Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (10)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi


Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (10)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi


Cortege of Sheikh Javad Foomani
The late Ayatullah Sheikh Jadad Foomani was one of famous southern Tehran clergy and pioneer in political protesting movements. He had a sharp and expressive tongue and had no fear to talk about the regimes corruption. He had been arrested for several times and called to the police intelligence administration.
He was so popular among the poor and Tehran public for his uncompromising attitudes. The regime was so careful about and fully aware of this popular clergy activity.
Finally he passed away on 23rd of Ramadan 1384 L.H. (Jan 26th 1965), Shab-e Qadr (Night of Destiny).(1) People were sad of hearing his death news. His cortege changed to a great political meeting. Predicting the matter the regime cut the phone lines of Bazaar and the district around Khorasan square in a security attempt.
The fasting people of Tehran wearing black suits rushed to his cortege. The cortege started in front of Nou Mosque. Mehdi and I also joined the cortege. We could see men who had put clay on their heads and women wearing thick black suits and all together had taken part in their popular clergy’s funeral without caring the regime’s possible attempts.
We rallied along with the body toward town of Rey in south of Tehran. SAVAK tried to impede the rally but was confronted with the people’s anger. When we entered Rey Street, people started to shout the slogan: “Our Hojjat-ul-eslam went away from this mortal world. Woe! Woe!”
In Shush Square, somebody went on top of an 18 Kilogram oil can and started to shout slogans and speaking to people. SAVAK reacted and tried to arrest him, but they could not and he lost himself among people cleverly. Shush square became full of people. Very soon we found out there were some agents among people wearing ordinary clothes. While I was moving along with people and shouting someone took my hand and pulled. I look at him and asked what he was doing and then he said: “Do not move! Come with me to back!” I found out he was a SAVAK agent. I said: “Go away! What are you talking about?!” we had a quarrel with each other. My brother, Mehdi who was then a bit far away from us became attentive to us. He asked: “Ahmad! What is up?” I said: “This guy is telling me that I have to go with him …!”
Then my brother and some others rushed to us. Then, the SAVAK agent was forced to free my hand. My brother, Mehdi, pushed me in the people and said: “Go…!” I lost myself among people and then the agent could not find me anymore.
In Rey town road, near to Siman Bridge, we confronted with a group of commandos who had come there from out of the road and the colonel who was commanding the suppression on June 5th 1963 was their commander.(2) Seeing him, we put the body down on the ground and started to mourn and lament. Commandos tried to stop the cortege, but people were ignorant and pushed them back and continued their way.
Finally the body of the late Sheikh Javad Foomani(3) was buried in Abd-ul-azim Shrine and his death was useful for people as his life.

Mehdi Ahmad Arrest(4)
After June 5th 1963, “Islamic Councils Coalition” began its military activity. By this new policy in February 1965, Hassan-Ali Mansour(5), the prime minister who approved the Capitulation Bill was assassinated by four brave young men named: Mohammad Bukhara’i, Sadegh Amani, Morteza Niknezhad, and Reza Saffar Harandi. Instantly all four were arrested and after short time were sentenced to death and executed. Then arresting “Islamic Councils Coalition” members started. My brother who was a pioneer of Coalition was arrested and put in prison.
We were not aware in which prison he was kept. We referred to different places such as SAVAK and prisons to get some news about him. SAVAK offices were hidden and unknown to public and I had real problem in finding them. Once I was arrested and interrogated by SAVAK.
They wanted to know how I had been able to find their places. I explained that I had asked the taxi driver to show me the offices of SAVAK and apparently they believed me. I asked them about my brother’s destiny but they did not answer me clearly and freed me after an hour.
Like us the other family members of Islamic Councils Coalition members were looking for their prisoners and it took us some time to know that they were kept in Eshratabad prison (today’s Vali-asr garrison).


1- Mr. Haj Ali Akbar Salehi says in his memoirs: “Mr. Foomani was carried to Firoozabadi Hospital and there, it was SAVAK agents who injected poison to his body. When he passed away, his body was taken to his home and then washed for putting in grave. When washing his body, it was found out that there were some bloody skull-caps beside him. SAVAK stole them to hide the matter …”
See: Khaterat-e 15-e Khordad, Bazaar, Daftar-e Adabiyyat-e Enghelab-e eslami (June 5th Memoirs, Bazaar, The Bureau for the Islamic Revolution Literature)
2- Colonel Saeed Taheri had a big role in killing people on June 5th 1963. He was the police commandos’ commander. He was also effective in suppressing the protests during Iran-Israel soccer match by arresting and injuring many people. Later he became the deputy of Tehran Police as a general. Since 1971 he was in Komiteye Moshtarak-e Shahbani (the police common committee) where the so mamny dissidents were tortured and interrogated.
General Taheri was finally assassinated in August 1972 by Mohammad Mofidi and Mohammad Baqer Abbassi.
3- Ayatullah Sheikh Javad Foomani Hayeri, son of the late Ayatollah Sheikh Jafar was born on June 12th 1912 in Kerbela in an old cleric family. He started his Islamic studies in the school of the late Sheikh Ali Akbar Na’iini who was famous as calligrapher. He wore cleric uniform when he was 10 years old. He continued his Islamic studies with father and other great instructors in Kerbela at Badkoobe Seminary School. He educated Fiqh and Osul in Najaf with the late grand ayatollah Haj Agha Zia-ud-din Iraqi and the late grand ayatollah Seyyed Abul-hassan Esfahani and reached Ijtihad degree when he was only 25 years old.
After his father’s death in 1938, he immigrated to Tehran at 27. He would preach to inform people about the Pahlavi regime unti-Islamic activities. He was also active in founding non-profiting institutes including: Religious Unity (a society for Islamic or cultural programs), Nou Mosque, Nou Elementary School (for girls), The 1st Islamic Kindergarten, “10 Shahis Cooperative” (where the rich members would pay 10 Shahi’s each month for the funds needed for girls’ school and kindergarten), Nou Elementary School (for boys), Nou Mosque No 2 and …
He was arrested, interrogated and tortured by SAVAK four times.
Finally he died under hard mental and body pressures at 43 on 23rd of Ramadan (1965).
See: Setam-Setizan-e Nastouh, Markaz-e Barrasiye Asnad-e Tarikhi Vezarat-e ettela’at (The Center for Survey in Historical Documents of Intelligence Ministry)
4- Mehdi Ahmad was born in 1932 in Tehran. He is elder brother of Ahmad. He is among the pioneers of “Islamic Councils Coalition” as a member of Amin-ud-dowleh Mosque in Darvazeh bazaar. When he was arrested and interrogated by SAVAK, they considered him 2nd rank members of Coalition. He was in Qezel Qal’eh Prison for 57 days and 67 days in scary prison of Eshratabad. He along with some other of his friends attempted hunger strike and finally was moved to Qasr Prison and then freed on August 12th 1965.
Mehdi Ahmad who was an blacksmith in 17th Shahrivar Street, free and far from SAVAK limitations, continued his activities and in 1973 was announce wanted by SAVAK after the conflict of Vahid Lahooti. Then he ran away and moved to Mashhad and lived and worked there with the nickname “Haj Ali Taraghi”. In 1977 SAVAK identified and arrested him and tortures seriously. However, not finding any important information he was freed after few months.
5- Hassan Ali Mansour, son of Rajab Ali Mansour Mansour-ul-molk, was born in 1923 in Tehran. He was an anglophile that later found American identity. He had BA in law from Tehran University. He was father was suspicious of being freemason. His progress was due to his father’s services to the Pahlavis. In 1961 when he was a parliament member he founded Kanoon-e Taraghi (Progress Center) by the advices of Americans. Later this center expanded and changed to “Iran Novin Party” and followed his goals. When Alam government was defeated by Islamic Movement in March 1964, he was chosen as prime minister and passed Capitulation Bill for the American subjects in Majlis in October 1964. He was assassinated by Islamic Councils Coalition members in February 1965 right in front of National Assembly.
6- A capitulation is a treaty or unilateral contract by which a sovereign state relinquishes jurisdiction within its borders over the subjects of a foreign state. As a result, the foreign subjects are immune, for most civil and criminal purposes, from actions by courts and other governmental institutions in the state that makes the capitulation.
Passing this bill made Iranian people and clergy angry. Imam Khomeini said: “In the name of God, the compassionate the merciful. We are from God and will be back to him. I cannot present my heart sorrow, my heart is depressed … our nation is lower than American dogs! If an Iranian kills an American dog, he or she would be interrogated. If Iran’s king kills an American dog, he would be interrogated and if an American chief kills Iran’s king, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah, or any other high ranking man, no Iranian can interrogate him… Why?!....”
(Imam Khomeini’s speech on 26th October 1964, Sahifeh Noor, Vol. 1, pages 139-140)



 
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