah of those times in Iran. Mr. Khomeini had not yet gone to Neauphle-le-Château, and he found his clerical status after going to Neauphle-le-Château and becoming known internationally. Most inquiries from national and international radio and television were directed towards my father, and he received a lot of attention. He never mentioned the Shah's name in his statements. He criticized the ruling body and the lack of democracy, and his criticism was one of reform, and he explicitly called for a return to the amendment of the constitution ratified in 1906 or 1324 AH, which was essentially the constitutional law without the intervention of Reza Shah and the Shah in adding powers to the monarchy through one or two founding assemblies later on. Because they wanted reforms in the monarchy system, not a revolution, and they stood firm on this path until the end, and before the revolution, our house was a place of reference for all political and religious figures from within and outside Iran. As you pointed out, your father Ayatollah Shari'atmadari has been described by some as a modern cleric and in some writings as a supporter of a moderate Islam with modernity. Do you agree with this definition of your father? Yes, you see, culturally my father was among those who believed that the solution in our country was a kind of reconciliation between religion and modernism, and religion must learn how to live in the new environment of modernity and how to adapt itself to the requirements of the modern age. In contrast, there were others led by Mr. Khomeini who longed for a return to the early Islam and the government of the rightly guided caliphs or the Prophet, and they said that we must return to that period and follow the same political program that the Fadaiyan-e Islam had previously provided. Others did not belong to either of these groups and said that we must wait for the Imam of the Time and do nothing. Neither in adapting religion nor in not adapting religion. Some were like this, and the religious community was divided into these three parts. In this categorization, my father fit exactly where you said and some wrote. One of the meetings between Ayatollah Shari'atmadari and Ayatollah Khomeini. Mr. Shari'atmadari, since this is a radio program, I would like to ask you to mention a song or piece of music that reminds you of those days or your favorite song that could be played for a few seconds or a few minutes.