Refusing to Continue Studying at the University; a Response to SAVAK Proposal
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi
2022-10-11
When I met Mr. Beheshti in Tehran (after his release from prison) [October/November 1972/1351], based on previous information he had about my studies at Mashhad University, he asked during one of our conversations: “by the way! What do you want to do with your academic education? Aren't you going to continue?” I said: “I have decided not to continue my studies at the university anymore. It causes trouble and may be useless.”
He firmly emphasized, and insisted: “No! You should definitely continue your studies at university, it's a pity. You have worked hard for two or three years.” His advice motivated me and I decided to finish university studies when I returned to Mashhad.
A few days after this meeting I went Mashhad, and motivated by Mr. Beheshti's talk, I went to the university.
It was normal that my classmates and even other students to react after a one-year absence. I hadn’t been there for a year and the situation had changed. I had friends who were very indifferent in political issues, but this time, they welcomed me with respectfully enthusiasm. Given this university atmosphere, I went to register in our college. First, they said: “Come and register at present, it's not a problem. Usually, students who are arrested and imprisoned register, SAVAK temporarily calls them, but slowly the problem is solved, and SAVAK also not doesn’t hinder, and actually students like you can continue their studies.” Based on these words, I went and registered. I already owed the university including the equipment we used in the laboratory or probably were damaged or broken, I settled up them and presented in class in the new semester. Some time after the classes, one of our masters who ironically was dean of the faculty, one day he gently took me to a side and said: “Have you been informed that you have to meet the superior?” the superior meant SAVAK. I said: “No!” He said: “Then you should go to SAVAK and report yourself to the police.” I also went there a day or two later. At first, they threatened me very respectfully! Then they said: “Your case is still open and we will respect you, otherwise there are confessions about you that we can arrest and imprison you again.” Then they asked me for some photos and identification documents, and finally they put a form in front of me that I had to sign. It was written in the form that I had to inform SAVAK if I have or obtained information from my friends. In fact, they implicitly called me to cooperate with SAVAK and this was beginning of a new adventure. I didn't sign that form and said: “I neither sign this form nor am I interested in continuing my studies!” They said: “Why? that's a pity! You have worked so hard.” I said: “The truth is that from the very beginning I was not interested in studying at the university.” Telling this statement, in fact, I wanted to sweep it under the carpet. But I understood it didn’t work! They threatened me more and said: “Whether you want to study at the university or not, you have to sign this form.” I said: “Now that it's the situation, give me a chance to complete my photos and documents; the next time, I will sign the form.” They also were not hard on me, and I got out of SAVAK with this trick and never came back. After a while, a day or two days before the exams started, I informed some of my friends about what had happened and that I would no longer appear for the exams. On the day of the exam, when I didn't go, all my friends and classmates realized that there was a problem and I had been banned from studying, but the fact was that I didn't continue myself; because my conclusion from signing the SAVAK cooperation form was this: students who sign such a form can to continue their studies, on the same condition of cooperation with SAVAK. I didn't sign the form and made my final decision, but my decision to not going to university suspected SAVAK: What am I going to do now that I've given up studying at university?
Source: Qobadi, Mohammad, (2019) Memorial of Those Days: Memories of Hojjat al-Islam Val-Muslemin Seyyed Hadi Khamenei. Tehran: Sooreh Mehr Publication, pp. 318-320.
Number of Visits: 2810
The latest
- The Story of a Street Classroom
- Validation: Challenges and Necessities
- Memories of Mr. Jalal Setareh
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 30
- 100 Questions/ 29
- Theory One: “The Structural Duality of Opportunity–Threat in the Government’s Entry into Oral History”
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 7
- From Revolutionary Circles to the Military Arm of the Islamic Government
Most visited
- Theory One: “The Structural Duality of Opportunity–Threat in the Government’s Entry into Oral History”
- 100 Questions/28
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 7
- From Revolutionary Circles to the Military Arm of the Islamic Government
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
- 100 Questions/ 29
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 30
- Memories of Mr. Jalal Setareh
Photo Album from The Doctor of fly
The Doctor of fly, authored by Fatemeh Dehghan Niri, presents the memoirs of Dr. Mohammad-Taqi Khorsandi Ashtiani, Professor Emeritus and a subspecialist in Otolaryngology at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Compiled within the framework of oral history, the work recounts different stages of his life—from childhood and years of ...The Beating Pulse of a Nation at the Moment of Nowruz
Every year, in the days and nights leading up to Nowruz, Shohada Square had a special charm. A few days before the New Year, the shops would fill with customers, and street vendors would take over the sidewalks. You could find everything in their stalls (from items for the Haft Sin table, candles, goldfish, and spring flowers to clothes, bags, and shoes).The Editor's Missing Place on the “Deck”
The book From Deck to Heaven offers a relatively fresh approach to examining the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy (AJA) during the eight years of the Sacred Defense, published under the “Oral History of the Islamic Revolution” series. To compile this book, the esteemed author has utilized documentary research (referring to relevant archival centers and selecting documents) and field research ...An Exceptional Haft‑Seen Table
I wanted to celebrate the new year with my family. Together with two relief workers I boarded buses designated for transporting the wounded to Choubideh and received our mission orders. We waited for a helicopter to take us to Bandar Imam Khomeini. I was stationed near the helicopter’s touchdown zone and was slight in build. As the helicopter was about to land, I could not steady myself; the breeze generated by the rotor blades lifted me off the ground.
