Opposite to this leftist faction was the faction of the...

Opposite to this leftist faction was the faction of the parties and groups that belonged to the rightist parties which were supportive of the Shah’s regime and, so to speak, they were seen as pawns of the West. What was lacking then was the activity of the religious parties. Through various means, they kept the religious figures away from the political scene and made such propaganda that anyone who is faithful and religious would never get involved in political affairs.

I myself remember that at the time whenever they wanted to accuse and tarnish the image of a cleric, they would say that he is a “political akhund ” [ akhund-e siyasi ].[^3] They manipulated the culture in such a manner that “ akh u nd-e siyas i” was a form of vilification.

As such, the religious figures and at the head of whom, the religious clerics and ‘ulama’ , used to strongly avoid entering the scene of politics until such time that by acquiring inspiration from other Muslim countries (where the ‘ulama’ were getting involved in politics) and…