Peymaan:
In December 1933 he launched the monthly journal of Peymaan, which he was the owner, editor, and almost sole writer. It ceased publication in 1942 after Volume 7, No. 9. During these nine years, this journal was the major vehicle for developing and broadcasting his ideas. The journal format allowed him to discuss the same topics more than once, modifying, explaining, clarifying, answering questions and criticisms. Many of the books that he published after 1933 had their beginnings in Peyman, in some cases updated, and in few cases reprints of its longer articles.
On August 25, 1941, during the second World War, Iran was occupied by the British and Soviet forces (later joined by Americans); and three weeks later Reza Shah Pahlavi abdicated and went into exile, succeeded by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. Foreign occupation, and the expulsion of the powerful monarch, threw the country into utter chaos. The people, after years of believing their country to be invincible, were stunned by the ignominious defeat. However, one essentially positive side-effect of these events was the restoration (in varying degrees), for a brief time, of constitutional freedoms, including freedom of assembly and organized political activity.
On October 11, 1941, Kasravi gave a public lecture, entitled "What is to be done today?", in which he analyzed the recent events; cautioned against excesses; rejected almost universally expressed belief that the former king bore sole responsibility for all the problems of the country; and warned that, unless something was done, despotism would return in a few years. He also briefly presented some of his views on the problems of the country and their solutions.
Baahamaad e Aazaadegaan:
A number of people in various cities, having read the text of the lecture in Peyman, contacted Kasravi, suggesting the need for some kind of collective action. Some of them reprinted the lecture as a book. Thus it was that the Baahamaad-e Aazaadegaan was organized in late 1941 or early 1942. The major members of this ideologically-based political party consisted of a small number of people who had read Kasravi’s writings and formed an informal group during 1933-41, when political organizations were prohibited by the government.
The party gradually grew and became increasingly more active and aggressive, with branches in all major cities as well as a few smaller ones. The membership was never large, but it was very active and had many sympathizers. The bolder and more open they became, the more violent and persistent became the opposition. But they stood their ground on all fronts: against the religious and educational establishments, against the government, and against personal and institutional attacks. They were subjected to mobbings, knifings, imprisonment, dismissals from government jobs and denials of promotions. They were attacked in the Parliament and on the government-run Radio Tehran (as well as Radio Delhi).
Parcham:
The daily newspaper Parcham, edited by Kasravi, began publication on January 23, 1942, and ceased publication after the December 8 issue, when all newspaper licenses were cancelled. An edition began in March 1943, but its publication was suppressed six months later. This edition was in scope a combination of Peyman and the daily Parcham, dealing with more general topics and current issues. Next began a weekly edition in March 1944, which was suppressed after seven issues. In March 1945, another monthly journal was begun. It had no specific title: each issue was given the name of the month in which it was published; e.g., Farvardin- Mah-e 1324 (‘the month of Farvardin 1324’). It is believed that this device was thought up by Kasravi the lawyer because such a publication would not be a journal, and therefore not subject to any licensing requirement. They were collectively referred to as Daftarhaa-ye Maahaaneh (‘Monthly Notebooks’). Plans for publishing a daily paper ended as a result of Kasravi’s assassination.
By ‘March 11, 1946, Kasravi had published some eighty volumes of books of varying length, as well as hundreds of journal articles, and newspaper editorials and columns. Both the publications and his weekly lectures covered a wide cultural range, including religion in general, Islam, Shi’ism, Bahaism, Sufism, philosophy, economics, education, law, government, literature, women, Kharabatism (represented by stressing the "inner" meaning of the Koran, later extended to literature, especially poetry, rejecting literal meanings in favor of symbolic interpretation), materialism, etc. His writings covered both general topics and current issues, the latter represented by newspaper editorials and on the United Nations (then just organized). His views on these and other subjects were iconoclastic. Hardly any cultural sacred cow was spared his severe and sometimes cutting whip.’
In Short:
In short, Kasravi analyzed Iranian society and its cultural institutions, found fault with most of them, expressed his objections to them, and offered a new system to replace the existing one. Because of his work on religion in general and Shi’ism, Baha’ism and Sufism in particular the most vocal and violent criticism came from religionists. In the context of Shi’ism, Kasravi dared to directly attack the Shi’ite clergy, which angered religious groups and eventually led to his assassination by a fanatical group called the "Feda’iyan-e Eslam" on March 11, 1946( 20 Esfand 1324). Numerous anti-Kasravi complaints, some bearing hundreds of signatures, were instigated by the Shi’ite clergy. These complaints took the form of telegrams to newspapers and government authorities, or of widely circulated communiqués. Appeals were made to the Shah. Of the dozen books written about Kasravi in Persian, nine were written by clergymen attacking his detailed criticisms of the Shi’i sect of Islam. Perhaps the most interesting response by the religious element, especially in the light of the events since then, is represented by one of Rouhollah Khomeyni’s first major books, Revelation of Secrets, published in 1943, a detailed attack on Kasravi’s religious views on Shi’ism.
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