Interview with Dr. Mphammad Sadiq Kooshki is a Ph. D. in Political Thoughts;

The Horizon of the Islamic Revolution of Iran is Culture – Making

News ID: ۲۵۶۱۰۷

يکشنبه - ۳۰ مرداد ۲۰۱۰ / 2010 30 May

Dr. Mphammad Sadiq Kooshki is a Ph. D. in Political Thoughts; he is a member of the staff at the University of Khajeh Nasir Toosi. He is currently teaching political sociology of Iran for the M. A. students at the university of Tehran and Political Geography of Iran and International Cultural Relations at the College of Khabar (News). IN addition to scientific activities, Kooshki has had different management experiences; for example one can refer to his membership in the Strategic Studies Center (1377 – 1378) and his management of Literature and Art Office of the Islamic Revolution Document Center (1379 – 1384). One can refer to Bargi Az Bagh (A Leaf of the Garden), a documentary Story about the Islamic Revolution and Thinking about the Political Ideas of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and a Review of the History of Mojahedeen Khalgh from Foundation to the Military Phase as well as the Workbook of Organizational Terrorism narrated by Mojahed magazine. The following interview has been conducted to Investigate the Points of View of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and to explain the Concepts of Martyrdom in the paradigm of the Islamic Revolution; this interview has been conducted by Abu – Al – Fazl heidar Doost.

There are different theories about Revolution in the World; we like to talk about these ideas and thereby discuss the position of the Islamic Revolution among theories of Revolutions.
If we want to discuss Revolution in a formal format and then name important revolutions of the world we can name the revolutions in China and Russia or that of France. Even revolutions such as the Algeria revolution that was completely against the colonization and for the sake of liberation or the peaceful revolution of Gandhi against England or the anti – colonialist movements that was led by Mohammad Ali Jenah in Pakistan can be included as the revolutionary changes of the world.
Still if we want to talk about the past we have always been witnessed at some points that some humans were dissatisfied with the conditions they were in. This has a discussion as old as the history of the human beings. For example the slaves in the ancient Rome revolt against the injustices of the slavery regime under the leadership Spartacus but they did not have any substitutions for the better being of the affairs; in fact it is a revolt that has its origins in anger and it is finally oppressed. On the other hand we are seeing that with the missions that are given to the Prophets there occurs some changes and movements which do not show dissatisfaction with the condition of that time and rather it is movement towards the appropriate horizon; such as the changes that happen to Bani Israelis after Moses, the speech counterpart of God, rising to mission and as such. Now if we want to give an example of a perfect revolution about the overall changes of the world, we have to name the movement of the Prophet of Islam in the world of those days and then in the world of the other days. In fact the movement of Prophet Mohammad is a sign for us of overall changes in the origins and beliefs of the addressee and our belief is that the innocent Imams (A. S.) are those who continue their paths and manage these changes.
There are notable anti – oppression movements in the history of Iran. In the era of the Amavian's as well as that of the Abasids' domination over Iran we have had some different movements that have been formed against these countries in Iran some of which have had their origins in the ancient Iran and some of them have had their origins in the in the Islamic teachings. For example the Shoaibieh movement in Iran was a revolt against the oppressions and cruelty that the Amavi and the Abbasi caliphs were approving; Sar Bedaran movement, in order to change the political model, was trying to change the Mogul government and to establish a government based on religion. It is interesting that when we search in the world of Islam we see that most of the movements and revolts that have taken place to stand against oppression and cruelty as well as injustice have had a Shiite approaches. In the world of the Sunnis we do not see a serious and a notable revolutionary movement that seeks justice and equality. This refers to the Shiites and Sunnis political point of view; the political point of view of the Sunnis is a conservative one and at the same time it is pragmatist, action oriented; it is extremely realist and based on the existent realities as well as even surrendering to the current realities; it is while the Shiites' horizon is a completely idealist movement.
In fact the Shiite Horizon has a heroic color and smell . . . . . . It is heroic and then it is why it is idealist; this means that they have appropriate horizon; they are looking to change the conditions and this means that they are seeking to make the conditions much better.
If I am not mistaken Shahid Motahari has had quite a long discussion on the differences of Shiites and Sunnis and in fact on the differences of Shiite and Sunni clergymen . . . . . .
If we study the thinking sources of Sunnis and those of the Shiites we will understand the differences of the two. If we investigate the historical examples we will see the issue again at work. For example Ashura is the most important typical model of a revolution for change and alteration. The horizons that should be reformed and even those parts of the society that have to be changed are clarified in this movement. It is interesting that this movement is condemned among the thoughtful men of the Sunnis.
For example a thinker such as Imam Mohammad Ghazzali who is a famous figure condemns the Ashura movement and he gives right to Yazid Ibne Moavieh who who has suppressed the movement of Hussein Ibn – e – Ali; still he accepts that Hussein Ibn – e – Ali is a positive figure and yazid Ibn – e – Moavieh is a negative one; or even Ibn – e – Khaldoon, the father of the new sociology, and the thinker of the 9th C. (settler of the North Africa, Tunisia) defends Yazid in his introduction to his famous book. I am mentioning this in order to clarify the differences in these two points of view.

In our days and in the contemporary world we have had different interpretations of different revolutions. What is common among all of these revolutions is dissatisfaction with their current condition. Some of these movements came and they draw a nice horizon in the name of Marxism; the Marxist revolutions can be categorized as the revolutions that intended to settle a society in which there was no class divisions; such as the Russian Revolution, China Revolution as well as the revolutions that took place in different locations of the world and for different purposes. In this case we can refer to the Cuban Revolution and that of the Cheguara in Latin America or the other revolutions that took place in the Eastern blocks. Sometimes they had anti – colonialist essences such as the movements that took place in Africa based on the Marxist thinking but they were for the sake of justice and were liberal in nature; they took place against the European colonialism; some of these revolutions have this nature; some of them had a liberal nature. That means they were looking to create reform inside the society; they draw suitable horizon in the society; such as the French Liberalist Revolution which lets the modern thinking dominate on France and later on Europe. That means it was a revolution that was based on philosophical thoughts and at that time it influenced politics, economics and even culture. The modern liberal system is born from it and step by step the existent revolutions are step by step located in these two categories. This means they were either revolution with the leftist inclinations or they were fighting with cruelty for the sake of liberation and justice . . . . . . They were either Marxist or liberal; such as the Vietnamese revolution that was not a political revolution; it was an armed resistance against the American occupants. Or the revolution that took place in Cuba was to change the political system that was on the part of the United States; coming to power of the political system of the U. S. S. R. with the Marxist inclination and trying to extend justice and values such as these or those; the unsuccessful movement of Cheguara in Latin America was to lead a revolution but he was not successful.
It was the extant condition in the world about which we are talking. That means in the contemporary world, i. e. the 20th C. It is interesting the Islamic revolution takes place at this time and none of these revolutions are similar to this one.
Is it because of this that the Islamic Revolution is regarded as a unique phenomenon?
Yes, because of these reasons:
The Islamic revolution is a movement whose horizon is making culture; this means that it is in search of making use of the conscious choices of the people to change the current condition and to prepare the conditions for making culture and especially the culture that is based on religion. For this reason it is the first time that we see the formation of a culture that is based on religion after Prophet Mohammad (S. A.). That means, Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says the downfall of the Pahlavi regime is not victory; we have just taken the first step; In explaining what they wanted to do and where we are has said in 1358 (1979): Do not say Islamic government repeatedly because our government has not yet become Islamic; we want to establish an Islamic government and a religious culture; he has this interpretation in many different places.
This context is an everlasting and a continuous phenomenon. We are witnessing that at those times the goal of life and the definition of life as well as the appropriate form of life has been different with what Imam was saying. At a time when the western world has made use of their own standards and defined welfare to be equal to happiness and the goal of life and stated that the way of reaching welfare was to achieve wealth and property and this discourse is dominated, Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) came and changed the horizon of life; he changed the meanings of all these concepts; the models and paradigms of this life and the successful figures of this life are martyrs. . . . . . Among these, what are the roles of the geniuses who have explained these concepts in the revolution?
We have mentioned some of these supreme factors and we have said that this revolution is completely based on people. There were some revolutions that were based on geniuses; i. e. a genius became the motivator of the revolution; the battalion of the system was the masses of the people and its soldiers. In fact the Islamic revolution is does not have genius or the masses. In the Islamic Revolution all the people who are taking part in the Islamic Revolution have a role and they are influential as well as genius. That I say all of them are geniuses is because Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) emphasized it. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) used to say that you [ injured people ] are the leaders of this movement . . . . Somewhere else Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says: "You men and women are the leaders of the movement; or our leader is that 12 year – old – child who . . . . . . . These are not overstatement; rather they are presentation of new images of a movement in which all the people of the society should be genius; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) considered the movement of the revolution on the basis of a mission. A person who recognizes his social responsibility and has feeling and does his duties is a genius. Who is a genius? He is a person who in contrast to the other people of the society who are busy with eating, sleeping and anger as well as lust, comes and thinks he has a duty. He understands his duties and capabilities and then he takes belief in himself and tries to be effective and to make life better. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) on the basis of the Shiites reform which has been taken from the Model of Prophet Mohammad and His holiness imam Ali (A. S.) has drawn his movement in a way that the main figures of this great revolution are the clergymen, the workers, those who are in the market, tradesmen, students, farmer, driver, porter, low literate men and illiterate ones, old and young men and women . . . . . . It is for this reason That Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says very seriously that : "Our revolution is not based on an individual rather it is based on a thinking. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says: if there is no more Ba Honar and Rejaei there is of course God. With the death of a small servant nothing will happen to the iron and strong will of the people. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) in his testament writes: " I am going with a happy and merry heart. I am not worried about my back in any way. When the revolution is based on mission i. e. every body tries and knows his / her duty; when a person knows his duty he is a genius. Why? Because he thinks he has a duty with regard to the environment in which he lives. He has a model because a person who does not have a model is not effective.
According to Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) social and political participations are not right but duty; when he says any citizen has the duty of taking part in this revolution in any way that he / she can and every body has to help it in any way that he or she can; the intention should be directed to the development of the society. Here the look is that the people have to understand, to be satisfied, to be content and to decide as well as to make a decision and to move so that the movement continues. This is the growing movement of the society and Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) insists that the revolution is for people and it is inclusive and all people take part in it; its speed and quality is determined by the people. The planner is the leader who has those qualities as vilayat Faghieh; he is the most knowledgeable and the most just of the clergymen. This means that he is the most knowledgeable man in religion and nobody is more aware of Islam than he.
It is why we see that the Marxists and the Communists write books on the revolution for many years but this revolution reaches corruption afterwards. The masses of the people reach corruptive states; and he did never introduce religion as the means of victory; it was the goal of the victory.
But Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) did never write a book for the revolution; but thousands of thousands of announcements on his part or on the part of his students as well as the on the part of the common people of the society had been distributed. What was very important for but Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) was the predomination of Islamic or Shiite thinking or in another word the prevailing of the orginal Islam in the society. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) writes whenever it is necessary; he gives speeches whenever it is necessary and if it is necessary Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) records cassettes; he is told to go; no country would give him visa; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says I will rent a ship and I will go the free waters and there I will speak whatever I have to tell. This means that I have faith, I have understanding and I know what I am doing and what I need. I will present my point of view and the more people establish relationship with this point of view and the more they are benefited by it as well as the more they are served by it, the more I will be happy and the more my growth will be.
Among your discussions you have said that our revolution was the only revolution that was not performed on the basis of guerrilla operations and it was the only one that was not armed . . . . .
It was on 9th of February that Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) for the first time ordered to make use of guns; and it was to the extent that was a kind of defending the armed forces; it was a defense of one's brother. It was an occasional and a limited case. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) did not authorize any destructions; he did not authorize to set people's properties on fire. He admonished them not to do so. Why? Because Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) was saying that we want to make culture;
I wanted to say in what location and position the culture of making use of armed fights are in the thinking that is at the heart of the revolution and to say what the situation of martyrdom is with regard to the fact the sacrifice and government are not overwhelming paths in practice and people are just present in the scene . . . . .
It is interesting that in the culture of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and on the basis of that political thinking and religious Shiites martyrdom is not regarded to be equal to the being killed. One example of that martyrdom is being killed and the red death. The culture of martyrdom and sacrifice in the horizon of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) means that the people have achieved to that great apex of their deep understanding of religion that they are ready to be killed for the sake of the growth of the humanity, society, and self – growth and to pass all the extant obstacles and to get rid of their material belongings. Now it is not important if such a person is killed or if he dies, it is not important; the most conspicuous figure of this revolution is Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ); although he was not died because of the armed wars and his death was on the basis of an illness; but is there anybody who does not consider Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) a martyr; based on the definition that he himself gives about martyrdom?

What is the meaning of martyr?
As we said a great genius is a person who is ready to forsake his belongings; and he does it for the sake of the duty that he has with regard to God and his conscience as well as his humanity; his conscience and humanity are in line with the duty that one feels with regard to God. Death and red death are not important rather it is the quality of life that is important. The martyr is not a person who dies well; a martyr is a person who lives well and since he lives well his death is also valuable. Martyr is a person who has chosen a good life; now it is the features of this life that are important and not its extent. A person may live for some few seconds or he may live for eighty years; as you see Horr chose a good life and it is not important how long he lived. Is it? It is not important how long he lived; because he has lived in the course of the history; because he had chosen a good life and a good way of living. He will find the capability to become a martyr in Karbala. He is like Vahab, a Christian, who had newly come to Islam. Although it is about a week that he has become a Muslim and his Muslim life is a week, he had lived the course of the history of the human being.
In the horizon of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ), the interpretation that is available for the term martyrdom is a special interpretation. He states that the martyrs are fed by God while they laugh loudly. This is not a goal – oriented political point of view; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) those who think that our martyrs have been martyred to liberate Khoram Shahr are short – sighted; a martyr is a person for whom it is the grandeur of humanity and the sublimity of human beings that is important and since this is important for him, he reaches perfection. This, in the point of view of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) is being fed by God. It is revitalization. It is a kind of living forever; it is a kind of being the source of power for ever. Why are the tombs of the martyrs the curing house of the world's liberal men according to Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) ?
If you are passing through the tomb of Hafiz ask for something because it will become the shrine of the world.
Now Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says it is not a shrine rather it is a curing house; this means that the martyr is so much alive and so much leads a good life and his life is of so great quality that this life would flow into the course of the history.
How does Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) define a good life? The efforts of the human beings for perfection in a specific religious horizon; because the human beings all need to be completed; even those people who deceive each other and those who fight with each other are looking for perfection. . . . . . The paths are wrong but they think if they possess the world they are perfect. The wage war on others for their completion; some people think if they possess all the money of the world then they would be perfect. Some people think if they have fame then they will have reached perfection. But it is the religious narration that defines perfection. In this narrative a martyr is a person who seeks perfection for all and in order to achieve this state she is ready to forsake all his belongings. The martyr certainly knows that the goal of God is that the human being achieves perfection. A Martyr is a person who is the executor of the perfection project; let's reach the contemporary world. We have experienced the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom as being shot in the war and we might not be able to experience it after it. How is it possible to reach this issue in the contemporary world?
Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) has got a narrative about martyrdom with the following subject: if a person comes and takes his honor for granted for the sake of the humanity perfection, then such a person is a martyr. In addition a person who forsakes his body and his life or those of his family is a martyr. Further more, if a person tries to revitalize the society and the Islamic values as well as the divine values and in this way takes his honor for granted and accepts all the blames of the path then he is a martyr; but this last one is a martyr who is spiritually and emotionally injured instead of being hurt physically.
What is the position of the culture of martyrdom and sacrifice as a deterrent force against the threats in this world which we experience? How effective it can be and how useful it can be?
Martyrdom is an internal issue; it is also a qualitative issue. As we said martyrdom is a way of leading a good life; it is not a kind of dying of well. A person who lives a good life will certainly die in a good way; it is not just a kind of good dying. Now that martyrdom means this and if we want to have a qualitative and good life we have to understand this culture and we have to extend it. It is the duty of us, the organizations and the government as well as the media. When we say martyrdom means leading a good life and certainly the quality of life includes all the dimensions of life. A person who has a good life his life will generate beneficial results. It produces knowledge and technology; he will teach expert students. . . . . . According to Shahid Beheshti when a nation reached the perfect state in which they are not afraid of death, they will become powerful. This nation will be daring and will do movements that no government can do. When a person has reached the perfect state in which he is not afraid of death then he will feel no obstacle for his perfection and growth; now they will start from criticizing the internal government and then they reach the critique of the world authority and they will not create any obstacle, impediment or hindrance. A society which has understood the meaning of martyrdom in this way i. e. as the quality of life it will become an example for this ayah: Ø§Ù„Ø°ÙŠÙ† Ù‚Ø§Ù„ÙˆØ§ Ø±Ø¨Ù†Ø§ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‡ Ø«Ù… Ø§Ø³ØªÙ‚Ø§Ù…ÙˆØ§ ØªØªÙ†Ø²Ù„ÙˆØ§ Ø¹Ù„ÙŠÙ‡Ù… Ø§Ù„Ù…Ù„Ø§Ø¦ÙƒÙ‡. Those who said our lord is God and then resisted; we will descend upon them our angels.
They will be benefited by the mercy of God and God will tell them: "do not worry" because there is nothing to be worried about. There is not worry. He says it is why they are not afraid. They will not be sorrowful. They do not feel weakness. It is quite natural that a nation which is productive does not feel weakness. It can defend itself against every threat. It is able to solve its problems. Now is the problem about the attack of the enemy? Is it economical sanctions? Whatever it is the nation can solve it. Why? Because they have reached the perfect state of death; their approach to the world is mission – based; this human being has given his life in this school and is ready now to offer his life.
What is order? It is the duty that God has determined. Of course this human being is martyrdom seeker. But seeking martyrdom is doing one's duty in the discourse of such a person and not dying. Now it is possible that this duty is death. Sometimes it is possible that it leads to life and to fighting. It is for this reason whenever a person asks Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) to pray for his martyrdom Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) does not ask for his being martyred; he says: hopefully you'd become successful and victorious. That means that he wishes he could do his duty in a good way. .

Source: Quarterly Books of Shahed Andishe

Dr. Mphammad Sadiq Kooshki is a Ph. D. in Political Thoughts; he is a member of the staff at the University of Khajeh Nasir Toosi. He is currently teaching political sociology of Iran for the M. A. students at the university of Tehran and Political Geography of Iran and International Cultural Relations at the College of Khabar (News). IN addition to scientific activities, Kooshki has had different management experiences; for example one can refer to his membership in the Strategic Studies Center (1377 – 1378) and his management of Literature and Art Office of the Islamic Revolution Document Center (1379 – 1384). One can refer to Bargi Az Bagh (A Leaf of the Garden), a documentary Story about the Islamic Revolution and Thinking about the Political Ideas of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and a Review of the History of Mojahedeen Khalgh from Foundation to the Military Phase as well as the Workbook of Organizational Terrorism narrated by Mojahed magazine. The following interview has been conducted to Investigate the Points of View of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and to explain the Concepts of Martyrdom in the paradigm of the Islamic Revolution; this interview has been conducted by Abu – Al – Fazl heidar Doost. There are different theories about Revolution in the World; we like to talk about these ideas and thereby discuss the position of the Islamic Revolution among theories of Revolutions. If we want to discuss Revolution in a formal format and then name important revolutions of the world we can name the revolutions in China and Russia or that of France. Even revolutions such as the Algeria revolution that was completely against the colonization and for the sake of liberation or the peaceful revolution of Gandhi against England or the anti – colonialist movements that was led by Mohammad Ali Jenah in Pakistan can be included as the revolutionary changes of the world. Still if we want to talk about the past we have always been witnessed at some points that some humans were dissatisfied with the conditions they were in. This has a discussion as old as the history of the human beings. For example the slaves in the ancient Rome revolt against the injustices of the slavery regime under the leadership Spartacus but they did not have any substitutions for the better being of the affairs; in fact it is a revolt that has its origins in anger and it is finally oppressed. On the other hand we are seeing that with the missions that are given to the Prophets there occurs some changes and movements which do not show dissatisfaction with the condition of that time and rather it is movement towards the appropriate horizon; such as the changes that happen to Bani Israelis after Moses, the speech counterpart of God, rising to mission and as such. Now if we want to give an example of a perfect revolution about the overall changes of the world, we have to name the movement of the Prophet of Islam in the world of those days and then in the world of the other days. In fact the movement of Prophet Mohammad is a sign for us of overall changes in the origins and beliefs of the addressee and our belief is that the innocent Imams (A. S.) are those who continue their paths and manage these changes. There are notable anti – oppression movements in the history of Iran. In the era of the Amavian's as well as that of the Abasids' domination over Iran we have had some different movements that have been formed against these countries in Iran some of which have had their origins in the ancient Iran and some of them have had their origins in the in the Islamic teachings. For example the Shoaibieh movement in Iran was a revolt against the oppressions and cruelty that the Amavi and the Abbasi caliphs were approving; Sar Bedaran movement, in order to change the political model, was trying to change the Mogul government and to establish a government based on religion. It is interesting that when we search in the world of Islam we see that most of the movements and revolts that have taken place to stand against oppression and cruelty as well as injustice have had a Shiite approaches. In the world of the Sunnis we do not see a serious and a notable revolutionary movement that seeks justice and equality. This refers to the Shiites and Sunnis political point of view; the political point of view of the Sunnis is a conservative one and at the same time it is pragmatist, action oriented; it is extremely realist and based on the existent realities as well as even surrendering to the current realities; it is while the Shiites' horizon is a completely idealist movement. In fact the Shiite Horizon has a heroic color and smell . . . . . . It is heroic and then it is why it is idealist; this means that they have appropriate horizon; they are looking to change the conditions and this means that they are seeking to make the conditions much better. If I am not mistaken Shahid Motahari has had quite a long discussion on the differences of Shiites and Sunnis and in fact on the differences of Shiite and Sunni clergymen . . . . . . If we study the thinking sources of Sunnis and those of the Shiites we will understand the differences of the two. If we investigate the historical examples we will see the issue again at work. For example Ashura is the most important typical model of a revolution for change and alteration. The horizons that should be reformed and even those parts of the society that have to be changed are clarified in this movement. It is interesting that this movement is condemned among the thoughtful men of the Sunnis. For example a thinker such as Imam Mohammad Ghazzali who is a famous figure condemns the Ashura movement and he gives right to Yazid Ibne Moavieh who who has suppressed the movement of Hussein Ibn – e – Ali; still he accepts that Hussein Ibn – e – Ali is a positive figure and yazid Ibn – e – Moavieh is a negative one; or even Ibn – e – Khaldoon, the father of the new sociology, and the thinker of the 9th C. (settler of the North Africa, Tunisia) defends Yazid in his introduction to his famous book. I am mentioning this in order to clarify the differences in these two points of view. In our days and in the contemporary world we have had different interpretations of different revolutions. What is common among all of these revolutions is dissatisfaction with their current condition. Some of these movements came and they draw a nice horizon in the name of Marxism; the Marxist revolutions can be categorized as the revolutions that intended to settle a society in which there was no class divisions; such as the Russian Revolution, China Revolution as well as the revolutions that took place in different locations of the world and for different purposes. In this case we can refer to the Cuban Revolution and that of the Cheguara in Latin America or the other revolutions that took place in the Eastern blocks. Sometimes they had anti – colonialist essences such as the movements that took place in Africa based on the Marxist thinking but they were for the sake of justice and were liberal in nature; they took place against the European colonialism; some of these revolutions have this nature; some of them had a liberal nature. That means they were looking to create reform inside the society; they draw suitable horizon in the society; such as the French Liberalist Revolution which lets the modern thinking dominate on France and later on Europe. That means it was a revolution that was based on philosophical thoughts and at that time it influenced politics, economics and even culture. The modern liberal system is born from it and step by step the existent revolutions are step by step located in these two categories. This means they were either revolution with the leftist inclinations or they were fighting with cruelty for the sake of liberation and justice . . . . . . They were either Marxist or liberal; such as the Vietnamese revolution that was not a political revolution; it was an armed resistance against the American occupants. Or the revolution that took place in Cuba was to change the political system that was on the part of the United States; coming to power of the political system of the U. S. S. R. with the Marxist inclination and trying to extend justice and values such as these or those; the unsuccessful movement of Cheguara in Latin America was to lead a revolution but he was not successful. It was the extant condition in the world about which we are talking. That means in the contemporary world, i. e. the 20th C. It is interesting the Islamic revolution takes place at this time and none of these revolutions are similar to this one. Is it because of this that the Islamic Revolution is regarded as a unique phenomenon? Yes, because of these reasons: The Islamic revolution is a movement whose horizon is making culture; this means that it is in search of making use of the conscious choices of the people to change the current condition and to prepare the conditions for making culture and especially the culture that is based on religion. For this reason it is the first time that we see the formation of a culture that is based on religion after Prophet Mohammad (S. A.). That means, Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says the downfall of the Pahlavi regime is not victory; we have just taken the first step; In explaining what they wanted to do and where we are has said in 1358 (1979): Do not say Islamic government repeatedly because our government has not yet become Islamic; we want to establish an Islamic government and a religious culture; he has this interpretation in many different places. This context is an everlasting and a continuous phenomenon. We are witnessing that at those times the goal of life and the definition of life as well as the appropriate form of life has been different with what Imam was saying. At a time when the western world has made use of their own standards and defined welfare to be equal to happiness and the goal of life and stated that the way of reaching welfare was to achieve wealth and property and this discourse is dominated, Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) came and changed the horizon of life; he changed the meanings of all these concepts; the models and paradigms of this life and the successful figures of this life are martyrs. . . . . . Among these, what are the roles of the geniuses who have explained these concepts in the revolution? We have mentioned some of these supreme factors and we have said that this revolution is completely based on people. There were some revolutions that were based on geniuses; i. e. a genius became the motivator of the revolution; the battalion of the system was the masses of the people and its soldiers. In fact the Islamic revolution is does not have genius or the masses. In the Islamic Revolution all the people who are taking part in the Islamic Revolution have a role and they are influential as well as genius. That I say all of them are geniuses is because Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) emphasized it. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) used to say that you [ injured people ] are the leaders of this movement . . . . Somewhere else Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says: "You men and women are the leaders of the movement; or our leader is that 12 year – old – child who . . . . . . . These are not overstatement; rather they are presentation of new images of a movement in which all the people of the society should be genius; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) considered the movement of the revolution on the basis of a mission. A person who recognizes his social responsibility and has feeling and does his duties is a genius. Who is a genius? He is a person who in contrast to the other people of the society who are busy with eating, sleeping and anger as well as lust, comes and thinks he has a duty. He understands his duties and capabilities and then he takes belief in himself and tries to be effective and to make life better. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) on the basis of the Shiites reform which has been taken from the Model of Prophet Mohammad and His holiness imam Ali (A. S.) has drawn his movement in a way that the main figures of this great revolution are the clergymen, the workers, those who are in the market, tradesmen, students, farmer, driver, porter, low literate men and illiterate ones, old and young men and women . . . . . . It is for this reason That Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says very seriously that : "Our revolution is not based on an individual rather it is based on a thinking. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says: if there is no more Ba Honar and Rejaei there is of course God. With the death of a small servant nothing will happen to the iron and strong will of the people. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) in his testament writes: " I am going with a happy and merry heart. I am not worried about my back in any way. When the revolution is based on mission i. e. every body tries and knows his / her duty; when a person knows his duty he is a genius. Why? Because he thinks he has a duty with regard to the environment in which he lives. He has a model because a person who does not have a model is not effective. According to Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) social and political participations are not right but duty; when he says any citizen has the duty of taking part in this revolution in any way that he / she can and every body has to help it in any way that he or she can; the intention should be directed to the development of the society. Here the look is that the people have to understand, to be satisfied, to be content and to decide as well as to make a decision and to move so that the movement continues. This is the growing movement of the society and Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) insists that the revolution is for people and it is inclusive and all people take part in it; its speed and quality is determined by the people. The planner is the leader who has those qualities as vilayat Faghieh; he is the most knowledgeable and the most just of the clergymen. This means that he is the most knowledgeable man in religion and nobody is more aware of Islam than he. It is why we see that the Marxists and the Communists write books on the revolution for many years but this revolution reaches corruption afterwards. The masses of the people reach corruptive states; and he did never introduce religion as the means of victory; it was the goal of the victory. But Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) did never write a book for the revolution; but thousands of thousands of announcements on his part or on the part of his students as well as the on the part of the common people of the society had been distributed. What was very important for but Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) was the predomination of Islamic or Shiite thinking or in another word the prevailing of the orginal Islam in the society. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) writes whenever it is necessary; he gives speeches whenever it is necessary and if it is necessary Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) records cassettes; he is told to go; no country would give him visa; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says I will rent a ship and I will go the free waters and there I will speak whatever I have to tell. This means that I have faith, I have understanding and I know what I am doing and what I need. I will present my point of view and the more people establish relationship with this point of view and the more they are benefited by it as well as the more they are served by it, the more I will be happy and the more my growth will be. Among your discussions you have said that our revolution was the only revolution that was not performed on the basis of guerrilla operations and it was the only one that was not armed . . . . . It was on 9th of February that Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) for the first time ordered to make use of guns; and it was to the extent that was a kind of defending the armed forces; it was a defense of one's brother. It was an occasional and a limited case. Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) did not authorize any destructions; he did not authorize to set people's properties on fire. He admonished them not to do so. Why? Because Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) was saying that we want to make culture; I wanted to say in what location and position the culture of making use of armed fights are in the thinking that is at the heart of the revolution and to say what the situation of martyrdom is with regard to the fact the sacrifice and government are not overwhelming paths in practice and people are just present in the scene . . . . . It is interesting that in the culture of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) and on the basis of that political thinking and religious Shiites martyrdom is not regarded to be equal to the being killed. One example of that martyrdom is being killed and the red death. The culture of martyrdom and sacrifice in the horizon of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) means that the people have achieved to that great apex of their deep understanding of religion that they are ready to be killed for the sake of the growth of the humanity, society, and self – growth and to pass all the extant obstacles and to get rid of their material belongings. Now it is not important if such a person is killed or if he dies, it is not important; the most conspicuous figure of this revolution is Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ); although he was not died because of the armed wars and his death was on the basis of an illness; but is there anybody who does not consider Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) a martyr; based on the definition that he himself gives about martyrdom? What is the meaning of martyr? As we said a great genius is a person who is ready to forsake his belongings; and he does it for the sake of the duty that he has with regard to God and his conscience as well as his humanity; his conscience and humanity are in line with the duty that one feels with regard to God. Death and red death are not important rather it is the quality of life that is important. The martyr is not a person who dies well; a martyr is a person who lives well and since he lives well his death is also valuable. Martyr is a person who has chosen a good life; now it is the features of this life that are important and not its extent. A person may live for some few seconds or he may live for eighty years; as you see Horr chose a good life and it is not important how long he lived. Is it? It is not important how long he lived; because he has lived in the course of the history; because he had chosen a good life and a good way of living. He will find the capability to become a martyr in Karbala. He is like Vahab, a Christian, who had newly come to Islam. Although it is about a week that he has become a Muslim and his Muslim life is a week, he had lived the course of the history of the human being. In the horizon of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ), the interpretation that is available for the term martyrdom is a special interpretation. He states that the martyrs are fed by God while they laugh loudly. This is not a goal – oriented political point of view; Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) those who think that our martyrs have been martyred to liberate Khoram Shahr are short – sighted; a martyr is a person for whom it is the grandeur of humanity and the sublimity of human beings that is important and since this is important for him, he reaches perfection. This, in the point of view of Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) is being fed by God. It is revitalization. It is a kind of living forever; it is a kind of being the source of power for ever. Why are the tombs of the martyrs the curing house of the world's liberal men according to Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) ? If you are passing through the tomb of Hafiz ask for something because it will become the shrine of the world. Now Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) says it is not a shrine rather it is a curing house; this means that the martyr is so much alive and so much leads a good life and his life is of so great quality that this life would flow into the course of the history. How does Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) define a good life? The efforts of the human beings for perfection in a specific religious horizon; because the human beings all need to be completed; even those people who deceive each other and those who fight with each other are looking for perfection. . . . . . The paths are wrong but they think if they possess the world they are perfect. The wage war on others for their completion; some people think if they possess all the money of the world then they would be perfect. Some people think if they have fame then they will have reached perfection. But it is the religious narration that defines perfection. In this narrative a martyr is a person who seeks perfection for all and in order to achieve this state she is ready to forsake all his belongings. The martyr certainly knows that the goal of God is that the human being achieves perfection. A Martyr is a person who is the executor of the perfection project; let's reach the contemporary world. We have experienced the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom as being shot in the war and we might not be able to experience it after it. How is it possible to reach this issue in the contemporary world? Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) has got a narrative about martyrdom with the following subject: if a person comes and takes his honor for granted for the sake of the humanity perfection, then such a person is a martyr. In addition a person who forsakes his body and his life or those of his family is a martyr. Further more, if a person tries to revitalize the society and the Islamic values as well as the divine values and in this way takes his honor for granted and accepts all the blames of the path then he is a martyr; but this last one is a martyr who is spiritually and emotionally injured instead of being hurt physically. What is the position of the culture of martyrdom and sacrifice as a deterrent force against the threats in this world which we experience? How effective it can be and how useful it can be? Martyrdom is an internal issue; it is also a qualitative issue. As we said martyrdom is a way of leading a good life; it is not a kind of dying of well. A person who lives a good life will certainly die in a good way; it is not just a kind of good dying. Now that martyrdom means this and if we want to have a qualitative and good life we have to understand this culture and we have to extend it. It is the duty of us, the organizations and the government as well as the media. When we say martyrdom means leading a good life and certainly the quality of life includes all the dimensions of life. A person who has a good life his life will generate beneficial results. It produces knowledge and technology; he will teach expert students. . . . . . According to Shahid Beheshti when a nation reached the perfect state in which they are not afraid of death, they will become powerful. This nation will be daring and will do movements that no government can do. When a person has reached the perfect state in which he is not afraid of death then he will feel no obstacle for his perfection and growth; now they will start from criticizing the internal government and then they reach the critique of the world authority and they will not create any obstacle, impediment or hindrance. A society which has understood the meaning of martyrdom in this way i. e. as the quality of life it will become an example for this ayah: Ø§Ù„Ø°ÙŠÙ† Ù‚Ø§Ù„ÙˆØ§ Ø±Ø¨Ù†Ø§ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‡ Ø«Ù… Ø§Ø³ØªÙ‚Ø§Ù…ÙˆØ§ ØªØªÙ†Ø²Ù„ÙˆØ§ Ø¹Ù„ÙŠÙ‡Ù… Ø§Ù„Ù…Ù„Ø§Ø¦ÙƒÙ‡. Those who said our lord is God and then resisted; we will descend upon them our angels. They will be benefited by the mercy of God and God will tell them: "do not worry" because there is nothing to be worried about. There is not worry. He says it is why they are not afraid. They will not be sorrowful. They do not feel weakness. It is quite natural that a nation which is productive does not feel weakness. It can defend itself against every threat. It is able to solve its problems. Now is the problem about the attack of the enemy? Is it economical sanctions? Whatever it is the nation can solve it. Why? Because they have reached the perfect state of death; their approach to the world is mission – based; this human being has given his life in this school and is ready now to offer his life. What is order? It is the duty that God has determined. Of course this human being is martyrdom seeker. But seeking martyrdom is doing one's duty in the discourse of such a person and not dying. Now it is possible that this duty is death. Sometimes it is possible that it leads to life and to fighting. It is for this reason whenever a person asks Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) to pray for his martyrdom Imam Khomeini ( R . T . A . ) does not ask for his being martyred; he says: hopefully you'd become successful and victorious. That means that he wishes he could do his duty in a good way. . Source: Quarterly Books of Shahed Andishe