Who Is He

Ali Shariati’s father was asked to what he felt Ali owed his success. He said: “His success was both outward and inner. Outwardly it was his powerful pen and literary ability. In many cases his pen turned to magic. He had a most alluring way of presenting his ideas.... This in addition to the substance of his work, the studies he had done, and the powerful quality of his pen and speech. All of these were outward causes for his success.

“The inner cause was that whatever Ali said, he was himself committed to and believed in. He would never express anything—no matter how attractive—that he did not himself believe in. Whatever he said, he believed. And because what he said came from the heart, it entered the heart of those who heard it or read it.

“This method was, at that time, very dangerous. The regime was extremely sensitive in regard to him. They would continuously and repeatedly send people who would warn him and threaten him. ‘Don’t say this.’ ‘Do that.’ This is why they expelled him from Mashhad University.... He paid no attention to danger when it came to what he believed. It was such that he felt each speech that he gave would be his last. In this way he rejected all dangers at the cost of his very life. He expressed his beliefs to the people as much as possible in the time available to him.