Misplaced Pages

#315684

101-647: The group executed a series of successful assassinations (author Ahmad Kasravi , court minister (and former prime minister) Abdolhossein Hazhir , the Prime Minister Haj Ali Razmara , the former education minister Abdul Hamid Zangeneh ) and attempted assassinations (the Shah of Iran, foreign minister Hossein Fatemi ) and succeeded in freeing of some of its assassins from punishment with the help of

202-417: A 1945 declaration, Navvad Safavi stated: We are alive and God, the revengeful, is alert. The blood of the destitute has long been dripping from the fingers of the selfish pleasure seekers, who are hiding, each with a different name and in a different colour, behind black curtains of oppression, thievery and crime. Once in a while the divine retribution puts them in their place, but the rest of them do not learn

303-679: A Muslim strike at the school, and although the principal apologized to him through the middle leg, Kasravi, who was upset, did not go to school anymore. It was at this time in 1917 that Nicholas II , the last Russian tsar, was overthrown. This overthrow affected the time of Iran at that time, especially Tabriz, where the Russians were influential. Meanwhile, a street reopened the Democratic Party in Azerbaijan. At this time, according to Kasravi, some constitutionalists, who had suffered

404-418: A beard, high-heeled shoes, and machine-made socks, wore a small turban , fastened his scarf, and wore glasses, which his opponents considered all because of his cult. After all, he did not fast and criticized the fasting people, and according to him, he only did things such as reciting the wedding sermon. From then on, he took over the management of his family, but he became poor. At this time, he began to recite

505-412: A charge of 'warring on Allah' as symbolized by the decision" to send Khomeini into exile. The three men who carried out the "sentence" – Mohammad Bokara'i, Morteza Niknezhad and Reza Saffar-Harandi – "were arrested and charged as accomplices", but the story of both the trial and the sentence was not revealed until after the revolution. The organization dispersed but after the death of Ayatullah Borujerdi,

606-445: A clergyman. In 1909, Kasravi went down with typhus . As a result of this disease, Kasravi suffered from a constant disability that was always with him. He also suffered from anemia and his eyes became dim and he suffered from indigestion. After recovering from his illness, his relatives and locals, according to him, forcibly took him to the prayer mosque to become a cleric there. On the other hand, an opponent cleric, whose son-in-law

707-502: A device and went to Ahvaz . Then it was difficult to go to Shushtar, which was the centre of Khuzestan at that time. Kasravi was surprised by the lack of interest in this city and its small size. There he learned that Khazal in Khuzestan did not dominate only Dezful, Shushtar and Ramhormoz, where he also bribed most government employees. Sheikh Khazal was also in the hands of mercenaries who, for example, had killed Sayyid Abdullah, one of

808-838: A different meaning. On 11 March 1946, while being tried on charges of "slander against Islam," Kasravi and one of his assistants named Seyyed Mohammad Taghi Haddadpour, were knifed and killed in open court in Tehran by followers of Navvab Safavi , a Shi'a extremist cleric who had founded an organization called the Fadayan-e Islam (literally Devotees of Islam ), led by two brothers, Hossein and Ali-Mohammad Emami. The same group had failed in assassinating Kasravi earlier in April 1945 in Tehran. Ayatollah Borujerdi and Ayatollah Sadr al-Din al-Sadr had issued fatwas for killing Ahmad Kasravi. The future Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini ,

909-464: A follower of the Baháʼí Faith. Kasravi's views threatened both modernist (blind followers of western culture in materialistic concept) intellectuals and the traditionalist cleric class (who worked along and gave legitimacy to traditionalists and Shia leaders who oppose progressive needed changes to modernize the country), not only because of his vision of religion (apart from Shi'a faith and Sufism, he

1010-501: A friendship developed between them. He also met Reza Soltanzadeh, who said that this friendship was lasting and lasted until the last years of Kasravi's life. At this time, Kasravi made a marriage contract with his cousin, the eldest daughter of their family, Mir Mohsen Agha; But at this time he saw the persecution of the clergy and was accused of cultism and disbelief in religion. On the other hand, because he had nothing to do, he became poor, had to sell his books, and, of course, enlisted

1111-565: A great deal from others in the past six years, resorted to grudges that Kasravi tried to keep quiet and sheltered some of his former enemies. It was at this time that high schools opened and Kasravi was called to teach Arabic in high school. It was at this time that Kasravi joined the Democrat Party . At this time, cholera spread in Tabriz and Kasravi also contracted the disease. Tabriz also suffered from drought. Under these circumstances,

SECTION 10

#1732765580316

1212-462: A group of Kasravi's companions were arrested in the prison of Sheikh Khayabani, Kasravi had to leave Tabriz with his wife, leaving the cities and diyats alone until he contracted a nausea fever in Shahindaj and stayed there for a month and a half. Because there was no doctor there, Kasravi went to Tehran sometime later. In Tehran, Kasravi met with his companions who had been expelled from Tabriz by

1313-449: A group of thinkers were trying to spread Esperanto in Tabriz. At the end of September of that year, Kasravi's wife's condition worsened and her hands and feet became swollen. Doctors determined that he had dehydration and needed surgery. After the operation, she recovered for two days, but on the second night she died suddenly and Kasravi was deeply saddened. Kasravi's first wife was his youngest cousin, and Kasravi had no attachment to her and

1414-572: A horse and ran away. At this time, Amir Moayed Savadkuhi had revolted against the government in Savadkuh and Sardar Sepah ( Reza Shah ) had sent an army to suppress him and Kasravi's caravan in Firoozkooh was prevented from following the trip. So the Cossacks sent him with another caravan, but because the caravan was not satisfied with his company, Kasravi left him and set off on foot to Sari. It

1515-462: A lesson. … Damn you! You traitors, imposters, oppressors! You deceitful hypocrites! We are free, noble and alert. We are knowledgeable, believers in God and fearless. Its first assassination was of a nationalist , anti-clerical author named Ahmad Kasravi , who was stabbed and killed in 1946. Kasravi is said to have been the target of Ayatollah Khomeini's demand in his first book, Kashf al Asrar (Key to

1616-501: A long trip, he arrived in Tehran, and after some rest, he went to see the then Minister of Justice, Amid al-Saltanah, but there was no room for him in the judiciary. Thus, Kasravi was caught in bipolar again. He remarried in Tehran. Eventually, he was made a member of the Mazandaran Appeal. On 17 November, Kasravi left for Mazandaran, where at that time the only way to get there was to use horses and Mule , and Kasravi rented

1717-401: A man who was eighteen or seventeen years older than him. Shortly afterwards, Mohammad Khiabani revolted against the government . Kasravi and his companions disbanded their group, but Sheikh Khiabani pursued them and harassed a group of them. Kasravi also had to stay at home. After a few days, he had to go to Fakhrabad, a village two miles from Tabriz. Two weeks later, Major Edmund, the head of

1818-431: A new spiritual leader, and reportedly being "reconstructed" by Khomeini disciple, and later controversial "hanging judge," Sadegh Khalkhali . It is thought to have carried out the assassination of Iranian Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansour in 1965. Mansour is reported to have been "tried" by a secret Islamic court, made up of Khomeini followers Morteza Motahhari and Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti , and sentenced to death "on

1919-511: A political party, Azadegan. Kasravi was eventually assassinated by followers of Navvab Safavi , the founder of the Shi'ite fundamentalist Fada'iyan-e Islam group. Many of the prominent members of the then Iranian clergy, including the later Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , supported the act of Kasravi being murdered, and Navvab and the Fada'iyan were proclaimed heroes following the assassination. Kasravi

2020-533: A powerful member of parliament and a supporter of the Fadayan, "arranged for a special Act to be passed quashing the death sentence on Tahamsebi and declaring him (Tahamsebi) to be a soldier of Islam," to the further consternation of Iranian secularists. However, following the fall of Mossaddegh Tahmasebi was arrested again and tried in 1952. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1955. In addition, Ayatollah Kashani ended his alliance with Mossadegh and become close to

2121-618: A primary method of political activism." On behalf of this group, Tahmasebi assassinated the Iranian Prime Minister, Ali Razmara , on 7 March 1951. He was arrested at the scene. He was described as a "religious fanatic" by The New York Times . In 1952, he was freed by the Iranian Parliament during the premiership of Mosaddegh , his pending death sentence was quashed, and he was declared a "Soldier of Islam." According to Time , Tahmasebi "promptly rushed to

SECTION 20

#1732765580316

2222-627: A result, his family guardian also resented Kasravi and changed his attitude towards him. In 1908, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar bombardment of the Majlis . Tabriz was blockaded. At that time, Haji Mirza Hassan Mojtahed and a group of like-minded people in Dohchi formed the Islamic Association, and Kasravi, who was still a student at the time, was watching. After that, Tabriz suffered from conflict and bloodshed for four months, which resulted in

2323-489: A righteous man who was far from religious. Between 1915 and 1916, Kasravi, who was familiar with Baha'i history and beliefs, had discussions with the preachers of this religion. At this time, too, Kasravi allegedly harassed clerics who knew he was going to an American school to study Babism . When the school closed on 2 July 1916, Kasravi borrowed loans from acquaintances to find work and health (doctors had offered to travel for further recovery) and travelled by rail to

2424-430: A street sheikh. Although his illness had not left him, he went in search of work. He was eventually accepted to teach Arabic at Servat High School. Meetings were held in Tehran and Kasravi was asked to fight in the streets, but Kasravi refrained from doing so. Meanwhile, Mukhbar al-Saltanah, who had just become the governor of Azerbaijan, asked Kasravi to join him in quelling the street uprising, but Kasravi refused. Khiabani

2525-475: A young cleric in Hakmavar became the son-in-law of Mir Mohsen Agha, the guardian of Kasravi's family, and Mir Mohsen started the mosque of Nia Kasravi and forced Kasravi to learn from him; But the two were at hostility. Kasravi's leaning towards the constitution and the opposition of this cleric and Mir Mohsen Agha to the constitution also increased his enmity. Therefore, Kasravi stopped learning from him, and as

2626-499: Is known for his solid and controversial research work on the ancient Azari language . He showed that the ancient Azari language was an offshoot of Pahlavi language . Due to this discovery, he was granted membership of the London Royal Asiatic Society and American Academy. Arguing that the ancient Azari language had been closely related to Persian language and the influx of Turkic words began only with

2727-423: Is said to have been made up of youth employed in "the lower echelons of the Tehran bazaar." Its program went beyond generalities about following the sharia to demand prohibitions of alcohol, tobacco, opium, films, gambling, wearing of foreign clothing, the enforcement of amputation of hands of thieves, and the veiling of women, and an elimination from school curriculum of all non-Muslim subjects such as music. In

2828-495: Is to borrow from people. What we take is for establishing a government based on the model of Imam Ali's government. Our goal is sacred and prior to these tools. When we established an Aliid government-like state, then we give people their money back. Fada'ian-e Islam launched a campaign of character assassination against the Marja and reportedly called for excommunication of Borujerdi and the defrocking of religious scholars who opposed

2929-449: Is today and has turned into many colours from Sunnism, Shi'ism, Esmaili, Aliollahi, Sheikhi, and Karimkhani, and the like. They call both Islam, but they are not one. They are completely different and are opposite of one another.... Nothing is left of that Islam. This establishment that the mullas are running not only does not have many benefits but also causes many harms and results in wretchedness. Basically, he believed and wrote that "all

3030-518: Is very diverse and that there are Sufis in places such as Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Maragheh, etc. He goes on to claim that it is not true that science will destroy Sufism and talks about why Europeans adore Sufism. He talks about the root of Sufism and its origin in Greek philosophy. Like his other books about Shia and Baháʼí beliefs, he criticizes Sufism and brings up contradictions and flaws in Sufism; in

3131-608: The Bab ), then into the Baháʼí Faith. Abbas Amanat , professor of history at Yale University , believes that Kasravi's work regarding the Bahá'í called Bahaigari is "a short polemic of little historical value". He further explains "in his criticism of the Bab , he hardly takes into account the historical circumstances under which the movement first appeared and his pontifical judgements no doubt are influenced by his own vision of pakdini ". It should be noted, however, that Amanat considers himself

Fada'iyan-e Islam - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-577: The Bolsheviks had looted Kasravi's brother's shop in Baku, and when he returned to Tabriz, Shahsevans took the rest of his property. Inevitably, Kasravi left his books to his brother to open a library and not be unemployed. At this time, Mukhbar al-Saltanah, who had a good relationship with Kasravi, paid Kasravi's remaining salary, and he paid his debts, and he was somewhat out of trouble. He wanted to go to Tehran when his wife fell ill. At this time, he and

3333-473: The Caucasus . During this trip, Kasravi tried to learn Russian . He went to Tiflis and left for Baku after two days. He did not find anything in Baku, so he boarded a ship and left for Ashgabat . Then he went to Mashhad and after a month he returned to Baku the way he had come and when he could not find work again he went to Tbilisi again. In Tiflis he became acquainted with freedom-seekers and also liked

3434-467: The Hazrat Abdolazim shrine , wept joyously and said: 'When I killed Razmara, I was sure that his people would kill me.'" Following the 1953 Iranian coup d'état , Tahmasebi was re-arrested and tried for the assassination of Razmara; he was executed in 1955. This Iranian history -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Iranian biographical article

3535-720: The Iranian Constitutional Revolution . He deserted his clerical training after this event and enrolled in the American Memorial School of Tabriz . Thenceforward he became, in Roy Mottahedeh 's words, "a true anti-cleric." Kasravi was the founder of a political-social movement whose goal was to build an Iranian secular identity. The movement was formed during the Pahlavi dynasty . Kasravi authored more than 70 books, mostly in

3636-699: The Persian language . The most important works from his body of work are History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution , Azari or the Ancient Language of Azerbaijan and The 18 Year History of Azerbaijan . He was attacked vehemently by the Shi'ite clergy for his secular ideas and by the court for his anti-monarchical statements. In his early period he was linked with the Democrat Party in Iran. In 1941 he established

3737-676: The Qur'an and tried to learn the meaning of the verses of the Qur'an . Ahmad Kasravi entered the Talibiyeh school in Tabriz as a teenager and studied Islamic sciences. After a while, as a Shiite missionary, he dressed as a Shiite cleric. At Talebieh School, he was a classmate of Sheikh Mohammad Khayabani and Sheikh Gholam Hossein Tabrizi . He was also in front of the Kasravi Mosque in

3838-607: The Arabs of that region, he knew that few people except his graduates were familiar with eloquent Arabic. He also knew that not all Arabs have a good relationship with Sheikh Khazal. At this time, Kasravi was constantly reporting to the Prime Minister on the critical situation in Khuzestan. A proponent of reform in Islam , he was respected for his deep knowledge of the religion, as "even his orthodox opponents admit that Kasravi

3939-627: The British Political Bureau, called for a meeting with Kasravi. Kasravi went to the British Consulate in Tabriz and met with Major Edmund. According to Kasravi, Britain was concerned about the spread of Bolshevism, as Mirza Kuchik Khan had allied himself with them, and Britain wanted to abandon the ideology of Sheikh Khiabani. Major Edmund wanted to incite Kasravi to pursue a street fight, but Kasravi refused and explained that firstly his group would not be able to confront

4040-551: The Caucasus uprising at the time, also covered the devastation in humorous language. However, Kasravi did not stay in Tabriz for more than three weeks, as Zia ol Din Tabatabaee took power in a coup d'etat and he had ordered the closure of the judiciary on 14 March. Thus Kasravi became unemployed again and faced poverty. In 1922, Tabatabaee was ousted and replaced by Ahmad Ghavam , but the judiciary remained closed. At this time,

4141-535: The Democrats, so they captured Sheikh Mohammad Khayabani and some of his allies and drove him out of Tabriz. The Ottomans formed a party in Tabriz called the Islamic Union , which was joined by a group of Tabrizis as well as Democrats, but Kasravi did not join them. At this time, Kasravi, who had been in the hands of enemies for some time, saw better to change his place of life, so he moved to Lilava , which

Fada'iyan-e Islam - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-855: The Fada'ian to restore the organization. According to Farhad Kazemi of Iranica, "the main carriers" of the Fedāʾīān’s legacy in the Islamic Republic, are the Coalition of Islamic Associations, which "grew from the former members and sympathizers" of the Fedāʾīān who have developed connections to "Ayatollah Khomeini and his lieutenants since 1963". These persons are main member of the group: Ahmad Kasravi Ahmad Hokmabadi Tabrizi ( Persian : سید احمد حکم‌آبادی تبریزی , romanized :  Ahmad-e Hokmabadi-ye Tabrizi ;‎ 29 September 1890 – 11 March 1946), later known as Ahmad Kasravi ,

4343-579: The Fada'ian-e Islam sympathizers found a new leader in Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini who appeared on political horizon through the June 1963 riots in Qom. In 1965, prime minister Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated by the group. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there were "three abortive attempts" made by "old members or sympathizers" of

4444-637: The Hekmabad neighbourhood of Tabriz for a short time. On 30 April 1909, the Russians clashed with the Mujahideen in Tabriz. Although Kasravi was far from a conflict in Hekmavar, this conflict and the stability of the Iranians affected him, and since Muharram had also begun, he advised the people on the pulpit. Kasravi was not satisfied with this and tried to join the fighters with several rifles; But

4545-664: The Iranian spirit with the errors he thinks belong to Sufis (immorality, irrationality, ...), further promoting idleness and passivity in order to keep Iran subjugated to foreign imperialists. His criticism of Hafez Shirazi followed the same path, considering him "a source of disgrace", saying that his "immorality" was due to the fact that the Mongols were the new rulers in the region, not respectful of Islamic law, thus letting some Sufis (like Hafez) "free to indulge in drinking wine, whereas previously they had to be cautious not to offend

4646-691: The Islamic Conference in Jordan and traveled to Egypt. There he learned about Hasan al-Banna, the founder of Muslim Brotherhood ( Arabic : الإخوان المسلمين ), who was killed by Egyptian government in 1949, and met Sayyid Qutb . Safavi was not supported by the ulama and the Shia Marja, Ayatullah Hossein Borujerdi , rejected his ideas, questioning him about robberies that his organization committed on gun point. Safavi replied: Our intention

4747-519: The Islamic sentiments of the rulers and the religious authorities." Kasravi was also critical about the Baháʼí Faith and considered it as another continuation of the same deviation that started from Shia (penetration and influence of Old Iranian and Judaism beliefs about "a supposed to come saviour" into Islam) to Shaykhism (followers of Shaykh Ahmad ) then Babism (followers of Ali Muhammad, called

4848-486: The Ottomans and tried to spread Pan-Turkism . They decided that from now on the party would use Persian language and one of its ideals would be to spread this language in Azerbaijan. In the meantime, Khiabani returned to Tabriz, but some of his actions, such as returning the expelled from the party and blaming others for his previous assassinations in Tabriz, angered the Democrats. In the meantime, Kasravi got bored and left

4949-678: The Safvat al-Safa, and argued convincingly that the ancestors of Shaykh Safi al-Din, who founded the Safavid Order (tariqa), were indigenous inhabitants of Iran. Today, the consensus among Safavid historians is that the Safavid family hailed from Persian Kurdistan . Our words have deep strong roots, and will never be eradicated with a pistol. There will be no better result from using a pistol than bloodshed. Say and write whatever you like, we will never be offended, but your support for thugs has

5050-506: The Secrets), that "all those who criticized Islam" are mahdur ad-damm , (meaning that their blood must be shed by the faithful). Secularist Iranian author Amir Taheri argues that Khomeini was closely associated with Navvab Safavi and his ideas, and that Khomeini's assertion "amounted to a virtual death sentence on Kasravi." Hussein Emami, the assassin and a founding member of the Fada'iyan,

5151-577: The Seljuq invasion, Ahmad Kasravi believed that the true national language of Iranian Azerbaijan was Persian and therefore advocated the linguistic assimilation of Persian in Azarbaijan. In 1927-8 Ahmad Kasravi led the way in establishing the ancestry of the Safavids dynasty with the publication of three influential articles, and disputed the validity of the 'official' Safavid family tree contained in

SECTION 50

#1732765580316

5252-401: The Shah after the assassination. Although the Fada'iyan strongly supported the nationalization of Iran's foreign-owned oil industry, they turned against the leader of the nationalization movement, Mohammad Mossadeq , when he became prime minister, because of his refusal to implement sharia law and appoint strict Islamists to high positions. The Fada'iyan attempted to assassinate Mossadeq and

5353-444: The Shah to give Emami a pardon, taking advantage of the Shah's political difficulties at that time, such as the occupation of Azerbaijan province by Soviet troops. Khomeini himself asked the Shah for the pardon. In November 1949 the group killed court minister (and former prime minister) Abdolhossein Hazhir . On 7 March 1951, the Prime Minister Haj Ali Razmara was assassinated, in retaliation for his advice against nationalizing

5454-665: The acceptance of Khuzestan, and when he was accepted, Kasravi also agreed to go to Khuzestan. Before leaving, he met Reza Khan Sardar Sepah for the first time. Sardar Sepah entrusted Kasravi to establish a judiciary that would be superior to the British judiciary on the other side of the Arvand River . Kasravi also set off and reached Khuzestan via Iraq ( Baghdad and Basra ). First, he went to Khorramshahr , then in Abadan he met Sheikh Khazal in his special ship. From there, he sat on

5555-466: The campaign of the Fada'iyan. Navvab safavi didn't like Broujerdi's idea of Shia-Sunni rapprochement ( Persian : تقریب ), he advocated Shia-Sunni unification ( Persian : وحدت ) under Islamist agenda. In 1955, Navvab Safavi and "other members of the Fedayeen of Islam, including Emami," were finally executed. The group continued however, turning, according to author Baqer Moin , to Ayatollah Khomeini as

5656-492: The central government's influence over this part of Iran. At first, Khazal and his sons were pleased to know that Kasravi had knowledge of Arabic, but when Kasravi wrote in Arabic newspapers in response to Khuzestan's independent reading and called Khuzestan part of Iran, Khazal became angry with him. Kasravi visited Susa and Dezful in Khuzestan. He also saw the ruins of Jundishapur. In Khuzestan, when he became acquainted with

5757-504: The cessation of the Islamic Association. Kasravi, who was seventeen at the time, was forced to stay at home and read books. At this time, most of the people of Hakmavar, as well as Kasravi's family, were enemies of the constitution, and Kasravi, who had attached himself to the constitution, by force of circumstance camouflaged his attachment. In the meantime, he followed the events of Tabriz until Tabriz calmed down and Kasravi started studying again. After studying for two years, he finally became

5858-584: The city and its people, so he remained there for a while. There he became acquainted with botany. However, he did not find anything there. Then, in mid-October, he returned to Tabriz following his mother's motivation letter and the call of Mr Chesp, the director of the Memorial School. On his return, the enmity between Muslims and Armenians increased, and Kasravi had verbal confrontations with them until one day when he left school, several Armenian students followed him and dragged his cloak away. This led to

5959-408: The danger from the Fada'iyan "was one of the primary factors accounting for Mosaddeq's decision to move the prime minister's office to his own residence." Another assassination attempt on 15 February 1952 badly wounded Hossein Fatemi , "Mosaddeq's dynamic and capable aide" and foreign minister. That left Fatemi "badly wounded and effectively disabled for almost eight months." The attempted assassination

6060-558: The end of the summer of 1923, Kasravi was sent to Qazvin to be tested by the judiciary. He went to Qazvin with his family and stayed there for a month, where he learned about Táhirih . After that, he returned to Zanjan. In the meantime, he made a trip to Soltanieh . He was in Zanjan until the beginning of Sardar Sepah as prime minister. At that time, Mu'adh al-Saltanah had become the Minister of Justice. Kasravi also set conditions for

6161-422: The few days that he went to the pulpit, the clerics excommunicated him, and the cleric who was with him in Hakmavar incited the thugs to harm him, and eventually, the people gradually dispersed from his pulpit, and he thus withdrew from the clergy. According to him, the burden of the clergy was removed from his neck. From then on, Kasravi was a homemaker for a while and read various books and became acquainted with

SECTION 60

#1732765580316

6262-487: The former heads of the judiciary, at the behest of one of these assassins. At this time, 250 Iranian troops were gathered in Salasel Fortress near Shushtar , which was the only government force in Khuzestan at that time, and Sheikh Khazal had a separate government from the central government of Iran. Britain, which benefits many in Khuzestan, also supported Khazal. At this time, Reza Khan was thinking of restoring

6363-514: The government provided flour to the people, and the Democrats mediated the distribution of flour among the people. Kasravi also tried to do this in Hekmavar. At the same time, Bolsheviks were in power in Russia. There was chaos in Iran as well, especially in Azerbaijan. The retreating Russians looted and destroyed cities like Khoy. In Urmia and Salmas, the Assyrian uprising caused bloodshed. With

6464-450: The group's powerful clerical supporters. Eventually the group was suppressed and Safavi was executed by the Iranian government in the mid-1950s. The group survived as supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution . The group was part of a "growing nationalist mobilization against foreign domination" in the Middle East after World War II, and has been said to presage more famous Islamist terrorist groups. Its membership

6565-406: The help of his father's old friends. Kasravi was offered to weave socks and he bought a sock machine, but the machine was unhealthy and Kasravi returned it, however, the seller did not return his advance payment. He bought another sock weaving machine, but this one also got into trouble and he lost it. Kasravi, who had failed to provide a career and had also sold his books, became very depressed. He

6666-411: The history of Mazandaran and writing notes on the history of Tabarestan in the weekly Nobahar and researching Ibn Esfandiar's manuscript and comparing it with foreign manuscripts, which he considered the beginning of his writing life. After a while, he was sent to Zanjan , where they had problems dismissing the former head of the court. After two months, he was offered to go to Arak and he accepted, but

6767-482: The judiciary staff and the ruler there. After resolving the dispute, they asked him to stay in Damavand and Kasravi accepted. At this time, Kasravi began writing a book in Arabic called "Azerbaijan in the Twentieth Century" and sending it to the monthly Al-Irfan . In October, a law was passed to test the knowledge of judges, so Kasravi went to Tehran for the exam and he received the highest score in this exam. He stayed in Tehran for two months and spent this time researching

6868-485: The language. He also chose a way to teach Arabic to his students. Then he wrote a book about this method called Al-Najm al-Darya, which was taught in Tabriz high schools for some time. In the American school, there were three Christian tribes (Armenian and Assyrian), Muslim and Ali-Illahis , which was a conflict between Christians and Muslims, and Kasravi was not relieved of this conflict. Some Muslim officials were also hostile to him there. Nevertheless, Kasravi calls Mr Chesp

6969-429: The meantime, he was offered membership in the Tabriz Appeal, which he accepted. In February, he set out for Tabriz, where snow and storm kept him on the road for twenty days. At this time, Azerbaijan, like other parts of Iran, was in turmoil, and Simko Shikak had conquered Urmia . The judiciary has also suffered a lot of corruption, as Kasravi said. The magazine Molla Nasraddin , which was published in Azerbaijan after

7070-505: The message of their books as "kramat". The next two chapters are about the Mongolians' attack on Iran and its relationship with Sufism; Kasravi blames Sufism for Iran’s defeat. The last chapter is about the Greek philosopher Plotinus , whom Kasravi believes is the founder of Sufism, and Kasravi's critique of his ideas. The book attacks all Sufi beliefs, taking some examples from Sufi books. Kasravi also published several periodicals: Payman (1932–1942) and Parcham (1942–1944). Kasravi

7171-439: The offer was rejected by the people of Zanjan who wanted him to stay. In Zanjan, he resumed writing the book "Azerbaijan in the Twentieth Century". He also researched events related to the Babi movement in Zanjan, which later helped him write a book on Baha'ism. The differences between the dialects of the Zanjanis and the Azerbaijanis also prompted Kasravi to research the Azerbaijani Turkish language and its writings and works. At

7272-508: The oil industry. Three weeks later the former education minister Abdul Hamid Zangeneh was assassinated by the group. Razmara's assassination was said to have moved Iran "further away from a spirit of compromise and moderation in relation to the oil problem" and "so frightened the ruling classes that concession after concession was made to nationalist demands in an attempt to pacify the intensely aroused public indignation." An assassination attempt on Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , on 4 February 1949,

7373-516: The onset of winter, the government, which fed the meagre, got into trouble and reduced their rations. Then typhoid and typhoid diseases spread in Tabriz and left many dead. Meanwhile, one of Kasravi's brothers and niece also fell ill but recovered, but Kasravi's mother Khadijeh Khanum contracted typhus and did not recover and died. This incident upset Kasravi and he said it was the saddest event in his life after his father's death. In 1918, Ottoman troops invaded Azerbaijan . They were pessimistic about

7474-527: The other hand, in Mazandaran, Amir Moayed's revolt had subsided and he had surrendered. In March, Tehran was informed that Mazandaran's appeal had been dismissed, and Kasravi had to leave for Tehran. On his return to Tehran, he met with Abdolhossein Teymourtash, and this acquaintance later led to their cooperation. After a while, he was sent to Damavand by the judiciary to resolve the disputes between

7575-482: The party. With the start of the fourth round of parliamentary elections on 21 July 1919, the street regrouped the Democrats and apologized for their previous actions, calling for the Democrats to show solidarity again; But still, Khiabani dictatorship annoyed Kasravi and others. At this time, Vossug ed Dowleh signed the 1919 agreement with Britain, but Mohammad Khiabani, contrary to the expectations of his allies, remained silent and did not act on it, which also increased

7676-658: The present-day representations of Islam have deviated from the essence and the true concept of its foundation". He was particularly critical of Shia (since its formation since the sixth emam, Emam Jafar Sadegh) and Sufism , to which he ascribed many ills, from its supposed promotion of stagnation, "irrationality" or even being a tool of the Orientalists . His main target in that field was the famous E. G. Browne , appreciated by Iranian intellectuals of all tendencies, whom he accused to have favoured Sufi poetry in his history of Persian literature , and thus trying to characterize

7777-453: The principal of that school, and repeated his request. Chesp considered Kasravi's high school year as a ban on his studentship at that school and had initially suggested that he go there as a teacher and study for two hours a day. Kasravi, who suffers from unemployment, accepted the offer and taught Arabic to The students who studied English themselves. It was in the first few months that he became self-taught about Esperanto and became attached to

7878-453: The resentment of the Democrats. It was at this time that Kasravi began working in the judiciary (15 September 1919). At the same time, divisiveness among Democrats escalated, with Kasravi splitting from the party. In the last meeting that took place between Kasravi and Khayabani, the two talked loudly, and after that Kasravi did not meet with Khayabani anymore. However, in his biography, Kasravi has expressed his remorse for being so big against

7979-543: The school with a man named Mullah Hassan. Kasravi first met Sheikh Mohammad Khayabani, who taught Ptolemy , at the same school in Talebia. In 1904, at the same time as the beginning of the Persian Constitutional Revolution in Tabriz, Kasravi first came across the name of the constitution and, according to him, he was dedicated to the constitution from the very beginning. At the same time,

8080-465: The sciences of the day, and gradually found friends among the freedom seekers. According to Kasravi, one of the books that moved him to read was Ibrahim Bey 's travelogue by Zeyn al-Abedin Maraghei . Through the shop from which he bought the book, Kasravi met several freedom fighters, one of whom was a street that had come to the Caucasus and from there to Tabriz after the parliament closed, and thus

8181-454: The second chapter, for example, he mentions the fact that most of Sufis do not have any occupation, do not get married, and do not care about life before death. The third chapter is about Islam and Sufism, and the bad things followers of Sufism have done to Islam. The next chapter is about the negative effect of Sufism on its followers because of the nature of the belief system. In the sixth chapter he calls followers of Sufism liars, and criticizes

8282-463: The shameful exposure and carelessness of women, and sexually provocative music … must be done away with and the superior teachings of Islam … must replace them. With the implementation of Islam's superior economic plan, the deprivation of the Muslim people of Iran, and the dangerous class difference would end. In the years to follow, he enjoyed a close association with the government. In 1954, he attended

8383-399: The street sheikh and secondly that he would not face him because his uprising was for Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Prime Minister had received a coded telegram from the critics that if you rise up to fight the street sheikh, the government will help you, which was also not accepted. At that time, Kasravi had returned to Tabriz, but he and his friends were under pressure and threats. When

8484-628: The war did not last more than four days and the Mujahideen left the city and the Russians conquered Tabriz and appointed Samad Khan , one of the long-time enemies of the Constitution, over the city. Anti-constitutional clerics and their followers also inflicted severe violence on the constitutionalists. Kasravi was also forced to visit Samad Khan in Bagh-e Amir under the pressure of Haji Mir Mohsen Agha, Guardian their family. However, for

8585-402: Was Mir Mohsen, also preached anti-Kasravi and called him a democrat in order to disperse the people around him. At this time, Kasravi sent his two younger brothers to Nejat Elementary School, which was not a good thing in the eyes of the people of that time, because his brothers, like other Sayyids, did not wear headscarves and did not wear green scarves. Kasravi, unlike other elected clerics, wore

8686-512: Was a leader in learning, comparing himself to his peers, and he learned many things with his own efforts and with the help of his family. His father died at the age of 12 and (after two years of carpet weaving) he returned to religious school and continued it according to his father's will. Haji Mir Mohsen Agha, who was the husband of the aunt and guardian of the Kasravi family, sent him to the Talibiyeh school. In that school, Kasravi first studied in

8787-564: Was a pre-eminent Iranian historian , jurist , linguist , theologian , a staunch secularist and intellectual . He was a professor of law at the University of Tehran , as well as an attorney and judge in Tehran , Iran . Born in Hokmavar (Hokmabad), Tabriz , Iran , Kasravi was an Iranian Azerbaijani . During his early years, Kasravi enrolled in a seminary . Later, he joined

8888-547: Was also against Kasravi's ideas and had called for young martyrs for Islam to counter "this illiterate Tabrizi" a few weeks after the first unsuccessful assassination attempt. Some of his more famous books are as follows: Khalil Tahmasebi Khalil Tahmasebi (Persian: خلیل طهماسبی) (14 February 1924 – 21 January 1955) was a carpenter and member of the Iranian fundamentalist group Fadayan-e Islam ("Self-Sacrificers of Islam" ), which has been described as "the first Shiite Islamist organization to employ terrorism as

8989-565: Was also sceptical of the Baháʼí), but also due to his critical stance on secularism and the fact that he was "the first Iranian to criticize modernism and Eurocentrism before Al-e Ahmad coined the term ' Weststruckness ' and made it a genre." God Is with Us or Khoda Ba Mast is a book by Ahmad Kasravi in which he discusses Sufism was published in 1944. It has eight chapters. In the introduction he touches on some common beliefs about Sufism; for example, he says that Sufism has many followers and

9090-418: Was an able theologian and regard his Shari'ate Ahmadi as the best book on the fundamentals of Islam and Shi'ism of his time", and, like Dr. Ali Shariati some three decades later, Kasravi considered that there were two kinds of Islam: [O]ne is the religion that that honourable Arab man brought one thousand, three hundred and fifty years ago and was established for centuries. The other is the Islam that there

9191-412: Was born on 29 September 1890 in the Hokmavar neighborhood of Tabriz . His family admired him as the first son of their family. His mother prevented him from playing with other peers. According to Kasravi himself, from the age of five, his head was shaved according to the tradition of that time, which made him very upset. He was sent to a school in Hekmavar when he was six years old. Nevertheless, Kasravi

9292-408: Was carried out by Fakhr-Arai; Fakhr-Arai was first attributed to be a member of the communist Tudeh Party of Iran , but he was later found to more likely be a religious fundamentalist member of Fada'iyan-e Islam. In addition to Emami, Khalil Tahmasebi , the assassin of Razmara, was also pardoned by the Iranian Parliament during the premiership of Mohammad Mossadegh . Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani ,

9393-465: Was during this trip that Kasravi first came across Iranian dialects and became aware of their existence. Despite all the difficulties, he finally arrived in Sari and stayed there for four months, bringing his wife there as well. He enjoyed life in Mazandaran, where he studied the Mazandaran language and studied. At this time, Simko Shikak had reached Mahabad and surrendered to the gendarmes and killed them. On

9494-490: Was forced to marry her only at the insistence of her family; But after the marriage, according to Kasravi, the woman had put her love in Kasravi's heart with her purity and simplicity. After forty days after the death of his wife, on 20 September, Kasravi handed over his children to his brother and left for Tehran again. When Kasravi was on his way to Tehran, Mohammad Taqi Pessian was killed in Khorasan. On 12 October, after

9595-574: Was interested in three disciplines: mathematics, history and Arabic, and he spent his time learning and reading these. At this time he wrote a speech in Arabic for a magazine called Al-Irfan , which was published in Sidon , and sent it to publish it without any compromise. In the summer of 1914, World War I broke out in Europe. At this time, the Ottomans advanced to Tabriz and repulsed Russia, but it

9696-499: Was killed two weeks later and the riot was suppressed. In Tehran, he wrote articles about the mourning for Nader Shah Afshar 's grave, which led to his acquaintance with Esperanto groups. He also had meetings and discussions with Baha'is . In the meantime, he was appointed head of the Tabriz Judiciary, which he refused. Meanwhile, Kasravi had not yet brought his family to Tehran and did not have enough money to do so. In

9797-475: Was not long before they were defeated and retreated. Thus, Azerbaijan was the battlefield of the states involved in the war. In 1915, Kasravi, in search of new knowledge, found himself in need of learning a European language. At first, he tried to learn French, but he knew that he could not learn without it. So he wanted to go to the American school in Tabriz called " Memorial School ", so he went to Mr Chesp,

9898-718: Was one of the best alleys in Tabriz at that time. At this time, Taqi Rifat, one of the street supporters, with the help of the Ottomans, founded a Turkish-language newspaper called Azarbadegan, in which he promoted Pan-Turkism. However, since World War I had led to the defeat of the Allies, in October of that year, the Ottoman troops left Tabriz and the Islamic Union collapsed. So Kasravi and the other Democrats reorganized their organization and expelled those who had collaborated with

9999-556: Was planned by the group's second in command, Abolhossein Vahedi, and carried out by a teenage member of the group. After the coup that removed Mosaddeq, Safavi congratulated the Shah: The country was saved by Islam and with the power of faith ... The Shah and prime minister and ministers have to be believers in and promoters of, Shi'ism, and the laws that are in opposition to the divine laws of God … must be nullified. … The intoxicants,

10100-513: Was promptly arrested and sentenced to death for the crime. The Iranian intelligentsia united in calling for an example to be made of him. Emami, however, was spared the gallows. According to Taheri, he roused religious defenders and used his prestige as a seyyed , or descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , to demand he be tried by a religious court. Khomeini and many of the Shia clergy pressured

10201-589: Was the first Iranian Azerbaijani intellectual to take a firm position against pan-Turkists from the Ottoman Empire , and authored the most important work on the Iranian identity of the Azerbaijan region and the region's Old Azeri language, an Iranian language . Kasravi is widely despised by pan-Turkists in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran, who view him as a "traitor" to Azerbaijanis. Kasravi

#315684