Manifestation of the Friend

Role Model of Strength and Patience

part 12

The translation had not ended that he arose from his seat

In the morning of the day when Edward Shevardnadze, the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union was to deliver the reply from Gorbachev to the Imam, quite the opposite of other days when he entered his meeting room at 8 o’clock sharp, the Imam did not make his presence felt. The foreign minister of the former Soviet Union together with the Islamic Republic of Iran foreign ministry officials stood waiting in the room. Finally, the Imam entered at around 8.30 a.m. And without any interruption and reflection and without looking anybody in the face, he passed through the individuals and took his seat in his usual place. At the same time, the foreign minister of the Soviet Union sat on a chair. As the top diplomat and representative of the superpower of the eastern bloc whose dignified appearance and confident movements at big international assemblies and at the opulent palaces of powerful western states was often viewed on news shootings, had a different stature in this humble and simple room and perhaps for the first time he stood barefooted on an old and discolored carpet at an official meeting as was evident from the slight tremble of his hands while he read out the reply from Mr. Gorbachev. Right from the moment that he sat on a chair he had an unstable reaction  as was evident from the state of disequilibrium of his feet””and this state continued until he had finished reading the message. Except for his shaky head and hands, the rest of his body throughout his reception was like a solid and erect statue. The interpreter that according to the knowledgeable would at all places translate Russian with full authority and fluency, was in this situation unable to speak without stammering (and would try to disguise his stammer by forced coughing and clearing his throat often). After the translation of the message of Gorbachev, the Imam without interruption and in the course of one minute and in three paragraphs candidly and unceremoniously expressed his regret at Mr. Gorbachev for not paying due attention to the fundamental subject of his letter.

He was truly a man of principles

“Mike Wallace”‌, the television newscaster from America who is also a well-known and reputed journalist of America and was perhaps the first American to interview the Imam, appeared in a program broadcast on channel 4 in America and was interviewed by another famous newscaster in order to narrate his most memorable experiences throughout his broadcasting career. He spoke of everyone and of every place and especially he mentioned that he had met almost all the heads of state and all the great politicians of the modern era and had spoken to them. When he referred to His Holiness Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iran Revolution, with a tone that spoke of his respect and belief while being particularly frank, Mike Wallace said, “I must confess that he is the most intelligent and shrewdest politician that I had ever seen. He had a peculiar impact on the interviewer and instead of me asking him questions, he would manipulate me. Other than the subjects that the Ayatollah himself wanted to speak about, I was unable to extract any fresh information from this highly adept politician. It was astonishing for me that a clergyman could dominate a person like me who had sufficient expertise in my job.”‌

Mike Wallace added: “I must say that the extremely simple life that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution had made for himself distinguished him from all other world leaders and we saw that he truly was a man of principles for whom the world and its trappings had no value. When he received me and other world leaders, he would make us to sit on a simple rug and force us to remove our shoes at the entrance to the room. From the start we came to know that we were dealing with a man who was different.

Source:

The Book "Manifestation of the Friend: A collection of memoirs about Imam Khomeini (R.A)"

Other Links:

Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 8)

Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 9)