IICHS - Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies

Ali Akbar Kowsari

By: Morteza RasouliPour

One of the former experienced teachers talked to us. He expressed his memories about the history and the education minister's changes as well as the past cultural politics and the effective men's performance in the cultural changes field.

¨ When you assumed the chairmanship of the Khuzestan's education office, Mr. Abu –al Qasem, God bless him, also was the governor. Surely, there were relations between you and Najm al- Mulk; would you describe the Abu –al Qasem personality for us?

According to my cognition about him during the time, he was a noble and virtues person. He was one of few good men whom I dealt with them in my whole life. Formerly, he was the finance minister and Iran's Ambassador in Japan in the World War II and for a short time he was appointed to the general director of the foreign affairs' ministry. Najm al Mulk was an outspoken man who expressed his beliefs bravely. Once we were talking to Hussein Ala, the Prime Minister, and he called them (the Shah and he) liar.

¨ In what year, it occurred?

In 1955, a few days before the assassination of Hussein Alaa, Najm ol- Mulk came to Khuzestan to go Baqdad to take part in a conference. One night, Najm ol-Mulk, Hussein Ala and I were walking in a place that he told Ala: " Mr. Ala, I would not stay here." Ala asked the reason and Najm told him: "because you break your promises." The Prime Minister answered:" I did not make any promise to you, the Shah made promises." And Najm said:" Unfortunately, the Shah is more liar than you and he created all the problems."

His words are so strange for me and I never expect to hear. A few days later, he told me another memory about his talking to the Shah. It was very interesting. Later I asked Kasemi and he confirmed it.

According to some militaries' complaint, the Shah who was dissatisfied Mirza Hadi Khan Ashtari, the tobacco's general director, and Mirza Ahmad Khan Ashtari, his brother, said Najm:" who is Ashtari, the tobacco's general director?" Najm liked the Ashtari's family and respected them so, when the Shah spoke about him disrespectfully, Najm said:" you mean Mirza Hadi Khan, the Brother of Mirza Ahmad Khan Ashtari? And after the Shah gave a positive answer, Najm continued:"He is a very good man.' And the Shah said:" dismiss him, because the militaries are dissatisfied." Najm directly said:" as long as Najm ol-Mulk is the finance minister, Mirza Hadi Khan is also the tobacco's general director."

At the end of meeting, Dr. Kasemi told Najm:" Why are you talking to the Shah like this?" and Najm answered: " the finance minister assumes the country's finance responsibility and the Shah is not responsible in the cases and it is better not to interfere in these affairs." The Shah could not tolerate his behavior; therefore, he removed Najm from the politic actions gradually. And it was the main problem of the Pahlavi government to remove the prominent men and absorbed the indolent and unworthy persons.

¨ Why did you come to Khurasan in 1956?

As I said before, Dr. Mahmud Mehran, the Culture Minister, was a man who knew the cultural issues and paid attention to the teachers' transfer and appointment. When he realized that the position of the education office in Khuracan is vacant, he made decision to send a person there. He purposed to find a person with the religious beliefs and a man who could be related to the religious scholars of Khurasan such as Ayat Allah Milani, Ayat Allah Shahroudi and others. He knew that I have religious beliefs and then he selected me.

After a short time, some of people came to visit me but I just knew Mr. Amir Shahidi who worked in the Culture Ministry and Mr. Taher Bahadori, my assistant, introduced others. There were two prominent persons among them; they were Abdu al- Majid Molavi, one of the Khurasan's scientists and researchers and Nosrat Allah Maleki, the Majlis representative and the head of the city assembly.

When they realized that I was in Khorasan, they came and visited me to complain about the actions of Mr. Mahdi Motasem al- Saltaneh Farokh, the Khorasan governor, for destruction of the green dome's building.