About This Book

  

The Iranian supreme leader, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, has since the year 1983 (at this time he was the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran) been frequently visiting the families of Iranian martyrs. Of course, most of these were the families of Muslim martyrs, but a significant aspect of these visits was his meeting with the families of our Armenian and Assyrian martyrs, heroic martyrs from among these two small communities in iran, who fought bravely and selflessly in defense of their patriotic country and in the path of God.

This book is about Mr. Khamenei’s visiting these latter groups that usually took place about Christmas and the Christian new years.

We cannot describe the incredible atmosphere of these intimate, affectionate, kind and emotional meetings in a few words; one must read them all. We may, however, say that the readers often find, when reading them, that tears fill their eyes: they are not tears of pity but of human love, admiration, empathy and appreciation. The other outstanding feature of these meetings is that most often the grief-stricken atmosphere in the house gradually changes and the begrieved family members, especially the mothers of the martyrs, are really consoled and feel a greater pride for their sons who fought and died in a patriotic, rightful cause.

And this translation into English from the original Persian will be sent to Armenia, Lebanon, Europe and the USA for the further knowledge of Armenians (and Assyrians) who were living in Iran since ancient times. As an example, Darius the Great -521-486 B.C-  mentions the names of two military commanders of this who were dispatched to certain areas to quell rebellions there (Behistun, Kermanshah, account by Darius carved on a cliff in cuneiform script in 3 languages: Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian.)

We say no more and ask the readers to go over the narration about these meetings to note other sweet-bitter but sublime features we failed to describe.

Fazlollah Nikayin

 

 

Preface

 

First scene

Jesus Christ chose the name “Peter” for “Simon” from the moment he declared his faith in God. “Peter” means “rock”. No one, even Simon, understood the reason for this naming that day. Months passed, and Peter gained a higher degree of spirituality in the presence of his master. One day, in a gathering of all disciples, Jesus Christ told him: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven”.

The period of the earthly prophethood of Jesus Christ lasted not more than three years. When he transcended to the other world, Peter carried on his message to spread the religion of God, despite facing radical enemies. The mundane Jewish rabbis of Jerusalem were happily thinking that they had already crucified Jesus Christ brutally in front of his disciples and followers, and that the peril of this new religion would no more threaten their prestige and position among the “Sons of Israel”. The situation however, turned out to be otherwise.

The disciples, who had met Jesus twice after his ascension, believed he was alive; so their faith and determination for propagation had strengthened and this made the rabbis so angry. Peter was standing in the middle of Jerusalem’s temple, fearlessly speaking about Jesus Christ and his being alive. The officers attacked these assemblies repeatedly and expelled Peter and the rest of the disciples fiercely out of the temple. Yet, after some minutes, some people would gather in another corner and one of the disciples did continue speaking for them. The dignity of Peter, and God’s blessings on him, had bestowed upon him the power to heal some ill or paralyzed persons. These incidents resulted in the increase of people’s fondness towards him and the strengthening of their belief in Jesus Christ.

The rabbis of Jerusalem could not stand this situation. They put the disciples and their believers under severe pressure. Saint Stephan was the first disciple who was martyred. The rabbis held a show trial for him and sentenced him to be stoned. This sentence was carried out in a most cruel way. The second martyr was Jacob, John’s (Yuhanna’s) brother. The Emperor of Rome had previously appointed Herod as the governor of Jerusalem. Herod wanted to win the hearts of the Jewish rabbis and so he started arresting, torturing and tormenting the Christians. He arrested Jacob to put an end to propagation about Jesus Christ and ordered his officers to cut his head off. This happened 11 years after Christ’s ascension.

Herod’s next victim was Peter. He arrested Peter and announced that he would be hanged a day after the coming Jewish feast. The night before, Christians held some secret prayer meetings in certain places to save Peter. Herod ordered 16 guards to watch Peter in jail until hanging deadline.

The feast was over, and they were supposed to hang Peter the following day. Some Christian men and women gathered at the home of Mark’s mother. Mark was one of the disciples. They were praying for Peter’s life when suddenly they heard knocks on the door. They were first afraid that their secret gathering might have been discovered. They were all silent looking at the door. A girl named “Roda” walked towards the door and asked: who are you? The one behind the door said calmly: “Open the door, my daughter”.

Roda froze where she was standing. The voice was familiar to her. Her surprised face became happy gradually, and she said loudly: Peter! This is Peter himself! The people inside said: are you crazy, girl? Yet she insisted on what she said. The one behind the door was knocking again. Finally, they all stood up and rushed to the door. Despite Roda’s insistence, they wondered how it was possible that the person behind the door would be Peter, as he was in Herod’s jail. One of them said something that made the hopeful hearts saddened: definitely they have killed Peter and it is his soul coming to us. They had the same illusion, even after they opened the door and saw Peter’s handsome face. Peter came in and described what had happened to him: I was asleep in the jail. My hands were tied by two chains to the floor. Two guards were watching me. Some of them were behind the closed door of the jail. Suddenly I felt somebody was tapping on my shoulders. I saw two divine angels standing above me. They told me to stand up. The chains were loosened as I stood up. They told me to go with them. The guards were asleep. The doors automatically opened as we reached them. Now we were outside of the palace. That was the time the angels left me and I realized that I wasn’t dreaming. They were there to save me.

The following day, there was great uproar in the jail. The guards swore that Peter suddenly disappeared, but no one believed them. Eventually, Herod condemned all of the 16 guards to death. He could no longer remain in Jerusalem, and so he left the city.

Gradually, the disciples started to have missionary journeys to spread the message of Christ to all Jewish and non-Jewish people. Most of these journeys took place in the regions of Ancient Rome and they had to be clandestine journeys. The Roman rulers, on one hand, had relations with Jewish rabbis and the wealthy, as they didn’t want Christianity to spread among the Jews and, on the other hand, they were worried that believing in this new religion, which was slipping from the Jews’ hands, may become widespread among the European people, as every divine, justice wanting religion could shake the foundation of their cruel reign.

During these apostolic journeys, Saint Peter was arrested by Roman soldiers. This time they took him to the capital and to Nero, the Roman emperor, and condemned him to death. Saint Peter was crucified and martyred in the year 64 (A.C.), 31 years after Christ’s ascension.

The picture of Saint Peter being crucified, drawn in the year 1482 (AC)

 

Several centuries passed since Peter’s martyrdom. Melika, the daughter of one of the rulers of Eastern Roman Empire, whose mother was a descendant of Saint Peter, was taken to Baghdad as a slave during the warfares of Muslims against Romans. Imam Hadi (pbuh), the tenth Imam of the Shiite, took this dignified lady to his household and adopted her as a daughter-in-law. Imam Hadi’s son, Imam Hassan Asgari, became the Imam of the Shiite after Imam Hadi’s martyrdom. The son of Imam Asgari and Lady Melika (Melika was referred to as Narjes at the Imam’s home), is the 12th Imam of the Shiite and the last inheritor of the Messenger of Islam.

This blessed son is called Imam Mahdi (pbuh), the savior of humanity who is supposed to appear, before the Last Day, to establish divine reign and justice throughout the world, and to abolish oppression and godlessness. According to Islamic beliefs, Jesus Christ will accompany Imam Mahdi at this final uprising. According to some narrations, Dajjal (anti-Christ), the arch-enemy of this sacred ultimate battle, shall be killed at the hands of Jesus Christ.

 

Second Scene

Five years passed since Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had become the leader of Islam. The pressures of sanctions, brutality, torture, and murder upon the small and vulnerable society of Muslims was intensifying every day. The order to emigrate was announced. Yet, the question was: where to?

Prophet Muhammad said: You must go to Ethiopia. There’s a just king there. After this order, Jafar-ibn-Abi-Talib, Imam Ali’s brother, was chosen as the leader of the migrants; he was not in danger as his father had a special position in Mecca.

The people of Ethiopia were followers of Christianity. They were called “Nasrani” (Christian) at that time. Najjashi, the king, was also a Christian. The teachings of Christ had taught him to be just, not to be cruel, and to shelter innocent people who would come to him as refugees.

Muslims, who numbered fewer than a hundred, sailed to the Red Sea coast secretly. Some were single, and some had families accompanying them. As prophet Muhammad had predicted, Najjashi welcomed them and let them live freely there and worship God in their own religion.

Immigrants were in good conditions. Amr-Aas went to Ethiopia as the representative of the leader of the Quraish tribe to bring the Muslims back. He was renowned for his craftiness. So, first he went to the counselors of the King’s Court and offered them bribes and gifts. Then, he went to Najjashi and after bowing down flutteringly, presented him with exotic gifts, and then started slandering the Muslim immigrants: these are stubborn, rebellious young men who have abandoned the religion of their ancestors and insist on their ignorance. The leaders of Quraish beg you respectfully to send these subversive elements back to Hijaz. The bribed counselors supported him immediately to convince Najjashi to expel the Muslims.

Surprisingly Najjashi said: they will be under my protection unless their guilt is proved to me; call them to come here. Knowing the manner of the Muslims, Amr-Aas wanted to solve the problem at this very first meeting. So he told Najjashi that those young men are so arrogant that they would not even bow down in the presence of Your Majesty.

Jafar, together with some other Muslims were brought in and saluted the King loudly. The courtiers said: why don’t you bow down? Jafar replied: our prophet taught us not to bow down except before God. He also has said that in paradise you will be welcomed by salutation. So, we did salute you this way. Najjashi smiled at hearing this reply and asked Jafar about Islam. Jafar started describing the conditions of that “Age of ignorance”: idolatry, necrophagia, cruelty and murder, renouncement of kindred ties, burying infant girls alive and harassing neighbors. He then added: Our prophet invited us to worship God, to be just, kind, pious, not to lie, not to take the orphans, possessions, to perform prayers and to pay Zakaat.

Najjashi, who was quite, asked: do you have anything in your mind about what your prophet has brought? Jafar, in a beautiful accent, recited some verses of the Sura Mary about Jesus Christ’s birth and Mary’s innocence and what Jews accused her of. Najjashi and Christian scholars present in the court were most impressed. Najjashi, with tears in his eyes, said: undoubtedly the source of what has been revealed to your prophet and Christ is the same. Now Amr-Aas had to employ his last trick. He cunningly told Najjashi that these people say that Jesus is not the Son of God. The monks and scholars raised their eyebrows and made noises of objection. Najjashi was now worried. He looked at Jafar and asked: what do you say about this? Jafar, Imam Ali’s brother, fearlessly explained the Islamic belief: Jesus is God’s servant, His messenger, His spirit, and a Word granted to Mary.

The monks were not satisfied but Najjashi was pleased and said: this is the true belief. Consequently, Najjashi expelled Amr-Aas from his court with contempt and went on: I won’t let you touch these young people even if you offered me a mountain of gold. They will be in my protection as long as they wish.

 

Third Scene

Friday, 29th of dey, 1357; January 19, 1979

It was the 40th day after “Aashura”. That day was very different from previous years. It was more than a year after people held “Arbaeen” demonstrations for martyrs. The number of people martyred for the victory of the revolution was increasing: Tabriz rose up for the martyrs of Qom; Yazd and Ahvaz and Jahrom for the martyrs of Tabriz; 20 cities for Yazd and Ahvaz and Jahrom; these demonstration continued until the 17th of Shahrivar when many people in Tehran were murdered, there was a demonstration for Tehran’s martyrs in Kerman, etc.

Finally these courageous bloody incidents bore fruit: the Shah had  to escape; three days before the next “Arbaeen”.

That day there was a different mood in the city. Even “Saint Sirkis Church” on Karimkhan Street enjoyed a higher spirit. Some were busy writing placards in Armenian and Persian languages. They showed them to their bishop to get approval. The first placard read: we want freedom, independence, and national and territorial integrity for Iran. Another read: There is constant alliance of the Iranian nation against East and West Imperialism.

All this enthusiasm was the result of resisting suppression and the Shah’s dependency on world powers, and suppression of the people for many years which affected all the people, whether Muslim or Christian. A modest, honest clergyman rose against this regime and all its powerful supporters, and became the leader of the Revolution. Some days before Arbaeen, Imam had sent a message to the people from exile in France that encouraged all Iranians to come out and struggle:

“In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

It is the day of Arbaeen. Our awakened people have seen so many gainful Arbaeens. During these years, following more than 50 years of brutal kingdom of Pahlavi’s dynasty, we have faced so many disasters and internecine barbarity; 50 years of bitter and painful memories; it got worse in the last two years, which made our brave nation to move against autocracy and colonialism.

Our martyrs followed the manner and behavior of the Holy Martyrs of Karbala. The recent Arbaeen of our brothers is the reflection of the Arbaeen of those brave men. Their pure blood put an end to Yazid’s cruel reign. And our brothers’ blood destroyed the brutal kingdom. This year’s Arbaeen is extraordinary and unique; it is the national and religious duty of the people to walk and demonstrate enthusiastically in this Arbaeen.

Our great nation, throughout Iran, will bury this regime through their demonstrations. They will declare their opposition to the illegal “Royal Council” and their advocacy of the “Islamic Republic” again and again ”.

There were rivers of angry determined people in every street, joining one another in the streets, struggling to eradicate the Shah’s regime as Imam had told them.

There were groups of demonstrators on the Arbaeen who shouted slogans wherever they went, and the rest of the people welcomed them and accompanied them. There were motivated Christian youth, carrying placards, who shouted slogans against the Shah’s reign. They carried another interesting slogan apart from “down with Shah”, it read: Christianity is our religion, our leader is Khomeini.

During Imam’s presence in France, journalists, ordinary people, and Iranians in Europe kept meeting him and listening to his speeches. One day, four Iranian university students who were Armenian came to his temporary residence in Neauple-Le Chateau village. There were journalists there, each asking a question. Then one of the Armenian students asked: what happens to Armenians if your revolution succeeds and you establish your Islamic regime? The Imam’s kind look at this young Iranian-Armenian was the best reply.

 

Then he said: “Armenians living there, who have been living in Iran since ancient times have the same rights. After the revolution’s victory, all  will be free and they will be treated with utmost justice”.

In Neauple-Le Chateau village, Christians received a flower spray from the Imam at Christmas Eve. The Imam had asked what people usually give to each other as present, and the answer was “flowers”.

Eventually, after some 15 years, Imam Khomeini returned to Iran on February 1,1979, so that the people would take the final steps to destroy the cruel regime in the presence of their brave leader. The biggest national welcome in history was there: Millions of ordinary people were waiting in Tehran streets to meet and welcome the Imam. There were also some dignitaries and representatives of different groups waiting at Mehr-Abad Airport. Mr. Khamenei was at the “welcoming headquarters”; he was in charge of the publicity Committee. Mr. Motahari had asked him to deliver a speech at the welcoming ceremony. The airplane landed, all were waiting to see the Imam. There were some Christian clergymen wearing special gowns, who stood near Mr. Khamenei; they were the representatives of Christians in Iran who wanted to express their feelings towards Imam Khomeini.

Fifteen days had passed after the victory of the Revolution and the Imam was still staying at the Alavi School in Tehran. Different groups of people came to meet the Imam and declare their loyalty to the Revolution. That day, Mr. Ardaak Manoukian, the Armenian bishop, together with the Armenians’ Council of Caliphate, were guests of the Imam for some time. The Imam told them: “This movement, I hope, will benefit all religions, and minorities living in Iran. I know all stratas of the people in Iran, Muslims or non-Muslims, suffered during the reign of this Shah and his father. And we all know that Islam has always respected minorities. I respect them too. They are parts of our nation. I hope that the Just Islamic state will bring good for them too and that they live here in welfare, freely, and properly under the protection of Islam”.

 

Fourth Scene

Everything was going well for the so-called “New Global Order” by the big powers, which were based upon cruelty and suppression, but then something happened that spoiled their calculations. In a country most dependent on foreign powers, a revolution came about contrary to all predictions and equations. During an age when it was supposed that religion had been forever put aside from polities, a religious revolution had succeeded to form a religious government. Finally, during the period when all had to connect to a big power to progress and stay powerful, a revolution happened and its slogan was independence from the East and the West; a regime was founded that was not dependent on the world  powers, but in fact stood against them and questioned their legitimacy. The Revolution and its political order seemed so dangerous to the big powers that they impalpably allied to eradicate it. Coups, terrorism and disturbances bore no fruit. They then resorted to military action against this newly-founded regime. The agent for this plot was at hand; Saddam Hussein, a ruthless, power-seeking man, who had recently become the ruler of Iraq.

The imposed war against Iran began. The domestic conditions were unstable and the army, saved from The Shah’s suppression, was not in good form and so if the people would not fight and stand against the invasion, the enemy could succeed. The Iranian people however, kept their faith and stood against all powers.

 

It is natural that when a country is engaged in a long, extensive war, the young people go and fight. But what makes the imposed war on Iran different is the way that these young people see the war, how their families reflect on the sacrifices of their young, beloved ones and how a family who has lost their sons feel about them. These are the clearest manifestations of their outlook towards the war. Here is when the difference between a war caused by the arrogant powers and a defensive war on the basis of values and the valour of the martyrs manifests itself, such was the scene of the war in Iran in the 8 year-war and the magnificent scene of patient, resisting families who had lost their dearest ones.

The picture becomes touchingly more significant when it involves members of the small Christian minorities in the face of the martyrdom of their youth.

In the course of the war, there were some 48 martyrs, 105 wounded and 35 war prisoners from among the small Armenian –Christian minority. There were also some 30 Armenian men, women and children who died during air-attacks and bombings.

 

The same kind of sacrifices were witnessed among the yet smaller Assyrian-Christian minority; more than 30 of them were martyred defending their country in the unjust, unequal war imposed on the Iranian nation for they considered themselves as part  of this oppressed  nation  and the war as a national question and they did whole – heartedly participated in the war effort. Apart from these efforts, the Armenian were also most active in the war’s relief work; they did set up a headquarter for this purpose from the early days of the war under the supervision of their religious authority.

They began this important task by issuing this statement:

Our dear fellow-Christians; as you know our beloved Iran is presently at war, a war that has been imposed on us. In these sensitive days all Iranian are selflessly engaged in the holy defence of our patriotic country.

We too, as all Iranians, have the duty to take part in the holy defence of Iran’s territorial sovereignty, therefore it was decided that we also extend our financial assistance to the war efforts at this juncture. We are certain that our people will, as in the past, fulfill their duty of guarding the security and territory of Iran and shall generously give their help at this crucial moment.

Afterwards, the Armenian financial assistance went on and their caravans of material commodities were continuously sent to the war-front. On the other hand, as most of the Iranian-Armenians were skilled repairers and specialists in technical fields, they carried out effective service at the war-fronts as far as various equipments and machinery were concerned.     

 

The 5th Scene

This was a most beautiful scene: an Armenian spiritual leader next to a Muslim spiritual leader, one was the arch-bishop of Tehran Armenian community and the one next to him, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in other words, His Eminence Ardaak  Manukian  and Ayatollah Khamenei, they were talking very intimately. The Archbishop had brought with him a cheque representing the Armenian’s financial assistance for the war effort. The president had warmly shaken hands with him saying: Today I am meeting a Christian spiritual leader, and there is nothing between us but friendship, we both walk the an same path and towards the same goal. I never forget a scene at one of war-fronts in Ahvaz. I was speaking to our soldiers in one of the trenches. Then a soldier addressed me and said: I am Armenian, I really felt good that Armenians were fighting shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim brothers. He fought so selflessly alongside Muslims; he never felt alone among so many Muslims. The Muslim soldiers also never felt that he was an outsider, both fought for the same goal.

 

During those days of hardship the Iranian Armenians proved how they felt about the imposed war on their fellow-countrymen: at the beginning of the Christian year 1982, they decided not to celebrate the new year in respect for thousands of families whose sons had been martyred during the war as victims of Saddam Hussein’s crimes. Ayatollah Khamenei was the first person who valued this significant action by the Armenians.

In his message concerning the Christian New Year he said:

I congratulate this new year, which commemorates the blessed birth of Messiah, Mary’s son, the grand prophet of God, to all Christians in our country and to the true followers of Jesus Christ and wish the best of happiness and salvation by asking the Word and Spirit of God to help them.

The new year begins at a time when millions of people who thirst for justice, peace and love to pray for the realization of Christ’s promises in the future …in our country the blood of many of our people including the Christians were shed in the defence of our land …Now the Iranian Christians have decided not to celebrate the new year in sympathy with families who have lost their loved ones during this war …I, in the name of the Iranian nation, express my appreciation for this kindness and insight and I hope that under our Islamic state and the rule of the Quran, the new year will be a year of happiness and progress for the Christian community, and I wish happiness and success for all Christians throughout the world.

In the early months of the war, Mr. Khamenei together with Dr. Chamran asked the Imam to allow them to visit the fronts, but this period was not long as, after the assassination attempt on his life, the Imam did not allow him to go to the war-fronts or even visit the provinces neighbouring Iraq.

This prohibition lasted until the adoption of the cease-fire communiqué, but, as there was another assault against Iran by a mercenary organization, he decided to visit the front. During these years, however, he was leading the people’s resistance to continue to support the war-effort as a true soldier of the Imam and the revolution; Ayatollah Khamenei started his program of visiting the families of the war martyrs as from the year 1984 and in this very year, he visited a few families of the Christian martyrs on the occasion of the Christian New Year.

The Iranian Christians are mainly Armenians and Assyrians and there have been martyrs from among both communities. The Leader of the Islamic Republic has visited the families of either group on a yearly basis. In these visits the Leader has listened carefully to their emotional statements and grievances and has symphasized with them and prayed for them. Addressing the elders he has talked about Christianity and Christian history and with the young ones, he has asked them about their activities, their education and Jobs and our Christian people have truly appreciated these intimate, personal meeting with the Leader.

About this book

We in the Sahba Institute started a blessed endeavour to shed light on the leader’s presence at the homes of the families of the Iranian martyrs, something that has continued for the last 25 years. There are many beautiful and valuable lessons to be enjoyed in the reports of these visits.

We named these series of books “Sunshine at the Landing Site of Angels”; that is in fact how the leader named these blessed homes. The first book in these series was titled “A Host from Heavens”. The book narrates what went on in the homes of five martyr families in Mashhad, Khorasan province.

“Christ in the Night of Glory” is the title of the second book in these series. It is about the Leader’s presence at the homes of the martyrs in the Iranian, Christian communities which contains many a sensitive, interesting and attractive point.

These books could only be published through the help and cooperation of “the section for people’s communications” at the Office of the Leader.

This section existed when the Leader was the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran and after the demise of the Imam, and the Leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei, it was named “the office for people’s communications” headed by one of his trusted former pupils, He, together with the faithful, hard-working staff in this office have selflessly tried to become the examples of what Imam Ali recommended in his famous letter to Maalik Ashtar; O Maalik , for those people who need you, do appropriate some of your time or hold special sessions to sit with the people so that they could express their complaints and opinions fearlessly and openly for I myself heard the Holy Prophet  saying that the Islamic umma would not be a proper, flawless society if the down-trodden or ordinary people could not voice their wants fearlessly.(Nahjolblagha, Letter 53)  

All our documents, observations and what has been recorded testify that from when the program for visiting the families of martyrs began, all attempts in this respect and the collection of documents and other materials, except for security matters, were all performed by this office in the best forms. Thousands of photos and documents and many hours of recordings and films were collected and arranged and classified in the best possible ways. The preparation and collection of such an immense archives were carried out by the staff of this office, not as official duties, but faithfully and sincerely for God’s sake. Here, we in the Sahba Institute, should express our thanks and appreciation to Sayyed Ali Moghaddam, the head of the Office for People’s Communications, as each time we had the chance to meet him, he did enhance our spiritual insight and gave us brilliant advice to carry out the work in serving Islam and the Islamic community. God bless all those who serve Islam and Muslims and may God Almighty bestow his blessings on the Leader of the Revolution to continue his exciting meetings with the families of martyrs.

In all the houses of martyrs we did witness the effects of the assistance and favours extended to them by the Martyrs Foundation and other charitable organizations; may God bless them to further their good work.

Apart from the available documents and records, we had extensive conversations with the members of the martyr families in order to obtain information about the martyrs, their opinions and their ways of life prior to the meetings with the Leader. We are most grateful that almost all of the families welcomed us in very intimate atmosphere and freely talked about their martyrs.

Some three years before the publication of the present book, we found out that someone had bought many copies of our previous books concerning the Leader. The name of the purchaser was Hamlet Toumanian, obviously an Armenian. We contacted him and it was the basis for a good friendship. Mr. Toumanian, 40 years of age, is a grand master of chess. He had already studied all our books and had even distributed them among his Armenian and Muslim pupils. All this showed that he was a great enthusiast of the Leader and the Islamic Revolution. All this led to his becoming our advisor in the preparation of this book and our guide and consultant about the Armenian community and coordinator of the interviews. He was also kind to write down the story of one of those visits at the home of an Armenian family. We do hope that our friendship and cooperation with him will last for a long time.

Although the narrations about these visits are in the forms of story-telling, they are all based on documents, records and recordings. This is important, as some years ago, a newspaper published an account about one of such visits by the Leader which was totally a figment of the writer’s imagination about a martyr whose name was not mentioned! So, it is worth noting again that all accounts published in this book are absolutely documented.

Our narrations are arranged in a chronological order, that is, starting with the first martyr in the war to the end; this way it will be noted that there were Armenian (and Assyrian) martyrs throughout the war. Therefore there were meetings with the families of the martyrs both during the presidency and leadership of the Leader.

Unfortunately in the case of some visits there is not sufficient records, photos or recording; therefore we had to base our reports in these cases on our interviews with the family members. In a few cases we could not find any information or addresses of the martyrs. We hope that we will be in a position to get more information about such cases for future publications.

We are indebted to our dear Armenian fellow-countrymen who acted as liaisons with the Armenian families of martyrs: Mr. Avanes Karapetian (the brother of martyr vigen Karapetian), Mr. Varuzh Yasaian (martyr’s brother), Mrs. Rubina Madadian (wife of the martyr Nourik Mahmoudi), Mr. Razmik Tourusian (martyr’s cousin), Dr. Varuzhan Babumian (martyr’s son), Mr. Vartan Davidian (of the Armenian Khalifate Council), Mr. nerva Nersesian (martyr’s nephew) and Miss Ariyela Karapetian (nice of martyr Karapetian and martyr Davvidian).

We are equally indebted to our Assyrian fellow-countrymen who acted as liaisons with the Assyrian families of martyrs:

Mr. Yonan Bet-Kalya (the Assyrian representative at Islamic National Assembly, Mr. Peter Lazar (cousin of martyr Ordushahi). His Reverend Moghaddas-Nia (of the Evangelical, Assyrian Church in Tehran) and the mother of martyr John-George John-David. Finally our special thanks go to: The editors of the Armenian newspaper, Alik, the staff at the Documents center of Martyrs Foundation and their Public Relation Office, The Military Office for Martyrs Information (esp.Colonel Majid Sheikhian ), District 2 of Tehran Municipality,  the internet site Saajed (Mr.Hussein Salesi) and The Urumia Association of Assyrians (Mrs. Dnial).

We thank God Almighty to be able to breathe in an atmosphere perfumed by the breaths of martyrs and the scent of the supreme Leader. We hope that God may help us to continue our humble efforts in the path of our martyrs.

Sahba Institute            

December 2014

 

The Good News Of Coming Back

 

One

The good news of coming back

Ayatollah Khamenei Visits

The Family of martyr Galust Babumian

Visit Date: 1989/12/28

 

 

The Photo of

Martyr Galust Babumian

Martyred during Ahvaz Aerial Bombing

Martyred on 1980/10/9

 

 

Galust says good-bye to his colleagues at the Oil Company and carrying a file of official document goes out of his office; the company building is almost deserted for most of the native residents have fled out of fear. Galust had been with the Oil Company for some 30 years at the Computer Department. He was most active during the days of Revolution and workers strikes and now at this critical juncture his presence and experience were crucial for the administration of the company and the continued flow of oil for the country. He surely missed his old mother, his wife and his son and daughter, Varuzhan and Talin. They had to leave the city some 20 days earlier. He had sent them to his brother’s house in Tehran when the war started. The previous evening he had telephoned his mother who insisted that he should return to Tehran as soon as possible: “My dearest son, the Iraqis will capture Ahvaz in a short time, and then you can’t imagine what they will do to you. Those Iraqi Baathists are not like the Iranian Muslims. Yesterday our neighbor Zahra Khanum said that these people were the descendants of those who murdered Imam Hussein and Abolfazl, his brother. My son, you are not a military man, so you must come to Tehran soon.” Obvious motherly sentiments! And he had said: “Okay I’ll come to Tehran soon.” Indeed he was telling the truth as he had been ordered to take some important documents that very evening by train. But the mother did know that he was going to Tehran for one day only and had to return to Ahvaz the following day as the refinery in Ahvaz was under constant fire and he had to be there to help. He had somehow comforted his mother but how about the children? Varuzhan was about 10 years of age and Talin was only 6. How sweet she was, as when speaking, he would mix up Persian and Armenian words in a most pleasant, childish way. After his phone call, he picked up the children’s photos that were in a frame.

 

Tears came into his eyes but when he watched the television narrating what was going on during the 17th day after the war and showing columns of fire and smoke above the refinery installation, he was upset and angry and became more determined to continue his work in Ahvaz after the one-day visit to Tehran.

The train station was extraordinarily crowded: The war-strikes, frightened people who were leaving their own city with sacks and bundles on their backs and shoulder, and the soldier and officers and people’s militia who had arrived to fight the invading enemy all moving in and out the station. Galoust had not yet got on the train when he heard loud sirens and then he saw an Iraqi plain circling the sky. There were no anti-aircraft guns in the city and so the plane flew over the people and dropped his bombs.

Galoust only saw some black spots coming down from the fighter-plane; three bombs exploded in front of the station. Galoust realized that he could not move, the very last images in his eyes were the picture of his children Varuzhan and Talin and his wife and his mother.

 

The people wandered about like locusts, the train which was to take them to Tehran was in flames and the station building was half-destroyed.

The first person who noticed Galoust found out that his face and the upper parts of his body were all burnt out. He was horrified, he had never seen such sights, he did not want to believe that he was murdered.  He said: oh, dear Muslim! We’ll soon take you to hospital, God willing you’ll be all right. My name is Qassem, what’s yours, do you hear me? But Galoust could not utter a word.

Blood covered him and the pavement about him. Qassem tried to find out his identity by searching his clothes and his pockets. Before everything he torched a cross around his neck and the identification card in his pockets. “Oh, My God, you’re a Christian, Mr. Galoust? And cried out: May God damn Saddam Hussein!”

Varuzhan and his uncle were waiting for the arrival of Ahvaz train at the Tehran Railway Station, but no train appeared. They started asking the officials about this delay and found out that the Ahvaz train station had been bombed and so no train would arrive from Ahvaz. The 10 year-old Varuzhan could never imagine that he would never see his father again. Finally they decided to go home and wait for a phone-call from Galoust himself. But the telephone never rang till midnight. The children and their mother had fallen asleep. Hasmik suddenly started crying and shouting in her sleep. She had a nightmare of a plane flying low about to hit her and the children. She was sweating badly and the frightened children held each other’s hands. The uncle’s wife and the grand-mother brought her some sugared-hot water and tried to comfort her. It was hours into morning when the telephone rang. Hasmik put her hand on her heart and the uncle answered the phone. And they all began to cry and wail! Hasmik was stunned and she kept calling her husband until the following day: Galoust, Galoust, Galoust…surprisingly Galoust in Armenian Means “the good news of coming back” but he did not return.

Later she said: “From then onwards I had to be both a mother and a father to my children and the motivation of children’s education gave me strength.  Galoust’s mother and brothers helped me tremendously and supported the children”.

Galoust’s mother, since that fatal year, had always spent Christmas at his tomb for some 9 years, but she passed away a few weeks ago before the 10th year of her son’s martyrdom and was let to rest next to her son.

The year 1989 began almost 7 months after the demise of Imam Khomeini and still a sad atmosphere ruled throughout Iran, The Armenians say: even we as Christians cannot believe The Imam’s departure; We are all heart-broken by seeing the young combatants who have just come back from the war-fronts; anyway, we don’t celebrate Christmas this year too, because of Galoust’s mother.

The visit

It was Thursday when we were informed that some high official would visit us if we happen to be home in the evening. I informed Galoust’s brother and my sister’s husband and asked to come to my place in the afternoon. Varuzhan and Talin were not happy at the news as they were very busy with their exams. Varuzhan is studying medicine and Talin has high-school examinations. They both study well as they know how much importance I attach to their education. When Varuzhan succeeded in his medical studies and became a medical student, I felt that all my efforts in the absence of Galoust had born fruit. I was spiritually elevated and congratulated him. He is also very proud of his success and says that in the process of his acceptance, there was no discrimination between the sons of Muslim or Armenian martyrs. Talin went to a friend’s house to study together and Varuzhan went to his college as he has to pass a microbiology exam.

We are impatiently waiting for our guest. We had already heard that the President had visited some Armenian homes in previous years. We guessed that our guest this evening may also be the President. But we found out our guest was the same President who also had now become the Leader after the Imam’s demise. I was now very upset for the absence of the children, for if they know this, they would have certainly stayed at home to meet him.

Ayatollah Khamenei arrives and says ‘salaam’ to all of us and then he, together with Galoust’s brother and my brother-in-law and some of his companions sit down in our guest-room.

 

Name of us is able to say anything and the Leader, sensing this, starts speaking and asks: Is this gentleman the father of your martyr?

And he points at Galoust’s photos on the wall. As most Armenian martyrs were young soldiers, The Leader thinks that this older man must be the father of the martyr.

I say calmly: No, this is the photo of martyr himself.

I see, says the Leader; he is the martyr.

Yes, I say.

- Are you the wife of the martyr?

- Yes.

It was so difficult for me to speak. I had never spoken to an ordinary Muslim cleric but now the highest spiritual authority is sitting in front of me. I was standing and I intended to go to the kitchen to bring some tea. But the Leader does not allow this and says: please sit down here.

I say “thank you” and sit down on the couch on the right side of the Leader. I have strange mixed feelings: of happiness, of shame and of pride. I wish Galoust would witness this scene, oh, I am sure he sees us.

- How are you, lady?

- Fine, thank you.

- Where was Mr. Galoust martyred?

- Ahvaz

- When was he martyred?

– 17th of the month of Mehr, that is, three weeks after the war began.

- Was he employee there?

- Yes, he was.

I loved to talk about Galoust’s character and morals but I can’t, oh, if my heart was not beating so fast.

The Leader then asks about the relationship of the two persons, sitting next him, to the martyr.

We answer that one is the martyr’s brother and the other is his brother-in-law.

Then the Leader says: May God bless your martyr and make this New Year and the birth-anniversary of Jesus Christ most pleasing to all your family.

We all thank him.

The Leader then says: please tell me about your husband’s occupation.

He was an employee of the Oil Company in Ahvaz and he was martyred there.

He then asks about the occupation of Galoust’s brother and the brother-in-law and then turns to me and enquires whether I own my own house and also about the children. The Leader is most pleased that they both are students and that they follow their education enthusiastically. From the corner of my eyes, I look at Galoust’s photo and smile.

- Your children, are they sons or daughters?

- One son and one daughter.

- Aren’t they around?

- No, we weren’t told that you would honour us with your visit; they would have definitely stayed at home.

- You’re right, it is the rule not to give exact information.

I smile and think to myself that if we were informed as to who our guest is, then all of our friends, relations and neighbours would have come to our house! I further explain that both my children are at present very busy with taking exams.

- What does your son study?

- Medicine.

- I hope that he will succeed to become a good doctor, and your daughter?

- She is at high school.

The Leader looks around the rooms and says: Here I don’t see anything showing that it is your New Year.

Galoust’s brother explains: Our mother has recently passed away.

- I see. My God Almighty, through his boundless mercy, bless all those who are gone and may God reward you and your family.

I then go to the kitchen to pour some tea and I hear that the Leader is talking with the brothers about the New Year, about the Armenian community, our churches and our representatives in the Parliament.

It is obvious that the Leader tries to create a warm, friendly atmosphere because he felt that it was not easy for us to say things. I notice that Mr. Khamenei’s information and knowledge about Armenians and about Christianity is far deeper than many of us!

 

I come out of the kitchen carrying the tray of tea-cups but one of Leader’s companions takes it from my hands and serves all in the room. I bring another photo of Galoust and give it to Mr. Khamenei. In this photo Galoust is very well-dressed and smiling.

I say: This is another photo of our martyr.

- I see, what is his full name?

- Galoust Boboumian.

- What age was he?

- Forty-eight. He started his job with the Oil Company at the age of 18. Therefore he had worked there for some 30 years.

After I utter these words, I feel as if I was choked, I don’t want my weeping to be seen. So, I go into the kitchen pretending I was going to bring something to serve my guests. Therein I allow my eyes to be wet with tears.

On the Leader’s side, the conversation is about the Armenian bishop and the differences between the ceremonies of Armenians and the Assyrian Christians. I am waiting to calm down but before that the Leader says: Well, tell this lady to come and sit with us for a while, we must be shortly leaving, but this lady constantly goes into the kitchen! Tell her we’re about to leave.

Quickly I gather myself together. I go back. The Leader has drunk the tea together with a piece of cake, I say I went to bring them some fruits but he asks me to please sit down and adds: We don’t want to be served. The purpose of our visit was to sit down with you for a few moments to relieve you of the grief caused by your husband’s sacrifice to give up his life for this country’s ideals. I should truly extend my condolences to you. Our visit should serve this purpose. You should not be troubled to serve us.

I, together with Galoust’s brother and my brother-in law are all most impressed by Khamenei’s simplicity and humility.

The Leader and people present in the room were talking about the churches throughout Iran. Mr. Khamenei tells us about his visit of our church in Jolfa, Isfahan. He says: I visited the Armenian Church in Jolfa. It was in the year 1958 when I travelled to Isfahan from Qum. I visited two churches there .One of the two churches was huge and very beautiful; its gong was located in the middle of the yard. In the smaller church a burial ceremony was being held. Two other theological students also accompanied me. Before entering the church, we asked a church servant whether we were allowed to go in and he said “no problem!” Of course people there could tell that we, wearing turbans, were not Armenians! They treated us in a most friendly way. We stayed there till the end of the ceremony. There are many churches in this city.

Galoust’s brother explains: The exact number of churches there is 12 and the big one you mentioned is the Central Church.

Finally the Leader says: Well, lady, may God give you more patience and reward and success in your life so that you will be in the position to bring up your children and turn them into valuable, efficient and skillful persons. I hope these children could be examples of serving our country and may, in showing affection and love towards you, take the place of their father, God bless you all. These words and prayer by the Leader impresses me and I say “Amen” in my heart.

The Leader then rises from his chair and says good-bye to all of us. His behaviour and manners were so simple and intimate that now I was no more anxious and my heart had calmed. Now I wished that this visit could have gone on for hours. I wished I could tell him more about Galoust’s character and Varuzhan’s similarity to his father but there was no more time as he was leaving when such thoughts went through my head. At the door I thank him many more times. I wanted to go out of the house following him but the Leader’s companions tell me not to, because they do not want to attract attention. After the Leader’s departure, we were all silent for a while as we could not believe that, a few minutes ago, the highest spiritual authority was drinking and conversing

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.02.2016
ISBN: 978-3-7396-3487-6

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