The incident of the 11th of Muharram 1978 in Damghan city

Based on a memory, a news, and five government reports

Compiled by: Jafar Golshan Roghani
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2025-2-26

By the arrival of the month of Muharram and the publication of Imam Khomeini's message, the use of this month by fighters, preachers, and orators to reveal the true face of the Pahlavi regime, the struggles, marches, and demonstrations of the people grew, became more intense, and had a larger population than in the past. As in the Tasua and Ashura demonstrations (December 10 and 11, 1978), most of the people of Tehran participated and chanted slogans against the Pahlavi regime, and held a kind of referendum. The Damghan city, like many other cities in the country, took on a different face under the influence of the mourning days of the Master of Martyrs and Imam Khomeini's message, and the struggles and marches increased. This is important because before the arrival of Muharram, the forces supporting the Pahlavi regime had a special position, activity, and presence in the city, to the extent that it seems that the city was under the control of the Shah Forces, and SAVAK had repeatedly spoken of their presence in the city. For example, on November 21, 1978, after a number of opponents of the government demonstrated in scattered groups at 4 p.m. and were dispersed by police intervention, "some people from the village of Hyderabad entered the city with sticks and clubs and marched through the streets chanting national and Shah slogans. They were joined by patriots from Damghan. As a result, clashes broke out between supporters and opponents, and patriots broke the windows of shops displaying [Imam] Khomeini's picture. Meanwhile, Ali Arasteh, an extremist fanatic who supports [Imam] Khomeini and has a history in the headquarters, was attacked from behind by one of the patriots and was hit in the head with a machete, causing him to bleed and he was sent to the police station." All the patriotic people of Damghan participated in this demonstration and it left a favorable impression.”[1]

Then on November 22, 1978, a SAVAK agent wrote in a report titled “National and Patriotic Demonstrations of Villagers and Urban Residents of Damghan County, Semnan Province”: “Since 8:00 [a.m. on November 22, 1978, about a thousand villagers and urban residents of Damghan, Semnan Province, have been holding national and patriotic demonstrations in the aforementioned city. The demonstrators, holding statues of Imam Ali (pbuh) and the Shah [Arya Mehr, began chanting slogans such as “Javed Shah” and “Iran is abhorrent to be destroyed,” and broke the windows of shops displaying pictures of [Imam] Ruhollah Khomeini. Meanwhile, a number of clerics and socialites fled and took refuge in the home of Mohammad Ali Alemi, a radical cleric and supporter of [Imam] Ruhollah Khomeini. At 1 p.m. on the same day, the demonstrators sent a telegram to the center stating their support for the constitutional monarchy of Iran and the constitution, and then dispersed.”[2] According to the weekly magazine Etelahat, “a group of people armed with clubs, supported by law enforcement officers, and attacked several shops and cars. They forced people to chant slogans in favor of the government.”[3] A similar demonstration was held on December 2, chanting slogans such as “Long live the Pahlavi monarchy, if Iran does not exist, my body will not be destroyed, it is a pity that Iran is destroyed.” Also on January 13, a demonstration was held in Damghan, which, like other pro-government marches, was organized and supported by the authorities and law enforcement forces in the region, especially the gendarmerie, and was held in accordance with government instructions.[4] According to the Etelaat newspaper, on the same day, “a group armed with clubs, supported by law enforcement officers, attacked several shops and cars in Damghan and smashed their windows. In Damghan, pro-government groups began vandalizing and setting fires. The demonstrators, who had been sent to these two cities from the villages of Shahroud and Damghan, asked drivers to chant pro-government slogans or they would break their car windows.”[5] Pars News Agency also reported that on that day, a few groups marched in support of the regime on several streets.[6]

Major Nasim; the head of the Damghan police department also wrote a report to the head of the intelligence department of the national police department, describing the activities of a number of clerics who opposed the government. However, he continued by saying that “most of the people of this town were martyred and patriotic people, and whenever a preacher did not pray to the Shah from the pulpit, they would ask him for an explanation.” He then added: “After the demonstrations from November 21 to 24, which were held for four consecutive days by patriots and friends of the Shah in this town, the merchants celebrated by erecting statues of Shah [Arya Mehr] and the glorious family of the monarchy, raising flags and lanterns, and even the people refused to go to congregational prayers. Only a few old men and women attended the mosque to pray, and the people realized their mistakes.”[[7]

The Bors newspaper also covered their demonstrations with the headline “National and Patriotic Demonstrations” Gone narrated: “More than ten thousand people of Damghan marched through the streets of the city in a grand demonstration, declaring their sacrifice and devotion for the Shah and supporting the monarchy and the constitution, chanting national and patriotic slogans. The demonstrators first gathered in the city’s 6th Bahman Square, and after raising flags while holding statues of the pious masters of Imam Ali and the Shah, they walked through several streets of the city chanting slogans of “Long live to Shah” and “Long live to Pahlavi monarchy,” and at the end issued a resolution. In this resolution, the people of Damghan declared their support for the monarchy and the constitution.[8] According to a reporter from Bors newspaper, “On Wednesday evening [22 Novamber of 1978], a large-scale demonstration in favor of the government was held by the people of Damghan and continued until 8 p.m..”[9]

The reaction of the revolutionary forces to such marches was to actively participate and confront them by chanting anti-Pahlavi slogans. Hossein Sehmi, born in 1961, of the revolutionary youth of Damghan, says in his memoirs: “People were no longer afraid and opposition to the Shah’s regime had become more public. The activities of the revolutionary forces had also taken on a more serious tone. The Shah’s regime also showed everything it had in its bag. One day, a number of regime supporters gathered in the city and, with the support of the police, chanted in favor of the Shah. Their main slogan was “Long live to Shah.” In response, we chanted “Death to the Shah, Long live to Khomeini.” The large number of anti-Shah forces caused them to quickly evacuate the square and not continue any further.”[10]

With the arrival of the month of Muharram (2 December 1978) and then Tasu’a and Ashura, demonstrations against the Shah spread throughout the country, and Damghan joined the ranks of revolutionary cities with some delay. Until then, the marches in Damghan had not been particularly bloody and had not been accompanied by martyrs or injuries, but the demonstration that was held during the morning ceremony for the 11th of Muharram according to the old and traditional formalities marked a special event in the revolutionary history of Damghan. Fortunately, we have a memory of this bloody event, a press release, and five reports from the Pahlavi government’s law enforcement and security centers, which can more or less portray the events of that day from different perspectives.

According to an old tradition, during these days, people from the surrounding villages would come to Damghan and participate in the mourning ceremonies. According to the memoirs of Hossein Sehmi in the special mourning ceremony of the 11th of Muharram 1978 (12 December), "People from most villages came to the city to participate in the ceremony. In the continuation of the mourning ceremony, the palm tree was moved to the Shah neighborhood. Revolutionary forces chanted revolutionary slogans from the beginning of the movement. On the way to the march, many people joined the crowd. About two hours later, the protesting crowd reached the vicinity of the Bukair bin Ain tomb [Shohada Street, where the city cemetery is also located]. As they were putting the palm tree down, a large number of police lined up in front of the crowd with bayonet-mounted rifles. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire mingled with the people's slogans. After firing in the air, the officers opened fire on the demonstrators. It was the first time that people in Damghan had encountered such a scene. The crowd retreated a little, and the police forces took advantage of this opportunity to take the wounded with them. Two people were martyred and several others were injured in the shooting. One of the people who played a role in organizing the demonstration was Ali Moallem [Damghani]. He was encouraging the crowd that was fleeing. He unbuttoned his coat. He had hidden several homemade grenades with tees under it. He said, “We are here to support you, don’t be afraid.”[11]

 The incident of the 11th of Muharram in Damghan did not escape the attention of SAVAK and Shahrbani agents, and they covered it in their reports. According to a report published by the Central Command of the Army Headquarters, signed by Lieutenant General Khajeh Nouri, head of the Third Department, on that day, “mourning groups marched through the streets of Damghan city, and at 11:30 a.m., as the groups were leaving the city, a number of anti-government protesters armed with firearms and cold weapons attacked the officers and pro-government groups, chanting anti-national slogans. As a result, Chief of Police Mohammad Khodabandehlu was wounded, two civilians were killed by bullets, and ten others were injured. The demonstrators were dispersed by officers’ aerial fire and water cannons.”[12]

The National Front's newsletter also reported the incident as follows: "On the 11th day of Muharram, when groups of mourners for Hussein were moving through the streets of the city and were engaged in mourning, the police opened fire on the people without warning. As a result, two people were killed and more than twenty were injured, several of whom are in critical condition.”[13]

However, SAVAK agents describe the 11th Muharram incident in Damghan in more detail in three reports:

The first report, titled “Anti-national Demonstrations in Damghan,” reads as follows: “On 12/December/1978 and 13/ December /1978, anti-national demonstrations were held under the leadership of individuals such as Haj Mohammad Hossein Zarezadeh, Hassan Zarezadeh, Haj Mohammad Zarezadeh, Haj Ramadan Talebi, Seyyed Masih Shahcheraghi, [Seyyed Mahmoud] Torabi, Mahmoud Zolfaqari, Mehdi Omidvar, and [Mohammad] Ali Moallem [Damghani]… A number of residents of Damghan and surrounding villages participated in these demonstrations and chanted anti-national slogans… In most of the anti-national demonstrations in Damghan, the aforementioned individuals led the demonstrations.”[14]

In the second report, which was sent by telegram from Semnan to The “Extreme Political and Religious Parties and Groups Section” in the “First Department of Operations and Investigation” of the Third General Directorate (Internal Security) of SAVAK has been sent, and the injured and martyrs of the incident have been spoken of as follows: Hereby, the names of the people who were killed or injured in the clash on 12/December/1978 in Damghan are recalled as follows. In addition, after the demonstrators were dispersed, two hunting rifles were left behind and were confiscated by the police. The type of weapon, caliber and number will be announced later. 1: Ahmad Abdyaei, farmer of Abdya village, superficial wound to the knee. 2: Ali Asghar Sabahi, 25 years old, unemployed. From Damghan. Superficial wound 3: Nosratollah Khalilnejad, 10 years old, wounded in the side and left hand. Occupation: Diploma holder. Unemployed. 4: Hassan Aminian, 21 years old, student. Wounded in the thigh. 5: Mohammad Reza Taheri, son of Ali Asghar, unknown occupation. Shot in the left and right knees. 6. Sedighe Mehrabi, 19, housewife. Shot in the left side. 7: Bahman Kohistani, 17, student. Shot in the shoulder. 8. Mohammad Khodabandehlu, police officer. Shot in the ear. 9: Mohammad Zulfiqari, son of Ali Akbar Ahangar. Shot in the head and hand. 10: Ahmad Aftri [Akhtari], son of Habibollah, ironworker. Died. Four foreign doctors said he was hit with a sharp object like an axe. 11: Mehdi, unknown reputation. Died from Mashhad. 12: Parviz Kordzadeh, son of Ismail, unknown occupation. He has a head wound with a brick.”[15]

The third report, which is kept in the archives of the Islamic Revolution Documents Center, also describes this incident in different and more detailed terms: “On 12/December/1978, a group of about 400 villagers from the surrounding area of ​​Damghan city in Semnan province gathered as usual every year to hold the mourning ceremony for Imam Hussein (pbuh) in the aforementioned city. The group in question then, instigated by two extremist clerics and supporters of [Imam] Ruhollah Khomeini, Seyyed Hassan Shahcharaqi and Seyyed Mahmoud Torabi, went to the city cemetery and chanted harmful and anti-national slogans. There, they encountered a number of pro-Shah and patriotic villagers. During the clash that broke out between the two aforementioned groups, the opponents shot and killed two of the pro-Shah villagers and injured ten of them. With the intervention of law enforcement officers and the firing of several shots in the air, the members of both groups dispersed and two people died during the clash.”[16]

The above published reports do not provide accurate and correct information about the martyrs of the 11th Muharram incident in Damghan, but by referring to the book "Farhang A'lam Shuhada", the status of two of the martyrs becomes somewhat clear. The first is Ahmad Akhtari, who "was born on September 19, 1950 in Damghan. His father, Habibollah, was a grocer and his mother was Sakineh. He was a fourth-year high school student. He was martyred on December 30, 1950, in his hometown during a demonstration against the imperial regime. His body was buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery in the same city." [17] A notable point about him is that Akhtari was wounded on December 12 and was martyred on December 21. The other is martyr Hossein Aminian, whose first name, according to the information available in the Martyrs' Foundation file, is "Hossein," while SAVAK documents refer to him as "Hassan." “He was born on August 14, 1957 in Damghan city. His father was Seifullah Keshavarz and his mother was named Azra. He studied until the end of primary school. He was also a farmer. On December 11, 1978, he was martyred in his hometown during a demonstration against the imperial regime due to a bullet wound. His body was buried in the Martyrs’ Cemetery of the same city.”[18]