Book review:

A Pious Fighter

Mahya Hafezi
Translated by M. B. Khoshnevisan

2023-4-11

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of Qom Seminary, the Islamic Revolution Document Center has published a collection of books. One of them under the title "A Pious Fighter" is dedicated to the oral history of the life and struggles of Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Mousavi Shali.

This work, authored by Mohammad Kazem Ameli, describes the narrator's life, education, religious, cultural and political activities in four chapters. Ayatollah Shali is one of the fighters of the Islamic Revolution in Qazvin. His first revolutionary move was a speech on the occasion of the 15 Khordad (June 6) uprising, which led to his arrest and ban on delivering speeches. Among his other actions, we can mention the establishment of the Martyr Mustafa Khomeini Seminary in the town of Takestan, his presence in war zones during the Iraqi imposed war against Iran, the Friday prayer leader of Takestan and a representative in the Assembly of Experts for Leadership.

This research has been produced using the interviews conducted with the narrator and people who were in contact with him.

The first chapter deals with the family background and education of Ayatollah Shali in the years 1293 to 1312 (1914-1933). This chapter has started with a look at the city of Shall and Qazvin region; in continuation, it describes the narrator's family and his education in the holy cities of Najaf, Karbala and Samarra.

The book’s second chapter covers the mid-1330s (1950s) when the narrator returned to his homeland after 23 years; He has been engaged in promoting religion and strengthening seminaries in Qazvin province.

The narrator's political activities have been mentioned in the third chapter of the book. In this section, while explaining some events before the Islamic revolution, his positions and actions have also been stated. Taking a position regarding the production of a film about the biography of the Prophet (PBUH), the bill of state and provincial associations, the referendum on the six-step bills, the incident of the Faiziyeh School, the incident of 15^th of Khordad (June 6) and the exile of Imam Khomeini, opposition to Jewish settlements, a statement against the Pahlavi regime, the uprising of 19^th of Dey (January 10) in Qom, the uprising of 29^th of Bahman (February 19)in Tabriz, the rally of 17th of Shahrivar (September 9) and the rallies of Tasua and Ashura are some of the topics that are detailed in the third chapter of the book.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the activities of Ayatollah Shali after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Among his other actions are the formation of the Qazvin Islamic Revolution Committee, the representative of Imam Khomeini in Takestan and the Friday prayer leader of the city, mobilization of the people for constructive jihad in deprived areas, the establishment of the branch of the Islamic Republic Party in Shall, participation in the Holy Defense, the establishment of Martyr Mustafa Khomeini Seminary in Takestan and a representative in the Assembly of Experts for Leadership.

A significant volume of the book is filled with appendices, including documents and images, which have been published after the fourth chapter. The final part of the book is bibliography (list of sources) and index (people and places).

The first edition of “A Pious Fighter” has been published in the summer of 1401(2022) in 377 pages.