In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

 

" . . . be even more persistent and steadfast than before in what you do; we too are steadfast. This danger to our religion is intolerable. Muslims are therefore to stand firm in every way until this issue is resolved."

1-  During the month of Mehr 1341 AHS (September/October 1962), the government of Asadullah `Alam presented a new bill concerning the Provincial and District Councils which was seen by the maraji` of Qum as being against Islam and the Constitution. In this bill, the government removed Islam a prerequisite for candidates and voters and instead of swearing on the Holy Qur'an, any `Holy Book' was to be acceptable. These changes were made in spite of the fact that according to Article 9 of the Provincial and District Councils constitution, the prerequisite conditions for a prospective candidate were to be the same as those for parliamentary candidates; and again, according to Article 12 of the National Consultative Assembly's electoral law, candidates were to be followers of the true Islam (except for those of minority religions: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews), whilst according to Article 11 of the Constitution, parliamentary representatives were to swear on the Holy Qur'an. `Alam's government, by passing this bill, opened the way for the effacement of Islam, for the spread of Western culture, and for non-Muslims to be given a role in ruling the destiny and interests of the Muslim people of Iran.