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Comments / recollections
Mosaddegh and you Last update August 18, 1998 Your comments * Fanatical attitudes Your recollections * "Do you know who this man is?" * Fanatical attitudes An English journalist, who has been following events in Iran for the last fifty years, once told me that there is a hezbollahi in every Iranian, be it a supporter of Khomeini, of the Shah or of Mossadegh. Most Iranians are strongly fanatic in their attitudes. As much as we like to think of ourselves as objective observers, most of the comments on this site confirm that appreciation. Nearly fifty years have gone by from the days of Mossadegh. His advocates speak as if they have learned nothing from the history or perhaps, more precisely, they know nothing about the history of their country. Their rhetorics about the old man who brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy sound archaic. Mossadegh was a third degree politician: appealing to people's emotions was his tool. He was stubborn, cunning and inflexible, these are fatal qualities for a statesman the price of which is paid by a whole nation in the absence of democracy. We should neither demonize him nor present him as a hero. For he wasn't one. He was lucky that his government was toppled, for had he had time to rule, he would have revealed his incompetency and inability to control the situation he had created and would have been remembered for his lack of judgement and misplaced obstinacy. * No benefit from Mosaddegh The coup in Aug. 1953 -- as admitted by agents -- was organized by foreign agents. But definitely Iran did not benefit from the government of Dr.Mossaddegh. Please look at the articles in the Par monthly magazine Nos 144,150,151. Ahmad Tavakoli * Appreciation To understand and appreciate the role Mosaddegh has played in Iran's history as well as the history of the Middle East and the Arab world, one should consider the magnitude of his achievements. As he walked in the International Court and The Hague, he represented a nation robbed by war and foreign abuse. Yet he stood tall and strong against what was then The Great Britain with all the more influences gained after the war. He had challenged and taken a government to court for what was till then assumed to be the right of the British oil companies throughout the Middle East. He defended the rights of the Iranian nation not to please the Shah, or gain more power in his office. His intentions, to rescue a nation robbed of her dignity and riches. A nations that was in struggle with poverty and hunger while sitting on top of the black gold mine. When he left the court victoriously, it was not only a victory for the Iranian nation but a landmark in the history of the Middle East as nationalization of oil was unheard of. Mosaddegh, has been unappreciated, misunderstood, betrayed, and yet unforgotten. He forever be the man who gave hope, liberation, and riches to a nation who perhaps was not politically mature enough to appreciate his place in the history of our nation. Perhaps, someday in the history of a liberated, politically, and socially mature Iran, he will find his rightful place. God rest his soul. Majd Izadian * Journalistic prejudices in 1952 Check out Time magazine's "Man of the Year" cover story on Mosaddegh in 1953, available in any large public library. The prejudices betrayed in the writing are mind-blowing, and you will appreciate just how far mainstream journalism in the U.S. has come since then. You might also want to read Bijan Mofid's Mah-o-Palang, which was inspired by Mossadegh's story. Zara Houshmand * Democratic? How can Mossadegh's government be called democratic? He was appointed by the Shah. He was a nationalist figure in an era when 'Third World' nationalism was on the rise. What you can argue is that he grossly miscalculated when dealing with the British and the Americans. Maybe he wanted to be a political martyr. It was this miscalculation which retarded any possibility of democracy in Iran. The Shah is to be blamed for a lot things that went wrong in Iran, but Mosaddegh isn't exactly a figure to be worshipped (as we Iranians are prone to do) either. AShahmolki@aol.com * Greatest 20th century figure Dr. Mosaddegh was the greatest political figure in the 20th century in Iran. Unlike many other "cowardly" politicians, he had the courage to stand up for what he beleived in, regardless of the consequences for himself. He cared about two things more than anything else: Iran and his mother. Unlike many of other politicians in Iran, he was also highly educated. The brief freedom that Iranians enjoyed under his government in Iran has been unparalleled in Iran's recent history. He wans't a coward, thus he did not have to hide behind his rank or title. He always said what came to his mind. When he was being tried in the "kangaroo court", he slept through the trial, an excellent display of his genious, at mocking the so-called "trial". He also displayed his genious when he went to The Hague and defended Iran's nationalization of oil, explaining that Iranians were fed-up with the British literally sucking our blood. The fate that he suffered at the hands of the CIA-backed puppet government in Iran only helped his popularity among the Iranians. I hope that a new leader like him rises out of Iran's current ashes and leads the nation towards a good future. Away from a Monarchy, away from Islamic fundementalism, and towards a democracy. It is ironic that although Iran was the first nation to establish human rights as law under Cyrus the great, there are currently none in existance in our country. Our nation has managed to go backwards in time, not forwards. In the hope of a better future for our nation, and our people. Hooman Golshan * Incompetent betrayer In a few short words why don't we all let this black-chapter (so-called Mosaddegh ) die, instead of renewing it in our memories every now and then? I am sure the people of Iran and the rest of the world know so much about this incompetent so-called Head of Government. Enough is enough, let's all get on with our future and forget about all the atrocities and betrayals of Fatemi and Mosaddegh, who in reality after all these many years gone by are nothing but back-stabbers and traitors of Iranian history. They were nothing but foot solders of foreign powers and had absolutely no will of thair own. At the end of the day, it's the bottom line of your deeds that counts, not just words of a few brain-dead, and powe- hungry people who have not yet realized that it's the people of Iran that counts not PERSONAL INTERESTS.It is the future of our DEAR Iran that counts not a generation who had nothing to show but failure and betrayal. SO PLEASE let it die away, we have learnt all that was to be learned from this, as you so call it HEAD OF IRANIAN GOVERNMENT. Wake up to who you are, and what you are, pick up the pieces and count your loss, then and only then you can reinvent yourself, and may be if you trot slowly, you might just be able to market yourself on to the world arena, and hopefully find your way to better future as we had the most glorious past in times of Iranian dynasties of Mead's and Partians, and certainly pre-Islamic governments. Lets see just for a minute!? where are these Mosaddeghies? are they inside the country or outside? They did what they had to do UP ON ORDERS of thair bosses. Did we become more free or did we become otherwise? It's an insult to THE IRANIAN PEOPLE and our intelligence all over the world to say that he was ousted by a U.S.- backed Coup d'etat! HOW COULD a prim minester OF A STATE MAKE HIS DECISIONS UP ON AGREEMENT OF FOREIGN POWERS AND STILL CALL HIMSELF THE SERVENT OF A NATION? MMORMAX@aol.com * Nekoo naam I believe that Dr. Mosaddegh is a hero in the eyes of the majority Iranians. As, we all know he nationalized the Iranian oil industry. During 1951-1953 Iran was a true democratic state. Dr. Mosaddegh loved and cared for the country and people. It is very sad that the British and Americans masterminded the coup and brought our beloved Mosaddegh down. The coup put the tyrant Shah ( the American's servant ) to power. As a result the country fell into the hands of another dictatorship. Mosaddegh was and is a hero to me and as Sadi says: Mard nekoo naam namird hargez / Mordeh aan ast keh naamsh beh nekoo-ee nabarand May God rest his soul in peace. Khosrow Ataollahi * "Do you know who this man is?" In 1962, while in the eighth grade, a tutor used to come to our house to help me with algebra. Every Tuesday afternoon Mr. Moradi dressed in a coat and tie would place his tall and slim body gently and gracefully across from me in a chair. At first he was polite and distant in his dealings; the kind of designed seperation that made me want him to like me. Over time he warmed up to the point of asking me who the picture of that beautiful woman (a favorite cousin of mine) in my room was. He sighed unashamedly when he found out she was already married. Even now when I think of him, I could say that he treated me as an affectionate older and wiser than myself uncle would. One day towards the end of a tutoring session, he carefully pulled a picture out of his pocket, "Do you know who this man is?" he asked. I heard myself lie and say, "No" with the same surprise I had felt the first time I had exprienced the consequence of a gentle tap to the knee to test my reflexes. Mr. Moradi went on to tell me about the "greatest Iranian" of our time who was ignored and languishing on his estate. That was my first encounter of any substance with Mosaddegh. We never spoke of the man again. Two years later I was invited to Mr. Moradi's wedding. Smiling, gracious and in control, he hugged me farewell.
* People, mistakely, thought he was pro-Russia He was an honest and brave man. He trusted too many people; he wanted to built the nation not to topple goverments. Mosaddegh was not after power he was after the well being of the Irannain People. The policies of the U.S. (CIA), Russia (hezb-e toodeh) & England (nationalization of Iranian oil industries) destroyed his government. people of Iran at the end did not support him because they felt (by mistake) that he was pro-Russia. All the super powers together stopped him. Mehdi * If he had stayed away from Russia... I think if he would have stayed away from Russia he would have survived and gradually he could take the power from the Shah and have a democratic country. Reza Mosberian * "Zendeh Baad Doctor Mosaddegh" This is what I had heard from my dad, and seen from our family photo albums. In Holland, at The Hague, Dr Mosaddegh was very busy getting ready for his final argument before the World Court on the haghaaniyate Iran regarding it's National Oil Policy. His team of advisors were busy dealing with interantional media, photographers, and dignitaries. Professor Rouland (spelling?) of Holland who was close to Dr Mosaddegh, and indeed, worked with him to finalize the last debate. Dr Mosaddegh got emotional in the Court, as he addressed the Judges. The vote was great. Iran got what it had hoped for: Access to her natural mineral, the Black Gold, oil. My father told us that when the Iranian delegation headed back home, Dr Mosaddeghwas busy writing his report to give it to Khaaneh Mellat, Majlis, the Iranian National Parliament. At Mehrabad airport tens of thousands of supporters and well-wishers welcomed him back. He then went staright to the Majlis to report to the deputies. Dad said that we were wondering how much energy he had. He had not slept for more than a few hours. Crowds were shouting "Zendeh Baad Doctor Mosaddegh" (Long Live Doctor Mosaddegh!) He was very happy to be back home. This time he had achieved the unachieveable. From Mehrabad his motorcade passed through streets of Tehran filled with hundreds of thousands of people. People crying from shogh -- happiness -- from seeing their nation victorious. Many occasions people made ghorbaani, to pay homage to his work on behalf of the Nation. When his car passed Meydaneh Sepah, and reached Khiyabaneh Ekbatan, it was so crowded that his driver could not proceed anymore. People shouting repeatedly "Zendeh Baad Doctor Mosaddegh." So he got out his car, and people carried him on their hands to the Majlis. My dad used to tell us this story while tears were rolling down his cheeks. He told us with a sense of national pride. Even as I am writing this, I am in tears. I remeber him telling us "We had proved to the world that we are a nation with a sense of determination." My family had many beautiful pictures, that my mother, at age 90, still is keeping them at home in Iran. Reza Azarmi * In the backroom, behind the blankets As my brother and I were playing hide-and-seek in the backroom behind the blankets, pillows and bed sheets that my mother had stacked up neatly, I noticed the picture of a relatively old man on one of the blankets. I was five. I asked my father who that man was. I could feel that he did not have an answer quite ready for me. Before answering my question, he turned toward my mother and said "I thought you had hidden that blanket in a safe place ! What happened?" Without waiting for an answer from her, he told me that was Dr. Mosaddegh. I asked several questions about that man but I only remember my father saying that he was a good man and that I need not know more about him. I never saw that blanket again but my curiosity about that man never diminished. I gathered information about him as I was growing up when grownups were wispering about Mosaddegh in private gatherings. There were no books about him to read and no one dared talking about him in public. I started to discover Mosaddegh when I got out of the country and away from Pahlavi repression. In my heart, U.S. and Pahlavi dynasty are not forgiven for what they did to Dr. Mosaddegh and people who so dearly loved him. Mohammad E. Taslim Links * History
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