Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Part 26)
2018-01-16
Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Dabbagh)
Edited by: Mohsen Kazemi
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company
2002 (Persian Version)
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian
Imam Musa Sadr and martyr Chamran
One of the blessings I got when I was in Lebanon was getting acquainted with Imam Musa Sadr[1] and his companion martyr Chamran. The two were very friendly and were working together in the majority of occasions. Imam Musa Sadr was spiritual leader of the Shiite and the chairman of Supreme Council of the Shiite[2], and worked hard for the welfare and cultural affairs of the people of southern Lebanon. Martyr Mostafa Chamran[3], who had educated in the United States and had turned his back on all facilities and welfare of his life there, came to Lebanon after spending guerrilla training course in Egypt during the presidency of Jamal Abdel Nasser, and had taken the responsibility of many cultural, non-profit, and charity affairs of the Shiites in Lebanon.
Sadr and Chamran were always with each other like two brothers and both worked hard for the Lebanese. Imam Musa Sadr had built an industrial school for orphans and families of the martyrs, which was run by martyr Chamran. He suffered unbearable endeavors; he was principal, teacher, and the prayer leader of the school. Chamran had done everything for the youth and adolescents of that school; from light weapons training to discussion meeting about the Qur'an, congregational prayer, writing plays and short stories, and etc.
One night, we were at martyr Chamran’s house in the south of Lebanon. When all the guests went, he asked us to go beside the creek in the courtyard. We went. It was a very interesting and beautiful scene; stones in various geometric shapes had been arranged beautifully and in a novel way beside a pond; and a pleasant sound was heard from the collision of water with the stones, a waterfall had also been created that was very enchanting and fondled the soul. When Dr. Chamran saw that I was sunk into the beauty of that scene said, "I’ve brought these stones with my own hands from the seashore." This work from him with such a great and sublime spirit was so strange to me. A pioneer man in all fields: self-controlling; academic studies; learning a variety of martial arts, military, and guerrilla techniques; performing all religious duty and most of the recommended ones; and etc. I heard from his servant that Dr. Chamran went out at night and when everyone drowned in sleep he performed prayer and praying silently next to that creek.
Martyr Dr. Mostafa Chamran was a truly mystic; a dervish and a human being free from the world, of the property, and position. He had no dependence on anyone or anything, even his wife or children. There was only God in his life. People like him are few in our society. The man, who was much acclaimed in the United States for his scientific status, turned his back on all the tempting suggestions and prosperity and came to Lebanon with his wife and children. After a while, his wife could not tolerate the new life, so she took the children and returned to America, but Dr. Chamran not batted an eyelid. He had no fear. He lived easily and life was a struggle for him. How beautiful it was!
When he was informed that his eight-year-old son drowned in a pool in the United States, not batted an eye, stood upright, and said, "We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return." He didn’t show restlessness because of this incident and his daily plans, such as performing prayer, managing the school and leading the young, holding the meetings, traveling, and so on did not change. This firmness was only seen in a godly personality. A person, whose soul has been deeply involved with the God. Who was this man, who wasn’t broken down when he heard his dear son has died and stood up like a mountain? A pious, brave, scientist, self-sacrificing, mystic, and mujahid man who was blessed with his martyrdom.
One day I and one of the group members walked in one of the Lebanon streets, when it started to rain heavily. To escape from the rain, we sheltered under the parasol of a shop, and then went into it. We witnessed an interesting scene; on one side of the shop, the wine and alcohol bottles were arranged and on the other side of it the image of Imam Ali (AS) was hung! I asked, "What is this? On the one side there are drinks and on the other side Hazrat Ali's image?" The shopkeeper replied, "Thanks God I’m Shiite! And this [liquor store] is for providing my family’s livelihood and I myself don’t drink!"
That day I was very affected by what I saw and heard in that shop. One day, I asked Imam Musa Sadr, "Why don’t you think about it? Why, in southern Lebanon, people who are Shiite and Muslim go to mosque and perform prayers, are doing religiously prohibited jobs. I saw a Shiite who had hung Hazrat Ali's picture in his liquor store, and I know that most of the people play poker and gambling in their houses." Imam Musa Sadr gave a thought provoking answer, "We have to go ahead gently. So far, we have been working on them, we have been able to convey to them that the combat is also a part of Islam; standing against the enemy is also a part of Islam; the claim only is not enough for being Muslim and Shiite, it needs action too. At present, we have brought them up here. It's too early now to tell them that your wives must have Hijab; your children should not see obscene film, you should not drink and buy or sell it. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), after ten years of his mission, ordered his companions to immigrate and said: "say there is no deity but God, to be savaged and ..."
That day, it was hard for me to understand the words of Imam Musa Sadr, but after a long time living among these people, I distinguished the accuracy of his words; and found out that how much hardship he has suffered so far to get to this point[4].
To be continued…
[1]. Ayatollah Seyyed Musa Sadr was born in Qom on June 4th 1928 and spent the primary school and high school in the same city. He pursued his Islamic studies in Qom and Najaf seminary and benefited from the lessons of Imam Khomeini and other Ayatollahs, like Boroujerdi, Mohaghegh Da’amad, Kuhkamarei, Seyyed Ahmad Khansari, Allame Tabataba’i, Soltani Tabataba'i. He graduated in Economics at the University of Tehran. He knew Arabic, English and French. Imam Musa Sadr taught Islamic jurisprudence, principles, logic, and philosophy for some time in the Qom Seminary. After his father died in 1955, he went to Najaf and benefited from the lessons of great Ayatollahs, such as Seyyed Mohsen Hakim and Seyyed Abolqasem Khoyi until 1958. He returned to Iran in 1958, and published the first seminary Magazine called ‘the School of Islam’ in December, with the assistance of a number of scholars and some committed traders in Tehran. After the death of Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul Hussein Sharafoddin Sadr - the leader of Shiites in Lebanon - and according his will and invitation of all the Lebanese Shiites, Imam Musa Sadr immigrated to Lebanon with his family. He pursued his cultural, social, political and religious plans among the Shiites and called them to fight against Israel and Zionists by advertising the constructive concepts of Islam. He was able to carry out extensive activities in order to fulfill the high goals of Islam, such as: establishing the Supreme Council of the Shiites of Lebanon, founding the Amal Movement organization, establishing Amal organization (the military arm of Amal Movement organization against the Zionist’s offensives), the Jebel Amel Industrial Institute (for boys), Fatat house (for girls), Benefactors Society, Islamic Research Center, and etc. On March 14th 1978, south Lebanon occupied by Zionist forces. Thus, in another part of his activities, Imam Musa Sadr began his periodic trips to various Arab countries (Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Libya) to open the eyes of people and their leaders to the woeful situation of Lebanon. He arrived in Libya on August 25th 1978, and when he intended to leave for Italy, got lost along with two of his followers, Sheikh Mohammad Ya'qub and Abbas Badr-al-Din.
[2]. Aiming to found a center for Lebanese Shiites after few years of Imam Musa Sadr’s combating, the Shiite Supreme Court was approved in1969 in the Lebanon parliament. It has a religious board of nine clergymen and religious scholars and a twelve executive board elected by Shiites. [see Lebanon, Martyr Dr. Mostafa Chamran, Tehran, Martyr Chamran Foundation, 1983]
[3]. Dr. Mostafa Chamran was born in 1932 in Qom. He spent his elementary school at Ensarayieh School near Pamenar, and then went to Dar Al Fonoun high school, and with no charge spent the last two years of his studying at Alborz High School, during which he was always top student. In 1953, he was accepted by Tehran University in Electrical Engineering and was graduated with top grades in 1957. At the age of fifteen, he attended in the meetings of Quranic interpretation which was held by the late Ayatollah Taleghani in the Hedayat Mosque. Also, during student days, he attended in the sessions of philosophy and logic which was held by martyr Ayatollah Motahhari. He was an active member of the Islamic Student Association. In 1958, Chamran won a scholarship and went abroad and got MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Texas University and the Ph.D. in Electronics and Plasma Physics (Nuclear Graft) from the University of California, Berkeley. During his studies at US universities, he had a major role in the formation of student anti-regime organizations, in particular the Students' Islamic Association. He participated in most of societies and anti-regime national political movements. The monthly journal of ‘Andisheh Jebheh’ and the bulletin of the ‘American National Front’ were published by him and his friends. His other political activities were: various lectures in the students gathering of National Front and Islamic Student Association, publishing numerous articles with an assumed or real name, taking part in ninety mile rally [Baltimore to Washington], participating in a hunger strike inside the chapel of United Nations due to protesting the arrest of Ayatollah Taleghani and his followers, having effective role in forming the demonstration of 1965 in front of Shah's hotel during his trip to the United States, and so on. After the bloody uprising of June 5, Chamran went to Egypt and spent the most difficult guerrilla and training courses and guerrilla warfare for two years; and then took the responsibility for training guerrilla warfare to Iranian fighters. He returned to the United States in 1968 (after the death of Jamal Abdel Nasser) and went to Lebanon by Imam Musa Sadr’s invitation in late 1971. He settled in the southernmost point of Lebanon, tyre, near the borders of Israel; and accepted to managing the Jebel Industrial School (and always was shoulder to shoulder of Imam Musa Sadr in all religious, cultural, political military movements). Chamran played an important role in setting up and organizing the military arm of ‘Amal Movement’. Eventually, Chamran returned to the homeland after twenty-two years when the revolution gained victory and immediately visited Imam Khomeini. He set up the first training courses of the Revolutionary Guard. He then was assigned as deputy of the prime minister in revolution affairs. Confronting the counter-revolution, the Paveh city of Kurdistan was rescued from the fall through epic of martyr Chamran and his followers; and then Novosud, Marivan, Baneh and Sardasht were liberated one after another. On November 7th 1979, he was appointed to the Ministry of Defense by command of Imam; and he was elected by the people of Tehran for the first term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and was the representative of Imam at the Supreme Council of Defense on behalf of him and also his consultant. Martyr Chamran formed the headquarters of irregular wars in Ahvaz when the war began and he himself bravely fought in the guerrilla warfare against the enemy. Eventually, he, who avoided the stillness, was martyred by the shrapnel of mortar on the back of his head in Dehlaviyeh region. [Based on the book proud Martyr, Dr. Mostafa Chamran, Imam's companions in the narrative of SAVAK documents, Tehran, publication of Historical Documentation center of Ministry of Intelligence, 1999]
[4]. For more information about Lebanon, see: Lebanon, Martyr Dr. Mostafa Chamran, Martyr Chamran Foundation, Tehran, 1984.
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