The forty-day mourning tradition becomes political

The Nowruz boycott helped link seminaries, bazaars and households through a shared nonviolent act of protest.

Government agents and security forces assaulted students and clerics at the seminary in Qom, killing and injuring an uncertain number.

Supporters remembered the assault as proof that the monarchy would use violence against independent religious institutions.

Clerics, students and bazaar networks circulated accounts of the attack beyond Qom despite censorship.

In a major statement, he accused the state of serving American and Israeli interests and pledged continued resistance.

He compared the Shah’s rule with the tyranny of Yazid and warned that the people would one day celebrate the monarch’s departure.

Khomeini linked the monarchy to American and Israeli influence, presenting political resistance as both national and religious duty.

Large demonstrations used Shi‘i symbols of sacrifice and resistance to express opposition to the Shah.

Commandos seized Khomeini in Qom and transferred him to prison in Tehran after his Ashura speech.

News of Khomeini’s arrest triggered mass protests in Tehran, Qom, Varamin, Shiraz and other locations.