In the meantime, however, Khomeini talked only about “Islamic Government”, never spelling out what exactly that meant. His network may have been learning about the necessity of rule by Jurists, but “in his interview, speeches, messages and fatvas during this period, there is not a single reference to velayat-e faqih.” Khomenei was careful not to publicize his ideas for clerical rule outside of his Islamic network of opposition to the Shah and so not frighten away the secular middle class from his movement. His movement emphasized populism, talking about fighting for the mustazafin, a Quranic term for the oppressed or deprived, that in this context came to mean “just about everyone in Iran except the shah and the imperial court”.