Rah va Rahavard (An Experience-Narrative of a Life) by Mohammad Kianoush-Rad – Part Twenty

Rah va Rahavard

An Experience-Narrative of a Life

Mohammad Kianoush-Rad

Part Twenty

**The Kashkul of Ibn al-'Ilm**

I had read "Kashkul Ibn al-'Ilm." I saw Mr. Shafiei and asked him about the book. I said: "Why has a person like Ibn al-'Ilm, in his book, alongside all those good historical matters and hadiths, written some sexual jokes?" Mr. Shafiei reflected and said: "Ibn al-'Ilm is aware. After all, some matters must be told to the people in some way. People have different levels. Some like these jokes and matters; they go and read the book, and alongside those matters, they also hear a few sentences of 'Qal al-Baqir' and 'Qal al-Sadiq.'" I said: "Haj Agha, of course, it is not only the young who read. Apparently many show interest in reading these parts." He laughed and said: "After all, his goal was to express some religious matters in these formats."

Ibn al-'Ilm was one of the famous preachers of Ahvaz. He was the Friday prayer leader of the Sahib al-Zaman Mosque of Bagh-e Sheikh. According to one account, Ayatollah Marashi had given him the name Ibn al-'Ilm. He was witty and eloquent. I had heard his words once or twice. He was a learned cleric, a historian, and fluent in the transmitted sciences. He was an example of a traditional, people-oriented cleric.

In 1975 I went to the Bostan bookstore, one of the old bookstores of Ahvaz. I had bought the book "Today's Kids Are Amazing" by Aziz Nesin. A story that is still worth reading today. A generation that criticizes and rejects the previous generation. On the way back, at the Statue Roundabout, I bought and ate two of the famous Ahvazi cinnamon baghlavas with fresh buffalo milk ice cream.

I was waiting for the bus when the mourning procession reached around the roundabout. Most were wearing black. Ayatollah Behbahani had passed away. It was the first time I saw the funeral ceremony of a cleric. A large crowd was beating their heads and chests with lamentation recitation.

Behbahani had taken important political positions in support of Ayatollah Khomeini, against the bill of state and provincial associations, and against Israel. In 1963 he went to visit Khomeini. On the trip to Qom, Ayatollah Shariatmadari went to welcome him. His scholarly standing was such that with his death, the classes of the Qom seminary were closed.

Before the revolution, ayatollahs such as Karami, Moravvej, and Sheikh Abolhasan Ansari in Ahvaz, Nabavi in Dezful, Shabir Khaqani in Khorramshahr, and Sheikh Mohammad Taqi in Shushtar had followers, but they avoided entering political matters.

Alongside them, Messrs. Seyyed Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri and Seyyed Ali Shafiei were two clerics favored by the youth. Jazayeri had come to Ahvaz in 1975 and was less known in those days. But Shafiei, who had returned from Najaf in 1970, was better known to the people. Shafiei's father too had been the Friday prayer leader for years at the "Sarsacheh Mosque," which later became known as the Shafiei Mosque, and this too added to Shafiei's credibility.

Messrs. Mohammad Hossein Emamifar, the Friday prayer leader of the Jame Mosque, and Hashemi Behbahani, the Friday prayer leader of the Imam Jafar Sadiq Mosque, also interfered less or not at all in political matters but were aligned with the revolutionary current.

Jazayeri was the representative of Ayatollah Khomeini in collecting religious dues, and Shafiei held the representation of Ayatollah Khoei. This matter had brought the Muslim revolutionaries closer to Jazayeri.

Shafiei was also a refuge for the Hojjatiyeh Society. His brother, who was a reputable bazaar merchant, had an optician's shop. He was an effective member of the Hojjatiyeh Society in Ahvaz. I was present at the Hosseiniyeh A'zam when Shafiei, for the first time in Ahvaz, raised the name of Ayatollah Khomeini from the pulpit.

In Dey 1978, a gathering had been held in front of Jondishapur Hospital. I participated in this protest gathering. Several others also gave speeches. Jazayeri, probably because of being less known to the people, introduced himself and said: "I am Mousavi Jazayeri," and after that began his speech.

At this time, Jazayeri was the only prominent fighting cleric trusted by the revolutionary Muslim forces of the university and the bazaaris supporting the revolution.

We kids of the Fatemiyeh Mosque, during the month of Ramadan, would go to the Shafiei, Al Tayeb, and Emamifar mosques. Most of all, the Shafiei Mosque was pleasant to us and had a special spiritual atmosphere. In those days, our criterion for closeness to and distance from the clerics was Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini was our source of emulation. The Imam's words were like revealed revelation to us. This alone was enough for us to arrange everything on his axis. On this basis, we were politically closer to Mousavi Jazayeri and, while respecting others, dealt with them at a distance.

Other clerics such as Mahmoudi, Golsefkhi, and Faker and Khazali also came to Ahvaz. Khazali, on the days he came to Ahvaz, was the guest of Abdolnabi Soleimanifar. Soleimanifar was among the wealthy of Ahvaz and our neighbor.

A famous remark of Khazali has remained in the memory of the people of Ahvaz. I did not hear it myself, but many narrate it and say they heard it themselves. Khazali, regarding what would happen if the revolution occurred, had said: "People, if in the middle of the night an agent knocks on your door, do not be afraid. They are coming to give you your oil money in your house."

Abdolsayyed Mahmoudi was another famous and popular preacher who came to Ahvaz. His speeches were full of attraction and political. His pulpit was held at the Ayatollah Behbahani School or at the Abbasieh at the corner of Kaveh Street.

In the middle of 1978, after a passionate speech at the Behbahani School, he was arrested and subjected to beating by the agents. In his speeches, when he recited a verse, he would also mention the number of the verse, the surah, and the page number of the Quran. This was attractive to the ordinary people. Abdolsayyed had connections with Ayatollah Golpayegani. After the revolution, apparently he withdrew from political matters and devoted himself to teaching and discussion and the school.

My experience of encountering the clerics of Ahvaz has been accompanied by ups and downs. For example, my relationship with Mr. Jazayeri goes back to before the revolution. Until the Third Majlis, I had good relations with him. He too accepted me. I would give the religious dues to him. Our relationship was established but after that it underwent fluctuations. Its description will come in due time.

Jazayeri was well-mannered, patient, and flexible and lived a simple life. He knew well the logic of power and politics. In terms of understanding new matters, he was a person of study and, as they say, up to date. He did not have a sharp position toward Shariati, or at least did not express it. One day I had gone to him...

To be continued...