Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 18, 1997

Today, unlike the past days, after the morning prayer I did not go to the shrine, because I was to take part in the dust-sweeping ceremony of the sacred enclosure (zarih), which is more suitable for pilgrimage. I read the reports—the issue of the martyrdom of five Revolutionary Guards members in Pakistan who had gone there for training at the invitation of Pakistan's Ministry of Defense is drawing more attention, and the rising probability of the return of European ambassadors.

For the pilgrimage I performed the ritual bath and put on suitable clothes; including a long white shirt that has been prepared especially for those who work in the dust-sweeping. At seven-thirty I entered the shrine. Mr. [Vaez] Tabasi, to spare me, had informed me late. Messrs. Tabasi, Rasouli Mahallati, Masoumi, Mortazavi, and Ebadi had taken the money out of the zarih.

I arrived for the washing and dust-sweeping. With white cloths moistened with rosewater, we cleaned the zarih and the sacred grave. I made the pilgrimage and said the pilgrimage prayer. They filmed. The objects at the top inside the zarih caught my attention. It is strange that Mr. Tabasi and the others who have come here many times did not know whose they are. The Verse of Light is also written at its top. Unfortunately, cockroaches were also seen in the zarih, although at my insistence it had been arranged that they would be eliminated and they said they had been eliminated.

While returning the items onto the gravestone, at my request they opened the Quran box, in which are also the documents and the money that they take out of the zarih and record in the minutes and sign. A small Quran with only eight pages written in Kufic script and in a rectangular shape in the form of a bayaz is in it. We saw that there is a sheet in it that says this Quran is in the handwriting of His Holiness the Commander of the Faithful Ali (pbuh), which Sheikh Bahai has confirmed in his own handwriting that it is in Ali's (pbuh) handwriting, and I was surprised that Mr. Tabasi too had not yet seen this, and there were several other Qurans that we opened.

The guards also gave bad news that yesterday, while going to the Bojnurd Dam, one of my guards,

named [Yadollah] Amiri, who was a driver, had his car overturn and he died in the hospital after surgery; I was very affected.

Messrs. [Seyyed Hashem] Rasouli Mahallati and [Ali-Akbar] Elahi [Khorasani], the head of the Astan Quds Research Foundation, came. They gave a report on the foundation's work. Mr. Rasouli said that they have postponed the annual nationwide congress of Friday Prayer Imams, because of the problem that the Friday Prayer Imams created in the elections and were harmed because of their explicit support for Mr. Nateq Nouri; because they are worried that divisive discussions will be raised at the meeting. I said it needs more study; perhaps the meeting can be controlled and guided. He said that the Salam newspaper has been threatened with retaliation to stop its incitement against the Friday Prayer Imams, and it has been effective.

We went to the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences. It was a magnificent gathering of seminary students. Mr. [Vaez] Tabasi, after the eulogy of Mr. Mah-Rokhsar, gave a report on the work and praised me. I too, in a long speech, spoke about the importance of the clergy's role in history and the necessity of being in step with current affairs and using new methods and the importance of the Mashhad seminary and this Razavi university.

Then we visited the plan of the new shrine and zarih under construction; it is huge. Altogether it is more than 270 thousand square meters of new building. At a meeting attended by Dr. [Mohammad-Ali] Najafi, [Head of the Plan and Budget Organization], I emphasized the payment of the Astan Quds's claims from the government bodies.

In the afternoon Mr. Ghazali came. He is the director of the Khorasan newspaper. Its ownership is with the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee. He is worried that they will exert pressure to take positions in favor of their line. I reminded Mr. [Vaez] Tabasi to observe this. The directors of the Quds newspaper came. They had a detailed interview. Ali, my sister's son, and his children, and Ahmad Aqa and Mehdi Aqa-ye Vafadar came to visit.

We had a private meeting with Mr. [Vaez] Tabasi about political issues and the Assembly of Experts elections. After the prayer I went on the pilgrimage and said farewell. At nine at night we went to the airport and flew toward Tehran. On the way we talked with Mr. [Seyyed Hashem] Rasouli Mahallati. He said that in the past two or three months, about 20 percent of the collection of religious funds for the Leadership has decreased because of the market slump.