Squabble Among the Holy Men

Khomeini collides with a rival Ayatullah

With a typically xenophobic broadside, Iran's Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini vainly sought last week to dismiss as the work of outside agitators the most serious challenge yet posed to his mastery over the country. "Mysterious hands are sowing disunity. Satanic plans are under way by America and its agents," he declared. His outburst had been provoked by the disaffection of a fellow Shi'ite leader, Ayatullah Mahmoud Taleghani, who touched off a new round of violent clashes and demonstrations by withdrawing from politics as a protest against the mysterious arrests of two of his sons and a daughter-in-law by Islamic militiamen. By week's end the threat of escalation had grown so great that both men were prompted to back down. But, though the two Ayatullahs patched up their quarrel, the deep divisions that are rending the nation remained.

Those differences have been building since last year, when huge street rallies organized by Taleghani led to the Shah's abdication and eventually to Khomeini's triumphant return from his exile in Paris. In contrast to the uncompromising Khomeini, Taleghani is, by Iranian standards, a liberal who maintains connections with leftist organizations that Khomeini has denounced as "enemies" of the Islamic revolution. Last month, for example, Taleghani had publicly attacked the referendum that created Iran's Islamic republic, on the ground that it did not really offer voters any choice. Because of the widespread popularity and trust he enjoys, Taleghani was asked by rebelling Kurds and Turkomans to arrange a cease-fire with the attacking government forces, and to mediate their demands for some degree of autonomy from the regime.

It was the detention a fortnight ago of Taleghani's sons Abul Hassan and Mojtaba, both of whom have ties with radical political factions, and his daughter-in-law that moved Taleghani into outright opposition to the capricious actions of the

Khomeini komitehs. Returning from a meeting with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the three were abducted at gunpoint and taken to Tehran's Lavizan army garrison. Searching for the captives, another one of Taleghani's sons, Mohammed, spotted Mojtaba's car parked by the office of the Saltanatabad komiteh. Earlier, the komiteh's deputy chairman, Mohammed Qarazi, had repeatedly denied knowing the whereabouts of the prisoners. After Qarazi admitted authorizing the arrests, Taleghani ordered his men to seize the official and informed Khomeini's special assistant for revolutionary affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Yazdi, of the incident.

Fearing violence, Yazdi quickly ordered the release of Taleghani's relatives, but the militiamen refused to obey either his command or the instructions of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan. Not until the following morning were the prisoners, who had been kicked and beaten, released. Taleghani, who had pledged to hold Qarazi until the arrests had been explained to his satisfaction, then freed the komiteh member. Qarazi was arrested on the spot at Yazdi's order.

Taleghani then announced that he was quitting politics and leaving Tehran. After the government radio station broadcast a report attributing his departure to "ill health," Taleghani proclaimed through a spokesman that his withdrawal was "a protest against this insulting incident." About 50,000 students, whitecollar workers and laborers poured into the capital's streets, chanting, "Taleghani, you are the soul of the revolution." Foreign Minister Karim Sanjabi, longtime leader of the anti-Shah National Front, resigned his post to protest the behavior of the komitehs.

Hoping for a public display of support, Khomeini hastily declared an armed-forces-day parade. In an effort to woo frightened military personnel back to active duty, he announced at the same time a long awaited amnesty for those charged with "minor crimes" under the Shah's regime. Many officers and conscripts had been reluctant to return to the barracks, wary that they would be charged for actions while serving the Shah and face a revolutionary tribunal. The. courts had already ordered 136 executions as of last week, including 28 generals. But instead of the impressive display of military might that Khomeini had hoped would demonstrate his regime's power and widespread support, only a ragtag army of 10,000 troops, chador-clad wives, out-of-step recruits and irregulars answered Khomeini's call.

The poor turnout and the rapid drift of the country toward sectarian clashes apparently convinced both Khomeini and Taleghani of the need to defuse the situation. After meeting with Taleghani, Khomeini ordered a purge of "irresponsible and antirevolutionary elements" from the komitehs. Taleghani then delivered a conciliatory speech in which he declared Khomeini to be the revolution's "source of belief, sincerity and determination."

The truce between the Ayatullahs, however, may be only the prelude to an ominous showdown between Bazargan and Yazdi, who is emerging as a serious threat to the Prime Minister's authority. In Washington, government experts theorize that Taleghani's walkout was engineered by Bazargan as part of a plan to undermine the authority of the komitehs and reduce Yazdi's standing with Khomeini. Moreover, a new source of political frustration for Iran's burgeoning band of dissidents appeared as a government spokesman confirmed that elections for the country's constituent assembly, scheduled for June 1, have been "indefinitely postponed." With just about all avenues for peaceful political expression closed off, Khomeini's critics may once again take to the streets, where not even the Ayatullahs can control them.

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