Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (12)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (12)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi

New Arenas
A familiar Invite, but Secretly

After meeting with Imam Khomeini and knowing his point of view about the activities of Hojjatiyyeh Society, I stopped my activities there. However, I got acquainted with people such as Seyyed Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, JavadMansouri, Hussein Sadeghi, Hadi Shams Ha’eri and … Each of them later became a protest activist. Some of them were noble, genius, devoted and good believer people.Among them, I had special and deep friendship with Seyyed Mir Mohammad Sadeghi.(1) Most of our discussions were about the social injustice, the Pahlavi regime tyranny, rise of June 5th 1963, fighting know-how, ….
In the middle of winter of 1965, one day Mr. Mir Mohammad Sadeghi asked me to go to Ja’fari Mosque. We prayed there. It was in Ramadan [1384 L.H]. We were not worried about lunch and were speaking with each other. After few minute I felt that he was directing to something but he was not clear in speaking. When he started to talk about the necessity of a coherent move under a unique leadership, he said: “Ahmad! Today I want to tell you something but with a condition.” I asked: “What condition?!” He said: “the condition is that if you accept it or not, you should never talk about it to anyone to the end of your life.” He brought a Koran and out it in front of me and said: “Swear to Koran that you will not talk about this matter to anyone.”
I was quietly listening and looking at him till that time. At first I became suspicious to his behavior but when I remembered our background of friendship I warned myself not to suspect and then I swore.
Then Mr. Mir Mohammad Sadeghi talked about a secret organization named “Islamic Nations’ Party (INP)” and explained their goals, believes, and ideology for me. I was listening carefully and at same time trying to analyze them based on my own ideas. My interest made him talk about INP’s manifest and rules. He briefly explained how someone can be a memberand different levels of INP and repeatedly would insist that all these things were confidential. I felt some freshness in his words and they were compatible with my own ideals. However, I asked him to let think about the matter for some time and decide later.
After our dialogue in Ja’fari Mosque I had a good feeling and all the hours of that day my mind was busy with INP issues. That evening after saying my prayers and without breaking my fast I went to a clergy’s house named Nazem-u-shari’eh(2) in Shapour Street (today’s Vahdat-e Eslami Street) to do me a bibliomancy by Koran to clarify goodness or badness of joining INP for me. Mr. Nazem-u-shari’eh would collect all the requests and would do the bibliomancies after his night prayers. He told me: “Write!” I wrote on a paper: “His holiness Ayatollah Nazem-u-shari’eh, I ask your holiness to do me a bibliography for a vital affair for me.” I wrote at the end: “Sincerely yours, Ahmad” and signed.
Two days later, I went there again to get my answer. He had written on a paper: “In the name of the most high, it is very good. Particularly, its future is bright and full of victory. You will reach high ranks.” He said the verse was in the surah of Joseph.
By this bibliomancy and considering the story of Joseph (being exile, imprisoned, and finally reaching to victory) I came out of his home happily.
After few days I visited Mr. Mir Mohammad Sadeghi and told him that I was ready to be member of INP. He asked me to swear for the second time. After worshiping God I swore that I would be faithful to the ideals and goals of INP and would never reveal the secrets of INP and would defend INP ideals.(3)
I even did not consult with brother who was an active member of Islamic Councils Coalition and pioneer in the fight against the regime. I did not inform him about the way that I had chosen. I was trustful to God and had begun a new way in fighting.

1- Seyyed Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, son of Mujtaba, was born in 1946 in Isfahan. He was born in a middle calss family. He passed elementary school in Isfahan. In 1958 his family moved to Tehran. In early 1960s he began reading Seyyed Qutb books and got familiar with Islamic thoughts. Until the rise of June 5th 1963, he continued his studies at high school along with participating Hojjatiyeh Society meetings and also political circles despite the Societys opposition. After the rise of June 5th he left the Society completely and tried to join revolutionary Muslim youth to INP. When INP was discovered Mir Mohammad Sadeghi was arrested along with other INP members. In the primitive trail he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and in the rehearing trial to life imprisonment. However, in 1967 by the pressures of Ayatollah Hakim on the regime for freeing the political Muslim prisoners, his imprisonment commuted to 15 years on the occasion of coronation of the Shah. In April of 1968 he was exiled to the police prison in Birjand and in June of 1969 returned to Tehran. He was freed in 1973 and was immediately accepted in Computer Usage and Programming University. He finished his studies in 1976 in System Analysis. In 1977 he was accepted for MS degree.
After the Islamic Revolution he accepted the posts such as Labor Ministry, Deputy of Agriculture Ministry, Fishery President, & Administration of Shahed Investment Company (affiliated to Martyrs Foundation).
2- Hojjatoleslam Nazem-u-shariah, was a clergy that people would refer to for their religious questions and affairs such as bibliomancy on Koran. He would also guide people in their everyday life.
3- Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Mir Mohammad Sadeghi in his memories says:
…the story of inviting Mr. Ahmad Ahmad is very interesting… when we returned from meeting with Imam in Qum, after some time I invited Mr. Ahmad Ahmad to the party. Up to then we would distribute announcements. I mean the person that would give us them was Mr. Ahmad…
Despite being friends, I was always cautious. First of all he was older than me and second, considering his contacts with Councils Coalition it was possible that he would not accept because his pride or the relations with the Coalition. After that meeting with Imam it was good chance and I talked to him and invited him to the party. Mr. Ahmad Ahmad accepted and became a member of INP.
(Source: Oral History Archive of the Bureau for the Islamic Revolution Literature)