Feyzieh Seminary Accident Narrated by Dr. Mohammad Baqir Ketabi

Selected by Faizeh Sassanikha
Translated by Mandana Karimi

2025-4-1

During the Nowruz of 1963, tens of thousands of people came to Qom to spend the holidays in that holy land and enjoy its luck and blessings, and at the same time to see and hear the policies and moves of their religious leader and take them to different countries and cities like a messenger.

The Shah and his agents were frightened by this serious reality and wanted to dry up the water from the source. The attack on the Feyzieh Seminary was carried out with these calculations and prior preparations, and their purpose was several things: first, to suppress the militant and Muslim people who had risen up, second, to suppress the clergy, especially its first figure, Imam Khomeini, who was the essence of struggle and resistance and the strong fortress of Muslims and Islam.

Third, to pretend that the opponents of Tamaddon-e Bozorg (the Great Civilization), even though they were great spiritual figures, were not immune from danger.

On the morning of the 22^nd of March 1963, which coincided with the death of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), it was clearly seen that the buses of Sherkat-e Vahed (the Unified Bus Company) were continuously entering Qom and disembarking their passengers in different clothes such as workers, farmers and the like. It seemed that the large number of passengers and lack of enough buses had caused this situation and that these were pilgrims who came to Qom for pilgrimage, unaware that the passengers were executioners who came to Qom in order to corrupt and shed the blood of innocent people and to injure and beat up the free people and fighters for the cause of truth. They were wolves in human form, to tear and burn and kill and leave.

Following the arrival of the buses of the Unified Bus Company, dozens of military trucks equipped with heavy machine guns filled with soldiers entered Qom and maneuvered in the city. Perhaps no one knew that day what a sinister connection existed between those passengers of the single company and these armed soldiers, what events had to happen in Feiziyeh and what a shameful incident was about to occur today next to the holy shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (peace be upon her) and in the cradle of Islamic knowledge and culture. I myself read many harsh declarations and saw groups of people in every corner, talking and whispering to each other about incidents.

The shadow of sorrow and pain was everywhere, and the occurrence of that incident had made people anxious, because Nowruz had turned into mourning, and mourning gatherings were held in the homes of many scholars. Especially in the house of Imam Khomeini (may God have mercy on him), with a huge crowd of people, there was no room to sit or stand, mourning had begun, and a speaker on the pulpit based his speech on the struggles of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) with the Umayyad and Abbasid regimes and brought the discussion to the aggressions of the ruling government against Islam and the people of Iran, when suddenly the sound of prayers was raised inappropriately, the preacher’s speech was interrupted, and the situation of the meeting became abnormal. The Imam, who was inside the house, was informed and came to the crowd and through one of the students sent a message that if any inappropriate behavior occurs among the crowd, we will immediately move towards the holy courtyard and tell the people what is necessary next to the holy shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (peace be upon her), and as a result, the assembly calmed down.

On the evening of that day, the 22nd of March 1963, Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani had declared a mourning ceremony at the Feyzieh Seminary. Before the meeting began, armed soldiers with army trucks were parked in Astaneh Square in front of the Feyzieh Seminary, and security officers were present around the seminary.

The many people coming and going, unfamiliar faces, and numerous announcements indicated an unusual situation. I entered Feyzieh before the mourning period began, and there was not much crowd in the seminary yet.

I sat in one of the porches and waited for the preacher. Different groups and classes were entering the seminary. A large crowd filled there, the courtyard, and the porches were filled with people everywhere. The preacher, who I think was Mr. Ansari, went up to the pulpit and began to preach. Since it was the death of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), naturally the topic was about that Imam and his extensive struggles and teachings and the establishment of the Islamic Studies and Knowledge Center by the sixth Imam. Gradually, the topic reached the Qom Seminary as the University of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and since the independence of the country and the preservation of Islamic laws are directly related to it. At this time, I saw that someone unrelatedly began sending Salawat (praise and greeting to God, Mohammad and his descendants), others from the crowd sent Salawat and the people naturally sent Salawat after him. The preacher began to speak twice. Then from another corner, someone sent Salawat loudly and the mass sending Salawat began. It was certain that some people did not know that sending these Salawat was unusual and was intended to disrupt the mourning meeting.

The third, fourth, and perhaps fifth time, Salawat was sent from a corner by unknown people in village clothes and the like, and the meeting was disrupted, and the preacher had to sit silently on the pulpit and his speech was hampered. I even remember the preacher on the pulpit touching his beard and saying: “Please stop sending Salawat until the speech can take its normal course,” but the Salawat would start again from a corner. At the same time, one of the clerics in the meeting, when he saw that people around him were sending Salawat in an inappropriate manner, objected to them and was suddenly attacked by the same officers who were ready and scattered and who were sitting near pulpit. Although the preacher tried hard to calm the assembly and continue preaching, the matter was different. Inappropriate Salawat were being raised from all corners of the assembly, and perhaps people who did not understand what was happening were sending Salawat to silence the assembly. The preacher, who found himself faced with such a situation, shouted: “O Muslims who have come from far and near to this holy city, when you return to your city, tell the people that we are no longer allowed to mention the calamity of the head of the Jafari sect. It was no longer possible to speak. The preacher came down from the pulpit and one of the same people, who was already in the know, grabbed the microphone and shouted: “Salut to the spirit of the late Reza Shah, …” the loudspeaker was cut off and some people told him to “Shut up!” and the meeting was disrupted.

A number of government agents, perhaps about seven hundred to a thousand people and dressed in rural clothes, attacked the innocent mourners with sticks and other tools and kept hitting and screaming. The crowd became tangled up like a scroll. Everyone got up, some were running away, falling on top of each other, some were screaming, others were stunned and did not know what was going on?

I saw young students from the second floor of the seminary inciting and encouraging people to resist and fight against those SAVAK agents. A number of students were thrown from the second floor. The narrow corridor leading to the exit of the Feyzieh Seminary was narrow and caused great difficulties for the large crowd trying to leave the seminary. Some fell and it was very difficult for them to get up. Some were injured and no one cared about anyone else. When I left the seminary, my back to my feet was swollen, red, and painful to the point that they gave me a cane. The sound of gunfire could be heard from outside the seminary, making people even more anxious. There was a large crowd in Astana Square and they saw the armed attack and assault of the agents on the Feyzieh Seminary. There was a possibility that they would attack the regime agents, who dispersed them with tear gas and bayonets.

After many people came out of the seminary, many people reported that the officers changed their clothes and attacked the students shouting (Long Live Shah!). They also defended themselves by destroying the second floor railing and attacking the regime agents with bricks and stones. The police, the armed constables, and the forces in front of the seminary entered and the Feyzieh Seminary became a battlefield. A barrage of bullets began. A number of students were thrown from the second floor into the seminary yard. The ruling regime committed a great crime in this seminary. They burned the students’ clothes, books, and equipment in the middle of the seminary. A large number of them were injured and left the seminary in the dark of night after completing these crimes. This shameful act of theirs made the people, especially the clerics, more determined to fight and strengthened Imam Khomeini’s base in front of all segments of society.

As soon as the Imam heard about the Feyzieh incident, he played the constructive role of a great leader and ordered the injured and injured to be taken to the hospital and provided them with means of rest.

The next day, the Imam’s house was the center of gathering of people, students, and scholars. The Imam explained to the people more and more about the actions of the Shah and the crimes of the agents, and considered the revelations as a great progress in the path of the Islamic movement. As a result of these instructions, a flood of people visited the Faiziyah Seminary and hospitals, and the feelings of the people were stirred up against the Shah, the agents of the regime, and SAVAK and their crimes, and the actions of the agents to clean up the seminary’s doors and walls were not effective. In this regard, the Imam issued a strong statement about this great crime: “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return... The attack by the commandos and government security agents in disguise and supported by the constables on the center of the clergy renewed the memories of the Mongols. With the slogans of Long Live Shah, they suddenly attacked the centers of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and the physical and spiritual descendants of that great man... They threw 16- and 17-year-old children from the roof... They tore books and Qurans...” It was a detailed and shocking declaration that completely awakened the people to the crimes of the regime, it was certainly the flow of the fiery fire that lit up the Islamic Revolution in Iran and led to the victory of 1979 Revolution.[1]

Isfahan - October 1990

Mohammad Baqir Ketabi