Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - August 27, 2001 - The Surroundings of Implementing Islamic Punishments and Sanctions in Public, the Announcement by the Law Enforcement Force Regarding This, and Plans to Combat Social Corruption and Western Cultural Phenomena

Following Hashemi’s Visit to Imamzadeh Hamzeh in Jasb and the Account of Observing an Ancient Corpse, Meeting with the Ramazani Brothers and Their Observations of This Corpse Shared with Hashemi

Meeting with Seyyed Shihab al-Din Sadr and Political Suggestions for the Country’s Situation

Meeting with the President of the World Karate Federation and Several Athletes from This Sport with Hashemi and the Request to Retain Seyyed Mustafa Hashemi Taba in the Position of Vice President and Head of the Physical Education Organization

Full Text of the Daily Memo:

The Ramazani brothers came; one is a teacher, and the other is a member of the Revolutionary Guard, and they are from the village of Kordegan in the Jasb region [in Qom Province]. On the day I went to visit Imamzadeh Hamzeh, they mentioned that one of those who saw the [Imamzadeh’s] corpse freshly is a teacher who is in Tehran; I told them to invite him to come. They came with their Revolutionary Guard brother. They said that the younger brother, who was digging the foundation for the tomb wall, stumbled upon a grave, saw the shroud, and informed his mother. A group of people from the village has come, and one of them, with a pickaxe, moved the corpse, discovering that the head was severed from the body. He claimed to have touched the corpse with his own hands; it was intact, but after being exposed to air, it had turned black, and the shroud was not decayed. The Revolutionary Guard brother said that he had visited an underground area visible nearby, where 30 companions of the Imamzadeh are buried a few meters away from this grave, and that he saw bones there. Therefore, this village is known as Siyaron, meaning “thirty companions.” Both brothers have household problems and requested assistance.

Mr. Dr. [Shihab al-Din] Sadr, [former head of the Medical System Organization and presidential candidate], came. He brought a pamphlet outlining his positions for the presidential election campaign. He expressed concern about the community's shift towards secularism and called for decisive action from the top.

In the afternoon, a group of karate athletes, along with [Mr. Antonio Spinoza], the president of the [World Karate] Federation from Spain, came. He stated that Iran is one of the three powerful countries in karate and expressed gratitude for the support I had previously provided to the sport and requested the retention of [Mustafa] Hashemi Taba, [head of the Physical Education Organization].

The debate over the implementation of Islamic punishments and sanctions in public continues, and the Law Enforcement Force has announced that starting tomorrow, they will confront social corruption and manifestations of Western culture in the streets, and foreigners have made a lot of noise about it; it has previously been executed in Qom.