9:09
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Jewish Voices For Peace - English
No More US Vetoes at the UN
It’s time.
It’s time, finally, after forty years for the United States to do the right thing for the people of Palestine. Will they?
During...
No More US Vetoes at the UN
It’s time.
It’s time, finally, after forty years for the United States to do the right thing for the people of Palestine. Will they?
During Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council debate about Palestinian statehood, once again, the United States announced that it would stand in the way of a vote for Palestinian self-determination.
This isn’t the first time. Nor the second, or tenth or twentieth time. In fact, it’s the forty-first time.
Forty-one times during the last forty years, the United States has said no, one way or another, to the Palestinian struggle for human rights.
Forty-one times, in votes at the UN Security Council, the United States has been the only country to use its veto to override the votes of every other member.
Forty-one times, the US has been the one country to protect Israel no matter how many settlements it builds, orchards it destroys, or acres it takes. The one country to say no to democracy, fairness and justice for Palestinians and yes to more pain and destruction for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Now, as soon as this September, the United States will vote one more time.
It’s up to us to make this the last time. Join me in telling U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador Rice that it’s time for them to vote for justice. They must not veto for the 42nd time.
The whole world will be watching. You. Me. Millions of people from around the world will be watching and hoping that the U.S. will not block UN recognition of Palestine as a member state.
Our leaders must hear from us: This time, vote yes.
We know that the vote is just one step, and only a beginning. It won’t stop the growing pace of Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. It won’t suddenly mean there is a viable Palestinian state, or freedom for those in Gaza, or a just resolution to the problem of refugees.
But it will recognize the right to Palestinian self-determination, give our movement additional tools in moving toward a truly just resolution, and give fresh hope to all the people of Palestine and Israel who deserve to live in freedom and democracy.
Do we think the US will change and finally do the right thing this time? Probably not. The US will likely again stand alone in the Security Council and once again veto, or vote no with the few allies it can find, like Micronesia and Palau, if the vote goes to the UN General Assembly.
But this time, they can’t do it quietly. We won’t let them. This time– this 42nd time– let's make sure the United States is not what keeps the Palestinians from determining their own future, and of being citizens of the world.
More...
Description:
No More US Vetoes at the UN
It’s time.
It’s time, finally, after forty years for the United States to do the right thing for the people of Palestine. Will they?
During Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council debate about Palestinian statehood, once again, the United States announced that it would stand in the way of a vote for Palestinian self-determination.
This isn’t the first time. Nor the second, or tenth or twentieth time. In fact, it’s the forty-first time.
Forty-one times during the last forty years, the United States has said no, one way or another, to the Palestinian struggle for human rights.
Forty-one times, in votes at the UN Security Council, the United States has been the only country to use its veto to override the votes of every other member.
Forty-one times, the US has been the one country to protect Israel no matter how many settlements it builds, orchards it destroys, or acres it takes. The one country to say no to democracy, fairness and justice for Palestinians and yes to more pain and destruction for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Now, as soon as this September, the United States will vote one more time.
It’s up to us to make this the last time. Join me in telling U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador Rice that it’s time for them to vote for justice. They must not veto for the 42nd time.
The whole world will be watching. You. Me. Millions of people from around the world will be watching and hoping that the U.S. will not block UN recognition of Palestine as a member state.
Our leaders must hear from us: This time, vote yes.
We know that the vote is just one step, and only a beginning. It won’t stop the growing pace of Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. It won’t suddenly mean there is a viable Palestinian state, or freedom for those in Gaza, or a just resolution to the problem of refugees.
But it will recognize the right to Palestinian self-determination, give our movement additional tools in moving toward a truly just resolution, and give fresh hope to all the people of Palestine and Israel who deserve to live in freedom and democracy.
Do we think the US will change and finally do the right thing this time? Probably not. The US will likely again stand alone in the Security Council and once again veto, or vote no with the few allies it can find, like Micronesia and Palau, if the vote goes to the UN General Assembly.
But this time, they can’t do it quietly. We won’t let them. This time– this 42nd time– let's make sure the United States is not what keeps the Palestinians from determining their own future, and of being citizens of the world.
2:46
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Israel arrests Gaza activists and Press TV journalist Hassan Ghani - Nov 5, 2011 - English
This was the last footage we received of Press TV correspondent Hassan Ghani reporting from the Freedom Wave, two boats led by groups from Canada and Ireland, attempting to break the siege on Gaza...
This was the last footage we received of Press TV correspondent Hassan Ghani reporting from the Freedom Wave, two boats led by groups from Canada and Ireland, attempting to break the siege on Gaza and get aid to the impoverished strip.
Several hours later, Hassan tells us the boat is being surrounded.
As we wrap up the conversation just 5 minutes later, the situation intensifies.
That's the last we heard from Hassan. Israel raided the flotilla, and arrested those on board. They are now in Israeli jail. We spoke to Hassan's father Haq for the latest he's heard from his son.
Hassan was also aboard the Mavi Marmara that was attacked by the Israeli Military, leaving nine people dead. He was arrested and warned never to return.
This time he was on-board with former press TV journalist Jihan Hafiz who was reporting for U-S based democracy now and other journalists too. Gazan journalist and activist Sameh Habeeb says the Israeli action is all a part of the siege strategy.
Israel had called the freedom wave a provocation and a threat to its national security.
We contacted the foreign office who told us that a consular officer will be visiting Hassan again Sunday morning, that all detainees were moved quickly through the port and immigration to a detention center and that Hassan had called his arrest “extremely objectionable in principle”. They say it is very likely that Hassan will be deported from Israel soon. But for now he remains a journalist in an Israeli prison for no other reason than doing his job. And the status of those on board with him remains unclear.
More...
Description:
This was the last footage we received of Press TV correspondent Hassan Ghani reporting from the Freedom Wave, two boats led by groups from Canada and Ireland, attempting to break the siege on Gaza and get aid to the impoverished strip.
Several hours later, Hassan tells us the boat is being surrounded.
As we wrap up the conversation just 5 minutes later, the situation intensifies.
That's the last we heard from Hassan. Israel raided the flotilla, and arrested those on board. They are now in Israeli jail. We spoke to Hassan's father Haq for the latest he's heard from his son.
Hassan was also aboard the Mavi Marmara that was attacked by the Israeli Military, leaving nine people dead. He was arrested and warned never to return.
This time he was on-board with former press TV journalist Jihan Hafiz who was reporting for U-S based democracy now and other journalists too. Gazan journalist and activist Sameh Habeeb says the Israeli action is all a part of the siege strategy.
Israel had called the freedom wave a provocation and a threat to its national security.
We contacted the foreign office who told us that a consular officer will be visiting Hassan again Sunday morning, that all detainees were moved quickly through the port and immigration to a detention center and that Hassan had called his arrest “extremely objectionable in principle”. They say it is very likely that Hassan will be deported from Israel soon. But for now he remains a journalist in an Israeli prison for no other reason than doing his job. And the status of those on board with him remains unclear.
Improving One-s Salaat and Dua - English Presentation
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the...
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the situation. Though Shaitan does play an important role in diverting us from making serious attempts in this regard, we can hardly escape the responsibility of taking concrete steps to correct ourselves.
One of the strangest issues that confounds us and is somewhat unique to our community is the fact the most us ‘recite’ our prayers and supplications rather than ‘pray’ or ‘supplicate’. There is probably no other community in the world, most of whose adherents do not understand what they say in their prayers, supplications or even while reading their holy book. But many in our community reach their ripe old ages diligently reciting their salaat, dua and the Holy Qu’ran without ever understanding a word of it! While there is no denying that there are sawaab (rewards) for mere recitation of these, it is astonishing that it never occurs to us that we should make some attempt to understand what we recite.
If we do make an attempt to understand what we recite surely the spiritual experience of prayer and supplication will be far more refreshing and uplifting.
Here are some tips to improve the quality of one’s salaat (prayers) and dua (supplications) to bring about greater spiritual upliftment and increased rewards in this world and the Hereafter.
1.First and foremost know and realize that you are able to recite salaat and dua due to the supreme sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who, to bring to us these Divine Blessings, have faced enormous trials and tribulations and with the exception of the Imam of Our Time (a.t.f.s.) were eventually martyred. Most notably, do remember the supreme sacrifice of the Greatest Martyr of Mankind, Imam Husain (a.s.) and his companions who faced the toughest trials, captivity and martyrdom, without which let alone this blessing of salaat, Islam itself would not have reached us.
2.Keep yourself free of mental and physical fatigue whilst praying. Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
3.Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.
4.If you do not understand Arabic, learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer. Better still, start learning Arabic- it is the language the Almighty Allah (swt) has addressed us in through the Holy Qu’ran. The least we can do is try to understand what the Almighty Allah (swt) is telling us.
5.Remind yourself that engaging in prayers offers you an opportunity to release from the tension of the world. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said that ‘in prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes’. Therefore cherish the opportunity to remove the burdens of the world from your shoulders.
6.Use your prayer to remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your entire being to serve only Allah (swt)
7.Use your prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm of your life and activities.
8.Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your prayer, for e.g., thirst, hunger and calls of nature.
9.Do not procrastinate and do not let the time of salaat lapse without your having performed the obligatory salaat. Know that we pray because Allah (swt) is worthy of and deserves your worship and this is besides the fact that we can earn sawaab (reward) by praying and save ourselves from the azaab (punishment) of avoiding prayers.
10.Pray in pure physical state. Perform wudhu with attention, care and perfection. Although the whole earth is a Masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is clean.
11.Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.If that is not possible try not allow your attention to be diverted from your prayers.
12.Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.
13.Assess your mental readiness for prayers before its commencement, during the various postures, after each rakaat and ultimately at the end.
14.Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner. Realize that you are before the All-Powerful and humble your entire being before Him.
15.Pray with hope and awe.
16.Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important ‘One’ in your life- your Creator and Sustainer. He is Omnipresent. You are before Him, facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.
17.Commence your prayer by seeking Allah’s help and protection from the influence of the cursed Shaitan.
18.Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical environment to distract you.
19.On each occasion that you recite the sifat (attributes) of Allah (swt) in ruku and sajdah (prostration), consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah (swt) and express your true emotions.
20.Utilize the occasion of sajdah to make additional dua to Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said: “A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajdah, so increase your supplication when in sajdah”. There are many duas recommended by the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) for this purpose.
21.Pray as it is your last prayer. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: “When you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last prayer”.
22.After each salaat do ask Allah (swt) for fulfillment of your legitimate desires and wishes. Such a salaat earns the pleasure of Allah (swt). And of course, do not harbor desires and wishes that are not legitimate.
23.It is only an expression of gratitude that you send salutations to Imam Husain (a.s.), the other Martyrs of Karbala and those who suffered the following trials of captivity. Therefore, include and appropriate Ziayarat with your salaat and duas.
More...
Description:
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the situation. Though Shaitan does play an important role in diverting us from making serious attempts in this regard, we can hardly escape the responsibility of taking concrete steps to correct ourselves.
One of the strangest issues that confounds us and is somewhat unique to our community is the fact the most us ‘recite’ our prayers and supplications rather than ‘pray’ or ‘supplicate’. There is probably no other community in the world, most of whose adherents do not understand what they say in their prayers, supplications or even while reading their holy book. But many in our community reach their ripe old ages diligently reciting their salaat, dua and the Holy Qu’ran without ever understanding a word of it! While there is no denying that there are sawaab (rewards) for mere recitation of these, it is astonishing that it never occurs to us that we should make some attempt to understand what we recite.
If we do make an attempt to understand what we recite surely the spiritual experience of prayer and supplication will be far more refreshing and uplifting.
Here are some tips to improve the quality of one’s salaat (prayers) and dua (supplications) to bring about greater spiritual upliftment and increased rewards in this world and the Hereafter.
1.First and foremost know and realize that you are able to recite salaat and dua due to the supreme sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who, to bring to us these Divine Blessings, have faced enormous trials and tribulations and with the exception of the Imam of Our Time (a.t.f.s.) were eventually martyred. Most notably, do remember the supreme sacrifice of the Greatest Martyr of Mankind, Imam Husain (a.s.) and his companions who faced the toughest trials, captivity and martyrdom, without which let alone this blessing of salaat, Islam itself would not have reached us.
2.Keep yourself free of mental and physical fatigue whilst praying. Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
3.Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.
4.If you do not understand Arabic, learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer. Better still, start learning Arabic- it is the language the Almighty Allah (swt) has addressed us in through the Holy Qu’ran. The least we can do is try to understand what the Almighty Allah (swt) is telling us.
5.Remind yourself that engaging in prayers offers you an opportunity to release from the tension of the world. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said that ‘in prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes’. Therefore cherish the opportunity to remove the burdens of the world from your shoulders.
6.Use your prayer to remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your entire being to serve only Allah (swt)
7.Use your prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm of your life and activities.
8.Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your prayer, for e.g., thirst, hunger and calls of nature.
9.Do not procrastinate and do not let the time of salaat lapse without your having performed the obligatory salaat. Know that we pray because Allah (swt) is worthy of and deserves your worship and this is besides the fact that we can earn sawaab (reward) by praying and save ourselves from the azaab (punishment) of avoiding prayers.
10.Pray in pure physical state. Perform wudhu with attention, care and perfection. Although the whole earth is a Masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is clean.
11.Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.If that is not possible try not allow your attention to be diverted from your prayers.
12.Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.
13.Assess your mental readiness for prayers before its commencement, during the various postures, after each rakaat and ultimately at the end.
14.Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner. Realize that you are before the All-Powerful and humble your entire being before Him.
15.Pray with hope and awe.
16.Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important ‘One’ in your life- your Creator and Sustainer. He is Omnipresent. You are before Him, facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.
17.Commence your prayer by seeking Allah’s help and protection from the influence of the cursed Shaitan.
18.Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical environment to distract you.
19.On each occasion that you recite the sifat (attributes) of Allah (swt) in ruku and sajdah (prostration), consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah (swt) and express your true emotions.
20.Utilize the occasion of sajdah to make additional dua to Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said: “A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajdah, so increase your supplication when in sajdah”. There are many duas recommended by the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) for this purpose.
21.Pray as it is your last prayer. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: “When you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last prayer”.
22.After each salaat do ask Allah (swt) for fulfillment of your legitimate desires and wishes. Such a salaat earns the pleasure of Allah (swt). And of course, do not harbor desires and wishes that are not legitimate.
23.It is only an expression of gratitude that you send salutations to Imam Husain (a.s.), the other Martyrs of Karbala and those who suffered the following trials of captivity. Therefore, include and appropriate Ziayarat with your salaat and duas.
Shahadat e Imam Hasan e Mujtaba (AS) - Urdu
The history of the shahadat of Imam Hasan(a.s.) is no less treacherous. Imam Hasan(a.s.) had a wife named Jada binte Ashas bin Qais. She was bribed to poison the Imam(a.s.)...
The history of the shahadat of Imam Hasan(a.s.) is no less treacherous. Imam Hasan(a.s.) had a wife named Jada binte Ashas bin Qais. She was bribed to poison the Imam(a.s.) by Moawiya on promise of a handsome amount of cash and marriage with his son Yazeed(l.a.). She poisoned Imam Hasan(a.s.) in milk with a poison called “Hilahil” and while Imam(a.s.) was drinking it, his liver got torn apart and its pieces fell into the milk pot. Jada was ditched by Moawiya saying that when she could conspire against a person such as Imam Hasan(a.s.), she could do that with anyone so he would not marry his son with her. She was eventually thrown into a river on Moawiya’s orders.
After his martyrdom, despite his will he was not allowed to be buried close to the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) by a group of Sahabas of bani-ummaya tribe lead by a wife of the Prophet(sawaw). The followers of Imam Ali(a.s.) tried to take his janaza several times to the Hujra of Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) for burial but to no avail. In the final effort, the janaza was attacked by arrows and according to a tradition, 70 arrows pierced in the dead body of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Finally he had to be buried in the darkness of the night in Jannat-ul-Baqi.
A few words of Masaib
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the 28th of Safar in 50th A.H., Imam Hasan(a.s.) visited the grave of his mother and his grand father(sawaw). When Imam Hasan(a.s.) returned to his home in the evening, he knew of the intentions of Jada binte Ashas. He asked her to bring milk and do what she had in her mind. As soon as Imam Hasan(a.s.) drank a little bit of the milk, the poison started making its effect and the pieces of his liver came out of his mouth.
Seeing this, his other wife Umm-e-Farwa – the mother of Hazrat Qasim(a.s.) - rushed towards him. It was already night and she was very worried. She asked Qasim to go and inform the sisters of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Qasim was only about 3 or 4 years so he said how would I tell them what had happened so Umm-e-Farwa told him that his condition would tell all the story. She tore off the dress of Qasim, took off his little turban and poured mud in his hair. Then asked him to go to the nearby house of Bibi Zainab(s.a.) and Bibi Umm-e-Kulsoom(a.s.).
The daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) were preparing for the namaz-e-shab when Qasim(a.s.) knocked the door. When they saw him in this state, they started weeping and asked him what had happened. Qasim(a.s.) told them that his father is in his last moments in this world. They were the daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) so they knew what had happened. They hurriedly reached the house of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Imam(a.s.) asked Bibi Umm-e-Farwa to hide the milk pot so his sisters would not see his blood in it. Daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) said please don’t hide the pieces of our brother from us, we have come to collect them in our hijab and would preserve them.
Imam Hasan(a.s.) gathered all his relatives and appointed Imam Hussain(a.s.) as the next Imam by the will of Allah(swt). He asked Imam Hussain(a.s.) to try to bury him next to the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) but if that were not possible then not to harm anyone and bury him in Jannatul Baqi. He breathed his last in the night of 28th Safar.
Imam Hussain(a.s.) took out the funeral of his brother with some of his companions but for the first time in history the janaza of a muslim was returned back without burial and the slain body of Imam Hasan(a.s.) was riddled with arrows. Both the brother Imams had arrows in their destiny – the only difference was that arrows were in the body of Imam Hasan(a.s.) but Imam Hussain(a.s.)’s body was on arrows.
All brothers and sisters of Imam Hasan(a.s.) then sat together to take out the arrows one by one weeping and shouting aloud – wa Muhammada, wa Hasana, wa musibata.
Ala lanatullahe alal quamiz zalimin. Sayalamul lazina zalamu ayya munqalabi yanqaliboon. Inna lillahe wa inna ilehe rajeoon.
More...
Description:
The history of the shahadat of Imam Hasan(a.s.) is no less treacherous. Imam Hasan(a.s.) had a wife named Jada binte Ashas bin Qais. She was bribed to poison the Imam(a.s.) by Moawiya on promise of a handsome amount of cash and marriage with his son Yazeed(l.a.). She poisoned Imam Hasan(a.s.) in milk with a poison called “Hilahil” and while Imam(a.s.) was drinking it, his liver got torn apart and its pieces fell into the milk pot. Jada was ditched by Moawiya saying that when she could conspire against a person such as Imam Hasan(a.s.), she could do that with anyone so he would not marry his son with her. She was eventually thrown into a river on Moawiya’s orders.
After his martyrdom, despite his will he was not allowed to be buried close to the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) by a group of Sahabas of bani-ummaya tribe lead by a wife of the Prophet(sawaw). The followers of Imam Ali(a.s.) tried to take his janaza several times to the Hujra of Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) for burial but to no avail. In the final effort, the janaza was attacked by arrows and according to a tradition, 70 arrows pierced in the dead body of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Finally he had to be buried in the darkness of the night in Jannat-ul-Baqi.
A few words of Masaib
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the 28th of Safar in 50th A.H., Imam Hasan(a.s.) visited the grave of his mother and his grand father(sawaw). When Imam Hasan(a.s.) returned to his home in the evening, he knew of the intentions of Jada binte Ashas. He asked her to bring milk and do what she had in her mind. As soon as Imam Hasan(a.s.) drank a little bit of the milk, the poison started making its effect and the pieces of his liver came out of his mouth.
Seeing this, his other wife Umm-e-Farwa – the mother of Hazrat Qasim(a.s.) - rushed towards him. It was already night and she was very worried. She asked Qasim to go and inform the sisters of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Qasim was only about 3 or 4 years so he said how would I tell them what had happened so Umm-e-Farwa told him that his condition would tell all the story. She tore off the dress of Qasim, took off his little turban and poured mud in his hair. Then asked him to go to the nearby house of Bibi Zainab(s.a.) and Bibi Umm-e-Kulsoom(a.s.).
The daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) were preparing for the namaz-e-shab when Qasim(a.s.) knocked the door. When they saw him in this state, they started weeping and asked him what had happened. Qasim(a.s.) told them that his father is in his last moments in this world. They were the daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) so they knew what had happened. They hurriedly reached the house of Imam Hasan(a.s.). Imam(a.s.) asked Bibi Umm-e-Farwa to hide the milk pot so his sisters would not see his blood in it. Daughters of Imam Ali(a.s.) said please don’t hide the pieces of our brother from us, we have come to collect them in our hijab and would preserve them.
Imam Hasan(a.s.) gathered all his relatives and appointed Imam Hussain(a.s.) as the next Imam by the will of Allah(swt). He asked Imam Hussain(a.s.) to try to bury him next to the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) but if that were not possible then not to harm anyone and bury him in Jannatul Baqi. He breathed his last in the night of 28th Safar.
Imam Hussain(a.s.) took out the funeral of his brother with some of his companions but for the first time in history the janaza of a muslim was returned back without burial and the slain body of Imam Hasan(a.s.) was riddled with arrows. Both the brother Imams had arrows in their destiny – the only difference was that arrows were in the body of Imam Hasan(a.s.) but Imam Hussain(a.s.)’s body was on arrows.
All brothers and sisters of Imam Hasan(a.s.) then sat together to take out the arrows one by one weeping and shouting aloud – wa Muhammada, wa Hasana, wa musibata.
Ala lanatullahe alal quamiz zalimin. Sayalamul lazina zalamu ayya munqalabi yanqaliboon. Inna lillahe wa inna ilehe rajeoon.
[Must Watch] Sean Stone converts to shia islam English Sub Arabic
sean stone converts to shia islam
TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section...
sean stone converts to shia islam
TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section program at the 30th Fajr International Film Festival.
The honoring ceremony took place at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema with Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari and secretary of the festival Mohammad Khazaei attending.
Stone converted to Islam at the office of Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi in the city of Isfahan last week.
On receiving his award, Stone expressed his thanks to Iranians and hoped to make joint films to help improve relations between Iran and the United States, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.
He also explained about his reasons for accepting Islam and said that as a student of history, he had studied different religions and it was because of his personal interest that he chose Islam; adding that actually, it was Islam that had invited him.
“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, with which I was born. It means I have accepted Muhammad (S) and other prophets,” Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, had told AFP last week.
Stone came to Iran in early February to attend the 30th Fajr International Film Festival, which ended on February 12.
The ceremony continued with a brief speech delivered by Hosseini, in which he hoped Sean Stone would be strong and steady enough to fight against any kinds of attacks or assaults.
“If Islam is introduced as a symbol of beauty to the world, all people would be attracted to it,” he said, stressing that Stone was seeking the truth and had discovered it here.
Hosseini also expressed his thanks to the filmmakers who tried harder this year to help achieve the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
The ceremony was brought to an end by paying tribute to the managers of several film studios and theaters across Tehran.
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Description:
sean stone converts to shia islam
TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section program at the 30th Fajr International Film Festival.
The honoring ceremony took place at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema with Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari and secretary of the festival Mohammad Khazaei attending.
Stone converted to Islam at the office of Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi in the city of Isfahan last week.
On receiving his award, Stone expressed his thanks to Iranians and hoped to make joint films to help improve relations between Iran and the United States, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.
He also explained about his reasons for accepting Islam and said that as a student of history, he had studied different religions and it was because of his personal interest that he chose Islam; adding that actually, it was Islam that had invited him.
“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, with which I was born. It means I have accepted Muhammad (S) and other prophets,” Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, had told AFP last week.
Stone came to Iran in early February to attend the 30th Fajr International Film Festival, which ended on February 12.
The ceremony continued with a brief speech delivered by Hosseini, in which he hoped Sean Stone would be strong and steady enough to fight against any kinds of attacks or assaults.
“If Islam is introduced as a symbol of beauty to the world, all people would be attracted to it,” he said, stressing that Stone was seeking the truth and had discovered it here.
Hosseini also expressed his thanks to the filmmakers who tried harder this year to help achieve the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
The ceremony was brought to an end by paying tribute to the managers of several film studios and theaters across Tehran.
[Hollywood Director] Sean Stone became Muslim says Shahada in Isfahan - Persian Sub English
sean stone converts to shia islam - TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section...
sean stone converts to shia islam - TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section program at the 30th Fajr International Film Festival.
The honoring ceremony took place at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema with Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari and secretary of the festival Mohammad Khazaei attending.
Stone converted to Islam at the office of Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi in the city of Isfahan last week.
On receiving his award, Stone expressed his thanks to Iranians and hoped to make joint films to help improve relations between Iran and the United States, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.
He also explained about his reasons for accepting Islam and said that as a student of history, he had studied different religions and it was because of his personal interest that he chose Islam; adding that actually, it was Islam that had invited him.
“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, with which I was born. It means I have accepted Muhammad (S) and other prophets,” Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, had told AFP last week.
Stone came to Iran in early February to attend the 30th Fajr International Film Festival, which ended on February 12.
The ceremony continued with a brief speech delivered by Hosseini, in which he hoped Sean Stone would be strong and steady enough to fight against any kinds of attacks or assaults.
“If Islam is introduced as a symbol of beauty to the world, all people would be attracted to it,” he said, stressing that Stone was seeking the truth and had discovered it here.
Hosseini also expressed his thanks to the filmmakers who tried harder this year to help achieve the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
The ceremony was brought to an end by paying tribute to the managers of several film studios and theaters across Tehran.
More...
Description:
sean stone converts to shia islam - TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section program at the 30th Fajr International Film Festival.
The honoring ceremony took place at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema with Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari and secretary of the festival Mohammad Khazaei attending.
Stone converted to Islam at the office of Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi in the city of Isfahan last week.
On receiving his award, Stone expressed his thanks to Iranians and hoped to make joint films to help improve relations between Iran and the United States, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.
He also explained about his reasons for accepting Islam and said that as a student of history, he had studied different religions and it was because of his personal interest that he chose Islam; adding that actually, it was Islam that had invited him.
“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, with which I was born. It means I have accepted Muhammad (S) and other prophets,” Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, had told AFP last week.
Stone came to Iran in early February to attend the 30th Fajr International Film Festival, which ended on February 12.
The ceremony continued with a brief speech delivered by Hosseini, in which he hoped Sean Stone would be strong and steady enough to fight against any kinds of attacks or assaults.
“If Islam is introduced as a symbol of beauty to the world, all people would be attracted to it,” he said, stressing that Stone was seeking the truth and had discovered it here.
Hosseini also expressed his thanks to the filmmakers who tried harder this year to help achieve the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
The ceremony was brought to an end by paying tribute to the managers of several film studios and theaters across Tehran.
13:33
|
[26 May 2012] Many young Egyptians reluctant to vote - English
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate Mohamed Morsi will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the country’s presidential run-off election.
Morsi is in the lead with 25.3...
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate Mohamed Morsi will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the country’s presidential run-off election.
Morsi is in the lead with 25.3 percent of the vote, followed by Shafiq with 24.9 percent. Official results from the electoral body are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The two candidates will compete in a run-off election on June 16 and 17. Electoral commission officials said that turnout was around 43 percent over the two days of voting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Yahia Ghanem, editor at the al-Ahram newspaper, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Trying to understand these results specially Shafiq he did not do that well in his campaigning. How did he come up to this second place, finish at this point which is not really finished, it is unofficial results, what is your reaction to that?
Ghanem: Well if you talk, if you ask about the reactions I believe that partly it was a shock for a lot of number of the Egyptians whereas it was a pleasant surprise of course for some others.
So I believe that as much as Egypt and the Egyptians have been showing strong signs of being united, a united house in their march towards democracy, when it comes to the results of the first round of the elections they started showing strong signs of a house divided in terms of this splinter between Shafiq which is considered to be a remnant of the former regime and Dr. [Morsi], the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Press TV: In terms of who came out to vote we are looking at two large majorities, 60 percent saying to be from the urban areas which are farmers and then of course we are looking at the percentage of the youth in the country which is said to be 50 percent below the age of 30. But it does not seem like these results are indicating that which some are saying the silent majority came out. Do you see it that way?
Ghanem: Say it again please.
Press TV: The silent majority, do you think they were the ones that came out, tilting some of the voting in terms of the results we are seeing right now?
Ghanem: I am not quite sure if I understood your question...
Press TV: The silent majority of Egyptians is what I am getting at, did they come out, the ones who did not come out to vote for the parliamentary elections maybe came out this time to vote?
Ghanem: Well, I believe that there was a large percentage of absence from the voters because everybody expected actually a higher percentage, everybody expected that the Egyptians would break the record that they scored during the first stage of the last parliamentary elections but unfortunately it did not happen.
And I believe that there are reasons behind such absence and such reluctance of that large number of voters to practice and to exercise the right in voting the first civilian elected president but I believe that a large number of the youth who actually participated and spot the revolution, also they were reluctant to participate in these elections and I observed that while I was touring the polling stations, I believe that there were reasons actually behind such reluctance, such as the way the military council ran the whole show during the last 16 months and specially running that presidential election show.
Press TV: And of course one of the biggest troubles and challenges Yahia Ghanem is the constitution and the presidential powers. When is that going to be resolved?
Ghanem: I believe we still have to go for quite a while after the elections to sort out this issue of the right in constitution and specially that issue of writing the constitution.
But personally speaking I believe that this issue have been made an issue by certain parties with interest to complicate things in Egypt because writing constitution is not that problem actually and they complicated the whole thing by inciting all different kinds of society, all the [structure] in society to claim the right of being represented in this committee and to share or to take part in writing the constitution. No constitutions in the world are being written that way.
It is up to the specialists, the lawmakers or the professors of constitutional law to write the constitution as in many or in all the countries in the world and then for the establishing committee to discuss and to review that draft constitution but of course it does not make any sense for all representatives of all the sectors of the society and the [structure] of the society to take part in writing the constitution.
It is funny and it is not true of course.
More...
Description:
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate Mohamed Morsi will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the country’s presidential run-off election.
Morsi is in the lead with 25.3 percent of the vote, followed by Shafiq with 24.9 percent. Official results from the electoral body are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The two candidates will compete in a run-off election on June 16 and 17. Electoral commission officials said that turnout was around 43 percent over the two days of voting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Yahia Ghanem, editor at the al-Ahram newspaper, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Trying to understand these results specially Shafiq he did not do that well in his campaigning. How did he come up to this second place, finish at this point which is not really finished, it is unofficial results, what is your reaction to that?
Ghanem: Well if you talk, if you ask about the reactions I believe that partly it was a shock for a lot of number of the Egyptians whereas it was a pleasant surprise of course for some others.
So I believe that as much as Egypt and the Egyptians have been showing strong signs of being united, a united house in their march towards democracy, when it comes to the results of the first round of the elections they started showing strong signs of a house divided in terms of this splinter between Shafiq which is considered to be a remnant of the former regime and Dr. [Morsi], the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Press TV: In terms of who came out to vote we are looking at two large majorities, 60 percent saying to be from the urban areas which are farmers and then of course we are looking at the percentage of the youth in the country which is said to be 50 percent below the age of 30. But it does not seem like these results are indicating that which some are saying the silent majority came out. Do you see it that way?
Ghanem: Say it again please.
Press TV: The silent majority, do you think they were the ones that came out, tilting some of the voting in terms of the results we are seeing right now?
Ghanem: I am not quite sure if I understood your question...
Press TV: The silent majority of Egyptians is what I am getting at, did they come out, the ones who did not come out to vote for the parliamentary elections maybe came out this time to vote?
Ghanem: Well, I believe that there was a large percentage of absence from the voters because everybody expected actually a higher percentage, everybody expected that the Egyptians would break the record that they scored during the first stage of the last parliamentary elections but unfortunately it did not happen.
And I believe that there are reasons behind such absence and such reluctance of that large number of voters to practice and to exercise the right in voting the first civilian elected president but I believe that a large number of the youth who actually participated and spot the revolution, also they were reluctant to participate in these elections and I observed that while I was touring the polling stations, I believe that there were reasons actually behind such reluctance, such as the way the military council ran the whole show during the last 16 months and specially running that presidential election show.
Press TV: And of course one of the biggest troubles and challenges Yahia Ghanem is the constitution and the presidential powers. When is that going to be resolved?
Ghanem: I believe we still have to go for quite a while after the elections to sort out this issue of the right in constitution and specially that issue of writing the constitution.
But personally speaking I believe that this issue have been made an issue by certain parties with interest to complicate things in Egypt because writing constitution is not that problem actually and they complicated the whole thing by inciting all different kinds of society, all the [structure] in society to claim the right of being represented in this committee and to share or to take part in writing the constitution. No constitutions in the world are being written that way.
It is up to the specialists, the lawmakers or the professors of constitutional law to write the constitution as in many or in all the countries in the world and then for the establishing committee to discuss and to review that draft constitution but of course it does not make any sense for all representatives of all the sectors of the society and the [structure] of the society to take part in writing the constitution.
It is funny and it is not true of course.
21:02
|
Protest All Over the World - Isulting Movie on Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) - All Languages
Western mainstream media try to deceive public opinion and interpret the making of the film in the light of freedom of speech. Hurting the sentiments of over one billion Muslims across the world...
Western mainstream media try to deceive public opinion and interpret the making of the film in the light of freedom of speech. Hurting the sentiments of over one billion Muslims across the world does not fit in the definition of freedom of speech, author and Middle East expert Dr. Ismail Salami said in an article published on the Press TV website.
The blasphemous 2012 movie, called Innocence of Muslims, has purportedly been produced by an anti-Islam Israeli-American.
The USD 5-million film, funded by Zionist donors, has sparked outrage across the Muslim world.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to distance her administration from the movie on Thursday, but said freedom of speech is an ideal that Washington upholds even when the results denigrate some.
“[O]ur country does have a long tradition of free expression, which is enshrined in our Constitution and in our law. We do not stop individual citizens from expressing their views no matter how distasteful they may be,\" Clinton said.
Salami said Terry Jones, an anti-Islam US pastor who set fire to copies of the Holy Qur’an last year and who promoted the movie on September 11, is the most likely suspect for producing the film.
“Though the real identity of the director has remained unknown, there are good reasons to believe that such a person does not exist and that the film may have been made by the pastor himself as it is devoid of any cinematic technicality and that those involved in the film are a bunch of paid hate-mongers in service of Zionism.”
“Spearheaded by calculated directives, Terry Jones is not a lunatic in the common sense of the word. Nor is he a sociopath. In fact, he is a trained Mossad agent tasked with pushing ahead a dangerous agenda in the Muslim world,” he added.
Salami stated that the “firebrand American pastor,” whose provocations have led to a number of deaths, is closely connected to the English Defense League (EDL), an anti-Islam group funded by the Zionist Jews and Christians in the UK.
“The group has over the recent years developed multiple sister branches in Europe and America. With their main agenda to foster enmity against the Muslim community in any part of the world, the EDL naturally spares no efforts in their hate-mongering campaign, defiling the name of Islam and inviting their members to crusade against the Muslims.”
Anders Behring Breivik, who went on a shooting spree and killed 77 people in Norway last year, was “one of the wicked spawns of this pervert group,” Salami noted, going on to ask, “Is there not a sinister across-the-board plan in the offing?”
More...
Description:
Western mainstream media try to deceive public opinion and interpret the making of the film in the light of freedom of speech. Hurting the sentiments of over one billion Muslims across the world does not fit in the definition of freedom of speech, author and Middle East expert Dr. Ismail Salami said in an article published on the Press TV website.
The blasphemous 2012 movie, called Innocence of Muslims, has purportedly been produced by an anti-Islam Israeli-American.
The USD 5-million film, funded by Zionist donors, has sparked outrage across the Muslim world.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to distance her administration from the movie on Thursday, but said freedom of speech is an ideal that Washington upholds even when the results denigrate some.
“[O]ur country does have a long tradition of free expression, which is enshrined in our Constitution and in our law. We do not stop individual citizens from expressing their views no matter how distasteful they may be,\" Clinton said.
Salami said Terry Jones, an anti-Islam US pastor who set fire to copies of the Holy Qur’an last year and who promoted the movie on September 11, is the most likely suspect for producing the film.
“Though the real identity of the director has remained unknown, there are good reasons to believe that such a person does not exist and that the film may have been made by the pastor himself as it is devoid of any cinematic technicality and that those involved in the film are a bunch of paid hate-mongers in service of Zionism.”
“Spearheaded by calculated directives, Terry Jones is not a lunatic in the common sense of the word. Nor is he a sociopath. In fact, he is a trained Mossad agent tasked with pushing ahead a dangerous agenda in the Muslim world,” he added.
Salami stated that the “firebrand American pastor,” whose provocations have led to a number of deaths, is closely connected to the English Defense League (EDL), an anti-Islam group funded by the Zionist Jews and Christians in the UK.
“The group has over the recent years developed multiple sister branches in Europe and America. With their main agenda to foster enmity against the Muslim community in any part of the world, the EDL naturally spares no efforts in their hate-mongering campaign, defiling the name of Islam and inviting their members to crusade against the Muslims.”
Anders Behring Breivik, who went on a shooting spree and killed 77 people in Norway last year, was “one of the wicked spawns of this pervert group,” Salami noted, going on to ask, “Is there not a sinister across-the-board plan in the offing?”
5:27
|
Kids Cartoon - PINGU - Pingu the Chef - All Languages Other
Mother and Father go out for the day, leaving the children at home alone. Pingu puts a pan on the warm stove and Pinga brings him a cob of corn. Pingu puts the corn kernels into the pan and puts...
Mother and Father go out for the day, leaving the children at home alone. Pingu puts a pan on the warm stove and Pinga brings him a cob of corn. Pingu puts the corn kernels into the pan and puts the lid on, and they soon have a pan of popcorn. The both gobble down the popcorn until there are only a few pieces left. Pinga distracts Pingu, and gobbles down the last of the popcorn while Pingu isn\'t looking. He chases her into the adjacent bathroom, but notices her putting wood in the boiler, which then gives Pingu an idea. He goes to the cupboard, which is full of corn, and fills a big box with the corn kernels. He then loads all this corn into the boiler and puts on the lid. The corn starts popping, and soon there\'s a big pile of it. They wonder what to do with it, and then Pinga starts filling boxes with the popcorn while Pingu gets the sledge. Pingu loads the sledge and sets off round the neighbours to give it away. He gives away three of the boxes, one to the post office attendant, one to a mother with three babies, and one to a neighbour. He goes back and tries to give his last box to the mother with three children but she curtly refuses it; the babies have made a terrible mess in the igloo with the box they\'ve already had. He tries at the post office, but the attendant is full. Pinga then spots some empty boxes outside the post office, and they fill one of the boxes, put on the lid, and address and stamp it. They hand it in, and the postman delivers it to the neighbour, who is still struggling to eat what Pingu had brought him before. The postman leaves the box on the floor. It starts to rumble and expand, and then bursts scattering popcorn in a pile around (it is possible that making the popcorn with the boiler had this unfavourable side effect on the corn). The neighbour groans in displeasure. By now Pingu and Pinga are at home sharing a large plateful of popcorn. They realise that Mother and Father are soon due back, and rush to finish before they get home in time. When Mother and Father arrive the children are snuggled up in bed, pretending to be asleep. Mother pulls off the covers and greets them, not noticing how bloated they are, and then she and Father offer them the gifts they\'ve brought home for them - a bag of popcorn each for them, Pingu and Pinga refuse and quickly put the covers back over them, much to Mother and Father\'s puzzlement.
More...
Description:
Mother and Father go out for the day, leaving the children at home alone. Pingu puts a pan on the warm stove and Pinga brings him a cob of corn. Pingu puts the corn kernels into the pan and puts the lid on, and they soon have a pan of popcorn. The both gobble down the popcorn until there are only a few pieces left. Pinga distracts Pingu, and gobbles down the last of the popcorn while Pingu isn\'t looking. He chases her into the adjacent bathroom, but notices her putting wood in the boiler, which then gives Pingu an idea. He goes to the cupboard, which is full of corn, and fills a big box with the corn kernels. He then loads all this corn into the boiler and puts on the lid. The corn starts popping, and soon there\'s a big pile of it. They wonder what to do with it, and then Pinga starts filling boxes with the popcorn while Pingu gets the sledge. Pingu loads the sledge and sets off round the neighbours to give it away. He gives away three of the boxes, one to the post office attendant, one to a mother with three babies, and one to a neighbour. He goes back and tries to give his last box to the mother with three children but she curtly refuses it; the babies have made a terrible mess in the igloo with the box they\'ve already had. He tries at the post office, but the attendant is full. Pinga then spots some empty boxes outside the post office, and they fill one of the boxes, put on the lid, and address and stamp it. They hand it in, and the postman delivers it to the neighbour, who is still struggling to eat what Pingu had brought him before. The postman leaves the box on the floor. It starts to rumble and expand, and then bursts scattering popcorn in a pile around (it is possible that making the popcorn with the boiler had this unfavourable side effect on the corn). The neighbour groans in displeasure. By now Pingu and Pinga are at home sharing a large plateful of popcorn. They realise that Mother and Father are soon due back, and rush to finish before they get home in time. When Mother and Father arrive the children are snuggled up in bed, pretending to be asleep. Mother pulls off the covers and greets them, not noticing how bloated they are, and then she and Father offer them the gifts they\'ve brought home for them - a bag of popcorn each for them, Pingu and Pinga refuse and quickly put the covers back over them, much to Mother and Father\'s puzzlement.
68:45
|
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (HA) - Speech - 9 May 2013 - 25th Anniversary al-Nour Radio - [ENGLISH]
Full English Voice-over of the speech of the secretary general of Hizbullah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah(HA) delivered on May 9, 2013 on the 25th Anniversary of the al-Nour Radio Station....
Full English Voice-over of the speech of the secretary general of Hizbullah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah(HA) delivered on May 9, 2013 on the 25th Anniversary of the al-Nour Radio Station.
Syria is to supply Hizbullah with game-changing weapons despite Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s air strikes reportedly aimed at cutting off the flow of arms, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, vowing to back \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Syrian popular resistance in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
You Israelis say your objective is to stop the capability of the resistance from growing ... but Syria will provide (Hizbullah) with game-changing weapons it has not had before, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s al-Nour radio station.
We declare that we are ready to receive any game-changing weapons and we\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re competent to possess and protect such type of weapons and we will use them to defend our people, he added.
Nasrallah said the shipments of new types of weapons would serve as the Syrian reaction to Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s airstrikes. Syria has long been a conduit for Iranian weapons bound for Hizbullah.
Israeli officials say the Lebanese group has tens of thousands of rockets, but that most of them are unguided. Israeli officials said the shipments targeted twice last week included precision-guided missiles.
After the Israeli attacks, there had been speculation about whether Syria would retaliate, at the risk of drawing Israel into Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s civil war.
This is the Syrian strategic reaction, said Nasrallah of future weapons shipments.
This is more important than firing a rocket or carrying out an airstrike in occupied Palestine, he said.
Israel never formally acknowledged the airstrikes, but Israeli officials have said Israel would keep striking any shipments of advanced weapons meant for Hizbullah.
Everyone knows what Syria has offered to resistance movements, especially the Palestinian resistance. Israel knows that the source of strength of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine is Syria, that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s why it wants to remove it from the equation and to besiege the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, said Nasrallah.
The response was foiling the objectives of the aggression and this is what the Syrian leadership did, although friends and foes wanted Syria to respond and bomb the enemy, added Nasrallah.
He noted that Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s highly-strategic response against Israel involves the decision to open the door to popular resistance in the Golan.
The same as Syria stood by Lebanon, we in the resistance declare that we will stand by the Syrian popular resistance that is aimed at liberating the Syrian Golan, Nasrallah pledged.
I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not speaking out of enthusiasm or sentiments, but a calm evaluation says that the stances issued by the Syrian leadership prove its strength of nerve, said Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s leader.
He pointed out that Syria has \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"a wise leadership that oversees the battle with the Israelis through a strategic mind, not through anger.
Commenting on the joint Russian-U.S. effort to organize a conference to end Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s two-year-old conflict, Nasrallah said it is shameful that the U.S. is being depicted as Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s savior through the proposed political solution.
But he added that any time wasted means \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"further destruction and losses and this is all in the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s interest.
Addressing the Palestinians, Nasrallah said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t find anyone to stand by your side other than those who have stood by you since years.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians benefit from any serious efforts to achieve a political settlement in Syria and prevent its fall into the hands of the Takfiris, the Americans and the Israelis, he said.
Nasrallah stressed that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the only choice is resistance for those who want to preserve al-Aqsa Mosque and the Christian holy sites and for those who want to give back Jerusalem to the Palestinian people and to the Ummah.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The choice is neither the Arab League nor the U.N., the choice has always been the resistance, he said.
Nasrallah lamented that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"today, after this Arab Spring, the Arab regimes are more willing to offer compromises to the enemy.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians were hoping that the Arab Spring would make Arabs less willing to offer compromises, but the scene of the Arab foreign ministers making a dangerous compromise, with the U.S. secretary of state sitting in the middle, indicates that the Palestinian cause is in danger, Nasrallah added.
Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem has said an Arab League delegation that met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington last month recognized the possibility of a land swap.
His statement was welcomed by the United States, the main broker in talks between the Palestinians and Israel, and by Israel itself.
The Palestinians have played down a shift in the Arab League\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s stance, saying they had already agreed in past talks with Israel on minor land swaps in which Israel would retain some settlement blocs in the West Bank.
More...
Description:
Full English Voice-over of the speech of the secretary general of Hizbullah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah(HA) delivered on May 9, 2013 on the 25th Anniversary of the al-Nour Radio Station.
Syria is to supply Hizbullah with game-changing weapons despite Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s air strikes reportedly aimed at cutting off the flow of arms, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, vowing to back \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Syrian popular resistance in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
You Israelis say your objective is to stop the capability of the resistance from growing ... but Syria will provide (Hizbullah) with game-changing weapons it has not had before, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s al-Nour radio station.
We declare that we are ready to receive any game-changing weapons and we\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re competent to possess and protect such type of weapons and we will use them to defend our people, he added.
Nasrallah said the shipments of new types of weapons would serve as the Syrian reaction to Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s airstrikes. Syria has long been a conduit for Iranian weapons bound for Hizbullah.
Israeli officials say the Lebanese group has tens of thousands of rockets, but that most of them are unguided. Israeli officials said the shipments targeted twice last week included precision-guided missiles.
After the Israeli attacks, there had been speculation about whether Syria would retaliate, at the risk of drawing Israel into Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s civil war.
This is the Syrian strategic reaction, said Nasrallah of future weapons shipments.
This is more important than firing a rocket or carrying out an airstrike in occupied Palestine, he said.
Israel never formally acknowledged the airstrikes, but Israeli officials have said Israel would keep striking any shipments of advanced weapons meant for Hizbullah.
Everyone knows what Syria has offered to resistance movements, especially the Palestinian resistance. Israel knows that the source of strength of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine is Syria, that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s why it wants to remove it from the equation and to besiege the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, said Nasrallah.
The response was foiling the objectives of the aggression and this is what the Syrian leadership did, although friends and foes wanted Syria to respond and bomb the enemy, added Nasrallah.
He noted that Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s highly-strategic response against Israel involves the decision to open the door to popular resistance in the Golan.
The same as Syria stood by Lebanon, we in the resistance declare that we will stand by the Syrian popular resistance that is aimed at liberating the Syrian Golan, Nasrallah pledged.
I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not speaking out of enthusiasm or sentiments, but a calm evaluation says that the stances issued by the Syrian leadership prove its strength of nerve, said Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s leader.
He pointed out that Syria has \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"a wise leadership that oversees the battle with the Israelis through a strategic mind, not through anger.
Commenting on the joint Russian-U.S. effort to organize a conference to end Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s two-year-old conflict, Nasrallah said it is shameful that the U.S. is being depicted as Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s savior through the proposed political solution.
But he added that any time wasted means \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"further destruction and losses and this is all in the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s interest.
Addressing the Palestinians, Nasrallah said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t find anyone to stand by your side other than those who have stood by you since years.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians benefit from any serious efforts to achieve a political settlement in Syria and prevent its fall into the hands of the Takfiris, the Americans and the Israelis, he said.
Nasrallah stressed that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the only choice is resistance for those who want to preserve al-Aqsa Mosque and the Christian holy sites and for those who want to give back Jerusalem to the Palestinian people and to the Ummah.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The choice is neither the Arab League nor the U.N., the choice has always been the resistance, he said.
Nasrallah lamented that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"today, after this Arab Spring, the Arab regimes are more willing to offer compromises to the enemy.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians were hoping that the Arab Spring would make Arabs less willing to offer compromises, but the scene of the Arab foreign ministers making a dangerous compromise, with the U.S. secretary of state sitting in the middle, indicates that the Palestinian cause is in danger, Nasrallah added.
Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem has said an Arab League delegation that met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington last month recognized the possibility of a land swap.
His statement was welcomed by the United States, the main broker in talks between the Palestinians and Israel, and by Israel itself.
The Palestinians have played down a shift in the Arab League\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s stance, saying they had already agreed in past talks with Israel on minor land swaps in which Israel would retain some settlement blocs in the West Bank.
36:16
|
Vali Amr Muslimeen Imam Khamenei meeting with Academic Women - Farsi
TEHRAN, May 12 2013 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Islamic discourse on women should be strongly defended on the world stage.
The...
TEHRAN, May 12 2013 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Islamic discourse on women should be strongly defended on the world stage.
The Leader made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday during a meeting with hundreds of female professors, seminary teachers, and intellectuals.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that a strong front should be established and more efforts should be made to introduce and defend the Islamic principles in regard to women on the world stage.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Why should we be in a passive position in the face of the Western discourse despite the fact that the Islamic discourse on women is perfect and compelling?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"A passive stance should never be adopted toward the Western discourse on women, but the Islamic discourse should be forcefully introduced,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he stated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that active and competent women and female scholars, writers, and thinkers should play a more significant role in defending the Islamic Revolution.
Supreme Leader\\\'s Speech to Outstanding Women
11/05/2013
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 11, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a group of outstanding women who are active in seminary and academic areas.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I sincerely thank the honorable ladies who organized this good and fruitful meeting. Today, I really benefited from the ladies\\\' statements and I thank God for the depth of issues, thoughts and efforts which can be seen in the speeches of outstanding women throughout our country. The issues which you discussed were mostly good. There were certain suggestions which, by Allah\\\'s favor, will be examined. By Allah\\\'s favor, I will follow up the part which is related to me.
There are many things to say about the issue of women and what is related to women. We suffer from a kind of backwardness in this regard which you ladies - the ones who delivered a speech - referred to. Backwardness in this area is not similar to backwardness in scientific areas, which we suffer from. When we say that we suffer from backwardness in this area, this means we have many outstanding points to make on the issue of women, the issue of gender and issues which are related to women - such as the issue of family, children, marriage, settling down, tranquility in the family environment and other such issues - but we have not managed to convey these points to the world and discuss them with the public opinion throughout the world. We mean backwardness from this point of view. This is while the world needs valuable, comprehensive and clear ideas and concepts in this regard. As a number of ladies pointed out, when we discuss these points in international arenas, they receive a good reception. Or as a number of ladies said, research findings in psychological and other areas confirm that Islamic rules are true on the issue of women.
Well, this is only part of the capabilities of Islamic philosophy on this sensitive issue. But we failed to define and show these capabilities in the right way. The same is true of many other areas which are related to reasoning and thinking. In many of these areas, we failed to truly convey the opinion of Islam to the world. When I say, \\\"We failed\\\", it should not be thought that the Islamic Republic is responsible for this due to the fact that what has been already done in this regard is because of the Islamic Republic, the name of the Revolution and Imam (r.a.), the influence of their ideas and other such things. Thankfully, these ideas were developed to some extent, but we should work more than this. In order to do this, we need certain things which I will speak about later on. In order to form a front which is ready to attack and which is immune from others\\\' attack and in order to take up an offensive position, we need to promote and convey these ideas and thoughts. We really need this.
In fact, our attack is launched for the sake of immunity and defense. Therefore, in my opinion, the more you work in order to make up for this backwardness, the more valuable it will be. It is necessary to do this. We should not hesitate and stop in treading the path of this movement which is an awakening movement related to the issues of women. We should not stop in the middle of the way. Despite the fact that we benefit from a perfect, valuable and convincing Islamic discourse, we have adopted a passive outlook in the face of the western discourse on the issue of women.
The western discourse on the issue of women has adopted a very calculated and political outlook. That is to say, the day when this idea and this discourse on women started to develop in the west, there was a careful calculation behind it. Of course, this is not based on fact and what I am saying is not based on precise information, but there are clear signs which support this interpretation. Since the beginning of Renaissance in the west and the emergence of industrialism and the development of new industries in the west, this discourse gradually achieved growth. And it reached its peak during our own times. Of course, this peak will be accompanied by decline and, by Allah\\\'s favor, disgrace and destruction.
The western discourse on the issue of women has different dimensions, but it has two distinct dimensions. One is that it wants to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, it wants to make women behave like men. This is an important dimension of this discourse. Another is that it wants to make women prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure, whether the pleasure of watching women or other kinds of pleasure which are beyond this. This is another dimension of the western discourse on the issue of women. The issue of feminism and other such things - which have become popular in the world today - are, in fact, the products of western discourse. These are the consequences of what western discourse has done.
They wanted to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, they were trying to make women do jobs which are more compatible with the physical and intellectual characteristics of men. They consider it as a source of honor and they would like to describe it as an advantage and a source of honor for women. We have adopted a passive outlook in the face of this. We have been deceived and we have unwillingly and unknowingly accepted this. As you see, today we are proud of having such and such a number of women in certain executive positions. What I am saying should not be misunderstood. I do not have any problems with the idea of giving women executive positions. That is to say, I do not forbid women from doing this and I do not deny this right. I do not think it is wrong. Our minister of health and vice presidents were female and women have positions in different sectors. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. What is wrong is to be proud of this, to boast about this in the world and say, \\\"See, we have such and such a number of women in executive positions\\\". This is the same as being deceived and passive. This is not a source of honor.
Take the case of a lady who has certain qualifications, who has developed her capabilities and who is suitable for a specific position. She can be allowed to hold this position because it is not illegal, but if we are proud of having such and such a number of female officials in charge of executive affairs, this is wrong. If we feel proud of having a large number of intellectual and educated women, this is good and it is alright. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in cultural and political areas, this is alright. If we say that we have a large number of mujahid women in different areas, who are ready to be martyred, this is good. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in political and revolutionary arenas and who write and deliver speeches, this is good.
Being proud of these things is good, but being proud of having such and such a number of female ministers, MPs, deputies and managers in financial organizations, is wrong. This means adopting a passive outlook in the face of the enemies. Are we supposed to entrust women with masculine occupations? No, the position, identity and characteristics of women are very noble and respectable. This identity is, in certain ways, superior to men\\\'s identity. If we adopt a comprehensive outlook, we see that men and women have no differences. Certain privileges have been granted to women and certain other privileges have been granted to men and this is based on their natural characteristics which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on them. Allah the Exalted has given each gender certain characteristics. Each gender benefits from certain outstanding qualities. Therefore, they have no differences in terms of human qualities. They have no differences in terms of the privileges which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on humanity such as human rights, social rights, spiritual values and spiritual perfection. That is to say, a man can become Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and a woman can become Fatima Zahra (s.a.). A man can become Jesus (a.s.) and a woman can become Mary (s.a.). They are not different from each other. Therefore, it is the right outlook to know women - the way they are, as true women and true females - by taking their gender into consideration and we should see what values can help a female individual or the female community achieve growth and transcendence. This outlook is the right outlook. We should not have adopted a passive outlook in the face of western outlook but, unfortunately, we did.
As for the second dimension of western discourse - in which women are made to prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure - it struck defenseless Islamic countries like a flood with the purpose of helping men to easily indulge in sexual pleasure. And this was done by the west. It also struck our country. By pleasure, I do not mean spiritual, psychological and scientific pleasure. Two people may sit and enjoy speaking to one another or increasing each other\\\'s knowledge. But this is not the case in western pleasure. Fortunately, the Revolution came and it prevented this to a great extent. This should be prevented because this is a big danger and a big disaster. The issue of hijab is one of the preconditions for this. The way we should dress and the way men and women should interact are among the preconditions for this issue. These things should be done so that this great disaster - for both men and women - can be prevented.
Of course, this moral corruption humiliates women, while they are not aware of it. Today, this issue is thoroughly discussed in the world. I know and I have read in a number of texts, newspapers and books that western intellectuals have started to feel fear and distress because of this condition. They are right, but they have understood this late. The issue of encouraging people to indulge in lust - which is centered around women - is not something of little importance. Today, you can see that the situation is getting worse in the world with issues such as homosexuality and marriages between two people with the same gender. These are great, deep and dangerous abysses for western civilization and for those who are managing this civilization. This is an unusual precipice and it will completely annihilate them. And they are just in the middle of the path of destruction.
In my opinion, they will not be able to prevent this because their problems are far beyond these things. A few years ago - around seven, eight, ten years ago - I read in foreign newspapers that the Americans are trying to make a movie based on the books of such and such a novelist who writes about the family. They want to do this so that they can draw filmmaking, cinema and other such things to these issues. Well, they have done and are doing certain things, but these efforts are like thin streams against a great flood which has struck them because of what they themselves did. And it will continue to strike them. Of course, we enjoy a kind of immunity from this event which is because of hijab and other such things. But we should not underestimate this issue and we should regard it as very important. As a number of ladies pointed out in their speeches - and they are working on these issues - the issue of sexual attraction and the danger it has for women, men, society and the family should be taken very seriously.
Well, I said that Islam speaks about women in the real sense of the word. As I pointed out, we should promote this discourse by taking up an offensive position. We should not at all take up a defensive position. A number of ladies said that those who are members of a so-called women\\\'s convention or organizations affiliated with the United Nations threaten to issue a resolution against us if we do such and such a thing. Well, who cares? They can issue resolutions. The Islamic discourse on the issue of women should be promoted by taking an offensive position and behaving in a determined way. If they say, \\\"Why do you not give women the freedom to appear without hijab?\\\" we should answer, \\\"Why do you give them this harmful and threatening freedom in such a way?\\\" What is being pursued in the west regarding the issue of immodesty and lack of hijab makes one distressed. One wonders what they want to do and where they want to go.
You may have more information in this regard but I also have a lot of information about what is being done on this issue. These things are done at different levels which range from higher levels to occupational levels, living conditions and other such things. In the Islamic discourse, respect towards women and the characteristics, dignity and delicacy of women should be highlighted. By delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean the delicacy of women\\\'s psychological and intellectual structure and also the delicacy of their responsibilities. It is only the delicate and gentle fingers of the mother which can separate the extremely thin nerve fibers of a child\\\'s nervous system from one another so that he will not have any emotional complexes or problems. Nobody else can do this. That is to say, nobody else except for a woman can do this. This is a feminine task. A number of tasks require such delicacy that one wonders how the divine will has bestowed such a great capability and such delicacy on women. I always say to my friends and relatives and to women that, contrary to the idea that has been established, women are the stronger gender. Women are stronger than men. Women can completely control and influence men with their wisdom and delicacy. We can see this in practice and we can prove it by reasoning. This is a reality.
Of course, there are a number of women who do not adopt wise measures and who, as a result, cannot do this. But if a woman is wise enough, she can tame a man. This is like the situation in which a person can bridle and ride on a wild lion. This does not mean that he is physically stronger than the lion. Rather, this means that he has managed to use his mental power. Women have this capability, but they should do this with delicacy and subtlety. When I say delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean delicacy in implementing thoughts and ideas, showing acumen and making decisions. These are capabilities which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on women. In my opinion, this should be the basis. This discourse should be improved and pursued.
The second point that I want to discuss is that, in my opinion, there are two issues regarding the current situation of women in our country which are more important than other issues. Or, let us say they are more crucial than other issues and they require more attention. One issue is the significance and the value of the home and the family. We should regard the home in which we live as important. One cannot imagine human beings without a home and without a place to live. Any human being needs a home and the family environment. The family is like the soul of the home. This should be regarded as important. This should be thought about in a careful way.
The second issue is that we should prevent women from being weakened and oppressed at different levels. We have women who are weak and deprived of many things. We also have women who are oppressed. This oppression should be prevented. It is necessary to pass important laws in this regard. There are essential behavioral rules which should be enforced. It is necessary to establish certain social conventions and customs so that women will not be oppressed in different areas such as - I have written them down - social, sexual, familial, cultural and intellectual areas. These kinds of oppression, which women may be faced with, range from individual and private issues - that is to say, sexual issues - to social issues, such as social interactions, and familial issues. I have written down certain points about familial issues.
Husbands, children, fathers and brothers should behave in a respectful way towards women. If women are regarded as respectable in the family environment, an important part of problems in our society will be solved. We should do something to encourage children to kiss their mother\\\'s hands. This is what Islam is after. We can see this behavior in deeply religious and moral families which have a close relationship with religious concepts. The children in a family should behave towards their mother in a respectful way. There is no contradiction between such a respectful behavior and the emotional and warm relationship between a mother and a child. There should be such respect and women should be respected in the family environment. This is the way to prevent oppression against women. Imagine that in a family and in a home, the man hurls all kinds of insults at his own wife, including behavioral and verbal insults and physical abuse. Unfortunately, there are certain places in our country in which there are still instances of physical abuse. This issue should not occur. Of course, this occurs many times in western countries. And this is not unexpected. Westerners, particularly European races, are wild. They have a neat appearance, they wear ties and they use perfume and other such things, but they still have the same wild nature and they still behave in the same wild way that they have always behaved throughout history. They easily kill people and they coldheartedly commit crimes. Therefore, it is not surprising if women are beaten in the home by the Europeans and by the Americans. But such a thing should not be even imagined in an Islamic environment although it unfortunately exists. Therefore, these are two fundamental issues. In my opinion, there is room for detailed planning in this regard.
Besides these two issues, there are other important issues such as the issue of marriage and liberating oneself from being single. Obstacles in the way of marriage should be removed. As the ladies in this meeting pointed out, certain things are being done in this regard and I really became happy to know that, thankfully, these issues are receiving attention. On the issue of hijab and social relationships, things should be carried out in a fundamental and serious way. You should pay attention to the issue of financial and legal support for oppressed women who are deprived of their rights. The lady from Razavi Khorasan province pointed out that the issue of courts of law - which was one of my worries - has been addressed by the legal system. I hope that this will be done in practice.
One of my anxieties and worries is that women may not be able to defend themselves in courts of law and such legal environments. They may not have the money to hire a competent lawyer, nor may they be able to defend themselves and their rights may be violated. This is one of the important issues. It should be followed up. The issue of women\\\'s employment, limitations for their employment, the kind of job that they should do and the way they should do it - that is to say, the delicacy and flexibility that I spoke about on the issue of women\\\'s employment - are things which should be addressed. However, the most crucial issues are the two issues that I discussed.
One of the issues which occupies my mind is that all the different activities which are done on the issue of women in our country - ranging from legal issues and issues related to Islamic jurisprudence to social, executive, emotional and all the other issues which are discussed about women - should be done in a systematic way. It should have a coherent structure.
Of course, a number of the reports which were presented to me or the points which were discussed in this meeting show that certain ideas have been developed in this regard. But, I believe that a comprehensive plan should be formulated in this regard. We should delineate the issues of women in a completely systemic way and we should give it a proper form. Moreover, there should be an outstanding and permanent center [for this matter] with competent personnel and with a long-term plan. I do not at all believe in short-term plans in this regard. After this, certain organizations and institutes should be formed to work for different parts of this prominent and permanent center. They should inform one another of what they are doing and there should be a suitable databank. Many things are being done by women in our country about which even ladies participating in this meeting may not be aware of. Well, thankfully, we have so many outstanding and knowledgeable women in different sections and with different outlooks. We should benefit from this large number of women.
Another point - I will make this the last point because it is noon and there is no time - is that active women in the camp of the Islamic Republic played an outstanding role immediately after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, during the early years after the Revolution and during the Sacred Defense Era. They showed their presence in an outstanding way. You should not let this outstanding presence of active women in the camp of the Revolution be undermined. Those who confront and oppose the Revolution try to benefit from competent women. The camp of the Revolution has far more competent, active and knowledgeable women who are authors, orators and scholars. It enjoys women who are ready to take action and who are interested in thinking, writing, delivering speeches and conveying their ideas and thoughts. They should not leave the arena of the Revolution and defending the Revolution. This is one point.
I will finish the last point by saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) should play a completely fundamental role in promoting the things which I discussed and the issues which you raised. I believe and I recommend that the IRIB should definitely play a fundamental role in this regard. It can do this. In society, the IRIB can build the culture of respecting religious, active and mujahid women who wear hijab and who enjoy Islamic characteristics. Other people want the opposite to happen. Unfortunately, a number of the programs of the IRIB are in line with the goals of these people. The opposite should be done. That is to say, the IRIB should be completely at the service of this idea.
In any case, the conclusion that we can draw from all these things is that, thankfully, we have made certain achievements on the issue of women in the Islamic Republic, but these achievements do not meet the needs and the expectations of Islam and they are not compatible with the possibilities and resources that exist in Islam. We are backward in this regard. By Allah\\\'s favor, you ladies should make up for this backwardness in the best way possible.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will protect you and increase your achievements on a daily basis. And I hope that we can move towards what Islam wants in this regard on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1784&Itemid=4
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TEHRAN, May 12 2013 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Islamic discourse on women should be strongly defended on the world stage.
The Leader made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday during a meeting with hundreds of female professors, seminary teachers, and intellectuals.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that a strong front should be established and more efforts should be made to introduce and defend the Islamic principles in regard to women on the world stage.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Why should we be in a passive position in the face of the Western discourse despite the fact that the Islamic discourse on women is perfect and compelling?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"A passive stance should never be adopted toward the Western discourse on women, but the Islamic discourse should be forcefully introduced,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he stated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that active and competent women and female scholars, writers, and thinkers should play a more significant role in defending the Islamic Revolution.
Supreme Leader\\\'s Speech to Outstanding Women
11/05/2013
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 11, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a group of outstanding women who are active in seminary and academic areas.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I sincerely thank the honorable ladies who organized this good and fruitful meeting. Today, I really benefited from the ladies\\\' statements and I thank God for the depth of issues, thoughts and efforts which can be seen in the speeches of outstanding women throughout our country. The issues which you discussed were mostly good. There were certain suggestions which, by Allah\\\'s favor, will be examined. By Allah\\\'s favor, I will follow up the part which is related to me.
There are many things to say about the issue of women and what is related to women. We suffer from a kind of backwardness in this regard which you ladies - the ones who delivered a speech - referred to. Backwardness in this area is not similar to backwardness in scientific areas, which we suffer from. When we say that we suffer from backwardness in this area, this means we have many outstanding points to make on the issue of women, the issue of gender and issues which are related to women - such as the issue of family, children, marriage, settling down, tranquility in the family environment and other such issues - but we have not managed to convey these points to the world and discuss them with the public opinion throughout the world. We mean backwardness from this point of view. This is while the world needs valuable, comprehensive and clear ideas and concepts in this regard. As a number of ladies pointed out, when we discuss these points in international arenas, they receive a good reception. Or as a number of ladies said, research findings in psychological and other areas confirm that Islamic rules are true on the issue of women.
Well, this is only part of the capabilities of Islamic philosophy on this sensitive issue. But we failed to define and show these capabilities in the right way. The same is true of many other areas which are related to reasoning and thinking. In many of these areas, we failed to truly convey the opinion of Islam to the world. When I say, \\\"We failed\\\", it should not be thought that the Islamic Republic is responsible for this due to the fact that what has been already done in this regard is because of the Islamic Republic, the name of the Revolution and Imam (r.a.), the influence of their ideas and other such things. Thankfully, these ideas were developed to some extent, but we should work more than this. In order to do this, we need certain things which I will speak about later on. In order to form a front which is ready to attack and which is immune from others\\\' attack and in order to take up an offensive position, we need to promote and convey these ideas and thoughts. We really need this.
In fact, our attack is launched for the sake of immunity and defense. Therefore, in my opinion, the more you work in order to make up for this backwardness, the more valuable it will be. It is necessary to do this. We should not hesitate and stop in treading the path of this movement which is an awakening movement related to the issues of women. We should not stop in the middle of the way. Despite the fact that we benefit from a perfect, valuable and convincing Islamic discourse, we have adopted a passive outlook in the face of the western discourse on the issue of women.
The western discourse on the issue of women has adopted a very calculated and political outlook. That is to say, the day when this idea and this discourse on women started to develop in the west, there was a careful calculation behind it. Of course, this is not based on fact and what I am saying is not based on precise information, but there are clear signs which support this interpretation. Since the beginning of Renaissance in the west and the emergence of industrialism and the development of new industries in the west, this discourse gradually achieved growth. And it reached its peak during our own times. Of course, this peak will be accompanied by decline and, by Allah\\\'s favor, disgrace and destruction.
The western discourse on the issue of women has different dimensions, but it has two distinct dimensions. One is that it wants to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, it wants to make women behave like men. This is an important dimension of this discourse. Another is that it wants to make women prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure, whether the pleasure of watching women or other kinds of pleasure which are beyond this. This is another dimension of the western discourse on the issue of women. The issue of feminism and other such things - which have become popular in the world today - are, in fact, the products of western discourse. These are the consequences of what western discourse has done.
They wanted to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, they were trying to make women do jobs which are more compatible with the physical and intellectual characteristics of men. They consider it as a source of honor and they would like to describe it as an advantage and a source of honor for women. We have adopted a passive outlook in the face of this. We have been deceived and we have unwillingly and unknowingly accepted this. As you see, today we are proud of having such and such a number of women in certain executive positions. What I am saying should not be misunderstood. I do not have any problems with the idea of giving women executive positions. That is to say, I do not forbid women from doing this and I do not deny this right. I do not think it is wrong. Our minister of health and vice presidents were female and women have positions in different sectors. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. What is wrong is to be proud of this, to boast about this in the world and say, \\\"See, we have such and such a number of women in executive positions\\\". This is the same as being deceived and passive. This is not a source of honor.
Take the case of a lady who has certain qualifications, who has developed her capabilities and who is suitable for a specific position. She can be allowed to hold this position because it is not illegal, but if we are proud of having such and such a number of female officials in charge of executive affairs, this is wrong. If we feel proud of having a large number of intellectual and educated women, this is good and it is alright. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in cultural and political areas, this is alright. If we say that we have a large number of mujahid women in different areas, who are ready to be martyred, this is good. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in political and revolutionary arenas and who write and deliver speeches, this is good.
Being proud of these things is good, but being proud of having such and such a number of female ministers, MPs, deputies and managers in financial organizations, is wrong. This means adopting a passive outlook in the face of the enemies. Are we supposed to entrust women with masculine occupations? No, the position, identity and characteristics of women are very noble and respectable. This identity is, in certain ways, superior to men\\\'s identity. If we adopt a comprehensive outlook, we see that men and women have no differences. Certain privileges have been granted to women and certain other privileges have been granted to men and this is based on their natural characteristics which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on them. Allah the Exalted has given each gender certain characteristics. Each gender benefits from certain outstanding qualities. Therefore, they have no differences in terms of human qualities. They have no differences in terms of the privileges which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on humanity such as human rights, social rights, spiritual values and spiritual perfection. That is to say, a man can become Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and a woman can become Fatima Zahra (s.a.). A man can become Jesus (a.s.) and a woman can become Mary (s.a.). They are not different from each other. Therefore, it is the right outlook to know women - the way they are, as true women and true females - by taking their gender into consideration and we should see what values can help a female individual or the female community achieve growth and transcendence. This outlook is the right outlook. We should not have adopted a passive outlook in the face of western outlook but, unfortunately, we did.
As for the second dimension of western discourse - in which women are made to prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure - it struck defenseless Islamic countries like a flood with the purpose of helping men to easily indulge in sexual pleasure. And this was done by the west. It also struck our country. By pleasure, I do not mean spiritual, psychological and scientific pleasure. Two people may sit and enjoy speaking to one another or increasing each other\\\'s knowledge. But this is not the case in western pleasure. Fortunately, the Revolution came and it prevented this to a great extent. This should be prevented because this is a big danger and a big disaster. The issue of hijab is one of the preconditions for this. The way we should dress and the way men and women should interact are among the preconditions for this issue. These things should be done so that this great disaster - for both men and women - can be prevented.
Of course, this moral corruption humiliates women, while they are not aware of it. Today, this issue is thoroughly discussed in the world. I know and I have read in a number of texts, newspapers and books that western intellectuals have started to feel fear and distress because of this condition. They are right, but they have understood this late. The issue of encouraging people to indulge in lust - which is centered around women - is not something of little importance. Today, you can see that the situation is getting worse in the world with issues such as homosexuality and marriages between two people with the same gender. These are great, deep and dangerous abysses for western civilization and for those who are managing this civilization. This is an unusual precipice and it will completely annihilate them. And they are just in the middle of the path of destruction.
In my opinion, they will not be able to prevent this because their problems are far beyond these things. A few years ago - around seven, eight, ten years ago - I read in foreign newspapers that the Americans are trying to make a movie based on the books of such and such a novelist who writes about the family. They want to do this so that they can draw filmmaking, cinema and other such things to these issues. Well, they have done and are doing certain things, but these efforts are like thin streams against a great flood which has struck them because of what they themselves did. And it will continue to strike them. Of course, we enjoy a kind of immunity from this event which is because of hijab and other such things. But we should not underestimate this issue and we should regard it as very important. As a number of ladies pointed out in their speeches - and they are working on these issues - the issue of sexual attraction and the danger it has for women, men, society and the family should be taken very seriously.
Well, I said that Islam speaks about women in the real sense of the word. As I pointed out, we should promote this discourse by taking up an offensive position. We should not at all take up a defensive position. A number of ladies said that those who are members of a so-called women\\\'s convention or organizations affiliated with the United Nations threaten to issue a resolution against us if we do such and such a thing. Well, who cares? They can issue resolutions. The Islamic discourse on the issue of women should be promoted by taking an offensive position and behaving in a determined way. If they say, \\\"Why do you not give women the freedom to appear without hijab?\\\" we should answer, \\\"Why do you give them this harmful and threatening freedom in such a way?\\\" What is being pursued in the west regarding the issue of immodesty and lack of hijab makes one distressed. One wonders what they want to do and where they want to go.
You may have more information in this regard but I also have a lot of information about what is being done on this issue. These things are done at different levels which range from higher levels to occupational levels, living conditions and other such things. In the Islamic discourse, respect towards women and the characteristics, dignity and delicacy of women should be highlighted. By delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean the delicacy of women\\\'s psychological and intellectual structure and also the delicacy of their responsibilities. It is only the delicate and gentle fingers of the mother which can separate the extremely thin nerve fibers of a child\\\'s nervous system from one another so that he will not have any emotional complexes or problems. Nobody else can do this. That is to say, nobody else except for a woman can do this. This is a feminine task. A number of tasks require such delicacy that one wonders how the divine will has bestowed such a great capability and such delicacy on women. I always say to my friends and relatives and to women that, contrary to the idea that has been established, women are the stronger gender. Women are stronger than men. Women can completely control and influence men with their wisdom and delicacy. We can see this in practice and we can prove it by reasoning. This is a reality.
Of course, there are a number of women who do not adopt wise measures and who, as a result, cannot do this. But if a woman is wise enough, she can tame a man. This is like the situation in which a person can bridle and ride on a wild lion. This does not mean that he is physically stronger than the lion. Rather, this means that he has managed to use his mental power. Women have this capability, but they should do this with delicacy and subtlety. When I say delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean delicacy in implementing thoughts and ideas, showing acumen and making decisions. These are capabilities which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on women. In my opinion, this should be the basis. This discourse should be improved and pursued.
The second point that I want to discuss is that, in my opinion, there are two issues regarding the current situation of women in our country which are more important than other issues. Or, let us say they are more crucial than other issues and they require more attention. One issue is the significance and the value of the home and the family. We should regard the home in which we live as important. One cannot imagine human beings without a home and without a place to live. Any human being needs a home and the family environment. The family is like the soul of the home. This should be regarded as important. This should be thought about in a careful way.
The second issue is that we should prevent women from being weakened and oppressed at different levels. We have women who are weak and deprived of many things. We also have women who are oppressed. This oppression should be prevented. It is necessary to pass important laws in this regard. There are essential behavioral rules which should be enforced. It is necessary to establish certain social conventions and customs so that women will not be oppressed in different areas such as - I have written them down - social, sexual, familial, cultural and intellectual areas. These kinds of oppression, which women may be faced with, range from individual and private issues - that is to say, sexual issues - to social issues, such as social interactions, and familial issues. I have written down certain points about familial issues.
Husbands, children, fathers and brothers should behave in a respectful way towards women. If women are regarded as respectable in the family environment, an important part of problems in our society will be solved. We should do something to encourage children to kiss their mother\\\'s hands. This is what Islam is after. We can see this behavior in deeply religious and moral families which have a close relationship with religious concepts. The children in a family should behave towards their mother in a respectful way. There is no contradiction between such a respectful behavior and the emotional and warm relationship between a mother and a child. There should be such respect and women should be respected in the family environment. This is the way to prevent oppression against women. Imagine that in a family and in a home, the man hurls all kinds of insults at his own wife, including behavioral and verbal insults and physical abuse. Unfortunately, there are certain places in our country in which there are still instances of physical abuse. This issue should not occur. Of course, this occurs many times in western countries. And this is not unexpected. Westerners, particularly European races, are wild. They have a neat appearance, they wear ties and they use perfume and other such things, but they still have the same wild nature and they still behave in the same wild way that they have always behaved throughout history. They easily kill people and they coldheartedly commit crimes. Therefore, it is not surprising if women are beaten in the home by the Europeans and by the Americans. But such a thing should not be even imagined in an Islamic environment although it unfortunately exists. Therefore, these are two fundamental issues. In my opinion, there is room for detailed planning in this regard.
Besides these two issues, there are other important issues such as the issue of marriage and liberating oneself from being single. Obstacles in the way of marriage should be removed. As the ladies in this meeting pointed out, certain things are being done in this regard and I really became happy to know that, thankfully, these issues are receiving attention. On the issue of hijab and social relationships, things should be carried out in a fundamental and serious way. You should pay attention to the issue of financial and legal support for oppressed women who are deprived of their rights. The lady from Razavi Khorasan province pointed out that the issue of courts of law - which was one of my worries - has been addressed by the legal system. I hope that this will be done in practice.
One of my anxieties and worries is that women may not be able to defend themselves in courts of law and such legal environments. They may not have the money to hire a competent lawyer, nor may they be able to defend themselves and their rights may be violated. This is one of the important issues. It should be followed up. The issue of women\\\'s employment, limitations for their employment, the kind of job that they should do and the way they should do it - that is to say, the delicacy and flexibility that I spoke about on the issue of women\\\'s employment - are things which should be addressed. However, the most crucial issues are the two issues that I discussed.
One of the issues which occupies my mind is that all the different activities which are done on the issue of women in our country - ranging from legal issues and issues related to Islamic jurisprudence to social, executive, emotional and all the other issues which are discussed about women - should be done in a systematic way. It should have a coherent structure.
Of course, a number of the reports which were presented to me or the points which were discussed in this meeting show that certain ideas have been developed in this regard. But, I believe that a comprehensive plan should be formulated in this regard. We should delineate the issues of women in a completely systemic way and we should give it a proper form. Moreover, there should be an outstanding and permanent center [for this matter] with competent personnel and with a long-term plan. I do not at all believe in short-term plans in this regard. After this, certain organizations and institutes should be formed to work for different parts of this prominent and permanent center. They should inform one another of what they are doing and there should be a suitable databank. Many things are being done by women in our country about which even ladies participating in this meeting may not be aware of. Well, thankfully, we have so many outstanding and knowledgeable women in different sections and with different outlooks. We should benefit from this large number of women.
Another point - I will make this the last point because it is noon and there is no time - is that active women in the camp of the Islamic Republic played an outstanding role immediately after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, during the early years after the Revolution and during the Sacred Defense Era. They showed their presence in an outstanding way. You should not let this outstanding presence of active women in the camp of the Revolution be undermined. Those who confront and oppose the Revolution try to benefit from competent women. The camp of the Revolution has far more competent, active and knowledgeable women who are authors, orators and scholars. It enjoys women who are ready to take action and who are interested in thinking, writing, delivering speeches and conveying their ideas and thoughts. They should not leave the arena of the Revolution and defending the Revolution. This is one point.
I will finish the last point by saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) should play a completely fundamental role in promoting the things which I discussed and the issues which you raised. I believe and I recommend that the IRIB should definitely play a fundamental role in this regard. It can do this. In society, the IRIB can build the culture of respecting religious, active and mujahid women who wear hijab and who enjoy Islamic characteristics. Other people want the opposite to happen. Unfortunately, a number of the programs of the IRIB are in line with the goals of these people. The opposite should be done. That is to say, the IRIB should be completely at the service of this idea.
In any case, the conclusion that we can draw from all these things is that, thankfully, we have made certain achievements on the issue of women in the Islamic Republic, but these achievements do not meet the needs and the expectations of Islam and they are not compatible with the possibilities and resources that exist in Islam. We are backward in this regard. By Allah\\\'s favor, you ladies should make up for this backwardness in the best way possible.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will protect you and increase your achievements on a daily basis. And I hope that we can move towards what Islam wants in this regard on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1784&Itemid=4
2:23
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[20 May 13] Seven Egyptian border guards remain missing - English
Seven Egyptian Security personnel continue to be held hostage in an unknown location in the Sinai Peninsula since last Thursday.
One army recruit, 4 port security officers and 2 members of state...
Seven Egyptian Security personnel continue to be held hostage in an unknown location in the Sinai Peninsula since last Thursday.
One army recruit, 4 port security officers and 2 members of state security were abducted near the border town of Rafah by Tribesmen last Thursday.
Press TV\'s Karim Gamal el-Deen reports from Cairo.
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Seven Egyptian Security personnel continue to be held hostage in an unknown location in the Sinai Peninsula since last Thursday.
One army recruit, 4 port security officers and 2 members of state security were abducted near the border town of Rafah by Tribesmen last Thursday.
Press TV\'s Karim Gamal el-Deen reports from Cairo.
26:45
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[05 June 13] Iran Today - Irans eleventh presidential election (X) - English
Only eleven days until the eleventh presidential election in Iran remain.
All the candidates are busy campaigning and giving speeches to promote their plans for the public. They will present...
Only eleven days until the eleventh presidential election in Iran remain.
All the candidates are busy campaigning and giving speeches to promote their plans for the public. They will present their plans until a day before the election which would be held on June 14th.
All of the eight candidates approved by the Guardian Council have been given a timetable by Iran\'s National Radio and Television Organization to introduce their plans to the public through different channels and different types of programs.
Runners grab any chance to travel to Iran\'s major and small cities to meet people in the city mosques, conference halls and stadiums, giving vows to solve their problems.
Comparing to the last presidential election, internet websites are more active in promoting their favorite candidates. Supporters have launched different weblogs to announce their campaign slogans. Different unofficial internet polls are being conducted but the results differ based on the political orientation of the websites.
On Friday May 31st 2013 the first debate show between the eight candidates was held. This time the debates are different from the heated but troubled debates of the last Election back in 2009. Instead of talking to each other, the candidates were answering the moderator\'s somewhat challenging questions.
In this episode of Iran Today we will take a closer look at the candidates\' plans and their views on the policies adopted by the previous administrations.
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Only eleven days until the eleventh presidential election in Iran remain.
All the candidates are busy campaigning and giving speeches to promote their plans for the public. They will present their plans until a day before the election which would be held on June 14th.
All of the eight candidates approved by the Guardian Council have been given a timetable by Iran\'s National Radio and Television Organization to introduce their plans to the public through different channels and different types of programs.
Runners grab any chance to travel to Iran\'s major and small cities to meet people in the city mosques, conference halls and stadiums, giving vows to solve their problems.
Comparing to the last presidential election, internet websites are more active in promoting their favorite candidates. Supporters have launched different weblogs to announce their campaign slogans. Different unofficial internet polls are being conducted but the results differ based on the political orientation of the websites.
On Friday May 31st 2013 the first debate show between the eight candidates was held. This time the debates are different from the heated but troubled debates of the last Election back in 2009. Instead of talking to each other, the candidates were answering the moderator\'s somewhat challenging questions.
In this episode of Iran Today we will take a closer look at the candidates\' plans and their views on the policies adopted by the previous administrations.
49:27
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[07 June 13] Is Erdogan earning wage of his sin on Syria? - English
On this episode of the program, George Galloway comments on the Turkish unrest and asks if the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is paying the price for the policies he has been pursuing...
On this episode of the program, George Galloway comments on the Turkish unrest and asks if the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is paying the price for the policies he has been pursuing across the border in Syria and elsewhere over the last few years.
Turkey has been the scene to a fierce anti-government unrest in the last week. The unrest broke out after police crushed a sit-in staged in Taksim Square on May 31 which was held to protest against the government plan for Gezi Park.
The anti-government demonstrations have mainly been held in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and many other cities and towns.
Turkish Human Rights Foundation says some 4,300 people have been hurt or sought medical care for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Four people have also been killed during the unrest.
Galloway asks if Erdogan is earning the wage of his sin in support of the Syrian militants. The government of Erdogan has been one of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad\'s harshest critics and has supported the foreign-backed militants fighting to topple his government. The Syrian crisis resulted in the death of many Syrians and the destruction of the Syrian cities.
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On this episode of the program, George Galloway comments on the Turkish unrest and asks if the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is paying the price for the policies he has been pursuing across the border in Syria and elsewhere over the last few years.
Turkey has been the scene to a fierce anti-government unrest in the last week. The unrest broke out after police crushed a sit-in staged in Taksim Square on May 31 which was held to protest against the government plan for Gezi Park.
The anti-government demonstrations have mainly been held in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and many other cities and towns.
Turkish Human Rights Foundation says some 4,300 people have been hurt or sought medical care for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Four people have also been killed during the unrest.
Galloway asks if Erdogan is earning the wage of his sin in support of the Syrian militants. The government of Erdogan has been one of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad\'s harshest critics and has supported the foreign-backed militants fighting to topple his government. The Syrian crisis resulted in the death of many Syrians and the destruction of the Syrian cities.
3:18
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[17 June 13] Italian government introducing new measures to battle recession - English
The long-awaited measures to tackle Italy\'s grave economic crisis were finally announced by the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta last week.
Last Friday, during a summit held in Rome, Letta...
The long-awaited measures to tackle Italy\'s grave economic crisis were finally announced by the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta last week.
Last Friday, during a summit held in Rome, Letta told finance and labor ministers from France, Germany and Spain that Italy has no time left to fix rising unemployment. A record 12 per cent of Italy\'s working population is unemployed with about four in 10 Italians between 15 to 24 years out of work.
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The long-awaited measures to tackle Italy\'s grave economic crisis were finally announced by the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta last week.
Last Friday, during a summit held in Rome, Letta told finance and labor ministers from France, Germany and Spain that Italy has no time left to fix rising unemployment. A record 12 per cent of Italy\'s working population is unemployed with about four in 10 Italians between 15 to 24 years out of work.
3:22
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[02 July 13] Hezbollah accuses Future Movement of inciting violence - English
Hezbollah\'s Deputy Chief, Sheikh Na\'eem Qassem, has accused the U.S.-backed Future Bloc of providing political support for perpetrators behind the unrest in Lebanon\'s Southern city of Sidon last...
Hezbollah\'s Deputy Chief, Sheikh Na\'eem Qassem, has accused the U.S.-backed Future Bloc of providing political support for perpetrators behind the unrest in Lebanon\'s Southern city of Sidon last week.
The skirmishes provoked by hard-line militants loyal to controversial Salafist cleric - Ahmad Al-Asir - last Monday, led to the death of several Lebanese soldiers and the injury of scores others.
The premature attempt to ignite a sectarian strife by salafists and their cleric Ahmad Al-Asir in Lebanon is believed to have been the result of the Syrian government\'s gaining ground on the battlefield against militants.
Altaf Ahmad, Press TV, Sidon
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Hezbollah\'s Deputy Chief, Sheikh Na\'eem Qassem, has accused the U.S.-backed Future Bloc of providing political support for perpetrators behind the unrest in Lebanon\'s Southern city of Sidon last week.
The skirmishes provoked by hard-line militants loyal to controversial Salafist cleric - Ahmad Al-Asir - last Monday, led to the death of several Lebanese soldiers and the injury of scores others.
The premature attempt to ignite a sectarian strife by salafists and their cleric Ahmad Al-Asir in Lebanon is believed to have been the result of the Syrian government\'s gaining ground on the battlefield against militants.
Altaf Ahmad, Press TV, Sidon
5:20
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2012 - Markaz e Asaar e Shohada wa Markaz e Nigehdaasht - Urdu
The need for Markaz e Asaar e Shohada wa Markaz e Nigehdaasht was being felt for a very long time now for few important reasons. There is a lot of valuable heritage comprising of the thoughts and...
The need for Markaz e Asaar e Shohada wa Markaz e Nigehdaasht was being felt for a very long time now for few important reasons. There is a lot of valuable heritage comprising of the thoughts and writings of Shohada e Millat e Jaffaria Pakistan their last wills their last words the tabarrukat items in their use their testimonies as narrated by their families and acquaintances which reflects the rich legacy of Millat e Jaffaria and the steadfastness of Shohada e Millat e Jaffaria
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The need for Markaz e Asaar e Shohada wa Markaz e Nigehdaasht was being felt for a very long time now for few important reasons. There is a lot of valuable heritage comprising of the thoughts and writings of Shohada e Millat e Jaffaria Pakistan their last wills their last words the tabarrukat items in their use their testimonies as narrated by their families and acquaintances which reflects the rich legacy of Millat e Jaffaria and the steadfastness of Shohada e Millat e Jaffaria
37:44
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[AL-QUDS 2013] Full Speech by Syed Hasan Nasrallah - Arabic sub English
Sayyed Nasrallah: We, the Twelver Shia, Won\\\\\\\'t Abandon Palestine
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Friday that the demise of Israel is a national interest,...
Sayyed Nasrallah: We, the Twelver Shia, Won\\\\\\\'t Abandon Palestine
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Friday that the demise of Israel is a national interest, stressing that the \\\\\\\"Shiite\\\\\\\" Hezbollah will continue to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian cause and Al-Quds.
In a live speech before crowds marking the International Al-Quds Day in Dahiyeh, Sayyed Nasrallah paid tribute to late Imam Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who designated the last Friday in the holy month of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day, and said that people are in critical need to commemorate this day.
\\\\\\\"On the seventh of August 1979, meaning few months from the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Khomeini issued a statement calling on all vulnerable peoples in the world to consider as Al-Quds Day the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, and this call was confirmed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,\\\\\\\" Sayyed Nasrallah said. \\\\\\\"The goal of this call was to remind Muslims and the world of the Palestinian cause and benefit from this occasion to mobilize energies in order to save Al-Quds and Palestine from the hands of the Zionists and to highlight what Palestine and its people are suffering from starvation, Judaization and siege,\\\\\\\" He continued.
On the second of August 2013, we desperately need to commemorate the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah said, pointing out that \\\\\\\"Palestine which we are talking about is the whole of Palestine from the sea to the river, which should return fully to its people no one of the world\\\\\\\'s Sheikh or Sayyed or Prince nor King or President or a government to give up or abandon one grain of sand from the soil of Palestine, or a drop of its water, oil, or a piece of its land and does not have a mandate to do so.\\\\\\\"
Demise of Israel a National Interest
\\\\\\\"Imam Khomeini had described Israel accurately when he called it a cancerous tumor, and it is really a tumor that kills, the only solution is to eradicate it without giving it any opportunity or surrender and eradicate,\\\\\\\" He said, emphasizing that \\\\\\\"Israel represents a constant and enormous threat not only on Palestine and the Palestinians, this is an illusion and misinformation and ignorance. Israel is a threat to all peoples and countries of the region, with its security and sovereignty and he who deny this is an arrogant.\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\"Some might think that the demise of Israel is a Palestinian interest, it\\\\\\\'s rather a national interest of each country of the region, and it is a threat to Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, thus the disappearance of Israel is a national Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Lebanese interest,\\\\\\\" He said.
Credit: ElectronicResistance
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Description:
Sayyed Nasrallah: We, the Twelver Shia, Won\\\\\\\'t Abandon Palestine
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Friday that the demise of Israel is a national interest, stressing that the \\\\\\\"Shiite\\\\\\\" Hezbollah will continue to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian cause and Al-Quds.
In a live speech before crowds marking the International Al-Quds Day in Dahiyeh, Sayyed Nasrallah paid tribute to late Imam Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who designated the last Friday in the holy month of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day, and said that people are in critical need to commemorate this day.
\\\\\\\"On the seventh of August 1979, meaning few months from the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Khomeini issued a statement calling on all vulnerable peoples in the world to consider as Al-Quds Day the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, and this call was confirmed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,\\\\\\\" Sayyed Nasrallah said. \\\\\\\"The goal of this call was to remind Muslims and the world of the Palestinian cause and benefit from this occasion to mobilize energies in order to save Al-Quds and Palestine from the hands of the Zionists and to highlight what Palestine and its people are suffering from starvation, Judaization and siege,\\\\\\\" He continued.
On the second of August 2013, we desperately need to commemorate the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah said, pointing out that \\\\\\\"Palestine which we are talking about is the whole of Palestine from the sea to the river, which should return fully to its people no one of the world\\\\\\\'s Sheikh or Sayyed or Prince nor King or President or a government to give up or abandon one grain of sand from the soil of Palestine, or a drop of its water, oil, or a piece of its land and does not have a mandate to do so.\\\\\\\"
Demise of Israel a National Interest
\\\\\\\"Imam Khomeini had described Israel accurately when he called it a cancerous tumor, and it is really a tumor that kills, the only solution is to eradicate it without giving it any opportunity or surrender and eradicate,\\\\\\\" He said, emphasizing that \\\\\\\"Israel represents a constant and enormous threat not only on Palestine and the Palestinians, this is an illusion and misinformation and ignorance. Israel is a threat to all peoples and countries of the region, with its security and sovereignty and he who deny this is an arrogant.\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\"Some might think that the demise of Israel is a Palestinian interest, it\\\\\\\'s rather a national interest of each country of the region, and it is a threat to Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, thus the disappearance of Israel is a national Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Lebanese interest,\\\\\\\" He said.
Credit: ElectronicResistance
3:23
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[22 Nov 2013] Kerry, Hague, Fabius, Westerwelle to join Iran nuclear talks in Geneva - English
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are preparing for the fourth day of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland. Hours before they...
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are preparing for the fourth day of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland. Hours before they wrapped up Friday\'s discussions, all the signs looked positive that a final deal could be sealed to end a decade-long standoff over the Iranian nuclear energy program.
The chief diplomats of the US, France, Britain and Germany said they will be joining the Geneva talks on Saturday. The Chinese foreign minister is also expected to arrive later in the day. They\'re expected to narrow the differences and finalize a nuclear deal with Iran, which fell through in the last round of talks a fortnight ago. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is already in Geneva and has held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif also held multiple meetings with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, with the last one ending late on Friday night.
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Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are preparing for the fourth day of talks on the Iranian nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland. Hours before they wrapped up Friday\'s discussions, all the signs looked positive that a final deal could be sealed to end a decade-long standoff over the Iranian nuclear energy program.
The chief diplomats of the US, France, Britain and Germany said they will be joining the Geneva talks on Saturday. The Chinese foreign minister is also expected to arrive later in the day. They\'re expected to narrow the differences and finalize a nuclear deal with Iran, which fell through in the last round of talks a fortnight ago. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is already in Geneva and has held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif also held multiple meetings with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, with the last one ending late on Friday night.
0:58
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[06 Dec 2013] UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on nuclear disarmament which includes Iran\'s proposal - English
The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on nuclear disarmament which includes proposals by the Iranian president.
The UN called on nuclear-armed states to make more efforts...
The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on nuclear disarmament which includes proposals by the Iranian president.
The UN called on nuclear-armed states to make more efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate all types of atomic weapons. Last month, the world body\'s Disarmament Commission voted on a draft resolution proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement, which included President Hassan Rouhani\'s suggestions. During the last UN General Assembly meetings, the Iranian president laid down his proposals on nuclear disarmament, which were welcomed by many countries. An urgent formation of a convention on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; holding a high-level international conference on nuclear disarmament no later than 20-18; and declaring September 26 as the International Day for the total elimination of nukes were among Rouhani\'s suggestions in that draft.
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The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on nuclear disarmament which includes proposals by the Iranian president.
The UN called on nuclear-armed states to make more efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate all types of atomic weapons. Last month, the world body\'s Disarmament Commission voted on a draft resolution proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement, which included President Hassan Rouhani\'s suggestions. During the last UN General Assembly meetings, the Iranian president laid down his proposals on nuclear disarmament, which were welcomed by many countries. An urgent formation of a convention on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; holding a high-level international conference on nuclear disarmament no later than 20-18; and declaring September 26 as the International Day for the total elimination of nukes were among Rouhani\'s suggestions in that draft.
4:11
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[17 Dec 2013] Poll: US president approval rating hits new record low - English
US President Barack Obama is ending his fifth year in office matching the worst public approval ratings of his presidency. A new poll shows that Obama\'s approval rating has hit a new record low....
US President Barack Obama is ending his fifth year in office matching the worst public approval ratings of his presidency. A new poll shows that Obama\'s approval rating has hit a new record low.
The poll, conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, shows that just 43 percent of US citizens currently approve the president\'s job performance down 11 points from this time last year. The poll has put the US president\'s disapproval at 55 percent up from 42 percent last year. That\'s the highest unpopularity mark in Obama\'s presidency so far. Political analysts say the US president\'s controversial healthcare law, known as the Obamacare, and his weak national security strategies are some of the main reasons for his waning popularity
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US President Barack Obama is ending his fifth year in office matching the worst public approval ratings of his presidency. A new poll shows that Obama\'s approval rating has hit a new record low.
The poll, conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, shows that just 43 percent of US citizens currently approve the president\'s job performance down 11 points from this time last year. The poll has put the US president\'s disapproval at 55 percent up from 42 percent last year. That\'s the highest unpopularity mark in Obama\'s presidency so far. Political analysts say the US president\'s controversial healthcare law, known as the Obamacare, and his weak national security strategies are some of the main reasons for his waning popularity
5:54
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[20 Dec 2013] Obama tells Congress it should avoid imposing new sanctions on Iran - English
US President Barack Obama has told Congress his country should not impose new sanctions on Iran if it is serious in negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear energy program. Obama-- who has been...
US President Barack Obama has told Congress his country should not impose new sanctions on Iran if it is serious in negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear energy program. Obama-- who has been speaking to reporters in his last press briefing of the year-- has refreshed his warnings that any new sanctions against Iran could derail the current diplomatic efforts to resolve the differences with Iran.
Obama says he understands why some US lawmakers want to \\\"look tough\\\" on Iran. But he says the US must give diplomacy a chance. Obama has further repeated threats that the US keeps all options on the table regarding Iran if it fails to comply to the terms of the nuclear deal that Tehran signed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany last month.
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US President Barack Obama has told Congress his country should not impose new sanctions on Iran if it is serious in negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear energy program. Obama-- who has been speaking to reporters in his last press briefing of the year-- has refreshed his warnings that any new sanctions against Iran could derail the current diplomatic efforts to resolve the differences with Iran.
Obama says he understands why some US lawmakers want to \\\"look tough\\\" on Iran. But he says the US must give diplomacy a chance. Obama has further repeated threats that the US keeps all options on the table regarding Iran if it fails to comply to the terms of the nuclear deal that Tehran signed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany last month.
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Death anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (s) & Martyrdom of Imam Hasan (as) - English
Iranians are mourning the passing anniversary of Islam\'s prophet Mohammad -- peace be upon him--with special ceremonies.
They are also marking the martyrdom anniversary of his grandson, Imam...
Iranians are mourning the passing anniversary of Islam\'s prophet Mohammad -- peace be upon him--with special ceremonies.
They are also marking the martyrdom anniversary of his grandson, Imam Hassan Mujtaba, the second Shia Imam. The event is being commemorated on the twenty eighth of Safar-- which is the second month in the Islamic lunar Hijri calendar. Shia Muslims hold special mourning services during the last ten days of Safar. The mourners will wrap up their commemoration ceremonies on the last day of the month which coincides with the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam.
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Iranians are mourning the passing anniversary of Islam\'s prophet Mohammad -- peace be upon him--with special ceremonies.
They are also marking the martyrdom anniversary of his grandson, Imam Hassan Mujtaba, the second Shia Imam. The event is being commemorated on the twenty eighth of Safar-- which is the second month in the Islamic lunar Hijri calendar. Shia Muslims hold special mourning services during the last ten days of Safar. The mourners will wrap up their commemoration ceremonies on the last day of the month which coincides with the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam.
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[05 Feb 2014] Gaza cancer rates on rise due to Israeli use of banned weapons - English
Patients and doctors have protested inside Gaza\'s Shifa hospital as they marked the World Cancer Day. The number of cancer cases has been on the rise in recent years following two Israeli wars on...
Patients and doctors have protested inside Gaza\'s Shifa hospital as they marked the World Cancer Day. The number of cancer cases has been on the rise in recent years following two Israeli wars on the blockaded coastal strip. An average of one thousand cancer cases has been recorded annually among Gazans for the last two years.
The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli regime\'s use of internationally banned weapons has sharply increased the number of cancer cases. During the 22-day Israeli war at the turn of 2009, Norwegian Doctor Mads Fredrik Gilbert who volunteered at Gaza\'s Shifa hospital said that some victims had traces of depleted uranium in their wounds. The majority of Israeli high-tech weapons contain depleted uranium. Most cancer patients lived in areas that were heavily bombarded by Israeli forces during the last two Israeli wars. Lack of medicines as well as cancer patients\' inability to receive treatment abroad due to closure of crossings by both Israel and the Egyptian military is putting their lives at grave risk. Experts have said that Israeli forces used internationally banned weapons like White Phosphorous and weapons containing depleted uranium against the civilian population of Gaza. Experts say such weapons are carcinogenic.
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Patients and doctors have protested inside Gaza\'s Shifa hospital as they marked the World Cancer Day. The number of cancer cases has been on the rise in recent years following two Israeli wars on the blockaded coastal strip. An average of one thousand cancer cases has been recorded annually among Gazans for the last two years.
The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli regime\'s use of internationally banned weapons has sharply increased the number of cancer cases. During the 22-day Israeli war at the turn of 2009, Norwegian Doctor Mads Fredrik Gilbert who volunteered at Gaza\'s Shifa hospital said that some victims had traces of depleted uranium in their wounds. The majority of Israeli high-tech weapons contain depleted uranium. Most cancer patients lived in areas that were heavily bombarded by Israeli forces during the last two Israeli wars. Lack of medicines as well as cancer patients\' inability to receive treatment abroad due to closure of crossings by both Israel and the Egyptian military is putting their lives at grave risk. Experts have said that Israeli forces used internationally banned weapons like White Phosphorous and weapons containing depleted uranium against the civilian population of Gaza. Experts say such weapons are carcinogenic.
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[12 Feb 2014] Several killed, many injured in separate attacks in Baghdad - English
No end in sight to the deadly violence in the war-torn Iraq. Several people have been killed and many more injured in separate attacks in the capital Baghdad.
Two simultaneous bomb blasts in...
No end in sight to the deadly violence in the war-torn Iraq. Several people have been killed and many more injured in separate attacks in the capital Baghdad.
Two simultaneous bomb blasts in Baghdad left five people dead and fifteen others injured. Another explosion in the city\'s Kenani Market left scores of casualties. The attacks are the latest in a chain of deadly violent incidents hitting Iraq over the last months. The Iraqi government blames al-Qaeda-linked groups for the deadly unrest. Official figures show more than a thousand people lost their lives in violent attacks across Iraq last month alone.
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No end in sight to the deadly violence in the war-torn Iraq. Several people have been killed and many more injured in separate attacks in the capital Baghdad.
Two simultaneous bomb blasts in Baghdad left five people dead and fifteen others injured. Another explosion in the city\'s Kenani Market left scores of casualties. The attacks are the latest in a chain of deadly violent incidents hitting Iraq over the last months. The Iraqi government blames al-Qaeda-linked groups for the deadly unrest. Official figures show more than a thousand people lost their lives in violent attacks across Iraq last month alone.
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[ Bayt an Noor Qum] The role of Women in Society, Islamic point of view Sheikh Usama AbdulGhani English
This is a video of Bayt an Noor, the worshipping place of Lady Masooma [s] in the last days of her life. The house of Musa ibn Khazraj ibn Sa`d Ash`ari, where Lady Fatima Masuma [s] lived for the...
This is a video of Bayt an Noor, the worshipping place of Lady Masooma [s] in the last days of her life. The house of Musa ibn Khazraj ibn Sa`d Ash`ari, where Lady Fatima Masuma [s] lived for the few days that she was in Qum, has now become a school named Madres-ye Sittiyeh. [Sittiy means Lady hence the name of the school is School of the Lady]. Till today, opposite the gates of this school and within its grounds, there remains the alter of worship (mihrab `ibadat) of this noble lady, where she spent hours of the last days of her life worshiping Allah.
Also in this video is a short lecture by Sheikh Usama AbdulGhani, who describes the role of Women in Society and through Islamic point of view highlighting the responsibilities as well as the status of women.
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Description:
This is a video of Bayt an Noor, the worshipping place of Lady Masooma [s] in the last days of her life. The house of Musa ibn Khazraj ibn Sa`d Ash`ari, where Lady Fatima Masuma [s] lived for the few days that she was in Qum, has now become a school named Madres-ye Sittiyeh. [Sittiy means Lady hence the name of the school is School of the Lady]. Till today, opposite the gates of this school and within its grounds, there remains the alter of worship (mihrab `ibadat) of this noble lady, where she spent hours of the last days of her life worshiping Allah.
Also in this video is a short lecture by Sheikh Usama AbdulGhani, who describes the role of Women in Society and through Islamic point of view highlighting the responsibilities as well as the status of women.
21:54
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[11 May 13] Supreme Leader Speech to Outstanding Women - Full Speech by Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 11, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a group of outstanding women who are...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 11, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a group of outstanding women who are active in seminary and academic areas.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I sincerely thank the honorable ladies who organized this good and fruitful meeting. Today, I really benefited from the ladies\\\\\\\' statements and I thank God for the depth of issues, thoughts and efforts which can be seen in the speeches of outstanding women throughout our country. The issues which you discussed were mostly good. There were certain suggestions which, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, will be examined. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, I will follow up the part which is related to me.
There are many things to say about the issue of women and what is related to women. We suffer from a kind of backwardness in this regard which you ladies - the ones who delivered a speech - referred to. Backwardness in this area is not similar to backwardness in scientific areas, which we suffer from. When we say that we suffer from backwardness in this area, this means we have many outstanding points to make on the issue of women, the issue of gender and issues which are related to women - such as the issue of family, children, marriage, settling down, tranquility in the family environment and other such issues - but we have not managed to convey these points to the world and discuss them with the public opinion throughout the world. We mean backwardness from this point of view. This is while the world needs valuable, comprehensive and clear ideas and concepts in this regard. As a number of ladies pointed out, when we discuss these points in international arenas, they receive a good reception. Or as a number of ladies said, research findings in psychological and other areas confirm that Islamic rules are true on the issue of women.
Well, this is only part of the capabilities of Islamic philosophy on this sensitive issue. But we failed to define and show these capabilities in the right way. The same is true of many other areas which are related to reasoning and thinking. In many of these areas, we failed to truly convey the opinion of Islam to the world. When I say, \\\\\\\"We failed\\\\\\\", it should not be thought that the Islamic Republic is responsible for this due to the fact that what has been already done in this regard is because of the Islamic Republic, the name of the Revolution and Imam (r.a.), the influence of their ideas and other such things. Thankfully, these ideas were developed to some extent, but we should work more than this. In order to do this, we need certain things which I will speak about later on. In order to form a front which is ready to attack and which is immune from others\\\\\\\' attack and in order to take up an offensive position, we need to promote and convey these ideas and thoughts. We really need this.
In fact, our attack is launched for the sake of immunity and defense. Therefore, in my opinion, the more you work in order to make up for this backwardness, the more valuable it will be. It is necessary to do this. We should not hesitate and stop in treading the path of this movement which is an awakening movement related to the issues of women. We should not stop in the middle of the way. Despite the fact that we benefit from a perfect, valuable and convincing Islamic discourse, we have adopted a passive outlook in the face of the western discourse on the issue of women.
The western discourse on the issue of women has adopted a very calculated and political outlook. That is to say, the day when this idea and this discourse on women started to develop in the west, there was a careful calculation behind it. Of course, this is not based on fact and what I am saying is not based on precise information, but there are clear signs which support this interpretation. Since the beginning of Renaissance in the west and the emergence of industrialism and the development of new industries in the west, this discourse gradually achieved growth. And it reached its peak during our own times. Of course, this peak will be accompanied by decline and, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, disgrace and destruction.
The western discourse on the issue of women has different dimensions, but it has two distinct dimensions. One is that it wants to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, it wants to make women behave like men. This is an important dimension of this discourse. Another is that it wants to make women prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure, whether the pleasure of watching women or other kinds of pleasure which are beyond this. This is another dimension of the western discourse on the issue of women. The issue of feminism and other such things - which have become popular in the world today - are, in fact, the products of western discourse. These are the consequences of what western discourse has done.
They wanted to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, they were trying to make women do jobs which are more compatible with the physical and intellectual characteristics of men. They consider it as a source of honor and they would like to describe it as an advantage and a source of honor for women. We have adopted a passive outlook in the face of this. We have been deceived and we have unwillingly and unknowingly accepted this. As you see, today we are proud of having such and such a number of women in certain executive positions. What I am saying should not be misunderstood. I do not have any problems with the idea of giving women executive positions. That is to say, I do not forbid women from doing this and I do not deny this right. I do not think it is wrong. Our minister of health and vice presidents were female and women have positions in different sectors. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. What is wrong is to be proud of this, to boast about this in the world and say, \\\\\\\"See, we have such and such a number of women in executive positions\\\\\\\". This is the same as being deceived and passive. This is not a source of honor.
Take the case of a lady who has certain qualifications, who has developed her capabilities and who is suitable for a specific position. She can be allowed to hold this position because it is not illegal, but if we are proud of having such and such a number of female officials in charge of executive affairs, this is wrong. If we feel proud of having a large number of intellectual and educated women, this is good and it is alright. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in cultural and political areas, this is alright. If we say that we have a large number of mujahid women in different areas, who are ready to be martyred, this is good. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in political and revolutionary arenas and who write and deliver speeches, this is good.
Being proud of these things is good, but being proud of having such and such a number of female ministers, MPs, deputies and managers in financial organizations, is wrong. This means adopting a passive outlook in the face of the enemies. Are we supposed to entrust women with masculine occupations? No, the position, identity and characteristics of women are very noble and respectable. This identity is, in certain ways, superior to men\\\\\\\'s identity. If we adopt a comprehensive outlook, we see that men and women have no differences. Certain privileges have been granted to women and certain other privileges have been granted to men and this is based on their natural characteristics which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on them. Allah the Exalted has given each gender certain characteristics. Each gender benefits from certain outstanding qualities. Therefore, they have no differences in terms of human qualities. They have no differences in terms of the privileges which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on humanity such as human rights, social rights, spiritual values and spiritual perfection. That is to say, a man can become Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and a woman can become Fatima Zahra (s.a.). A man can become Jesus (a.s.) and a woman can become Mary (s.a.). They are not different from each other. Therefore, it is the right outlook to know women - the way they are, as true women and true females - by taking their gender into consideration and we should see what values can help a female individual or the female community achieve growth and transcendence. This outlook is the right outlook. We should not have adopted a passive outlook in the face of western outlook but, unfortunately, we did.
As for the second dimension of western discourse - in which women are made to prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure - it struck defenseless Islamic countries like a flood with the purpose of helping men to easily indulge in sexual pleasure. And this was done by the west. It also struck our country. By pleasure, I do not mean spiritual, psychological and scientific pleasure. Two people may sit and enjoy speaking to one another or increasing each other\\\\\\\'s knowledge. But this is not the case in western pleasure. Fortunately, the Revolution came and it prevented this to a great extent. This should be prevented because this is a big danger and a big disaster. The issue of hijab is one of the preconditions for this. The way we should dress and the way men and women should interact are among the preconditions for this issue. These things should be done so that this great disaster - for both men and women - can be prevented.
Of course, this moral corruption humiliates women, while they are not aware of it. Today, this issue is thoroughly discussed in the world. I know and I have read in a number of texts, newspapers and books that western intellectuals have started to feel fear and distress because of this condition. They are right, but they have understood this late. The issue of encouraging people to indulge in lust - which is centered around women - is not something of little importance. Today, you can see that the situation is getting worse in the world with issues such as homosexuality and marriages between two people with the same gender. These are great, deep and dangerous abysses for western civilization and for those who are managing this civilization. This is an unusual precipice and it will completely annihilate them. And they are just in the middle of the path of destruction.
In my opinion, they will not be able to prevent this because their problems are far beyond these things. A few years ago - around seven, eight, ten years ago - I read in foreign newspapers that the Americans are trying to make a movie based on the books of such and such a novelist who writes about the family. They want to do this so that they can draw filmmaking, cinema and other such things to these issues. Well, they have done and are doing certain things, but these efforts are like thin streams against a great flood which has struck them because of what they themselves did. And it will continue to strike them. Of course, we enjoy a kind of immunity from this event which is because of hijab and other such things. But we should not underestimate this issue and we should regard it as very important. As a number of ladies pointed out in their speeches - and they are working on these issues - the issue of sexual attraction and the danger it has for women, men, society and the family should be taken very seriously.
Well, I said that Islam speaks about women in the real sense of the word. As I pointed out, we should promote this discourse by taking up an offensive position. We should not at all take up a defensive position. A number of ladies said that those who are members of a so-called women\\\\\\\'s convention or organizations affiliated with the United Nations threaten to issue a resolution against us if we do such and such a thing. Well, who cares? They can issue resolutions. The Islamic discourse on the issue of women should be promoted by taking an offensive position and behaving in a determined way. If they say, \\\\\\\"Why do you not give women the freedom to appear without hijab?\\\\\\\" we should answer, \\\\\\\"Why do you give them this harmful and threatening freedom in such a way?\\\\\\\" What is being pursued in the west regarding the issue of immodesty and lack of hijab makes one distressed. One wonders what they want to do and where they want to go.
You may have more information in this regard but I also have a lot of information about what is being done on this issue. These things are done at different levels which range from higher levels to occupational levels, living conditions and other such things. In the Islamic discourse, respect towards women and the characteristics, dignity and delicacy of women should be highlighted. By delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean the delicacy of women\\\\\\\'s psychological and intellectual structure and also the delicacy of their responsibilities. It is only the delicate and gentle fingers of the mother which can separate the extremely thin nerve fibers of a child\\\\\\\'s nervous system from one another so that he will not have any emotional complexes or problems. Nobody else can do this. That is to say, nobody else except for a woman can do this. This is a feminine task. A number of tasks require such delicacy that one wonders how the divine will has bestowed such a great capability and such delicacy on women. I always say to my friends and relatives and to women that, contrary to the idea that has been established, women are the stronger gender. Women are stronger than men. Women can completely control and influence men with their wisdom and delicacy. We can see this in practice and we can prove it by reasoning. This is a reality.
Of course, there are a number of women who do not adopt wise measures and who, as a result, cannot do this. But if a woman is wise enough, she can tame a man. This is like the situation in which a person can bridle and ride on a wild lion. This does not mean that he is physically stronger than the lion. Rather, this means that he has managed to use his mental power. Women have this capability, but they should do this with delicacy and subtlety. When I say delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean delicacy in implementing thoughts and ideas, showing acumen and making decisions. These are capabilities which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on women. In my opinion, this should be the basis. This discourse should be improved and pursued.
The second point that I want to discuss is that, in my opinion, there are two issues regarding the current situation of women in our country which are more important than other issues. Or, let us say they are more crucial than other issues and they require more attention. One issue is the significance and the value of the home and the family. We should regard the home in which we live as important. One cannot imagine human beings without a home and without a place to live. Any human being needs a home and the family environment. The family is like the soul of the home. This should be regarded as important. This should be thought about in a careful way.
The second issue is that we should prevent women from being weakened and oppressed at different levels. We have women who are weak and deprived of many things. We also have women who are oppressed. This oppression should be prevented. It is necessary to pass important laws in this regard. There are essential behavioral rules which should be enforced. It is necessary to establish certain social conventions and customs so that women will not be oppressed in different areas such as - I have written them down - social, sexual, familial, cultural and intellectual areas. These kinds of oppression, which women may be faced with, range from individual and private issues - that is to say, sexual issues - to social issues, such as social interactions, and familial issues. I have written down certain points about familial issues.
Husbands, children, fathers and brothers should behave in a respectful way towards women. If women are regarded as respectable in the family environment, an important part of problems in our society will be solved. We should do something to encourage children to kiss their mother\\\\\\\'s hands. This is what Islam is after. We can see this behavior in deeply religious and moral families which have a close relationship with religious concepts. The children in a family should behave towards their mother in a respectful way. There is no contradiction between such a respectful behavior and the emotional and warm relationship between a mother and a child. There should be such respect and women should be respected in the family environment. This is the way to prevent oppression against women. Imagine that in a family and in a home, the man hurls all kinds of insults at his own wife, including behavioral and verbal insults and physical abuse. Unfortunately, there are certain places in our country in which there are still instances of physical abuse. This issue should not occur. Of course, this occurs many times in western countries. And this is not unexpected. Westerners, particularly European races, are wild. They have a neat appearance, they wear ties and they use perfume and other such things, but they still have the same wild nature and they still behave in the same wild way that they have always behaved throughout history. They easily kill people and they coldheartedly commit crimes. Therefore, it is not surprising if women are beaten in the home by the Europeans and by the Americans. But such a thing should not be even imagined in an Islamic environment although it unfortunately exists. Therefore, these are two fundamental issues. In my opinion, there is room for detailed planning in this regard.
Besides these two issues, there are other important issues such as the issue of marriage and liberating oneself from being single. Obstacles in the way of marriage should be removed. As the ladies in this meeting pointed out, certain things are being done in this regard and I really became happy to know that, thankfully, these issues are receiving attention. On the issue of hijab and social relationships, things should be carried out in a fundamental and serious way. You should pay attention to the issue of financial and legal support for oppressed women who are deprived of their rights. The lady from Razavi Khorasan province pointed out that the issue of courts of law - which was one of my worries - has been addressed by the legal system. I hope that this will be done in practice.
One of my anxieties and worries is that women may not be able to defend themselves in courts of law and such legal environments. They may not have the money to hire a competent lawyer, nor may they be able to defend themselves and their rights may be violated. This is one of the important issues. It should be followed up. The issue of women\\\\\\\'s employment, limitations for their employment, the kind of job that they should do and the way they should do it - that is to say, the delicacy and flexibility that I spoke about on the issue of women\\\\\\\'s employment - are things which should be addressed. However, the most crucial issues are the two issues that I discussed.
One of the issues which occupies my mind is that all the different activities which are done on the issue of women in our country - ranging from legal issues and issues related to Islamic jurisprudence to social, executive, emotional and all the other issues which are discussed about women - should be done in a systematic way. It should have a coherent structure.
Of course, a number of the reports which were presented to me or the points which were discussed in this meeting show that certain ideas have been developed in this regard. But, I believe that a comprehensive plan should be formulated in this regard. We should delineate the issues of women in a completely systemic way and we should give it a proper form. Moreover, there should be an outstanding and permanent center [for this matter] with competent personnel and with a long-term plan. I do not at all believe in short-term plans in this regard. After this, certain organizations and institutes should be formed to work for different parts of this prominent and permanent center. They should inform one another of what they are doing and there should be a suitable databank. Many things are being done by women in our country about which even ladies participating in this meeting may not be aware of. Well, thankfully, we have so many outstanding and knowledgeable women in different sections and with different outlooks. We should benefit from this large number of women.
Another point - I will make this the last point because it is noon and there is no time - is that active women in the camp of the Islamic Republic played an outstanding role immediately after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, during the early years after the Revolution and during the Sacred Defense Era. They showed their presence in an outstanding way. You should not let this outstanding presence of active women in the camp of the Revolution be undermined. Those who confront and oppose the Revolution try to benefit from competent women. The camp of the Revolution has far more competent, active and knowledgeable women who are authors, orators and scholars. It enjoys women who are ready to take action and who are interested in thinking, writing, delivering speeches and conveying their ideas and thoughts. They should not leave the arena of the Revolution and defending the Revolution. This is one point.
I will finish the last point by saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) should play a completely fundamental role in promoting the things which I discussed and the issues which you raised. I believe and I recommend that the IRIB should definitely play a fundamental role in this regard. It can do this. In society, the IRIB can build the culture of respecting religious, active and mujahid women who wear hijab and who enjoy Islamic characteristics. Other people want the opposite to happen. Unfortunately, a number of the programs of the IRIB are in line with the goals of these people. The opposite should be done. That is to say, the IRIB should be completely at the service of this idea.
In any case, the conclusion that we can draw from all these things is that, thankfully, we have made certain achievements on the issue of women in the Islamic Republic, but these achievements do not meet the needs and the expectations of Islam and they are not compatible with the possibilities and resources that exist in Islam. We are backward in this regard. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, you ladies should make up for this backwardness in the best way possible.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will protect you and increase your achievements on a daily basis. And I hope that we can move towards what Islam wants in this regard on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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Description:
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 11, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a group of outstanding women who are active in seminary and academic areas.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I sincerely thank the honorable ladies who organized this good and fruitful meeting. Today, I really benefited from the ladies\\\\\\\' statements and I thank God for the depth of issues, thoughts and efforts which can be seen in the speeches of outstanding women throughout our country. The issues which you discussed were mostly good. There were certain suggestions which, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, will be examined. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, I will follow up the part which is related to me.
There are many things to say about the issue of women and what is related to women. We suffer from a kind of backwardness in this regard which you ladies - the ones who delivered a speech - referred to. Backwardness in this area is not similar to backwardness in scientific areas, which we suffer from. When we say that we suffer from backwardness in this area, this means we have many outstanding points to make on the issue of women, the issue of gender and issues which are related to women - such as the issue of family, children, marriage, settling down, tranquility in the family environment and other such issues - but we have not managed to convey these points to the world and discuss them with the public opinion throughout the world. We mean backwardness from this point of view. This is while the world needs valuable, comprehensive and clear ideas and concepts in this regard. As a number of ladies pointed out, when we discuss these points in international arenas, they receive a good reception. Or as a number of ladies said, research findings in psychological and other areas confirm that Islamic rules are true on the issue of women.
Well, this is only part of the capabilities of Islamic philosophy on this sensitive issue. But we failed to define and show these capabilities in the right way. The same is true of many other areas which are related to reasoning and thinking. In many of these areas, we failed to truly convey the opinion of Islam to the world. When I say, \\\\\\\"We failed\\\\\\\", it should not be thought that the Islamic Republic is responsible for this due to the fact that what has been already done in this regard is because of the Islamic Republic, the name of the Revolution and Imam (r.a.), the influence of their ideas and other such things. Thankfully, these ideas were developed to some extent, but we should work more than this. In order to do this, we need certain things which I will speak about later on. In order to form a front which is ready to attack and which is immune from others\\\\\\\' attack and in order to take up an offensive position, we need to promote and convey these ideas and thoughts. We really need this.
In fact, our attack is launched for the sake of immunity and defense. Therefore, in my opinion, the more you work in order to make up for this backwardness, the more valuable it will be. It is necessary to do this. We should not hesitate and stop in treading the path of this movement which is an awakening movement related to the issues of women. We should not stop in the middle of the way. Despite the fact that we benefit from a perfect, valuable and convincing Islamic discourse, we have adopted a passive outlook in the face of the western discourse on the issue of women.
The western discourse on the issue of women has adopted a very calculated and political outlook. That is to say, the day when this idea and this discourse on women started to develop in the west, there was a careful calculation behind it. Of course, this is not based on fact and what I am saying is not based on precise information, but there are clear signs which support this interpretation. Since the beginning of Renaissance in the west and the emergence of industrialism and the development of new industries in the west, this discourse gradually achieved growth. And it reached its peak during our own times. Of course, this peak will be accompanied by decline and, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, disgrace and destruction.
The western discourse on the issue of women has different dimensions, but it has two distinct dimensions. One is that it wants to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, it wants to make women behave like men. This is an important dimension of this discourse. Another is that it wants to make women prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure, whether the pleasure of watching women or other kinds of pleasure which are beyond this. This is another dimension of the western discourse on the issue of women. The issue of feminism and other such things - which have become popular in the world today - are, in fact, the products of western discourse. These are the consequences of what western discourse has done.
They wanted to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, they were trying to make women do jobs which are more compatible with the physical and intellectual characteristics of men. They consider it as a source of honor and they would like to describe it as an advantage and a source of honor for women. We have adopted a passive outlook in the face of this. We have been deceived and we have unwillingly and unknowingly accepted this. As you see, today we are proud of having such and such a number of women in certain executive positions. What I am saying should not be misunderstood. I do not have any problems with the idea of giving women executive positions. That is to say, I do not forbid women from doing this and I do not deny this right. I do not think it is wrong. Our minister of health and vice presidents were female and women have positions in different sectors. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. What is wrong is to be proud of this, to boast about this in the world and say, \\\\\\\"See, we have such and such a number of women in executive positions\\\\\\\". This is the same as being deceived and passive. This is not a source of honor.
Take the case of a lady who has certain qualifications, who has developed her capabilities and who is suitable for a specific position. She can be allowed to hold this position because it is not illegal, but if we are proud of having such and such a number of female officials in charge of executive affairs, this is wrong. If we feel proud of having a large number of intellectual and educated women, this is good and it is alright. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in cultural and political areas, this is alright. If we say that we have a large number of mujahid women in different areas, who are ready to be martyred, this is good. If we say that we have a large number of women who are active in political and revolutionary arenas and who write and deliver speeches, this is good.
Being proud of these things is good, but being proud of having such and such a number of female ministers, MPs, deputies and managers in financial organizations, is wrong. This means adopting a passive outlook in the face of the enemies. Are we supposed to entrust women with masculine occupations? No, the position, identity and characteristics of women are very noble and respectable. This identity is, in certain ways, superior to men\\\\\\\'s identity. If we adopt a comprehensive outlook, we see that men and women have no differences. Certain privileges have been granted to women and certain other privileges have been granted to men and this is based on their natural characteristics which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on them. Allah the Exalted has given each gender certain characteristics. Each gender benefits from certain outstanding qualities. Therefore, they have no differences in terms of human qualities. They have no differences in terms of the privileges which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on humanity such as human rights, social rights, spiritual values and spiritual perfection. That is to say, a man can become Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and a woman can become Fatima Zahra (s.a.). A man can become Jesus (a.s.) and a woman can become Mary (s.a.). They are not different from each other. Therefore, it is the right outlook to know women - the way they are, as true women and true females - by taking their gender into consideration and we should see what values can help a female individual or the female community achieve growth and transcendence. This outlook is the right outlook. We should not have adopted a passive outlook in the face of western outlook but, unfortunately, we did.
As for the second dimension of western discourse - in which women are made to prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure - it struck defenseless Islamic countries like a flood with the purpose of helping men to easily indulge in sexual pleasure. And this was done by the west. It also struck our country. By pleasure, I do not mean spiritual, psychological and scientific pleasure. Two people may sit and enjoy speaking to one another or increasing each other\\\\\\\'s knowledge. But this is not the case in western pleasure. Fortunately, the Revolution came and it prevented this to a great extent. This should be prevented because this is a big danger and a big disaster. The issue of hijab is one of the preconditions for this. The way we should dress and the way men and women should interact are among the preconditions for this issue. These things should be done so that this great disaster - for both men and women - can be prevented.
Of course, this moral corruption humiliates women, while they are not aware of it. Today, this issue is thoroughly discussed in the world. I know and I have read in a number of texts, newspapers and books that western intellectuals have started to feel fear and distress because of this condition. They are right, but they have understood this late. The issue of encouraging people to indulge in lust - which is centered around women - is not something of little importance. Today, you can see that the situation is getting worse in the world with issues such as homosexuality and marriages between two people with the same gender. These are great, deep and dangerous abysses for western civilization and for those who are managing this civilization. This is an unusual precipice and it will completely annihilate them. And they are just in the middle of the path of destruction.
In my opinion, they will not be able to prevent this because their problems are far beyond these things. A few years ago - around seven, eight, ten years ago - I read in foreign newspapers that the Americans are trying to make a movie based on the books of such and such a novelist who writes about the family. They want to do this so that they can draw filmmaking, cinema and other such things to these issues. Well, they have done and are doing certain things, but these efforts are like thin streams against a great flood which has struck them because of what they themselves did. And it will continue to strike them. Of course, we enjoy a kind of immunity from this event which is because of hijab and other such things. But we should not underestimate this issue and we should regard it as very important. As a number of ladies pointed out in their speeches - and they are working on these issues - the issue of sexual attraction and the danger it has for women, men, society and the family should be taken very seriously.
Well, I said that Islam speaks about women in the real sense of the word. As I pointed out, we should promote this discourse by taking up an offensive position. We should not at all take up a defensive position. A number of ladies said that those who are members of a so-called women\\\\\\\'s convention or organizations affiliated with the United Nations threaten to issue a resolution against us if we do such and such a thing. Well, who cares? They can issue resolutions. The Islamic discourse on the issue of women should be promoted by taking an offensive position and behaving in a determined way. If they say, \\\\\\\"Why do you not give women the freedom to appear without hijab?\\\\\\\" we should answer, \\\\\\\"Why do you give them this harmful and threatening freedom in such a way?\\\\\\\" What is being pursued in the west regarding the issue of immodesty and lack of hijab makes one distressed. One wonders what they want to do and where they want to go.
You may have more information in this regard but I also have a lot of information about what is being done on this issue. These things are done at different levels which range from higher levels to occupational levels, living conditions and other such things. In the Islamic discourse, respect towards women and the characteristics, dignity and delicacy of women should be highlighted. By delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean the delicacy of women\\\\\\\'s psychological and intellectual structure and also the delicacy of their responsibilities. It is only the delicate and gentle fingers of the mother which can separate the extremely thin nerve fibers of a child\\\\\\\'s nervous system from one another so that he will not have any emotional complexes or problems. Nobody else can do this. That is to say, nobody else except for a woman can do this. This is a feminine task. A number of tasks require such delicacy that one wonders how the divine will has bestowed such a great capability and such delicacy on women. I always say to my friends and relatives and to women that, contrary to the idea that has been established, women are the stronger gender. Women are stronger than men. Women can completely control and influence men with their wisdom and delicacy. We can see this in practice and we can prove it by reasoning. This is a reality.
Of course, there are a number of women who do not adopt wise measures and who, as a result, cannot do this. But if a woman is wise enough, she can tame a man. This is like the situation in which a person can bridle and ride on a wild lion. This does not mean that he is physically stronger than the lion. Rather, this means that he has managed to use his mental power. Women have this capability, but they should do this with delicacy and subtlety. When I say delicacy, I do not only mean physical delicacy. As well as physical delicacy, I mean delicacy in implementing thoughts and ideas, showing acumen and making decisions. These are capabilities which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on women. In my opinion, this should be the basis. This discourse should be improved and pursued.
The second point that I want to discuss is that, in my opinion, there are two issues regarding the current situation of women in our country which are more important than other issues. Or, let us say they are more crucial than other issues and they require more attention. One issue is the significance and the value of the home and the family. We should regard the home in which we live as important. One cannot imagine human beings without a home and without a place to live. Any human being needs a home and the family environment. The family is like the soul of the home. This should be regarded as important. This should be thought about in a careful way.
The second issue is that we should prevent women from being weakened and oppressed at different levels. We have women who are weak and deprived of many things. We also have women who are oppressed. This oppression should be prevented. It is necessary to pass important laws in this regard. There are essential behavioral rules which should be enforced. It is necessary to establish certain social conventions and customs so that women will not be oppressed in different areas such as - I have written them down - social, sexual, familial, cultural and intellectual areas. These kinds of oppression, which women may be faced with, range from individual and private issues - that is to say, sexual issues - to social issues, such as social interactions, and familial issues. I have written down certain points about familial issues.
Husbands, children, fathers and brothers should behave in a respectful way towards women. If women are regarded as respectable in the family environment, an important part of problems in our society will be solved. We should do something to encourage children to kiss their mother\\\\\\\'s hands. This is what Islam is after. We can see this behavior in deeply religious and moral families which have a close relationship with religious concepts. The children in a family should behave towards their mother in a respectful way. There is no contradiction between such a respectful behavior and the emotional and warm relationship between a mother and a child. There should be such respect and women should be respected in the family environment. This is the way to prevent oppression against women. Imagine that in a family and in a home, the man hurls all kinds of insults at his own wife, including behavioral and verbal insults and physical abuse. Unfortunately, there are certain places in our country in which there are still instances of physical abuse. This issue should not occur. Of course, this occurs many times in western countries. And this is not unexpected. Westerners, particularly European races, are wild. They have a neat appearance, they wear ties and they use perfume and other such things, but they still have the same wild nature and they still behave in the same wild way that they have always behaved throughout history. They easily kill people and they coldheartedly commit crimes. Therefore, it is not surprising if women are beaten in the home by the Europeans and by the Americans. But such a thing should not be even imagined in an Islamic environment although it unfortunately exists. Therefore, these are two fundamental issues. In my opinion, there is room for detailed planning in this regard.
Besides these two issues, there are other important issues such as the issue of marriage and liberating oneself from being single. Obstacles in the way of marriage should be removed. As the ladies in this meeting pointed out, certain things are being done in this regard and I really became happy to know that, thankfully, these issues are receiving attention. On the issue of hijab and social relationships, things should be carried out in a fundamental and serious way. You should pay attention to the issue of financial and legal support for oppressed women who are deprived of their rights. The lady from Razavi Khorasan province pointed out that the issue of courts of law - which was one of my worries - has been addressed by the legal system. I hope that this will be done in practice.
One of my anxieties and worries is that women may not be able to defend themselves in courts of law and such legal environments. They may not have the money to hire a competent lawyer, nor may they be able to defend themselves and their rights may be violated. This is one of the important issues. It should be followed up. The issue of women\\\\\\\'s employment, limitations for their employment, the kind of job that they should do and the way they should do it - that is to say, the delicacy and flexibility that I spoke about on the issue of women\\\\\\\'s employment - are things which should be addressed. However, the most crucial issues are the two issues that I discussed.
One of the issues which occupies my mind is that all the different activities which are done on the issue of women in our country - ranging from legal issues and issues related to Islamic jurisprudence to social, executive, emotional and all the other issues which are discussed about women - should be done in a systematic way. It should have a coherent structure.
Of course, a number of the reports which were presented to me or the points which were discussed in this meeting show that certain ideas have been developed in this regard. But, I believe that a comprehensive plan should be formulated in this regard. We should delineate the issues of women in a completely systemic way and we should give it a proper form. Moreover, there should be an outstanding and permanent center [for this matter] with competent personnel and with a long-term plan. I do not at all believe in short-term plans in this regard. After this, certain organizations and institutes should be formed to work for different parts of this prominent and permanent center. They should inform one another of what they are doing and there should be a suitable databank. Many things are being done by women in our country about which even ladies participating in this meeting may not be aware of. Well, thankfully, we have so many outstanding and knowledgeable women in different sections and with different outlooks. We should benefit from this large number of women.
Another point - I will make this the last point because it is noon and there is no time - is that active women in the camp of the Islamic Republic played an outstanding role immediately after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, during the early years after the Revolution and during the Sacred Defense Era. They showed their presence in an outstanding way. You should not let this outstanding presence of active women in the camp of the Revolution be undermined. Those who confront and oppose the Revolution try to benefit from competent women. The camp of the Revolution has far more competent, active and knowledgeable women who are authors, orators and scholars. It enjoys women who are ready to take action and who are interested in thinking, writing, delivering speeches and conveying their ideas and thoughts. They should not leave the arena of the Revolution and defending the Revolution. This is one point.
I will finish the last point by saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) should play a completely fundamental role in promoting the things which I discussed and the issues which you raised. I believe and I recommend that the IRIB should definitely play a fundamental role in this regard. It can do this. In society, the IRIB can build the culture of respecting religious, active and mujahid women who wear hijab and who enjoy Islamic characteristics. Other people want the opposite to happen. Unfortunately, a number of the programs of the IRIB are in line with the goals of these people. The opposite should be done. That is to say, the IRIB should be completely at the service of this idea.
In any case, the conclusion that we can draw from all these things is that, thankfully, we have made certain achievements on the issue of women in the Islamic Republic, but these achievements do not meet the needs and the expectations of Islam and they are not compatible with the possibilities and resources that exist in Islam. We are backward in this regard. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, you ladies should make up for this backwardness in the best way possible.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will protect you and increase your achievements on a daily basis. And I hope that we can move towards what Islam wants in this regard on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
35:43
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[04 June 13] Speech on the 24th Demise of Imam Khomeini | Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The speech was delivered at Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s shrine.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure, chosen, guided and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
We are thankful to Allah the Exalted who gave us another opportunity to commemorate our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) on such a day and express our respect for him. Although the memory of Imam (r.a.) is alive among our people at all times, the 14th of Khordad is the manifestation of the Iranian nation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s love for him. This year the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) has coincided with the martyrdom anniversary of his great ancestor, Imam Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far (a.s.). Also, this occasion has coincided with the 50th anniversary of the determining and important event that took place on the 15th of Khordad in the year 1342. The 15th of Khordad was an important historical juncture. I would like to briefly discuss a few points in this regard and then I will discuss the pressing issues that are necessary to discuss.
The 15th of Khordad was not the beginning of the great movement by the people and the clergy. Before the 15th of Khordad, important events had taken place in the year 1341 as well as at the beginning of the year 1342. For example, the event in Feiziyeh School took place on the 2nd of Farvardin in 1342: it resulted in the injury of seminarians and the insult to the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Golpaygani. Before that event, towards the end of the year 1341, there were demonstrations in Tehran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s bazaar and the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ahmad Khansari, was insulted. These things show that the movement by the clergy had reached such levels in 1341 and early 1342 that security forces of the oppressive regime had started to treat seminarians, religious scholars and even marja taqlids in a brutal way.
However, the 15th of Khordad of 1342 was a very important juncture. The reason is that the event which took place on the 15th of Khordad revealed that the bond between the people and the clergy had reached a so-called dangerous level. In that year, on the anniversary of Ashura - which fell on the 13th of Khordad - our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) delivered a historic speech in Feiziyeh School. Later on when they had arrested Imam (r.a.), on the 15th of Khordad there was a great movement in Tehran as well as in Qom and other cities and the taghuti regime decided to do everything in its power to suppress the movement by relying on its army, police and security organizations.
There was a popular uprising on the 15th of Khordad, which was indicative of the strong bond between the people of Iran and the clergy and marja taqlids, who were represented by Imam (r.a.). The point is that it was this bond that ensured the spread and victory of the movement. Wherever a movement is supported by the people, that movement will prevail. But if the people do not develop a bond with a protest movement, that movement will fail. For example, after the Constitutional Movement in Iran, there were certain events and certain activities by both leftist and nationalist groups, but all of them were destined to fail because they did not have the support of the people.
When the people step into the arena and support a movement with their hearts and minds and with their presence, it becomes possible for that movement to prevail and achieve victory. The event that took place on the 15th of Khordad proved this point. It proved that our people support the clergy. The arrest of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) resulted in such an uprising in Tehran and certain other parts of the country that the regime had to step in to suppress the people in a brutal way. A large number of people were killed. The streets of Tehran were covered with the blood of pious people and youth. On the 15th of Khordad, the brutal and ruthless nature of the taghuti regime was fully revealed.
Another point regarding the event which happened on the 15th of Khordad - a point to which our youth and dear people should pay attention - is that no international community and none of the so-called human rights organizations protested against the brutal killings in Tehran and other parts of the country. All of them stayed silent. The people and the clergy remained in the arena. Marxists and leftist groups and governments even condemned the popular movement of the 15th of Khordad. They said that it was a feudalist movement. The nationalists - who were claiming to support anti-government activities - also condemned the movement. They said that the movement was a blind and aimless movement, that it was a radical movement.
Wherever lazy people fail to take risks and play a role in the arena, they accuse pious combatants of extremism. They said that the movement was an extremist movement. They rejected it as a radical movement. Imam (r.a.) remained in the arena, relying on the support of the people, and he managed to present the image of a truly decisive and determined spiritual leader to all people and to all history.
Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) had three beliefs which made him decisive, courageous and steadfast: namely, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself. These three beliefs revealed themselves in the character, decisions and actions of Imam (r.a.) in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) spoke to the people through his heart and the people accepted his call with their heart and soul. They stepped into the arena and resisted in a brave way. Their movement - which had no sympathizers in the world and received no assistance - gradually moved towards ultimate victory.
I would like to briefly explain the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The points I will discuss in this regard are important points that can illuminate our path only if they find their way into our hearts.
Regarding faith in God, Imam (r.a.) was the manifestation of this holy ayah: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered against you, therefore fear them, but this increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 3: 173] Imam (r.a.) was firmly committed to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" with all his heart and soul. Imam (r.a.) had faith in Allah the Exalted. He had faith in divine promises. He acted, worked and spoke for the sake of God and he knew that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"if you help (the cause of) Allah, He will help you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7] is a divine promise and that it is definite and inviolable.
Regarding faith in the people, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) knew the Iranian nation in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) believed that our nation enjoys deep religious faith and is intelligent and courageous, a nation that has the capacity to shine like the sun in different areas only if it has competent leaders. One time an incompetent person like Shah Sultan Hussein caused the Iranian nation to retreat into a corner, but another time a courageous person like Nader Gholi - without those honorary titles - emerged among the people and became their leader by relying on his courage and as a result, our nation managed to expand the arena of its glory from Delhi to the Black Sea. Imam (r.a.) had noticed this truth about our history and he had witnessed the examples.
He believed in this truth. He knew our nation. He had faith in the Iranian nation. The people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s deep religious faith - which had been concealed by materialistic people - was revived by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). He provoked the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religious pride and the Iranian nation became the role model of resistance and insight. In the eyes of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the people were the dearest and enemies of the people were the most hated. The fact that Imam (r.a.) did not stop his battle against the domineering powers even for one single moment, was mainly because the domineering powers were enemies of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s happiness, and Imam (r.a.) believed that enemies of the people were his enemies too.
As for self-confidence, Imam (r.a.) taught the people of Iran to be confident. Before instilling a sense of confidence into the people of Iran, Imam (r.a.) first revived this sense of self-confidence in himself. He exhibited his faith in his capabilities in the true sense of the word. On the anniversary of Ashura in the year 1342, while he was alone, Imam (r.a.) threatened the Shah that he would ask the people of Iran to force him out of the country if he continued acting like that. He said this among the people and seminarians of Qom in Feiziyeh School and he threatened Mohammadreza Shah, who was wielding unrestricted power in the country by relying on America and other foreign powers. This threat was made by a cleric in Qom who had no weapons, no equipment, no money and no international support. He managed to resist in this arena by relying on his faith in God and in himself.
The day when Imam (r.a.) returned from exile, he threatened the government of Bakhtiar at Behesht Zahra Cemetery and he announced in a resonating voice that he would punch Bakhtiar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s government in the mouth and that he would establish another government. This was indicative of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) self-confidence. Imam (r.a.) had faith in himself and in his capabilities. It was this self-confidence that was transferred to the people of Iran through his words and actions.
My dear ones, for a hundred years, they had convinced us that we were incapable, incapable of managing the country, incapable of achieving dignity and glory, incapable of developing the country, incapable of moving forward in the arena of knowledge and other such things. And we had started to believe these things.
Instilling a sense of inability - with the purpose of making nations lose faith in their capabilities - is one of the effective ways in which domineering powers spread their domination over different nations. In this way, they managed to keep the Iranian nation backwards in politics, science and economic activities as well as in all other arenas of life. Imam (r.a.) reversed this situation and took this means of hegemony away from the superpowers. He told the Iranian nation, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You can.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He restored our courage. He restored our determination. He restored our self-confidence. We people of Iran felt that we were capable again. We moved forward and we took action. For this reason, the Iranian nation has achieved victory over the past thirty-something in all the areas that I will discuss later on in this meeting.
These three beliefs of Imam (r.a.) - namely faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself - became the axis of all his decisions, actions and policies. At the beginning of the movement, these three beliefs were a source of energy for Imam (r.a.). The same is true of the time when he was in exile, the time when he left for Paris and the time when he returned to Iran. It was these three beliefs that gave Imam (r.a.) the power to enter Tehran in those conditions. These three beliefs were exhibited in the events that happened during Bahman of 1357, in the fitnas that happened in the country, in the establishment of the Islamic Republic, in his open resistance against the oppressive global order, in the slogan of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"neither the East, nor the West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", in the imposed war and in all the events that took place in those eventful ten years of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s life. These three beliefs were the basis of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s decisions, actions and policies.
Even in the last few days of his life, nobody noticed any signs of despair, doubt, exhaustion, weakness or submission in the words and actions of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Many revolutionaries throughout the world start to have doubts and become conservative as they grow older. Sometimes they even take back their main statements. The statements that were issued by Imam (r.a.) during the last few years of his life were sometimes even more strongly worded and revolutionary than his statements in the year 1342. He was growing old, but he was young at heart and his soul was vibrant. This is the same steadfastness that has been described in the Holy Quran: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 72: 16] In another ayah, Allah the Exalted says: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 41: 30]
These three beliefs kept Imam (r.a.) young and vibrant. They consolidated Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s thought and path for our nation and then these three beliefs gradually spread among our people, our youth and individuals from different social backgrounds. These three beliefs created hope. They created self-confidence. They resulted in reliance on God. These things replaced despair and pessimism. The people of Iran changed their characteristics and Allah the Exalted changed their conditions. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 13: 11] The people of Iran reformed their path, their movement and their motives and Allah the Exalted helped and supported them. What was the result? The result was that Iran became an independent country.
There are many lessons that our dear youth should learn from the dependence of the taghuti Pahlavi regime - which is was even worse than the reactionary and disgraced Qajar regime - on England and subsequently on America. Their dependence had reached a disgraceful level. After the Revolution, an outstanding American diplomat mentioned the same thing in his writings. He said that it was the Americans who used to tell the Shah what he needed and what he did not need. It was the Americans who used to tell him with whom to establish relations and with whom not to. They used to tell him how much oil he had to produce and sell. It was the Americans who used to tell him to whom he should sell oil and to whom he should not.
Our country used to be managed on the basis of America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s policies and plans, and before that our country used to be run on the basis of the plans and policies of England. That dependent country transformed into an independent and proud country. Corrupt, treasonous and materialistic rulers, who were immersed in their carnal desires and human passions, were in charge of our country. They were replaced by representatives of the people. They were replaced by officials who had been elected by the people. In the past thirty-something years, the individuals who have assumed power in our country and taken control of our policies and economy, have been representatives of the people. They did not line their own pockets after assuming power, which is a very important point. Of course, some of them were more pious than others.
Those evil, dependent and greedy politicians who were submissive against the enemies and treated the people in an angry way, were replaced by representatives of the people. Our scientifically backward country transformed into a country that was advanced in terms of science. Before the Revolution, we had not made any scientific achievements in the country. Today international centers say that the rate of Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s scientific progress is eleven times more than the global average. Is this an insignificant achievement? International scientific centers predict that in a few years - by the year 2017 - Iran will rank fourth in the world in terms of science. Is this an insignificant accomplishment? Our country, which had made no scientific achievements, has achieved this position.
There was a time we had to ask foreigners to send their engineers to our country to build dams, roads and factories for us whenever we needed a road, a highway, a dam or a factory. Today Iranian youth are building thousands of factories and hundreds of dams, bridges, roads and highways in the country without receiving the slightest help from foreigners. Today our scientific and technological growth and our capabilities to develop the country have reached this level. Would it be appropriate if we ignored these things?
In areas relating to health and medicine, Iranian patients who had the money had to travel to Europe for slightly complicated operations, and those who did not have the money had to die. Today the most complicated operations - liver transplants, lung transplants and important things in other medical areas - are being carried out in our country, not just in Tehran but in many distant cities across the country. These capabilities exist today in our country. The Iranian nation does not need foreigners in this area. Our nation has achieved independence and self-sufficiency in this vital area.
Many parts of this country had been ignored. Before the Revolution, I used to travel to different places across the country. Remote parts of the country used to be completelyignored. However, different services are being offered in different parts of the country, including remote towns and villages. Today nobody can say that a particular area does not have electricity or roads and other such things. Before the Revolution, it was surprising to see a remote place that enjoyed such facilities. Today the opposite is surprising. At that time, our population was 35 million and there were 150,000 university students in the country. Today our population has increased a hundred percent, but the number of our university students has increased by 20, even 30 times. This means that we have paid attention to science. The number of students, professors and universities in the country is remarkable. In every remote town, there are one, two, five and sometimes ten universities. At that time, there were certain provinces in which the number of high schools was less than ten. Today in every city of the same provinces, there are several universities. This is a great movement by the people of Iran which is the result of the Revolution and selfless efforts of Iranian youth and government officials over the past thirty-something years. These are important developments. Thanks to the Revolution, many infrastructure-related projects were carried out in the country. Thousands of factories were built. Many mother companies were built. The products which we had to beg for and buy in small amounts from foreigners are being mass produced in the country today. It is necessary to see these things. All of these things are the blessings of the three beliefs that Imam (r.a.) instilled into our nation: faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself.
I am not saying these things in order to create a false sense of pride and happiness. I am not saying these things to make you feel happy and thankful for the victory that has been achieved. No, there is still a long way to go. I would say that if we compare our conditions with the era of taghut, these achievements will look remarkable, but we will realize that we have a long way to go if we compare our conditions with the conditions of an ideal Islamic Iran - namely, a country which Islam wants us to have, a society that Islam wants us to have, a society in which there is worldly pride and welfare as well as religious faith, ethics and spirituality, all in abundance. I am saying these things so that our dear youth and our courageous nation realize that they can continue this path by relying on the three beliefs that I spoke about. You should know that there is a long way to go, but you have the capability. You have the power to continue this path. You have the necessary means. You can continue traversing this long path at a high speed until you reach the peaks in a powerful way. I am saying these things so that you realize that the enemies who want to create despair in our hearts are acting out of spite. All the signs show that we should remain hopeful.
The roadmap lies in front of our eyes. We have a roadmap. What is this roadmap? Our roadmap is the principles of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the same principles that transformed that backward and humiliated nation into this pioneering and proud nation. These principles will be useful for us along the path and they will be our roadmap. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles are clear principles. Fortunately, his statements and writings have been made available to our people in the form of twenty-something volumes [of Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s speeches] and the main points have been presented in his testament. Everybody can refer to those documents and read them. I believe it is not advisable to keep mentioning the name of Imam (r.a.) but let his principles sink into oblivion. This is wrong. The name and memory of Imam (r.a.) is not sufficient in itself. Imam (r.a.) will remain a leader for our nation with his principles and his roadmap. Imam (r.a.) gave this roadmap to us. He had specific principles.
As for domestic policy, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the votes of the people, preserving unity of the people, choosing rulers who are populist and non-aristocratic [humble], having government officials who are committed to national interests and making comprehensive efforts in order to bring about progress for the country.
As far as foreign policy is concerned, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we put up a resistance against interventionist and domineering policies, that we establish brotherly relations with other Muslim nations, that we develop relations with all countries except the ones that have drawn their swords against the Iranian nation and are being hostile, that we fight Zionism, that we resist in order to liberate Palestine, that we help oppressed people throughout the world and that we put up a resistance against oppressors. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s testament is available to us. His writings and statements have been recorded and are available in the form of books.
Regarding culture, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require rejection of the permissive Western culture, rejection of rigidity and reactionary attitudes, rejection of hypocrisy in religion, decisive defense of ethics and Islamic commands, and fighting the spread of immorality and corruption in society.
As for economic matters, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the national economy, relying on self-sufficiency, ensuring economic justice in production and distribution, defending underprivileged people and confronting the capitalist culture coupled with respect for ownership rights. Imam (r.a.) rejected the oppressive capitalist culture, but he also stressed the need for respecting ownership and property rights, capital and labor. Also, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we resist melting into the global economy and that we preserve independence of our national economy. These are Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles regarding economic matters. These things are obvious in Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s statements.
Imam (r.a.) always demanded government officials of the country to implement these principles in a powerful and wise way. This was the roadmap of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can bridge the gap between current conditions and those ideal conditions by following this roadmap, by relying on their firm religious faith, by remembering their Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can move forward. Considering its capabilities and talent and the outstanding individuals who are thankfully present among our people, the Iranian nation can continue the revolutionary path that we have been following over the past thirty-something years with more power and firmer determination. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, our nation will be able to become a genuine role model for other Muslim nations.
Now let me speak about the elections, which is a sensitive and current issue these days. Dear brothers and sisters and dear people of Iran, elections are the manifestation of all the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and we should have faith in the same things. Elections are the manifestation of faith in God, because taking part in elections is a religious obligation. It is our responsibility to play a role in the destiny of our country. Everybody in our country has this responsibility. Elections are the manifestation of faith in the people, because the will of the people manifests itself in the form of elections: it is the people who choose government officials through elections. Elections are the manifestation of having faith in oneself, because anybody who casts his vote into the ballot box feels that he is playing a role in the destiny of the country and that his role is determining in its own right. This is a very important point. Therefore, elections are the manifestation of faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself.
Giving rise to political valor through epic presence of the people at our polling stations is the most important point regarding the upcoming elections. What is the meaning of valor? Valor means that the attempt to achieve glory should be accompanied by excitement and enthusiasm. Every vote that you cast into the ballot box for any of the eight honorable candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic. A vote for any of the candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic: it is a vote of confidence for the [political] system and its electoral mechanism. When you enter the arena of elections - either as a voter or as a candidate - your mere presence in this arena means that you have confidence in the Islamic Republic and in our electoral mechanism. On a less important level, your presence results in a vote for the person whom you consider as more valuable for the future of the country than the other candidates.
Our helpless foreign enemies are thinking of a way to turn this election into a threat against the Islamic Republic. This is while an election is a great opportunity for the Islamic Republic. They are hoping for a cold and lifeless election so that they can say the people are not interested in the Islamic Republic or they can create a fitna after the election, just as they did in the year 1388 after that enthusiastic election. These are what the enemies of our nation are after. But they are making a mistake. They do not know our people.
The enemies of our nation have forgotten the 9th of Dey. Those who think that in our country there is a silent majority who are opposed to the Islamic Republic, have forgotten that over the past thirty-four years massive numbers of people have taken to the streets every year on the 22nd of Bahman in different cities of our country in order to support the Islamic Republic and shout \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"death to America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". In order to make our elections lifeless, their think tanks constantly produce ideas and feed them to their media and their spokesmen. One day they say our elections have been engineered, another day they say our elections are not free, yet another day they say our elections are not legitimate in the eyes of the people. They do not know our people, neither do they know our elections and the Islamic Republic. And those who are aware of the facts, make unfair comments. They do not shrink from making such comments.
In which part of the world are different candidates - ranging from famous figures to unknown individuals - allowed to use national and state media equally? If somebody knows an exception, he should come forward and say it. In which part of the world does such a thing exist? Does it exist in America? Does it exist in capitalist countries? In capitalist countries, if candidates are members of the existing two or three parties and enjoy the support of capitalists, company owners, wealthy people and mafias of wealth and power, they can campaign and if not, they cannot even campaign.
Anybody who has followed American elections - which I have - will confirm this. There were certain individuals who did not enjoy the support of the Zionists and blood-thirsty international capitalist networks, and they could not enter the arena of election no matter how hard they tried. They neither had access to a media outlet, nor were any TV channels available to them. For every second of campaigning, they had to spend huge amounts of money. In our country, candidates are given equal opportunities to speak to the people for many hours through state media without having to spend one single rial. In which part of the world do such things exist?
The only thing that controls entry into our elections is the law. According to the law, some people can run in our elections and some others cannot. The law has specified what the conditions are, what the qualifications are and who are in charge of vetting. All of these things are being done on the basis of the law. Our foreign enemies close their eyes to these realities and say certain things, and as I have pointed out before, sadly there are impious people who repeat the same things. But by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and with their presence, resistance and firm determination, our people will respond to all these machinations and their response will be crushing and decisive.
Now I would like to give a piece of advice to the honorable candidates. The honorable candidates speak critically in the televised programs. This is their right. They can criticize whatever they believe should be criticized. However, they should pay attention to the point that criticism should signify a determination to move towards a future that is full of hard work and glory. It should not signify an effort to paint a bleak picture and promote pessimism and unfair comments. They should pay attention to this point. I do not favor anybody. From this moment onwards, foreign media will say with ulterior motives that I favor a particular candidate. This is a lie. I do not favor anybody. I only lay out the facts.
I advise the brothers who want to win the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s trust that their comments should be fair. They can make criticisms, but in doing so, they should not paint a bleak picture and deny the outstanding achievements that have been accomplished under the incumbent administration or previous administrations thanks to the constant efforts of individuals like themselves.
Criticism does not mean denying positive aspects. Criticism means that one should point out the positive thing that has been done and then point out the weaknesses and flaws as well. The next president will not have to start from zero: thousands of outstanding things have already been done. Over the course of many years, thousands of fundamental infrastructure-related projects have been carried out in the country under different administrations. There has been scientific progress. There has been industrial progress. There has been progress in areas relating to infrastructure. Very important things have been planned and implemented in different areas. They should not disregard these things. Whenever they want to do something, they should start from the achievements that have already been made. We cannot afford to deny all this work under the pretext that we have economic problems, that we have the problem of rising prices and inflation. After all, this is not the right thing to do. Yes, we have economic problems and inflation. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the person who will be voted into office will be able to resolve these problems and remove these obstacles. This is the wish of the Iranian nation. However, this does not mean that we should deny everything that has been done in order to present a solution to the existing problems.
Also, the candidates should not make impossible promises. You should speak in a way that if your recorded statements are replayed to you next year in Khordad, you do not feel ashamed. Make such promises that you would not have to blame other people under the pretext that they did not let you do what you wanted to do. Only make promises that you will be able to fulfill.
In our country and according to our Constitution, the president has extraordinary powers. The Constitution has given vast powers to the president. The president has control over the national budget. He has control over all executive pillars of the country. He has control over the implementation of the laws and regulations in the country. He has the power to utilize the capacities of all experts throughout the country. The president has room for maneuver in the case of different issues. The only thing that restricts the president in our country is the law. His actions can only be restricted by the law, which is not in fact a restriction. The law provides guidance: it does not restrict. The law shows the path and tells us how to move forward.
Those who address the people today and say different things, should discuss what they are capable of doing and what the people need. They should promise that they will act in a wise and prudent way. If they have plans for different areas, they should present their plans to the people. They should promise that they will move forward on this path in a persistent and steadfast way. They should promise that they will make use of all the capacities of the Constitution in order to carry out their great responsibility.
They should promise that they will manage the conditions of the country. They should promise that they will focus their efforts on the economy - which is a challenge that has been imposed on the Iranian nation by foreigners. They should promise that they will not create controversy. They should promise that they will not give their friends and relative a free rein. They should promise that they will not prefer the interests of foreigners over the interests of the Iranian nation under different pretexts.
Some people argue that we should make concessions to the enemies in order to appease them and in this way they effectively prefer the interests of the enemies over the interests of the Iranian nation. This is wrong. They are angry because you exist, because the Islamic Republic exists, because Imam (r.a.) is alive in the minds of the people and in our national plans, because the people show their feelings for Imam (r.a.) every year on his demise anniversary. These are the causes of their anger. The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s anger should be controlled and suppressed with our national power.
If our nation becomes powerful and capable, if it reduces its needs, if it eliminates its problems, if it manages to improve the economy which is our main issue today, the enemy will be defenseless against the Iranian nation. In any case, what is important is to have determination, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in ourselves, and this applies to both the presidential candidates and the people. My dear brothers, my dear ones, there will a great test in ten days, and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor we hope that in this great test Allah the Exalted will cause an auspicious instance of valor with brilliant outcomes for our nation. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There is no power except with the permission of Great Almighty Allah.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The speech was delivered at Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s shrine.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure, chosen, guided and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
We are thankful to Allah the Exalted who gave us another opportunity to commemorate our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) on such a day and express our respect for him. Although the memory of Imam (r.a.) is alive among our people at all times, the 14th of Khordad is the manifestation of the Iranian nation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s love for him. This year the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) has coincided with the martyrdom anniversary of his great ancestor, Imam Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far (a.s.). Also, this occasion has coincided with the 50th anniversary of the determining and important event that took place on the 15th of Khordad in the year 1342. The 15th of Khordad was an important historical juncture. I would like to briefly discuss a few points in this regard and then I will discuss the pressing issues that are necessary to discuss.
The 15th of Khordad was not the beginning of the great movement by the people and the clergy. Before the 15th of Khordad, important events had taken place in the year 1341 as well as at the beginning of the year 1342. For example, the event in Feiziyeh School took place on the 2nd of Farvardin in 1342: it resulted in the injury of seminarians and the insult to the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Golpaygani. Before that event, towards the end of the year 1341, there were demonstrations in Tehran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s bazaar and the great marja taqlid, the late Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ahmad Khansari, was insulted. These things show that the movement by the clergy had reached such levels in 1341 and early 1342 that security forces of the oppressive regime had started to treat seminarians, religious scholars and even marja taqlids in a brutal way.
However, the 15th of Khordad of 1342 was a very important juncture. The reason is that the event which took place on the 15th of Khordad revealed that the bond between the people and the clergy had reached a so-called dangerous level. In that year, on the anniversary of Ashura - which fell on the 13th of Khordad - our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) delivered a historic speech in Feiziyeh School. Later on when they had arrested Imam (r.a.), on the 15th of Khordad there was a great movement in Tehran as well as in Qom and other cities and the taghuti regime decided to do everything in its power to suppress the movement by relying on its army, police and security organizations.
There was a popular uprising on the 15th of Khordad, which was indicative of the strong bond between the people of Iran and the clergy and marja taqlids, who were represented by Imam (r.a.). The point is that it was this bond that ensured the spread and victory of the movement. Wherever a movement is supported by the people, that movement will prevail. But if the people do not develop a bond with a protest movement, that movement will fail. For example, after the Constitutional Movement in Iran, there were certain events and certain activities by both leftist and nationalist groups, but all of them were destined to fail because they did not have the support of the people.
When the people step into the arena and support a movement with their hearts and minds and with their presence, it becomes possible for that movement to prevail and achieve victory. The event that took place on the 15th of Khordad proved this point. It proved that our people support the clergy. The arrest of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) resulted in such an uprising in Tehran and certain other parts of the country that the regime had to step in to suppress the people in a brutal way. A large number of people were killed. The streets of Tehran were covered with the blood of pious people and youth. On the 15th of Khordad, the brutal and ruthless nature of the taghuti regime was fully revealed.
Another point regarding the event which happened on the 15th of Khordad - a point to which our youth and dear people should pay attention - is that no international community and none of the so-called human rights organizations protested against the brutal killings in Tehran and other parts of the country. All of them stayed silent. The people and the clergy remained in the arena. Marxists and leftist groups and governments even condemned the popular movement of the 15th of Khordad. They said that it was a feudalist movement. The nationalists - who were claiming to support anti-government activities - also condemned the movement. They said that the movement was a blind and aimless movement, that it was a radical movement.
Wherever lazy people fail to take risks and play a role in the arena, they accuse pious combatants of extremism. They said that the movement was an extremist movement. They rejected it as a radical movement. Imam (r.a.) remained in the arena, relying on the support of the people, and he managed to present the image of a truly decisive and determined spiritual leader to all people and to all history.
Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) had three beliefs which made him decisive, courageous and steadfast: namely, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself. These three beliefs revealed themselves in the character, decisions and actions of Imam (r.a.) in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) spoke to the people through his heart and the people accepted his call with their heart and soul. They stepped into the arena and resisted in a brave way. Their movement - which had no sympathizers in the world and received no assistance - gradually moved towards ultimate victory.
I would like to briefly explain the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The points I will discuss in this regard are important points that can illuminate our path only if they find their way into our hearts.
Regarding faith in God, Imam (r.a.) was the manifestation of this holy ayah: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered against you, therefore fear them, but this increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 3: 173] Imam (r.a.) was firmly committed to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent is the Protector\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" with all his heart and soul. Imam (r.a.) had faith in Allah the Exalted. He had faith in divine promises. He acted, worked and spoke for the sake of God and he knew that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"if you help (the cause of) Allah, He will help you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7] is a divine promise and that it is definite and inviolable.
Regarding faith in the people, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) knew the Iranian nation in the true sense of the word. Imam (r.a.) believed that our nation enjoys deep religious faith and is intelligent and courageous, a nation that has the capacity to shine like the sun in different areas only if it has competent leaders. One time an incompetent person like Shah Sultan Hussein caused the Iranian nation to retreat into a corner, but another time a courageous person like Nader Gholi - without those honorary titles - emerged among the people and became their leader by relying on his courage and as a result, our nation managed to expand the arena of its glory from Delhi to the Black Sea. Imam (r.a.) had noticed this truth about our history and he had witnessed the examples.
He believed in this truth. He knew our nation. He had faith in the Iranian nation. The people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s deep religious faith - which had been concealed by materialistic people - was revived by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). He provoked the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religious pride and the Iranian nation became the role model of resistance and insight. In the eyes of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the people were the dearest and enemies of the people were the most hated. The fact that Imam (r.a.) did not stop his battle against the domineering powers even for one single moment, was mainly because the domineering powers were enemies of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s happiness, and Imam (r.a.) believed that enemies of the people were his enemies too.
As for self-confidence, Imam (r.a.) taught the people of Iran to be confident. Before instilling a sense of confidence into the people of Iran, Imam (r.a.) first revived this sense of self-confidence in himself. He exhibited his faith in his capabilities in the true sense of the word. On the anniversary of Ashura in the year 1342, while he was alone, Imam (r.a.) threatened the Shah that he would ask the people of Iran to force him out of the country if he continued acting like that. He said this among the people and seminarians of Qom in Feiziyeh School and he threatened Mohammadreza Shah, who was wielding unrestricted power in the country by relying on America and other foreign powers. This threat was made by a cleric in Qom who had no weapons, no equipment, no money and no international support. He managed to resist in this arena by relying on his faith in God and in himself.
The day when Imam (r.a.) returned from exile, he threatened the government of Bakhtiar at Behesht Zahra Cemetery and he announced in a resonating voice that he would punch Bakhtiar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s government in the mouth and that he would establish another government. This was indicative of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) self-confidence. Imam (r.a.) had faith in himself and in his capabilities. It was this self-confidence that was transferred to the people of Iran through his words and actions.
My dear ones, for a hundred years, they had convinced us that we were incapable, incapable of managing the country, incapable of achieving dignity and glory, incapable of developing the country, incapable of moving forward in the arena of knowledge and other such things. And we had started to believe these things.
Instilling a sense of inability - with the purpose of making nations lose faith in their capabilities - is one of the effective ways in which domineering powers spread their domination over different nations. In this way, they managed to keep the Iranian nation backwards in politics, science and economic activities as well as in all other arenas of life. Imam (r.a.) reversed this situation and took this means of hegemony away from the superpowers. He told the Iranian nation, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You can.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He restored our courage. He restored our determination. He restored our self-confidence. We people of Iran felt that we were capable again. We moved forward and we took action. For this reason, the Iranian nation has achieved victory over the past thirty-something in all the areas that I will discuss later on in this meeting.
These three beliefs of Imam (r.a.) - namely faith in God, faith in the people and faith in himself - became the axis of all his decisions, actions and policies. At the beginning of the movement, these three beliefs were a source of energy for Imam (r.a.). The same is true of the time when he was in exile, the time when he left for Paris and the time when he returned to Iran. It was these three beliefs that gave Imam (r.a.) the power to enter Tehran in those conditions. These three beliefs were exhibited in the events that happened during Bahman of 1357, in the fitnas that happened in the country, in the establishment of the Islamic Republic, in his open resistance against the oppressive global order, in the slogan of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"neither the East, nor the West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", in the imposed war and in all the events that took place in those eventful ten years of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s life. These three beliefs were the basis of Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s decisions, actions and policies.
Even in the last few days of his life, nobody noticed any signs of despair, doubt, exhaustion, weakness or submission in the words and actions of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Many revolutionaries throughout the world start to have doubts and become conservative as they grow older. Sometimes they even take back their main statements. The statements that were issued by Imam (r.a.) during the last few years of his life were sometimes even more strongly worded and revolutionary than his statements in the year 1342. He was growing old, but he was young at heart and his soul was vibrant. This is the same steadfastness that has been described in the Holy Quran: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 72: 16] In another ayah, Allah the Exalted says: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 41: 30]
These three beliefs kept Imam (r.a.) young and vibrant. They consolidated Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s thought and path for our nation and then these three beliefs gradually spread among our people, our youth and individuals from different social backgrounds. These three beliefs created hope. They created self-confidence. They resulted in reliance on God. These things replaced despair and pessimism. The people of Iran changed their characteristics and Allah the Exalted changed their conditions. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 13: 11] The people of Iran reformed their path, their movement and their motives and Allah the Exalted helped and supported them. What was the result? The result was that Iran became an independent country.
There are many lessons that our dear youth should learn from the dependence of the taghuti Pahlavi regime - which is was even worse than the reactionary and disgraced Qajar regime - on England and subsequently on America. Their dependence had reached a disgraceful level. After the Revolution, an outstanding American diplomat mentioned the same thing in his writings. He said that it was the Americans who used to tell the Shah what he needed and what he did not need. It was the Americans who used to tell him with whom to establish relations and with whom not to. They used to tell him how much oil he had to produce and sell. It was the Americans who used to tell him to whom he should sell oil and to whom he should not.
Our country used to be managed on the basis of America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s policies and plans, and before that our country used to be run on the basis of the plans and policies of England. That dependent country transformed into an independent and proud country. Corrupt, treasonous and materialistic rulers, who were immersed in their carnal desires and human passions, were in charge of our country. They were replaced by representatives of the people. They were replaced by officials who had been elected by the people. In the past thirty-something years, the individuals who have assumed power in our country and taken control of our policies and economy, have been representatives of the people. They did not line their own pockets after assuming power, which is a very important point. Of course, some of them were more pious than others.
Those evil, dependent and greedy politicians who were submissive against the enemies and treated the people in an angry way, were replaced by representatives of the people. Our scientifically backward country transformed into a country that was advanced in terms of science. Before the Revolution, we had not made any scientific achievements in the country. Today international centers say that the rate of Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s scientific progress is eleven times more than the global average. Is this an insignificant achievement? International scientific centers predict that in a few years - by the year 2017 - Iran will rank fourth in the world in terms of science. Is this an insignificant accomplishment? Our country, which had made no scientific achievements, has achieved this position.
There was a time we had to ask foreigners to send their engineers to our country to build dams, roads and factories for us whenever we needed a road, a highway, a dam or a factory. Today Iranian youth are building thousands of factories and hundreds of dams, bridges, roads and highways in the country without receiving the slightest help from foreigners. Today our scientific and technological growth and our capabilities to develop the country have reached this level. Would it be appropriate if we ignored these things?
In areas relating to health and medicine, Iranian patients who had the money had to travel to Europe for slightly complicated operations, and those who did not have the money had to die. Today the most complicated operations - liver transplants, lung transplants and important things in other medical areas - are being carried out in our country, not just in Tehran but in many distant cities across the country. These capabilities exist today in our country. The Iranian nation does not need foreigners in this area. Our nation has achieved independence and self-sufficiency in this vital area.
Many parts of this country had been ignored. Before the Revolution, I used to travel to different places across the country. Remote parts of the country used to be completelyignored. However, different services are being offered in different parts of the country, including remote towns and villages. Today nobody can say that a particular area does not have electricity or roads and other such things. Before the Revolution, it was surprising to see a remote place that enjoyed such facilities. Today the opposite is surprising. At that time, our population was 35 million and there were 150,000 university students in the country. Today our population has increased a hundred percent, but the number of our university students has increased by 20, even 30 times. This means that we have paid attention to science. The number of students, professors and universities in the country is remarkable. In every remote town, there are one, two, five and sometimes ten universities. At that time, there were certain provinces in which the number of high schools was less than ten. Today in every city of the same provinces, there are several universities. This is a great movement by the people of Iran which is the result of the Revolution and selfless efforts of Iranian youth and government officials over the past thirty-something years. These are important developments. Thanks to the Revolution, many infrastructure-related projects were carried out in the country. Thousands of factories were built. Many mother companies were built. The products which we had to beg for and buy in small amounts from foreigners are being mass produced in the country today. It is necessary to see these things. All of these things are the blessings of the three beliefs that Imam (r.a.) instilled into our nation: faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself.
I am not saying these things in order to create a false sense of pride and happiness. I am not saying these things to make you feel happy and thankful for the victory that has been achieved. No, there is still a long way to go. I would say that if we compare our conditions with the era of taghut, these achievements will look remarkable, but we will realize that we have a long way to go if we compare our conditions with the conditions of an ideal Islamic Iran - namely, a country which Islam wants us to have, a society that Islam wants us to have, a society in which there is worldly pride and welfare as well as religious faith, ethics and spirituality, all in abundance. I am saying these things so that our dear youth and our courageous nation realize that they can continue this path by relying on the three beliefs that I spoke about. You should know that there is a long way to go, but you have the capability. You have the power to continue this path. You have the necessary means. You can continue traversing this long path at a high speed until you reach the peaks in a powerful way. I am saying these things so that you realize that the enemies who want to create despair in our hearts are acting out of spite. All the signs show that we should remain hopeful.
The roadmap lies in front of our eyes. We have a roadmap. What is this roadmap? Our roadmap is the principles of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the same principles that transformed that backward and humiliated nation into this pioneering and proud nation. These principles will be useful for us along the path and they will be our roadmap. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles are clear principles. Fortunately, his statements and writings have been made available to our people in the form of twenty-something volumes [of Imam Khomeini\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s speeches] and the main points have been presented in his testament. Everybody can refer to those documents and read them. I believe it is not advisable to keep mentioning the name of Imam (r.a.) but let his principles sink into oblivion. This is wrong. The name and memory of Imam (r.a.) is not sufficient in itself. Imam (r.a.) will remain a leader for our nation with his principles and his roadmap. Imam (r.a.) gave this roadmap to us. He had specific principles.
As for domestic policy, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the votes of the people, preserving unity of the people, choosing rulers who are populist and non-aristocratic [humble], having government officials who are committed to national interests and making comprehensive efforts in order to bring about progress for the country.
As far as foreign policy is concerned, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we put up a resistance against interventionist and domineering policies, that we establish brotherly relations with other Muslim nations, that we develop relations with all countries except the ones that have drawn their swords against the Iranian nation and are being hostile, that we fight Zionism, that we resist in order to liberate Palestine, that we help oppressed people throughout the world and that we put up a resistance against oppressors. Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s testament is available to us. His writings and statements have been recorded and are available in the form of books.
Regarding culture, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require rejection of the permissive Western culture, rejection of rigidity and reactionary attitudes, rejection of hypocrisy in religion, decisive defense of ethics and Islamic commands, and fighting the spread of immorality and corruption in society.
As for economic matters, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require relying on the national economy, relying on self-sufficiency, ensuring economic justice in production and distribution, defending underprivileged people and confronting the capitalist culture coupled with respect for ownership rights. Imam (r.a.) rejected the oppressive capitalist culture, but he also stressed the need for respecting ownership and property rights, capital and labor. Also, the principles of Imam (r.a.) require that we resist melting into the global economy and that we preserve independence of our national economy. These are Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles regarding economic matters. These things are obvious in Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s statements.
Imam (r.a.) always demanded government officials of the country to implement these principles in a powerful and wise way. This was the roadmap of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can bridge the gap between current conditions and those ideal conditions by following this roadmap, by relying on their firm religious faith, by remembering their Imam (r.a.). The Iranian nation can move forward. Considering its capabilities and talent and the outstanding individuals who are thankfully present among our people, the Iranian nation can continue the revolutionary path that we have been following over the past thirty-something years with more power and firmer determination. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, our nation will be able to become a genuine role model for other Muslim nations.
Now let me speak about the elections, which is a sensitive and current issue these days. Dear brothers and sisters and dear people of Iran, elections are the manifestation of all the three beliefs of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and we should have faith in the same things. Elections are the manifestation of faith in God, because taking part in elections is a religious obligation. It is our responsibility to play a role in the destiny of our country. Everybody in our country has this responsibility. Elections are the manifestation of faith in the people, because the will of the people manifests itself in the form of elections: it is the people who choose government officials through elections. Elections are the manifestation of having faith in oneself, because anybody who casts his vote into the ballot box feels that he is playing a role in the destiny of the country and that his role is determining in its own right. This is a very important point. Therefore, elections are the manifestation of faith in God, faith in the people and faith in oneself.
Giving rise to political valor through epic presence of the people at our polling stations is the most important point regarding the upcoming elections. What is the meaning of valor? Valor means that the attempt to achieve glory should be accompanied by excitement and enthusiasm. Every vote that you cast into the ballot box for any of the eight honorable candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic. A vote for any of the candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic: it is a vote of confidence for the [political] system and its electoral mechanism. When you enter the arena of elections - either as a voter or as a candidate - your mere presence in this arena means that you have confidence in the Islamic Republic and in our electoral mechanism. On a less important level, your presence results in a vote for the person whom you consider as more valuable for the future of the country than the other candidates.
Our helpless foreign enemies are thinking of a way to turn this election into a threat against the Islamic Republic. This is while an election is a great opportunity for the Islamic Republic. They are hoping for a cold and lifeless election so that they can say the people are not interested in the Islamic Republic or they can create a fitna after the election, just as they did in the year 1388 after that enthusiastic election. These are what the enemies of our nation are after. But they are making a mistake. They do not know our people.
The enemies of our nation have forgotten the 9th of Dey. Those who think that in our country there is a silent majority who are opposed to the Islamic Republic, have forgotten that over the past thirty-four years massive numbers of people have taken to the streets every year on the 22nd of Bahman in different cities of our country in order to support the Islamic Republic and shout \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"death to America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". In order to make our elections lifeless, their think tanks constantly produce ideas and feed them to their media and their spokesmen. One day they say our elections have been engineered, another day they say our elections are not free, yet another day they say our elections are not legitimate in the eyes of the people. They do not know our people, neither do they know our elections and the Islamic Republic. And those who are aware of the facts, make unfair comments. They do not shrink from making such comments.
In which part of the world are different candidates - ranging from famous figures to unknown individuals - allowed to use national and state media equally? If somebody knows an exception, he should come forward and say it. In which part of the world does such a thing exist? Does it exist in America? Does it exist in capitalist countries? In capitalist countries, if candidates are members of the existing two or three parties and enjoy the support of capitalists, company owners, wealthy people and mafias of wealth and power, they can campaign and if not, they cannot even campaign.
Anybody who has followed American elections - which I have - will confirm this. There were certain individuals who did not enjoy the support of the Zionists and blood-thirsty international capitalist networks, and they could not enter the arena of election no matter how hard they tried. They neither had access to a media outlet, nor were any TV channels available to them. For every second of campaigning, they had to spend huge amounts of money. In our country, candidates are given equal opportunities to speak to the people for many hours through state media without having to spend one single rial. In which part of the world do such things exist?
The only thing that controls entry into our elections is the law. According to the law, some people can run in our elections and some others cannot. The law has specified what the conditions are, what the qualifications are and who are in charge of vetting. All of these things are being done on the basis of the law. Our foreign enemies close their eyes to these realities and say certain things, and as I have pointed out before, sadly there are impious people who repeat the same things. But by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and with their presence, resistance and firm determination, our people will respond to all these machinations and their response will be crushing and decisive.
Now I would like to give a piece of advice to the honorable candidates. The honorable candidates speak critically in the televised programs. This is their right. They can criticize whatever they believe should be criticized. However, they should pay attention to the point that criticism should signify a determination to move towards a future that is full of hard work and glory. It should not signify an effort to paint a bleak picture and promote pessimism and unfair comments. They should pay attention to this point. I do not favor anybody. From this moment onwards, foreign media will say with ulterior motives that I favor a particular candidate. This is a lie. I do not favor anybody. I only lay out the facts.
I advise the brothers who want to win the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s trust that their comments should be fair. They can make criticisms, but in doing so, they should not paint a bleak picture and deny the outstanding achievements that have been accomplished under the incumbent administration or previous administrations thanks to the constant efforts of individuals like themselves.
Criticism does not mean denying positive aspects. Criticism means that one should point out the positive thing that has been done and then point out the weaknesses and flaws as well. The next president will not have to start from zero: thousands of outstanding things have already been done. Over the course of many years, thousands of fundamental infrastructure-related projects have been carried out in the country under different administrations. There has been scientific progress. There has been industrial progress. There has been progress in areas relating to infrastructure. Very important things have been planned and implemented in different areas. They should not disregard these things. Whenever they want to do something, they should start from the achievements that have already been made. We cannot afford to deny all this work under the pretext that we have economic problems, that we have the problem of rising prices and inflation. After all, this is not the right thing to do. Yes, we have economic problems and inflation. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the person who will be voted into office will be able to resolve these problems and remove these obstacles. This is the wish of the Iranian nation. However, this does not mean that we should deny everything that has been done in order to present a solution to the existing problems.
Also, the candidates should not make impossible promises. You should speak in a way that if your recorded statements are replayed to you next year in Khordad, you do not feel ashamed. Make such promises that you would not have to blame other people under the pretext that they did not let you do what you wanted to do. Only make promises that you will be able to fulfill.
In our country and according to our Constitution, the president has extraordinary powers. The Constitution has given vast powers to the president. The president has control over the national budget. He has control over all executive pillars of the country. He has control over the implementation of the laws and regulations in the country. He has the power to utilize the capacities of all experts throughout the country. The president has room for maneuver in the case of different issues. The only thing that restricts the president in our country is the law. His actions can only be restricted by the law, which is not in fact a restriction. The law provides guidance: it does not restrict. The law shows the path and tells us how to move forward.
Those who address the people today and say different things, should discuss what they are capable of doing and what the people need. They should promise that they will act in a wise and prudent way. If they have plans for different areas, they should present their plans to the people. They should promise that they will move forward on this path in a persistent and steadfast way. They should promise that they will make use of all the capacities of the Constitution in order to carry out their great responsibility.
They should promise that they will manage the conditions of the country. They should promise that they will focus their efforts on the economy - which is a challenge that has been imposed on the Iranian nation by foreigners. They should promise that they will not create controversy. They should promise that they will not give their friends and relative a free rein. They should promise that they will not prefer the interests of foreigners over the interests of the Iranian nation under different pretexts.
Some people argue that we should make concessions to the enemies in order to appease them and in this way they effectively prefer the interests of the enemies over the interests of the Iranian nation. This is wrong. They are angry because you exist, because the Islamic Republic exists, because Imam (r.a.) is alive in the minds of the people and in our national plans, because the people show their feelings for Imam (r.a.) every year on his demise anniversary. These are the causes of their anger. The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s anger should be controlled and suppressed with our national power.
If our nation becomes powerful and capable, if it reduces its needs, if it eliminates its problems, if it manages to improve the economy which is our main issue today, the enemy will be defenseless against the Iranian nation. In any case, what is important is to have determination, faith in God, faith in the people and faith in ourselves, and this applies to both the presidential candidates and the people. My dear brothers, my dear ones, there will a great test in ten days, and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor we hope that in this great test Allah the Exalted will cause an auspicious instance of valor with brilliant outcomes for our nation. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There is no power except with the permission of Great Almighty Allah.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings