TEHRAN - The Mehr News Agency conducted interviews on Saturday with Islamic Revolution Research Center Chairman Majid Ansari, who is also a member of the Expediency Council, Imam Khomeini’s daughter Zahra Mostafavi, and one of the Imam’s old companions, Reza Akrami, on the subject of the thought of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini.

“The Imam would not resort to any means to overthrow the shah’s regime,” Ansari said, explaining that someone had once asked Imam Khomeini to give him permission to assassinate the shah, but the Imam refused because he believed such actions were useless and harmful.

Imam Khomeini used to defend freedom of speech and was committed to his ideas in this regard, and thus after the Islamic Revolution, freedom of speech was included in the Constitution, and, in practice, all political groups had publications of their own, he observed.

Unfortunately, certain dogmatist and totalitarian currents have tried to restrict the liberties of the people, he added.

Criticizing the ninth administration, he said that sometimes a political group that wins an election utilizes various mechanisms to silence its opponents and force them into self-censorship.

Zahra Mostafavi commented on the idea of “exporting the revolution”, saying that from Imam Khomeini’s point of view, the way to promote an idea was not by speaking about it but by acting on it so that others would be inspired to follow.

If the Islamic Republic of Iran succeeds in acting as an independent influential country, one can say that it is promoting the Islamic Revolution, she added.

Reza Akrami said that Imam Khomeini was not an immaculate person, and thus it is not only legitimate but necessary to criticize his ideas, although goodwill is necessary in such criticism. Asked what he thought was the Imam’s most beautiful statement, Akrami quoted the Imam as saying, “To call me a servant is better than calling me a leader.”