On the 7th of March 1357, i.e. 15 days after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a Libyan delegation met with Imam Khomeini (RA) and requested him to allow “Muammar Gaddafi” to visit Iran personally and congratulate the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Imam Khomeini (RA) answered in a short sentence:
“I am currently going to Qom and will postpone this meeting to another time.” 1
Imam went to Qom 3 days later and returned to Tehran again on 2nd of February 1358; But this meeting never happened…
There have been many people throughout history who have brought people with them with slogans of freedom and independence; But after sitting on the seat of power, over time, they have not refrained from committing any crime against their nation, the clear example of which is Muammar Gaddafi, the self-proclaimed leader of Libya.
Gaddafi is a person who came to power with anti-imperialist and freedom-loving slogans, at first it was thought that he is the same person who will persevere against colonialism and implement Islam and Islamic laws in Libya, just like the martyr Sheikh Omar Mukhtar. , but he who took power in Libya at the age of 27, with eclectic interpretations of Islam, brought this African country to the lap of Soviet Communism, then went to the lap of the West and Europe, and today, after 42 years, on the one hand, Its people, on the other hand, are at odds with the same western countries that were “friends of Garambah and Golestan Sarhang” until yesterday.
Imam Khomeini (RA) was among the people who always dealt with Gaddafi and his regime thoughtfully and deeply. In the conditions when the Islamic revolution had just won and political analysts were expecting a deep connection between the Islamic Republic and the Gaddafi regime – which was known as a revolutionary regime in the world’s rumors – but the Imam, with his divine and profound worldview, never Not only did he refuse to accept Gaddafi, but the revolutionary forces, including the honorable martyr Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Montazeri, were also prevented from accompanying and cooperating extensively with this regime.
In the Imam’s correspondence with Gaddafi, we find small and instructive points that show the Imam’s deep view and the end of his thinking in dealing with such regimes.
Although Gaddafi tried to be close to Imam Khomeini under any pretext, including events such as the martyrdom of Ayatollah Shahid Sadouqi, the anniversary of the formation of the Islamic Republic Party, Eid al-Fitr and Qurban, the Golbaf earthquake in Kerman, etc., while showing himself as a revolutionary. be; But he never succeeded in doing so.
Among the cases that can be mentioned in relation to Gaddafi’s relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran during the war of imposition, the issue of selling weapons by Gaddafi to Iran is not because of the strategic link between these two countries, but because of Gaddafi’s competition with the Iraqi Ba’ath party and the profit from The sale of these weapons was.
War conditions required the Islamic Republic to buy weapons from any country (except the regime occupying Jerusalem), including North Korea, to maintain its survival.
In any case, Imam Khomeini (RA) sent messages to Muammar Gaddafi 21 times, of these, only one of them is related to before the Islamic Revolution on Mehr 26, 1357, in which the Imam explicitly Qadaghi wants the case of Imam Musa Sadr to be followed up. In this letter Imam wrote to Gaddafi: “The case of Mr. Sadr’s Hojjat al-Islam [which] has become mysterious [and] his relatives say after investigation that he is in Libya”2
This is the only case that Imam Khomeini (RA) personally writes to Gaddafi, in all other cases, without exception, the Imam only writes or telegraphs to the Libyan president “in response”.
Before examining the deep and meaningful points in Imam Khomeini’s (RA) messages to Gaddafi, it is important to state that the Imam has repeatedly rejected the question of Gaddafi’s financial aid to the revolution, which was raised by the Shah and the West. This means that if there was any help, it was so insignificant that neither the imam nor his disciples and companions like Martyr Motahari, Hazrat Ayatollah Khamenei, Hojat al-Islam Hashemi, the late Taleghani, etc. were not in the process. Or there was no need to recount it due to the scarcity of the issue.
Imam Khomeini (RA) has said many times in response to doubts about Gaddafi’s help to the revolution and his supporters: “We don’t need their (Gaddafi regime) financial aid, and no one has given us any other aid, such as advertising aid, which is needed.” 4, “No, these are propagandists and the king’s clique. We have not and will not seek help from any government. We rely on the power of the nation and do not need governments.”5
In the following, we point out important points in the correspondence between Imam and Gaddafi:
1- Imam Khomeini wrote a letter to Gaddafi only once (the other letters were the Imam’s reply to Gaddafi’s letters) and that time was related to the case of the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr.
2- In his reply letter to Gaddafi, except for the request to follow up on the issue of Imam Musa Sadr, he asks Gaddafi in only one case, and that is to “advise the Islamic governments and especially the Arab governments to follow God’s command.” His Highness should adhere to the Islamic Brotherhood.”6 In this case, Gaddafi did not take any serious action.
3- In May 1358, that is, less than three months after the victory of the Islamic revolution, Imam Khomeini indirectly mentioned three points to Gaddafi, which if accepted and implemented by Gaddafi, perhaps his fate would have been something other than what he is witnessing now. we are that Imam writes in response to one of Gaddafi’s letters: “Turning your back on the noble teachings of Islam and turning to the East and the West has destroyed their (Muslims’) rites and reservoirs.”7
Just opposite to Imam Khomeini’s words, Gaddafi threw himself first to the east, then to the west, and day by day he became further away from Islamic rituals.
4- Imam Khomeini (may Allah be pleased with him) mentions Gaddafi in the same letter above: “You are the leaders of the Islamic countries who should follow this Islamic thought – sit-in to the Lord’s will- and stop enmity and opposition to your brothers.”8
Gaddafi had military conflicts with his Muslim neighbors three times during his rule and was the initiator of the war in all cases. Muammar Gaddaqi established a law in Libya that prohibited any kind of party activity and the violators were sentenced to death.
5- Imam Khomeini (RA) also advises Gaddafi: “Islamic governments should put the Egyptian government in its place in this great betrayal – the Camp David agreement – which is against Islam and Muslims, and cut ties with it.”9
In this case, Gaddafi was satisfied only with verbal condemnation, and after breaking off the limited relationship, he resumed his relations with Hosni Mubarak’s regime, which in some ways was more treacherous than Anwar Sadat.
6- Imam Khomeini (may God bless him and grant him peace) in his meeting with the Libyan delegations and in response to Gaddafi’s letters, always asked “God Almighty for the success and happiness of all Muslims”, not the Gaddafi regime.
It appears from the Imam’s letters that he tacitly approved the Gaddafi regime as long as it was on the path of uplifting Islamic rituals and the independence and happiness of the Libyan Muslim nation.
Despite the fact that the addressee of the Imam’s words was Muammar Gaddafi, as was customary among politicians, the Imam did not ask God for Gaddafi’s longevity, nor for the eternal survival of his regime. At the end of his answer to Gaddafi, Imam always says: “I ask the Almighty God for the happiness and success of all Muslims and the people of the world.”
Imam also wrote in just a few words in response to Gaddafi’s congratulatory message on the occasion of the first anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution: “While expressing my gratitude for receiving the said message, I ask God Almighty for the increasing success of the Muslims of the world.”13
7- Hazrat Imam Khomeini (RA) wished Gaddafi two times in his correspondence, interestingly, in both cases, he asked God for happiness, success and success for Gaddafi and the Muslim nation and the Libyan twin brothers. The Imam says in a paraphrase of Gaddafi’s response letter that was issued by him on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Islamic Revolution: “I ask God for the success and happiness of you and the Muslim nation and Libyan brothers.”14 Imam also writes in another place: “I ask God for success for you and the Muslim people and Libyan brothers.”15 In other words, Imam Khomeini (RA) respects Gaddafi as long as he is with the Libyan Muslim nation.
The last letter of Imam Khomeini (RA) to Gaddafi – which was actually a response to Gaddafi’s congratulatory message on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution – was issued on March 1, 1363, and after that there was no correspondence from the Imam to the Libyan ruler. .
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Footnotes:
1- Sahifa Imam, vol. 6, p. 258
(7/11/1357)
2- Sahifa Imam, vol. 4, p. 46
(26/7/1357)
3- Sahifa Imam, vol. 5, p. 183
(16/9/1357) Interview with the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
4- Sahifa Imam, vol. 5, p. 336
(13/10/1357) Interview with Express newspaper
5- Sahifa Imam, vol. 5, p. 405
(19/10/1357) Interview with BBC
6- Imam’s book, vol. 17, p. 261
(February 1361)
7- Sahifa Imam, vol. 7, p. 171
(10/2/1358)
8- The same.
9- The same
10- Sahifa Imam, vol. 7, p. 202
(18/2/1358)
11- Sahifa Imam, vol. 14, p. 468 (27/3/1360)
12- Sahifa Imam, vol. 18, p. 166
(8/7/1362
13- Imam’s Sahifa, vol. 12, p. 155 (11/27/1378)
14- Imam’s book, vol. 14, p. 95
(25/11/1359)
15- Sahifa Imam, vol. 15, p. 275 (7/14/1360)
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