The Days Leading to Victory

Arman Alimohammadi

The unity of the Iranian nation led their Islamic Revolution to victory. As Muslim revolutionaries, men and women and children stood alongside each other, fighting against tyranny, and not fearing the guns and bullets. They were quite determined for the fulfilment of their rightful cause and had prepared themselves for any sacrifice in that sacred way.

Ever since the victory of their Islamic Revolution, the Iranians take to streets each year on the 22^nd of the month of Bahman to celebrate the victory of their Islamic Revolution (1357 of Solar Hijri - 1979 AD), and to honor the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Islamic Revolution and also those who defended the country during the eight years of the imposed war. The month of Bahman in fact reminds the Iranians of very fateful days: on the 4^th of the month Bahman of 1979, the brutal forces of the puppet regime of the Pahlavi Shah occupied the Mehrabad airport in Tehran in order to prevent the arrival of Imam Khomeini (ra), and on the next day the mercenary government closed the airport.

Yet due to the protests and demonstrations held by the people against those moves, that puppet government was forced to take the military forces out of the airport.

---- On the 12^th of Bahman, Imam Khomeini (ra) left Paris for Tehran and was most warmly and splendidly welcomed by Muslim revolutionary people who immediately after the arrival of their beloved leader – Imam Khomeini (ra) felt much interest and hopeful and strong enough to continue the movement and their struggles (against the Pahlavi forces) which eventually bore fruit and achieved triumph, ten days later, on 22^nd of Bahman.

Ever since, those ten days are celebrated in Iran as the ten-day Dawn (Dahey-e-Fajr) of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Those ten days were in fact fateful days for Iran, each moment of which spent in struggle for the sacred cause of Islam.  Certain factors behind the victory of the Islamic Revolution are: wise and pious leadership, people's unity, ceaseless struggles and patience in the face of hardships. Regarding the specific characteristics of Iran’s Islamic Revolution we can cite the following: being Islamic and for the people, being independent and spiritual and cultural.

As for the goals of the Islamic Revolution, the following can be regarded:

         1- Rejection of despotism, imperialism and foreign domination

          2- Establishment of a system of government based on people's votes

          3- Political, economic, social and cultural independence and urging the people to participate in the related affairs

          4- Administration of social justice, Divine laws and rules and the decrees of the sacred religion of Islam.

          5- Guarding human values and the lofty position of human beings and creating favourable environment for the promotion of moral virtues

          6- Providing a self-sufficiency culture in all fields of knowledge, technology, agriculture and the military system

          7- Spreading the Islamic culture and religious beliefs all over the world.

But let’s have a glance at the days which led to victory:

---- On Bahman 13 (of the same year) Imam Khomeini (ra) delivered a very life-giving speech at a gathering of the Muslim clerics, and in that speech he emphasized the fact that the regime of the Pahlavi Shah had been an illegal, illegitimate regime from the very start and that each nation should determine its fate itself and not let the others dominate it. On that day, the Iranian students who were in America then held a demonstration in front of the White House in opposition to the Americans’ interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

---- On Bahman 14, Imam Khomeini (ra) gave a very significant interview, attended by over 300 Iranian and foreign reporters. In that interview, Imam Khomeini (ra) expressed his views and answered the questions with great strength and self-confidence.

---- On the next day – Bahman 15, the American and British foreign ministers, as well as the then governments of Iraq and Arabia held certain negotiations, to find a way for helping the Pahlavi Shah and stopping the revolution, without success of course.

---- On Bahman 16, Mahdi Bazargan was appointed as the interim Prime Minister by Imam Khomeini (ra).

----- On Bahman 17, Hujat-ul-Islam Phalsafi, a prominent cleric delivered a speech in the presence of Imam Khomeini (ra)  and the people. Phalsafi had been prohibited from delivering lectures by the Shah’s regime for years. On that day also, at the military college’s graduation ceremonies it was declared that the military officers no longer had to swear oath of alliance to Shah.

---- On Bahman 20, people gathered at the campus of Tehran University to listen to the speech of the interim prime minister and just then the armed mercenaries of the Pahlavi regime attacked the bases of the air forces, but the people rushed to the help of the revolutionary men and eventually repelled the enemies’ attack.

---- On Bahman 22^nd, several prisons, including those of Shah’s mercenaries and also significant government centers including the police headquarters and eventually the Radio and Television (Broadcasting) Centre were captured by the revolutionaries. In this way, the Day of Victory came.