overwhelmed by the issues brought to his attention. Quoting
from Heikal’s 1981 book:It became impossible for him to concentrate for more than
twenty minutes at a time. Although all important questions
continue to come to him for decision, his reactions are
instinctive rather than thought out. He reads no reports. In
the early days after his return to Qom he used to complain
that every day he was being sent three reports—one from the
Foreign Ministry about foreign security, one about internal
affairs, and one on economic matters. He begged the officials
in Tehran to stop sending them. “I never read them,” he said.74 AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI
CHESS—A SMALL VICTORY OVER REPRESSION
In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Shiite hard-liners
imposed stringent Islamic values and demands on every facet of
Iranian society. Colleges were closed and the film industry virtually
suspended while officials determined which elements of literature
and arts must be eliminated and which would be permissible in the
new Islamic republic.
One curious victim of the zealous and often violent national purge
was the ancient game of chess. It was banned in Iran in 1981 because
some players and audiences were using it as a gambling device—
and because Ayatollah Khomeini believed chess caused brain damage.
Iranian enthusiasts of the game defied the edict, continuing to compete
in secret. In 1988, after deciding chess was actually a good mental
exercise, Khomeini lifted the ban. He insisted, however, that it must not
interfere with daily prayers and must not involve gambling.
It was neither the first nor last time that chess was outlawed in the
region. An early caliph shortly after the prophet Muhammad’s death
declared the game offensive to Islamic teaching because carved
images—idols—were used for chess pieces. In 1996, eight years after
Khomeini lifted the ban in Iran, the Taliban regime in neighboring
Afghanistan forbade the game and jailed chess players. They, like the
Iranian clergy before them, cited chess as a distraction from Islam and
a method of gambling. The ban remained in place until the Taliban
leadership was overthrown five years later.http://www.ebook3000.com