Then They Came for Me_ A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival - Maziar Bahari [151]
Contrary to public opinion, the shah is not a stooge of the West. In fact, toward the end of his reign, he becomes quite resentful of Western attitudes toward Iran. In interviews, the shah reprimands the West for allowing too much freedom and for the decline of its economies and cultures. In 1976, Jimmy Carter becomes president of the United States. Because one of Carter’s campaign promises entailed pressuring American allies, such as Iran, to have more respect for human rights, Carter’s election convinces the shah’s opponents that they have an ally in the White House. They become more vocal in their opposition to the shah. The shah, whose illness has worsened in the past few years, becomes paranoid about the change in American attitude, but he refuses to make any compromises with the opposition.
1978: THE ANTI-KHOMEINI ARTICLE AND THE SECOND UPRISING
In January 1978, the shah orders the biggest Iranian daily newspaper, Etela’at, to publish an article against Khomeini. The article calls the ayatollah “a non-Iranian of Indian origin and a reactionary agent of the British who rose against the shah in protest against advancement of the country, including the progress of women.” The publication of the article leads to a series of demonstrations in the cities of Qom and Tabriz, where the shah’s army kills many protestors. According to Shia tradition, people gather to mourn for the dead forty days after their death. The suppression of each gathering on the fortieth day results in yet another protest, and increasing numbers of murdered protestors every forty days.
In this period Khomeini’s supporters start calling him Imam Khomeini for the first time, even though “imam” is a title reserved by Shias for saints. On September 8, 1978, the shah announces martial law in Tehran and eleven other cities. Many Khomeini followers take to the streets. The army opens fire on them in central Tehran. The reported number of dead varies from forty to eighty, but in the absence of any accurate report, and as anti-shah sentiments heighten in the country, there are rumors that four thousand people were martyred by the shah’s henchmen. The rumors intensify the public’s resentment of the shah.
A few weeks after the massacre, the shah forces the government of Iraq to deport Khomeini to another country. The shah hopes that Khomeini’s influence will subside once he is outside Iraq, but Khomeini moves to Paris, where he gains access to international media and can easily communicate with his followers inside Iran. Over the next four months he grants hundreds of interviews in which he promises greater liberties and prosperity for Iranians. There is not a single mention of governance of the jurisprudent; in many interviews, he offers freedom of expression, equality between men and women, and a better economic situation for every Iranian.
Khomeini recognizes the weakening of the shah’s regime and asks his followers not to resort to violence. Despite the martial law, people continue to demonstrate against the shah. In early November 1978, millions of Iranians in Tehran and cities around the country peacefully demonstrate on the holy days of Tasu’a and Ashura, during which Shias commemorate the martyrdom of Hossein, their third imam.
The shah is surprised by the public’s hatred of him. He becomes erratic and unable to make firm decisions. He frees hundreds of political prisoners, who will join the revolution, and orders the arrest of his top officials. In November, he appears on television and says that he has heard the voice of the people’s revolution and he will reform his system. But most Iranians believe that the shah’s time is over. He leaves Iran two months later. The shah spends the rest