The Nurturing of Iranian Adolescents and Youth in Najaf

Translated by Kianoush Borzouei

2025-1-28

In Najaf, from the very first years, based on my prior experience in Iran after the establishment of the Razavi National Primary School and the Center for Religious Discussion and Critique, I felt a deep sense of responsibility and compassion for the youth and adolescents. Concerned about their future, I attempted to guide them onto the right path to the extent of my abilities. This concern also preoccupied me in Najaf, and I sought to take actionable steps toward achieving this goal, although I knew it required the assistance of others.

At the time, Ayatollah Shahroudi had established a national primary school, and a number of the children of Iranian, Afghan, and Pakistani seminarians, along with other Persian-speaking individuals, were enrolled there. On the other hand, there was also an Iranian government-run school, funded by the Iranian state, where some of the teachers were affiliated with SAVAK.

I was determined to work with these children, yet I had no direct access to them. There were only one or two trusted individuals I could rely upon. One of them was Mr. Hassan Zadeh Kashmiri, who taught at Ayatollah Shahroudi’s school. I spoke with him, urging him to begin engaging with the students and guiding them in the desired direction. He agreed and began his efforts. However, after just one or two sessions, he came to me in great distress, saying, “The situation is frightful; the students want to beat me up.”

I asked, “What happened? What did you do?” He replied, “I made some remarks against the Shah.” I said, “This wasn’t the right time for such comments.” He asked, “What should I do now?” I told him, “Before things escalate further, go to their homes, speak to them, and diffuse the situation by admitting that you misspoke.”

From then on, I guided him step by step on what needed to be done. He regularly reported back to me, and I continued advising him to the best of my ability. Over time, Mr. Sheikh Hossein-Ali Ansari Najafabadi also began engaging with the youth, leveraging the involvement of a young boy, and he too became actively involved. I suggested holding sessions for the youth, where I started teaching them Arabic literature and Jame’-ul-Muqaddamat. Gradually, the number of participating students grew, with some even bringing along their friends.

Mr. Ansari began working with the students at a small school named Qadiri. Over time, the very same students who, as Mr. Hassan Zadeh initially lamented, had been resistant, questioning, “What do you expect of us? Our flesh, blood, and bones have been nurtured with the Shah’s money,” had undergone a remarkable transformation. Eventually, they started asking how they could actively oppose the Shah’s regime. After some time, these youths would sneak into the Iranian school at night to destroy portraits of the Shah and his wife, replacing them with slogans like “Death to the Shah” on the walls. The following day, they would attend classes in the same school.

Some of the SAVAK-affiliated teachers there were aggressively trying to identify the culprits. One of these teachers even confronted the students directly, but when he faced threats from them, he dared not pursue the matter further. In this manner, these youths became part of the revolutionary movement in Najaf, conducting numerous revolutionary activities, all of which, I believe, were blessings inspired by Imam Khomeini.^[1]