Martyr Motahari’s Commendation on Ayatollah Khamenei’s Historical Book + Document

According to Khabar Online News Agency, quoting the Islamic Revolution Document Center, the book ‘Muslims in the Indian Freedom Movement’ was authored and translated by Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in early 1347 SH (1968 CE) and was released to the market in July of the same year. As the scholarly author noted in the introduction, the original version of this book is titled ‘Kifāḥ al-Muslimīn fī Taḥrīr al-Hind’ (Muslims’ Struggle in the Liberation of India), written by one of the scholars affiliated with Al-Azhar University, Abd al-Mun’im al-Nimr. It is the product of his 26-month travels and research in India, including diligent observation of libraries and centers of struggle in that country. However, since Ayatollah Khamenei had notes and research at his disposal to enrich this translation, and because if these points were mentioned in footnotes, they would cause disunity and imbalance between the text and the margins of the book, he incorporated them into the main text. For this reason, his name is mentioned on the cover of this work as author and translator.

Analyzing the significance of this work, it must be said that its date of compilation and content, more than anything else, shows a kind of congruence between the subject of the work and the social conditions of Iran at that time, which is historically noteworthy. This book was written about five years after the 15th of Khordad 1342 (June 5, 1963) uprising, at a time when militant groups had emerged, some had been disbanded and arrested, and others were preparing to enrich their ideas and plans for the future. During this period, many militant groups were studying the history of Islamic movements in other countries and the struggles of Muslims and their interactions with contemporary anti-colonial movements. In fact, this work was a response to the need of militant elements and currents to study the methods that Muslims had adopted in various situations and different countries to combat colonialism. The thoughtful author and translator’s remarks in the book’s introduction indicate that this point was their consideration, although censorship prevented its explicit expression. As he himself mentioned in the introduction, he had intended to write a comprehensive preface for this book, befitting its subject, but stated that specific circumstances denied that scope and necessitated the book’s lack of a preface.

The publication of this book had a prominent and relatively widespread impact in the religious, intellectual, and revolutionary circles of that era. Specifically, this research attracted the attention of several great Islamic thinkers in the country. For example, Martyr Ayatollah Motahari, in a note written on the initial pages of one copy of this book, stated: ‘During the days of August 18-23, 1969, this book, which was donated by the author and translator, was studied in Mashhad. It is a very useful and necessary book, and much should be written on subjects like this, and they should be analyzed as well as this. May God reward him greatly for Islam and Muslims. Morteza Motahari, August 23, 1969.’

In fact, choosing to research the history of Muslims’ interaction with the movement confronting British colonialism in India was a shrewd choice, because the religious, ethnic, and racial diversity present in this country made the process of struggle more difficult, and with the increased difficulty of the struggle, its methods would accordingly be much more subtle and precise. Naturally, presenting a model of Muslims’ interaction with such a fragile, difficult, and yet diverse movement could be very effective in those circumstances.

This book was printed in 1347 SH (1968 CE) by Asia Publications in Tehran and in the Mashal Azadi printing house, and after a while, its second edition came to market. Since then, this valuable and historical work has not been reprinted. Perhaps one reason for this was the esteemed author’s intention to complete and supplement this work. Among the formal features of this book is a comprehensive index printed at the end of the book, containing a table of contents, names of persons, nations, followers of religions, tribes, dynasties, as well as a list of religious units and places and schools, and a list of books, newspapers, and magazines, and also a list of customs, parties, and schools, and finally a list of photos, documents, and references, which is a successful example of indexing historical works.