The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 19, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with officials of Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali Commemoration Congress.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
The issue of the late Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali is a special issue. Although at that specific time - that is to say, the period of time between the Constitutional Movement and coming to power of Reza Khan - different events took place in our country and although simultaneous with the Jungle Movement, a number of other great events, such as the movement of the late Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani in Tabriz or the movement of Colonel Mohammad Taghi Khan Pessian in Mashhad, took place in different corners of the country, the issue of Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali is a special issue.
We have good knowledge of the events of Tabriz and the presence of Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani and other similar events because they have been recorded in history books and we have a lot of information about them. But the popular nature and the nobility that the movement of the late Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali enjoyed did not exist in any of these other 2 or 3 events which occurred simultaneously at that time throughout Iran.
Mirza Kuchak Khan - as you mentioned - was a cleric, a seminarian. Of course, we have been told for years that he met the late Mirza-e Shirazi, but this is not very plausible. The late Agha Sayyid Ali Akbar Marashi, a great and reclusive religious scholar in Tehran - who was the husband of my father's sister and who was Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani's brother-in-law - had told my father that Mirza Kuchak Khan took part in Mirza-e Shirazi's classes. I do not think this is reliable because Mirza Kuchak Khan was not more than 14 or 15 years old when Mirza-e Shirazi passed away. It is unlikely that he had met Mirza-e Shirazi. But there is no doubt that he was a cleric, a seminarian. In the seminary of Rasht, there were a number of great personalities whom he could learn from. There is no doubt in this regard. Therefore, the movement of Mirza Kuchak Khan was a hundred percent religious in essence.
His behavior was also based on religion. Although we see that he had certain opponents inside his own camp and although some well-known groups of people opposed him, the late Mirza Kuchak Khan observed the principles of sharia when he faced them and he was not the kind of person to get involved in a civil conflict. For instance, there were some people who disagreed with him on religious issues. His radical followers said that they should suppress the opponents. Mirza Kuchak Khan did not let them do this. He prevented them from doing this. That is to say, his behavior was based on religion.
And the movement was a purely Islamic-Iranian movement. Well, as you know, at that time the commotion that had been created in the world because of the emergence of Marxism and the Soviet Union and the attraction that they had for a number of nations had magnetized a number of people. And the people around him betrayed him because of this. But this man was not attracted to Marxist ideas because he was committed to Islam. He openly and decisively rejected and opposed the Marxist theory although his close followers - who were with him from the beginning - were attracted to the theory. Of course, they died without having achieved their goals. None of them lived a fulfilling life, none of them gained any good thing from supporting the Bolshevik movement, and their support for this movement was not fairly reciprocated.
He also rejected Marxism because he was opposed to foreigners. That is to say, Marxism was a policy that was established by foreigners. Although he was faced with the ruling regimes such as England, Russian Cossacks and similar regimes, he was not attracted to them. He preserved his independence. Mirza Kuchak Khan is an outstanding example. I hope that God will raise his position.
Your work - considering the goals you mentioned - is very valuable. Of course, many books have been written about Mirza Kuchak Khan. Fortunately, this man's purity has brought about fame for him unlike the other people who were engaged in such political activities. While people do not know many of the individuals I mentioned and have not even heard the names of a number of them, Mirza Kuchak Khan is well-known and books have been written about him. There should be an effort to produce a comprehensive work with useful points about his life so that, by Allah's favor, our people and our youth know his character more.
Yes, he created a miniature version of the Islamic system and the Islamic Republic in Rasht and in his own region - Gilan. I thank you friends who work on this matter and I ask our government officials, officials in charge of public relations and other officials to cooperate with you and to help you finish this work in the best way.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings