Page 59 - MDOS2_Final

Malaysia’s ‘Islamic Diplomacy’:

A Novice Experience

during the Iranian Revolution

Mohd Yusof Ahmad

It was a f ne morning that day in September 1979. Looking out of the
windows of the of cial car, I could not help but be mesmerized by the
beauty of the clear blue Iranian skies and the warm rays of the autumn sun
peeping through the tree-lined Pahlavi Avenue (now renamed “Valiasr”),
Tehran’s main boulevard. T e scene evinced a sense of calm within. I
distinctly remember the grand irony of the whole scenario – nature’s beauty
on of er juxtaposed against a society undergoing cathartic social, economic,
political and revolutionary change following the Shah’s overthrow by the
revolutionary followers of Emam Khomeini in early 1979. T e nagging
question ‘why’ remained unanswered as Ahmad, the embassy driver, and I
sped towards our of cial destination of the day – the Embassy of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan. Little did I realise that my brief imagining was
about to end with a rude shock.

T e purpose of the visit to the Afghanistan mission in Tehran on that autumn
day was to perform an established diplomatic ritual – that of signing the
of cial condolence book as a token of last respect to the former President
of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Nur Muhammad Taraki, who had
died a few days earlier in Kabul. In accordance with established diplomatic
tradition, a condolence book was opened at the embassy for diplomats from
friendly countries to pay their last respect to the former President by signing
the condolence book.

I must confess that when of cially notif ed of the subject, I was not
exactly excited about the prospects of braving the still anarchic streets of

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