Ettela'at

[Gesar]

اطلاعات‎





Iran's newspaper of record since 1926.

[Gesar]

Ettela'at English Edition
May 1936
Letters to the Editor

SOCIALISM AND THE CULTURE OF PLAGUE: A CLARIFICATION

We of the Learned Council hear much talk these days of a supposed salvation sweeping across Europe and the Americas, a modern Socialism that bears no resemblance to our victorious Constitutionalists and their successors, brave Iranian patriots who fought alongside the beloved Ahmed Shah to restore dignity and Islamic values to our occupied nation. Indeed, it is is perplexing to look across the Majilis and see the Most Loyal Servants in Opposition, for despite our disagreements, I know the root of their Socialism lies in their pious souls and love of the Greater Iranian people. But across the world, from the rebellious mobs in France and Britain to the chaos in the Americas and a foe lurking in our own shadow besides, others too claim the label of Socialism, when in truth they are merely plague-bearing rats, unknowingly carrying the disease of Iblis.

For this clarification, I bring forth four considerations, one of the world of the faithful, and one of those that have not yet submitted to the beauty and wisdom of the Holy Qur'an. Consider, my brother Iranians, what was once the glory of the world. Recall the magnificent art of Cordoba, the bazaars of gold and silk in Samarkand, the days when Esfahan was host to a hundred nations and the call of the muezzin could be heard from Andalusia to the isles of the Pacific! Then, with that image in your mind, think of their fall: warring emirs and sultans became vulnerable, the Turks to the west grew fat and decadent, seeking out the ways of their foes to compensate. We ourselves, may God forgive me for speaking of this shame, became pawns to the plundering Cossacks under the Tsars and the avaricious wiles of Imperial Britain, prompting of course the protests and eventual revival of our true and righteous identity!

What prompted this fall? Why should the Muslim nations -who certainly must have held many true believers even as our leadership decayed- be punished for their sins while the empires of the old order -decadent, inbred, and astray from even the teachings of their own religion- prosper? This is the third point we must bear in mind. The character of true Islam provided for citizens that were inspired to submit themselves fully before God, and in doing so contemplate the beauty of creation, bringing us great works of art and a scientific system that would have left the outside world naked and shivering had it not been discovered. This spirit is what gave us Shahs and Sultans that knew law derives its worth from the word of God and His prophets. This fundamental strength was what we had lost, and more importantly, lost before the corrupting disease of the old order had truly set in!

But truly, as the folly of the last great war and subsequent revolutions have shown, the infection to come is what would birth the monstrous Socialism of London and Paris. Where the great pursuits of the Islamic world had been done in the name of righteousness and justice, those who had shirked Islam or never heard the Prophet's words to begin with made their advances out of greed, ambition, and lust! Factories were built for the profit of a few, nations divided and exploited to sate the desires of a bovine populace kept intentionally ignorant, sinful acts were made public virtues as men learned to act as schoolboys and women shamed into becoming objects of desire and impurity. For the forbidden and sinful are as powerful motivators as piety, and an easier road to follow besides. Thus the empires of the old order grew large enough to crowd out the sun, as it were, and bring about the fourth and final point: the symptoms that led to the atheistic mandates of Syndicalism and the new illness that it has become.

For, praise be to God, what seems to be the gains of sin in the short term become the reaping of sorrow with the progression of time. Just as our hypocritical leaders led us astray, the death of the old order was the injustice of the great empires, who led their people into a brutal war of aggression against Germany and the near-colonization of our own country. But where the Muslims of the world have the Qur'an and the justice of sharia to turn to, the exploited outside our borders have only the sophistries of divisiveness and chaos, provoking their reasonable anger into a hatred so poisonous that it has even ensnared some of our own brothers and sisters.

But what of its claims of equality? They are perhaps laudable, were it not for the utter rejection of religious guidance in politics -a notion I rule as forbidden, for the Imamate of Ali is derived rightly from the Caliphate of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)- and more pragmatically, its emphasis on maintaining what would leave Muslims in a state of fitna, a war upon each other. Remember that the Prophet (pbuh) was asked: "Who among men is most favored by Allah?' He replied: "A man who does the most good to people." And is good not done by princes as well as paupers? Islam is a religion of struggle, and the most righteous struggle is to aid another man towards Paradise. Therefore, the modern Socialism of the West is the Socialism of Iblis, seductive in nature but causing only conflict, dividing man from his brothers and eventually, God.

And so we may conclude, friends, that the character of salafiyya is not one of “left” or “right”, when taking into consideration the Syndicalist disease. It is one of the Sunnah, where the Shah, the mullah, and the laborer all submit themselves to the mercy and grace of God. This is why all true Iranians reject the atheism of Totalism, and stand instead as one through their Guilds, Councils, and Militias. Help the poor, commands the Qur'an, and help yourselves as well! We must adopt those advances which protect our Islamic ideals -constitutionalism, freedom of speech, and many others in fact have their origins in Islam- and those technologies that will make us stronger. For how will we struggle among ourselves when our crop yields a bounty so large one would be forgiven for thinking we were already in Paradise, when our sons march to defend noble Iranzamin from her enemies unafraid of tanks or bombs, when the clothing our daughters sew are worn by the best of Berlin, Tokyo, and Washington? Iran will be one people, reaping the fruits of their righteousness as an example to the world!

Liberty through this unity -one beginning with our Iranian brothers both within and without our borders, but ending with all Muslims- is the path to prosperity, and prosperity is not a commodity. It is a temporal sign of eternal salvation, and while that may change if sinfulness becomes too powerful, it is a goal we attain only through comforting those who need it and supporting those who strive for more.

Allah, Shahanshah, Iranzamin!

-Seyyed Hassan Modarres

[Gesar]

FATWA PRONOUNCED ON OSWALD MOSLEY, TOTALISM



The Western degenerate Mosley, agent of British agitation

QOM: After years of debate over the legality of 'Maximism', Totalism, and their parent ideology of Syndicalism, the Grand Ayatollah has issued a fatwa calling for the death of Oswald Mosley under Islamic law. This comes after a successful series of raids against the Totalist Party of Iran, admitted traitors and terrorists who have declared war against the benevolent reforms of Mohammed Hassan Shah and the justice of rule by a forward-thinking Islamic monarchy. What practical effect it will have is currently unknown, as from a standpoint of civil law, the Totalist Party is already treated as unlawful enemy combatants.

In the ruling, Sheikh Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi pointed to evidence throughout the Sunnah, citing Surah 9:73 on the matter as he quoted, "O Prophet, strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be firm against them...They swear by God that they said nothing [evil], but indeed they uttered blasphemy, and they did it after accepting Islam; and they meditated a plot which they were unable to carry out: this revenge of theirs was [their] only return for the bounty which God and His Apostle had enriched them! ... God will punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter. They shall have none on this earth to protect or help them."

The Sheikh went on to say Totalism, as an ideology fundamentally born from atheistic Syndicalism, is therefore haram, as it has induced a small but dangerous number of Iranian Muslims to apostasy, one of the few reasons in the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) to condemn another Muslim to death. While it is not believed that Mr Mosley, a national of the rebel movement calling itself the Union of Britain, is or has ever declared himself to be a Muslim, it is expected the religious courts will uphold the fatwa and pronounce the death penalty in absentia within the calender year.

FETYAN, LOCAL ASSEMBLIES GROW IN POWER; REACTIONS MIXED

NATIONALLY: In the wake of Seyyed Modarres' publishing of what is being called the Call to Salafiyya, a critique of both the rise of Syndicalism and the capitalism of the West, the Shah and his servants in the Majilis have moved to induct the new 'Fetyan' – a paramilitary force under the auspices of the state and ulema as a rapid-response militia for the defense of Iranian cities, villages, and social projects. Similarly, the Majilis has also voted to begin a process of gradual autonomy for those ethnicities labeled as Iranic by the Council of Nationality Affairs.

The former move has been lauded by the Shah's supporters within the Islamic Revival Party and the Learned Council as a move towards strengthening the legitimacy of the constitutional state, as well as empowering disparate groups – the new Federation of Guilds and Labour will maintain its own unit of the Fetyan, as will students and (somewhat controversially) women, the last of which came in an eleventh-hour ruling by the religious courts upholding the rights of Iranian women to their fundamental modesty even under criminal investigation, it being discouraged for men to perform their duties as law enforcers to the full extent while maintaining an appropriate attitude as a Muslim. Criticisms come largely from the Social Democratic Party, the on-again off-again “opposition” party which nonetheless holds the new Labour Ministry. The Social Democrats, in a statement, condemned the move as subverting the letter of the Constitutional Revolution and the Coalition of Vengeance to impugn on its spirit, particularly as pertains to the implementation of Islamic Imperial Guard officers alongside the clergy as joint commissars over the political and religious attitude of the Fetyan, and the expansion of the authority of the religious police.

The second series of reforms proclaimed the establishment of local assemblies in cities and rural bakhsh, answerable to the provincial governors in a manner not dissimilar to the Majilis' relation to the Shah. This has been more widely accepted thus far, although slight controversy remains as to the creation of the Kurdish Autonomous Shahrestan, a county level subdivision in truth consisting of several local assemblies spread throughout Iran. Similar programs are in place for a Christian Shahrestan, to be implemented within the year, and a more recent (and more expected) creation of the Autonomous Province of Iranian Azerbaijan and the Baloch Shahrestan. It is believed that the legislature will allow for slight autonomy for Iranic peoples such as the Turkmens, Mountain Jews, and Qashqai on the intensely-local level, allowing moderate oversight of their affairs and absorption into the ideal of Iranzamin.

The Arabs, it is said, are likewise lobbying for some sort of representation -for at least three representatives will be appointed to the Nationality Council from among the new regions- but this remains a subject of some controversy, predominantly between nationalist and Islamic factions of the ruling coalition.

[Gesar]

“Ya Hossein, ya Iran!”: Crowds Greet Declaration of War, Anglo-Russian Treaty


A cavalry division of the Imperial Islamic Guard in Western Iraq, preparing itself for what is becoming known as the War Against Turkish Aggression

TEHRAN: While criticism of the Shah's “hawkish adventures against a former ally” remain prominent, massive crowds to see the King of Kings address the nation on the eve of the Majilis' declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire, citing their interference in the affairs of Iran's Egyptian ally and previous, unaddressed crimes committed by the Turkish. The gathering was large, even by the ascendant Shah's standards – nationalist sentiment, analysts claim, is at an all-time high due to the repudiation of Britain and Russia as regards nearly a century of humiliation inflicted upon the Iranian people and the pre-Vengeful Assembly government - a propaganda coup the likes of which are unseen in the rest of the world. Ettela'at has the full transcript of the short speech, given on the balcony of the Golestan Palace.

“Brother and sister Iranians. Muslims, Christians, and Jews of Iranzamin! Hear my words!

Nearly twenty years ago, my beloved brother sought an alliance with the Ottoman Empire in order to secure our nation from partition at the hands of barbarous Russian Cossacks and the British Empire. All praise be to God, the righteousness of our cause delivered us from the hands of a world order in which Iranians everywhere were mere pawns in what was once called 'the Great Game'. The thugs who subverted our nation, bribed our officials, and turned the traitor Reza Khan against us are no more, it is true!

But what has become of the Turks, once great friends to Iranzamin and our friends in Germany? Perhaps we were blind then, for desperation can make a man ignore great atrocities; this we have already admitted our guilt in. But perhaps it is equally true that only the interference of the noble Kaisers in Berlin and Vienna mitigated the ambition of the false Caliph in Rum, he who claims leadership over the Islamic war while providing funds to subvert the Islamic rule that would bring our Kurdish brothers justice and enacting a belligerent, irredentist policy against our Egyptian allies and the people of Tripolitania. What true Muslim, I ask, would launch such a brutal campaign against the Azeris and Armenians, and still claim sovereignty over the people of Dar al-Islam?

What true Muslim, my Iranians, would abandon an ally in our nation for the petty politics that have divided Europe and the Americas, and brought them to the cusp of war? Indeed, my people, these are no Muslims, but inhabitants of the House of War!

And war is what they shall receive. My heart ought to be as heavy as lead over the potential death of our citizens, but it is not! We are of the party of Ali and Hossein; for us, every day is Ashura and every land is Karbala! Submission to God is submission to justice, mercy, and peace for Muslim and kafir alike. Our forefathers knew it, and it is in their name that we must resist another false Caliphate! For it is the duty of all Muslims, Shi'a or Sunni, to prevent the rise of tyranny among the munafiq, the hypocrites. And we, the children of Iranzamin, the fidaiyin of Hossein, and the defenders of the Aryan peoples everywhere, must rise up as Hossein did and find the penitence for our absence at Karbala with martyrdom!

For we are Iranian, from the Zagros to the Tajiks to our north, in their mountain homes. We are Iranian from the Shi'a of Iraq al-Arabi to the Caucasus tribes! God willing, Isfahan was once half the world, and will be again – if we prove to the world that young Iran will be bled for. Qom will be the center of Islam, and the great cities of the People of the Book will likewise flourish, once it is proven that justice reigns over tyranny, and all the lands from the Euphrates to al-Jazira and the steppes of the north stand together as many peoples under one Iranzamin!

It is therefore that I call upon the Iranian people as you call on me. Let every man who can carry a rifle do so, and let every youth who will mould the future of our nation stand in line with the Fetyan! Our women shall defend their modesty domestically and within the security forces – our industries will stand as strong as those who would protect the rights accorded to them by the Holy Qur'an, may His word be praised! For Iranzamin will not be defeated, on the field or in the minds of the Muslims and People of the Book!

Ya Hossein, ya Iran!”

The crowd cheered at the conclusion of the speech, followed by a ceremonial parade of the Imperial Islamic Guard and the new Fetyan. Celebrants of the cause could be heard to echo the Shah's calls, adding to it cheers of “Allahu akbar!” and “Zende ba Shah, mag bar Taraki!” - “Long live the Shah, death to the Turk!” It is expected that the government will begin enacting wartime policies soon, just as they implemented a new wartime cabinet.

The speech was not without controversy, however, while the nationalistic Constitutionalist wing of the Social Democratic Party endorsed punitive measures against the Exalted Ottoman State, detractors within the so-called Radicals of the Social Democrats labeled it an “un-Islamic war more suited to the imperialism of the old Western order.” It is as of press time unknown if they will take additional action beyond criticism of the Shah and Majilis.