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"It was whispered," writes an eyewitness of both the ceremony and the assassination, "that the day of the Shah's celebration was to be the greatest in the history of Persia... Prisoners were to be released without condition, and a general amnesty was to be proclaimed; peasants were promised exemption from taxes for at least two years... the poor were to be fed for months. Ministers and officials were already intriguing for honors and pension from the Shah. Shrines and sacred places were to open their gates to all wayfarers and pilgrims, and the siyyids and mullas were taking cough medicine to clear their throats to sing and chant the praise of the Shah in all the pulpits. The mosques were swept and prepared for general meetings and public prayers in behalf of the Sovereign... Sacred fountains were enlarged to hold more holy water, and the rightful authorities had foreseen that many miracles might take place on the day of the jubilee, with the aid of these fountains... The Shah had declared... that he would renounce his prerogatives as despot, and proclaim himself 'The Majestic Father of all the Persians.' The city authority was to relax its vigilant watch. No record was to be kept of the strangers who flocked to the caravanserais, and the population was to be left free to wander the streets during the whole night." Even the great mujtahids had, according to what had been reported to that same eyewitness, "decided, for the time being, to discontinue persecuting the Babis and other infidels."
(69:1)
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