Manifestation of the Friend

Role Model of Strength and Patience

part 7

Assurance, composure and power in the Imam’s gaze

When the Imam arrived at Paris airport it was not that he came by previous appointment and became known that definitely there would be no problem encountered on his arrival in Paris. Just imagine a leader as old as him and who at this critical juncture of the struggle had departed for Kuwait but was not accepted. There was talk of his going to Syria, but it had not happened. Now he had come to France. One of the Iranian photographers was saying that because of his unique technique of photography and journalism, he had gone and stood at a sensitive point of the airport in Paris””at a location where the passengers would pass from in front of a table. He wanted to see the face and gaze of the Imam and thus he went and clicked a photograph which he had kept with him from a very interesting angle. As he was looking into the camera, he focused the camera exactly on the eyes of the Imam so that the camera photographed the full gaze of the Imam. In that gaze, one could see nothing else except assurance, composure and power.

All except the Imam, were worried

Two of my colleagues wrote in a news report for the June Afrique that, “In the aircraft that carried the Imam to Tehran, all were worried whether it would be allowed to land at Tehran airport or it would be attacked by the fighter aircrafts of the Shah’s regime. No one could sleep because of worry except for one person who was none other than Imam Khomeini who went to the upper storey of the aircraft, lied down on the floor and slept soundly.

The Imam was perfectly normal

In the aircraft that carried the Imam from Paris to Iran, I was seated beside him. When the aircraft approached Tehran a journalist came and asked the Imam about his feelings at that instant to which he replied: “None at all.”‌ The journalist was under the impression that at that moment the Imam like other individuals who were very excited and shed tears of joy while some others were overcome with fear and were in doubt whether the aircraft would be attacked or it would land safely; or whether all of them would be arrested etc…? In contrast with these thoughts, the Imam was perfectly normal because he had prepared himself in advance for any kind of event including martyrdom.

The composure of the Imam radiated peace to all

On  the  day  of  the  Imam’s  arrival,  we  who  were  holding  a  sit-in demonstration at the university went to the airport to see the Imam. All were happy in the car and were overjoyed. Out of concern for the dangers that could possibly confront the Imam, I was shedding tears uncontrollably and did not know what might happen to him because there were threats too. Then we went and entered the airport terminal and the Imam arrived. As soon as the cool and composed figure of the Imam appeared, all our worries and anxieties were totally forgotten. The Imam had with his composure had radiated peace and calm to me and perhaps too many other who were apprehensive. When after prolonged years, I visited the Imam there, I felt as if the exhaustion of all those years had vanished from my body.1 News reached of the imminent bombardment of location On the night of February 11, there were reports about bombing the location where the Imam stayed such that special precautions were taken by the Revolutionary Guards and armed forces. We were forced to stay awake until daybreak but the Imam with a world of assurance went to bed at the stroke of twelve midnight just like on any other. Once when I got close to his bedroom, I noticed that like on any other night, the Imam was asleep in absolute peace.

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Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 3)

Manifestation of the Friend: Role Model of Strength and Patience (part 4)