Memories of Akbar Hashemi - June 3, 2002

Late at night, Mr. Janati woke me up on the phone and said that he would not be able to lead the Friday prayers tomorrow due to fatigue from traveling and lack of studying, and he asked me to go. I jokingly said, "Does he study for the Friday sermon?! If he does, why is it so meaningless?"

The Friday prayer headquarters had prepared a number of headscarves and were giving them to the front-row figures to wear around their necks; it was like leadership. I didn't accept it. I said it was an imitation.

Full text of the diary:

Last night, Mr. [Ahmad] Jannati, the [temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran], woke me up with a phone call and said that due to fatigue from travel and lack of preparation, he would not be able to lead the Friday prayer tomorrow and requested that I go instead. I jokingly said, does he study for the Friday sermon?! If he does study, why is it so lacking in content?! I accepted.

Today I studied Surah Al-Fath for the story of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah - as a specific example of the ignorance and tribalism of the pre-Islamic era - and its opposite in the Quran. I gave a sermon on tribalism, stubbornness, and a convoluted way of thinking, and another sermon about the liberation of Khorramshahr and the malicious warlike actions of Israel and the USA. The [Jummah prayer organizing] committee in Tehran had prepared some scarves and handed them to the prominent figures in the front rows to wear around their necks; similar to leadership. I refused. I said, it's imitation.

The afternoon and evening were spent studying and revising the index of volume 13 of the Guide to Interpretation. [George] Bush, [the President of the United States], has once again expressed concerns about Iran arming itself with weapons of mass destruction on the eve of his trip to Russia! In Germany and Russia, widespread demonstrations by the people against the monopolistic and interventionist policies of the White House have emerged, and in France, 50 parties and groups have announced marches for Sunday and Monday. Today in Russia, [Vladimir] Putin, [the President], has signed an agreement to reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 2,500, which has faced opposition from some prominent figures in Russia.

Today, India's warlike tone has softened, and Pakistan has announced that it will soon test more missiles. In Bahrain, a group of American soldiers has assaulted several Bahraini women, leading the people of Bahrain to hold extensive protests against the Americans and demand the expulsion of American troops. The U.S. government has apologized to the people of Bahrain.