Event of Goharshad Mosque: Difference between revisions

The '''Event of Goharshād mosque''' refers to gathering of the people of [[Mashhad]] in [[Goharshad mosque]] objecting to the law of dress code change which was suppressed by government forces. This gathering was made in [[Rabi' II 11]], [[1354]]/[[July 13]], 1935 during the rule of [[Reza Shah]]. The main reason of this sit-in was objecting to the obligation of wearing chapeaus and the policies of changes in dress code and also house arrest of [[Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn Tabataba'i Qummi]].

:::“implementation of the order in Mashhad was somehow difficult in Mashhad, because secret agents, religious people and neighbors of the shrine had entered a challenge. The phrase ‘one who becomes like to some people, he is one of them’ was used and secretly and publicly made objections.”

Scholars of Mashhad held several sessions for discussing about this bill. In one of these sessions which was held in the house of [[Ayatullah Sayyid Yunus Ardabili]], it was suggested that [[Ayatullah Husayn Qummi]] goes to Tehran and speaks with Reza Khan about cessation of implementation of this bill and changing the dress code. On June 28th or 29th, he went to Tehran and after entering Siraj al-Mulk garden, was surrounded by security forces and was held incommunicado. In several announcements, clerics of Mashhad asked people to sit in Goharshad mosque in objection to religious and social policies of Reza Shah and the restrictions they had made for Ayatullah Qummi. They themselves decided to join people in the mosque and every day, one of them gives speech for people.

[[Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Buhlul]] who was sued and went from one city to another, was informed of Ayatullah Qummi’s problem and arrived in Mashhad on Wednesday, July 10th and went to the [[Holy Shrine of Imam al-Rida (a)]], but police officers arrested him after few hours and arrested him in one of the rooms in Kuhna courtyard. Few hours after detention of Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Buhlul, people gradually were informed of it and gathered in front of his detention place and released him. Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Buhlul said, “I wanted to frighten the ruling class and it was what I had done in Tehran and other cities and different cases, the government had to retreat.” He also mentioned, “In Mashhad too, I wanted to do the same, but it was not successful. When this debate occurred and the head of police and police officers were beaten, I was confused and did not know what to do…In all the mosque and courtyards, the shouts of ‘death to Shah’, ‘curse be upon Shah’, ‘may Shah be dead’, ‘viva Islam’, ‘curse on Baha’is’ and ‘curse be on the enemy of clergies’ were heard.” He added that with these happenings, giving up was meaningless and impossible; thus, in one of the speeches, I told people, “what should not be happened, happened and we should no more show lenience. We need to be steadfast and resist until Hajj Aqa Husayn Qummi will be freed from prison and Islamic rulings will be done.”

Based on Muhammad Ali Shoushtari’s reports, “responsible offices lost their decision-making power out of their fear from the capital and Shah and so much exaggerated the issue in reports that naturally Shah became very worried so much that in those two days, he himself sent telegraphs and issued orders.” Based on the report of the police of Mashhad, the number of people gathered in Goharshad mosque was increasing every moment and on the day of Saturday, shopkeepers were forced to close their shops. On Saturday, some people joined those sitting in the mosque from villages around Mashhad and Goharshad mosque and the courtyards became full of people and speakers spoke about different issues especially about Ayatullah Qummi, dress code change and removing [[hijab]]. On the other hand, soldiers of the east led by general Iraj Matbu’i and police mobilized their forces to suppress people. Shoushtari quotes from Asadi and Pakravan, “His Highness had said, ‘if you compromise more and delay, neither you will have your hat on your head, nor I will have my crown on mine anymore; thus, I order that the rebellion must end tonight without spilling any blood. With as many as soldiers necessary, they should be besieged, motivators should be arrested and release other people.”

Upon midnight, when people had not dispersed, all the doors, entrances and exits of the mosque were closed. Meanwhile, people began breaking the doors using mattocks and exiting. At that moment, the order to open fire was given and the massacre of people began and defenseless people in and out of the mosque were shot by soldiers. During few hours, a great massacre was made and in and out of the mosque became full of dead and injured bodies and also the mosque received some damages and the sanctity of the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Rida (a) was violated. Before the sunrise of July 14th, 1935, the resistance of demonstrators was broken and the uprising of Goharshad mosque was suppressed. Many of the killed and even some of the injured were thrown in a pit dug for this purpose.

The day after this event, top clerics and scholars of Mashhad were arrested and imprisoned. One of arrested ones was Ayatullah [[Mirza Muhammad Kafa’i Khurasani]] known as Aqazadih, the second son of [[Akhund Khurasani]] who passed away in a suspicious way in one of the prisons of [[Tehran]]. Other distinguished people who were arrested were: [[Ayatullah Sayyid 'Abd Allah Shirazi]], [[Ayatullah Sayyid Yunus Ardabili]], Muhammad Wali Nijat, Bahr al-‘Ulum, Muhaqqiq, Hashim Qazwini, Aqa Buzurg Shahrudi and Nawwab Ihtisham Radawi. Some others escaped the scene and even left the country. Some managed to hide. Some clerics were later released and went to their own cities.