14:22
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[28 Jan 2014] Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Weekly Press Conf. (P.2) - English
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution...
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution is only a first step toward ending terrorism and that a collective effort by all countries is needed to achieve that. She warned against employing double standards in implementing the UN resolution. Afkham said that if the world fails to deal with terrorism properly and allows a discriminatory approach, all attempts would fail and more countries would fall victim to violence. Afkham said that Iran is ready to take practical steps at the regional and international levels to help tackle terrorism. The UN resolution strongly condemns incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorists and calls on all countries to stop paying ransom to kidnappers who use the money to finance terrorist groups.
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Description:
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution is only a first step toward ending terrorism and that a collective effort by all countries is needed to achieve that. She warned against employing double standards in implementing the UN resolution. Afkham said that if the world fails to deal with terrorism properly and allows a discriminatory approach, all attempts would fail and more countries would fall victim to violence. Afkham said that Iran is ready to take practical steps at the regional and international levels to help tackle terrorism. The UN resolution strongly condemns incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorists and calls on all countries to stop paying ransom to kidnappers who use the money to finance terrorist groups.
13:24
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[28 Jan 2014] Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Weekly Press Conf. (P.3) - English
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution...
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution is only a first step toward ending terrorism and that a collective effort by all countries is needed to achieve that. She warned against employing double standards in implementing the UN resolution. Afkham said that if the world fails to deal with terrorism properly and allows a discriminatory approach, all attempts would fail and more countries would fall victim to violence. Afkham said that Iran is ready to take practical steps at the regional and international levels to help tackle terrorism. The UN resolution strongly condemns incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorists and calls on all countries to stop paying ransom to kidnappers who use the money to finance terrorist groups.
More...
Description:
Iran welcomes a UN Security Council resolution which calls for greater cooperation against kidnappings by terrorist groups.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham has said that the resolution is only a first step toward ending terrorism and that a collective effort by all countries is needed to achieve that. She warned against employing double standards in implementing the UN resolution. Afkham said that if the world fails to deal with terrorism properly and allows a discriminatory approach, all attempts would fail and more countries would fall victim to violence. Afkham said that Iran is ready to take practical steps at the regional and international levels to help tackle terrorism. The UN resolution strongly condemns incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking committed by terrorists and calls on all countries to stop paying ransom to kidnappers who use the money to finance terrorist groups.
4:52
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[24 Feb 2014] Christian militiamen issue ultimatum to Muslims in Central African Republic - English
Indiscriminate killings of Muslims continue in the Central African Republic. The Christian militiamen have issued an ultimatum to Muslims taking refuge in a church to either leave the country or...
Indiscriminate killings of Muslims continue in the Central African Republic. The Christian militiamen have issued an ultimatum to Muslims taking refuge in a church to either leave the country or face death. Nearly 800 Muslims are hiding in a Catholic Church in the southwestern town of Carnot. Some of them fled from a remote village of Guen after militia known as the anti-Balaka massacred at least 70 people earlier this month. The militia is now threatening to burn the church to the ground. The sectarian conflict in the African nation has so far claimed over a thousand lives. Human rights groups have already documented a wave of violent attacks against Muslims throughout the country. Tens of thousands have also fled for their lives to neighboring countries. The bloodshed continues despite the deployment of thousands of French and African peacekeepers.
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Description:
Indiscriminate killings of Muslims continue in the Central African Republic. The Christian militiamen have issued an ultimatum to Muslims taking refuge in a church to either leave the country or face death. Nearly 800 Muslims are hiding in a Catholic Church in the southwestern town of Carnot. Some of them fled from a remote village of Guen after militia known as the anti-Balaka massacred at least 70 people earlier this month. The militia is now threatening to burn the church to the ground. The sectarian conflict in the African nation has so far claimed over a thousand lives. Human rights groups have already documented a wave of violent attacks against Muslims throughout the country. Tens of thousands have also fled for their lives to neighboring countries. The bloodshed continues despite the deployment of thousands of French and African peacekeepers.
8:01
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[English] [08 Aug 13] Speech to Government Officials and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries | Sayed Ali Khamenei
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 9, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 9, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and ambassadors of Islamic countries. The meeting was held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to congratulate the great Islamic Ummah throughout the world and the great and courageous people of Iran - who proved their worth and competence, in different arenas, in benefiting from divine guidance and blessings - on the occasion of the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr. I would like to extend my congratulations to you dear audience, the glorious officials of the country and our guests, the honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries, on the occasion of this auspicious Eid. Also, it is necessary to congratulate the people of Iran who spent the entire month of Ramadan - which is auspicious in the real sense of the word - fasting.
By engaging in wajib and mustahab deeds, once again the people of Iran made themselves worthy of divine mercy. The people fasted on such long and hot days. At night, they engaged in dhikr, prayer and worship of God. Many Quranic meetings were held throughout the country in which all the people, particularly youth and teenagers, showed their love for the Holy Quran. During the Nights of Qadr, glorious and meaningful meetings were held and all the people from different social backgrounds, with different occupations, with different opinions and with different appearances were attracted towards centers of dhikr, prayer and supplication. These things are very valuable. We should appreciate the value of this spirit of faith which, thankfully, exists in our country and which is manifested more visibly during many occasions, particularly during the auspicious month of Ramadan, the Nights of Qadr and other such valuable occasions.
Because of the greatness of such days and the value of divine dhikr and remembrance, I deem it necessary to advise the honorable officials of the country and these fresh group of people - who have taken on different responsibilities in the country and who, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, will move forward on this path with steadfastness and firm determination - to benefit, on this difficult path, from the weapon of dhikr, supplication, attention to God and reliance on Him. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"O He who does not refuse the requests of his servants although they have many expectations.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, Dua 46] This is a dua which has been narrated in the auspicious Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya for the day of Eid ul-Fitr. Allah the Exalted even bestows his Mercy on those who speak impolitely when they address Him. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s infinite mercy is available to those who want and ask for it. What is important is to want and ask for divine guidance and mercy. If we do this, it will be achieved.
All the officials of the country, particularly the high-ranking officials of the country, should pay attention to Allah the Exalted and get close to Him. The responsibility of safeguarding the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights and other heavy and important responsibilities fall on their shoulders. With divine assistance, these responsibilities can be carried out in a perfect way. If we can open up the path of divine assistance for ourselves, there will be no problem which is insolvable. The officials of the country should pin their hopes on Allah the Exalted and bring all their efforts to the arena. It is not possible to be lazy and idle and, at the same time, be hopeful about divine mercy. Divine guidance, divine assistance and divine blessings will be bestowed on us when we bring all our power - which God has bestowed on us - to the arena. We should benefit from our thoughts and wisdom, our physical capabilities, the great human resources of the country and we should use all resources. If we do this, then Allah the Exalted will definitely bestow His blessings on us.
There were many people who, at certain times, became hopeless about the future of the country. In these thirty-something years, we have many experiences in this regard. There were people who were short-sighted, who were not optimistic about divine promises and who suffered from a lack of belief in divine assistance. At certain times, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"When (will come) the help of Allah?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 214] Such things have happened throughout history. At such times, Allah the Exalted has immediately helped us. Today, you can see that, compared to previous eras, our people and our country have reached many peaks. Progress has become an inseparable part of the movement of the Iranian nation. Thankfully, our nation has made progress on a daily basis. It will continue to make progress. What is important is to strengthen our relationship with Allah the Exalted.
Today, the world of Islam is faced with great problems. Unfortunately, we are located in a region in which there are certain problems in countries around us. Many of these problems have been injected and imposed by foreigners. If it was not for the intervention of foreigners, if it was not for the hostile policies of global powers, the events that are taking place in West Asia and North Africa today would definitely not be as complex as they are in the present time. Today, the cure for these problems lies in the fact that nations should make a decision on their own. Others should not intervene. Foreigners should not intervene. This is the only cure for the events that occur in the region today. The same cure can be used for Egypt, Libya and Syria. If foreigners do not intervene and if they do not inject discord, nations can find the way out of such conditions with the wisdom of their own outstanding personalities and with the guidance of their own leaders and wise personalities.
The people of Iran have managed to tread this path with divine blessings and power and with the spirit of faith, unity and solidarity which is available to them in the shade of religion. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future.
The plot which they hatched in other countries has no effect in our country. They have pitted people and Muslim brothers against one another either with sectarian and tribal conflicts or with partisan conflicts. None of these dangerous and poisonous weapons is useful in Islamic Iran. In Iran, different religions and different tribes have joined hands and different groups and orientations move forward with unity on the most important issues.
And I advise the officials of the country, political and religious personalities and those who are influential among the people to lay emphasis, as much as they can, on the valuable unity and solidarity of the Iranian nation. Faith in God and solidarity, and religion and unity are the two things which can help nations stand on their own feet and put up a resistance. Thankfully, the Iranian nation benefits from these things. I really hope that officials in charge of political and cultural affairs in other countries pay careful attention to this point and solve the problems which have occurred in regional countries with wisdom.
Let us pray that Allah the Exalted makes the Islamic Ummah glorious and steadfast. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), keep bestowing Your blessings and mercy on the Islamic Ummah throughout the world. Dear God, cut off the hands of foreigners from the lives of people in Islamic countries.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
More...
Description:
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 9, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and ambassadors of Islamic countries. The meeting was held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to congratulate the great Islamic Ummah throughout the world and the great and courageous people of Iran - who proved their worth and competence, in different arenas, in benefiting from divine guidance and blessings - on the occasion of the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr. I would like to extend my congratulations to you dear audience, the glorious officials of the country and our guests, the honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries, on the occasion of this auspicious Eid. Also, it is necessary to congratulate the people of Iran who spent the entire month of Ramadan - which is auspicious in the real sense of the word - fasting.
By engaging in wajib and mustahab deeds, once again the people of Iran made themselves worthy of divine mercy. The people fasted on such long and hot days. At night, they engaged in dhikr, prayer and worship of God. Many Quranic meetings were held throughout the country in which all the people, particularly youth and teenagers, showed their love for the Holy Quran. During the Nights of Qadr, glorious and meaningful meetings were held and all the people from different social backgrounds, with different occupations, with different opinions and with different appearances were attracted towards centers of dhikr, prayer and supplication. These things are very valuable. We should appreciate the value of this spirit of faith which, thankfully, exists in our country and which is manifested more visibly during many occasions, particularly during the auspicious month of Ramadan, the Nights of Qadr and other such valuable occasions.
Because of the greatness of such days and the value of divine dhikr and remembrance, I deem it necessary to advise the honorable officials of the country and these fresh group of people - who have taken on different responsibilities in the country and who, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, will move forward on this path with steadfastness and firm determination - to benefit, on this difficult path, from the weapon of dhikr, supplication, attention to God and reliance on Him. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"O He who does not refuse the requests of his servants although they have many expectations.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, Dua 46] This is a dua which has been narrated in the auspicious Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya for the day of Eid ul-Fitr. Allah the Exalted even bestows his Mercy on those who speak impolitely when they address Him. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s infinite mercy is available to those who want and ask for it. What is important is to want and ask for divine guidance and mercy. If we do this, it will be achieved.
All the officials of the country, particularly the high-ranking officials of the country, should pay attention to Allah the Exalted and get close to Him. The responsibility of safeguarding the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights and other heavy and important responsibilities fall on their shoulders. With divine assistance, these responsibilities can be carried out in a perfect way. If we can open up the path of divine assistance for ourselves, there will be no problem which is insolvable. The officials of the country should pin their hopes on Allah the Exalted and bring all their efforts to the arena. It is not possible to be lazy and idle and, at the same time, be hopeful about divine mercy. Divine guidance, divine assistance and divine blessings will be bestowed on us when we bring all our power - which God has bestowed on us - to the arena. We should benefit from our thoughts and wisdom, our physical capabilities, the great human resources of the country and we should use all resources. If we do this, then Allah the Exalted will definitely bestow His blessings on us.
There were many people who, at certain times, became hopeless about the future of the country. In these thirty-something years, we have many experiences in this regard. There were people who were short-sighted, who were not optimistic about divine promises and who suffered from a lack of belief in divine assistance. At certain times, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"When (will come) the help of Allah?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 214] Such things have happened throughout history. At such times, Allah the Exalted has immediately helped us. Today, you can see that, compared to previous eras, our people and our country have reached many peaks. Progress has become an inseparable part of the movement of the Iranian nation. Thankfully, our nation has made progress on a daily basis. It will continue to make progress. What is important is to strengthen our relationship with Allah the Exalted.
Today, the world of Islam is faced with great problems. Unfortunately, we are located in a region in which there are certain problems in countries around us. Many of these problems have been injected and imposed by foreigners. If it was not for the intervention of foreigners, if it was not for the hostile policies of global powers, the events that are taking place in West Asia and North Africa today would definitely not be as complex as they are in the present time. Today, the cure for these problems lies in the fact that nations should make a decision on their own. Others should not intervene. Foreigners should not intervene. This is the only cure for the events that occur in the region today. The same cure can be used for Egypt, Libya and Syria. If foreigners do not intervene and if they do not inject discord, nations can find the way out of such conditions with the wisdom of their own outstanding personalities and with the guidance of their own leaders and wise personalities.
The people of Iran have managed to tread this path with divine blessings and power and with the spirit of faith, unity and solidarity which is available to them in the shade of religion. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future.
The plot which they hatched in other countries has no effect in our country. They have pitted people and Muslim brothers against one another either with sectarian and tribal conflicts or with partisan conflicts. None of these dangerous and poisonous weapons is useful in Islamic Iran. In Iran, different religions and different tribes have joined hands and different groups and orientations move forward with unity on the most important issues.
And I advise the officials of the country, political and religious personalities and those who are influential among the people to lay emphasis, as much as they can, on the valuable unity and solidarity of the Iranian nation. Faith in God and solidarity, and religion and unity are the two things which can help nations stand on their own feet and put up a resistance. Thankfully, the Iranian nation benefits from these things. I really hope that officials in charge of political and cultural affairs in other countries pay careful attention to this point and solve the problems which have occurred in regional countries with wisdom.
Let us pray that Allah the Exalted makes the Islamic Ummah glorious and steadfast. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), keep bestowing Your blessings and mercy on the Islamic Ummah throughout the world. Dear God, cut off the hands of foreigners from the lives of people in Islamic countries.
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
12:37
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Supreme Leader Speech in Meeting with Hajj Officials - Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious officials who render many services in one of the...
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious officials who render many services in one of the outstanding arenas of the Islamic community - that is to say, the arena of hajj and visiting the House of God and the enlightened city of Madina. I hope that you will benefit from this great achievement in the hereafter. I hope that your actions and efforts in this auspicious arena will be so sincere that your performance sheet in the hereafter shines, like the sun, with the light of purity and sincerity. I express my gratitude to the honorable gentlemen for the efforts that they have made in the arena of hajj. The things that they have done - whether in cultural, spiritual, moral and educational areas or in practical and organizational areas - should really be appreciated.
What is important is that we should know hajj is one of the strong points of the holy religion of Islam. Although there are not a few strong points in Islamic sharia, hajj plays an outstanding role because of the characteristics which it enjoys and which we are more or less familiar with. In fact, we can say that hajj is a source of power for the Islamic community and the Islamic Ummah. The day when we Muslims from different countries and with different denominations manage to achieve intellectual growth so much so that we can form the Islamic Ummah in the real sense of the word - unfortunately, we Muslims have not managed to achieve this moral, political and intellectual growth until today - and the day when we Muslims from eastern parts to western parts of the world of Islam manage to form one single ummah although we may have different governments, we understand how hajj can be a source of power, strength, transcendence and dignity for this Islamic Ummah.
Today, the Islamic Republic should adopt such an outlook towards hajj. It should regard hajj as a means of power. What kind of power? By power, do we mean materialistic, political, military power or soft power such as cultural or linguistic power? The answer is no. The power of hajj is far beyond this. As well as showing the political and cultural power of the Islamic government, hajj provides a source of spiritual power. That is to say, it builds human beings from the inside, prepares them to overcome difficult obstacles and opens their eyes to realities which cannot be seen and felt without being present in the arena of hajj. By performing hajj rituals, one can understand a number of spiritual and educational realities of Islam. Hajj plays such a role.
One of the requirements of hajj is that hajj pilgrims should behave in a brotherly - in the real sense of the word - way towards one another in the arena of hajj and this great Islamic obligation. They should not look at one another as outsiders and enemies. They should see themselves as people who are moving towards one goal, who pursue one thing, who revolve around one pivot.
Allah the Exalted says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Let there be no obscenity, no wickedness and no quarreling in the Hajj.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 197] The meaning of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is not that we should not quarrel with the enemy. On the contrary, hajj is the manifestation of quarreling with the enemy. Some narrow-minded and pessimistic people say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There should be ‘no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' during hajj pilgrimage. Why do you hold a detestation ceremony during hajj pilgrimage?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The enmity which is reflected in this ceremony means enmity towards polytheism and atheism. This is one of the most fundamental principles of Islamic life. The kind of enmity which should not exist in hajj pilgrimage is enmity between brothers and believers and enmity between people who believe in monotheism. This enmity should not exist. Not only should we Muslims express in words that we have no enmity towards one another, but also we should feel this from the bottom of our hearts.
This is the exact opposite of what the enemies of Islam are trying to do in the Islamic community. You should pay attention to this. The existence of differences between Islamic denominations and between Shia and Sunni Muslims will not create any problem as long as these differences are confined to ideological differences. One person may believe in something and another person may believe in something else. Problems arise when these ideological differences lead to behavioral differences, confrontation, hostility and enmity. The enemies of the world of Islam are after creating such a situation and hatching such a plot.
They have properly understood that the Zionist regime can breathe easily if Islamic denominations in the world of Islam start confronting and fighting with one another. They have understood this truth perfectly and properly. On the one hand, they form groups which engage in takfirism - not only do these groups anathematize and curse Shia Muslims, but they also anathematize Sunni denominations - and on the other hand, they hire a number of mercenaries to add fuel to the fire of discord. You know and have heard about this plot. They provide these groups and mercenaries with different means of mass communication. Where do they do this? They do this in America and London. The kind of Shia Islam which is promoted from London and America is useless for Shia Muslims.
Shia leaders - particularly the leaders who emerged after the victory of the Islamic Revolution - our Imam and other leaders placed great emphasis on preserving the unity of the Islamic Ummah and behaving in a brotherly way towards Muslims. This is while a number of people - who interfere in the affairs of Muslims for no reason - are after fueling the fire of discord. This is the thing which the enemy wants. This is the thing which the enemies of Islam - who are neither Shia nor Sunni - like to pursue. We should understand this condition properly and we should pay attention to it.
Another important point is that Muslims should share and exchange their original Islamic cultures and their Islamic experiences with one another. This is another strong point of hajj and another source of power for it. We may have heard different things about such and such an Islamic country. But, hearing is different from sitting and talking directly to an individual from an Islamic country. This individual can also compare what he has heard about our dear Islamic Iran with what he sees in you and hears from you. This way, he can discover the truth about Iran.
There are an enormous number of propaganda campaigns against the Islamic Republic. There are a large and surprising number of media networks who propagandize against the Islamic Republic with different methods. When a young individual from such and such an African, Asian, Arab or non-Arab country goes on the Internet, watches such and such an international channel or reads such and such an international newspaper, how can he or she understand that what such media networks say is false? Your presence in hajj and in this international arena gives you the opportunity to reveal the truth not only in words but also in action. It helps you to speak the truth about Shia Islam, the Islamic Revolution and the events which are happening today.
Another important and crucial point about hajj is the thing which I referred to earlier: strengthening spirituality in our hearts and souls. My dear ones, we can put up a resistance in the arenas of jihad for the sake of God only if our hearts are filled with faith in God and reliance on Allah the Exalted. It is not possible to move forward without spirituality. It is not possible to take difficult paths without a strong faith. Without reliance on Allah the Exalted, it is not possible to ignore the superficial power of powerful countries and see the real power. Reliance on God, faith and belief in God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s promises are necessary. These things can be achieved in hajj. When people go on hajj pilgrimage they \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Witness the benefits (provided) for them.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28] These benefits are not only material benefits. There are otherworldly, spiritual and psychological benefits as well as material benefits in hajj pilgrimage. This is the significance of hajj.
Well, today you can see that besides creating intellectual, psychological and ideological discord among Muslims throughout the world of Islam, the enemies fuel the fire of war as well. See how they fuel the fire of war in our neighboring countries with the pretext of Shia and Sunni differences. They do this in different ways in our neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. Even when the problem is not about Shia and Sunni, they say that it has occurred because of Shia and Sunni differences. I have given many examples in this regard. The enemies are prepared to set the region on fire for their own political interests. Superpowers are like this. They are not afraid that an explosion may take place in such and such a neighborhood of an Iraqi city and they are not afraid that 50 people may be killed in this explosion. They are not afraid that certain events may happen in Syria, Egypt or other countries which may turn them into a ruin. Superpowers - such as America and countries like America - do such things for their own illegitimate interests. We hope that the Americans are serious about their new outlook on Syria. We hope that it is not another political game.
It is several weeks that they have been threatening the region to wage a war and create a serious conflict for the sake of the interests which they have defined for themselves. And they consider it legitimate to defend these interests no matter if they jeopardize the interests of ten other countries and nations. They are such people. They do not care about justice and the interests of human beings. They refer to such interests as national interests, but these are not really their national interests. Rather, these are the interests of the Zionists and the enemies of humanity. These are the interests of capitalists who have proved during the last 70, 80 years that they are not committed to any human principle and value. But they call it national interests and they are prepared to fuel all kinds of wars and fitnas for the sake of these proclaimed national interests.
It is several weeks that they have been trying to cause great controversy by threatening the region with a war and bombardment. Well, if they are serious about their recent outlook, this means that they have turned back from the wrong path which they have been taking during the last few weeks. We hope that they are serious. This is the condition of the region and the world.
The Islamic Republic takes a look at all these issues with open eyes and with its full attention. What we have understood is that as a nation with a total population of 70, 80 million people and with a sensitive geographical location in the world, we should strengthen our position by adopting the right outlook and by benefiting from our Islamic power. We should let the entire humanity see our lofty and human goals which have originated from Islam and we should invite all human beings to cherish the gift which Islam has offered to human beings. This is our responsibility. I have repeatedly said that strengthening the country from the inside is possible primarily with firm faith, unity of the people, appropriate actions by the officials of the country, cooperation between the people and officials and reliance on Allah the Exalted. That is to say, we should benefit from rationality, spirituality, reliance on God and diligence. Undoubtedly, this will influence the conditions of the region as it has influenced the region so far.
I hope that what Islam wants for the Islamic Republic, people throughout the world, Muslims and non-Muslims will be achieved with your presence in different arenas - including your presence in the arena of hajj which manifests your rationality and your clear outlook. I hope that your presence in such arenas will bring about communal happiness.
I ask all of you to pray for us. I hope that this year you will experience a good hajj pilgrimage and I hope that you, all Iranian hajj pilgrims and all the pilgrims who visit the House of God from throughout the world will benefit from divine blessings and mercy. I hope that your hajj pilgrimage will be accepted by God.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious officials who render many services in one of the outstanding arenas of the Islamic community - that is to say, the arena of hajj and visiting the House of God and the enlightened city of Madina. I hope that you will benefit from this great achievement in the hereafter. I hope that your actions and efforts in this auspicious arena will be so sincere that your performance sheet in the hereafter shines, like the sun, with the light of purity and sincerity. I express my gratitude to the honorable gentlemen for the efforts that they have made in the arena of hajj. The things that they have done - whether in cultural, spiritual, moral and educational areas or in practical and organizational areas - should really be appreciated.
What is important is that we should know hajj is one of the strong points of the holy religion of Islam. Although there are not a few strong points in Islamic sharia, hajj plays an outstanding role because of the characteristics which it enjoys and which we are more or less familiar with. In fact, we can say that hajj is a source of power for the Islamic community and the Islamic Ummah. The day when we Muslims from different countries and with different denominations manage to achieve intellectual growth so much so that we can form the Islamic Ummah in the real sense of the word - unfortunately, we Muslims have not managed to achieve this moral, political and intellectual growth until today - and the day when we Muslims from eastern parts to western parts of the world of Islam manage to form one single ummah although we may have different governments, we understand how hajj can be a source of power, strength, transcendence and dignity for this Islamic Ummah.
Today, the Islamic Republic should adopt such an outlook towards hajj. It should regard hajj as a means of power. What kind of power? By power, do we mean materialistic, political, military power or soft power such as cultural or linguistic power? The answer is no. The power of hajj is far beyond this. As well as showing the political and cultural power of the Islamic government, hajj provides a source of spiritual power. That is to say, it builds human beings from the inside, prepares them to overcome difficult obstacles and opens their eyes to realities which cannot be seen and felt without being present in the arena of hajj. By performing hajj rituals, one can understand a number of spiritual and educational realities of Islam. Hajj plays such a role.
One of the requirements of hajj is that hajj pilgrims should behave in a brotherly - in the real sense of the word - way towards one another in the arena of hajj and this great Islamic obligation. They should not look at one another as outsiders and enemies. They should see themselves as people who are moving towards one goal, who pursue one thing, who revolve around one pivot.
Allah the Exalted says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Let there be no obscenity, no wickedness and no quarreling in the Hajj.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 197] The meaning of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is not that we should not quarrel with the enemy. On the contrary, hajj is the manifestation of quarreling with the enemy. Some narrow-minded and pessimistic people say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There should be ‘no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' during hajj pilgrimage. Why do you hold a detestation ceremony during hajj pilgrimage?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The enmity which is reflected in this ceremony means enmity towards polytheism and atheism. This is one of the most fundamental principles of Islamic life. The kind of enmity which should not exist in hajj pilgrimage is enmity between brothers and believers and enmity between people who believe in monotheism. This enmity should not exist. Not only should we Muslims express in words that we have no enmity towards one another, but also we should feel this from the bottom of our hearts.
This is the exact opposite of what the enemies of Islam are trying to do in the Islamic community. You should pay attention to this. The existence of differences between Islamic denominations and between Shia and Sunni Muslims will not create any problem as long as these differences are confined to ideological differences. One person may believe in something and another person may believe in something else. Problems arise when these ideological differences lead to behavioral differences, confrontation, hostility and enmity. The enemies of the world of Islam are after creating such a situation and hatching such a plot.
They have properly understood that the Zionist regime can breathe easily if Islamic denominations in the world of Islam start confronting and fighting with one another. They have understood this truth perfectly and properly. On the one hand, they form groups which engage in takfirism - not only do these groups anathematize and curse Shia Muslims, but they also anathematize Sunni denominations - and on the other hand, they hire a number of mercenaries to add fuel to the fire of discord. You know and have heard about this plot. They provide these groups and mercenaries with different means of mass communication. Where do they do this? They do this in America and London. The kind of Shia Islam which is promoted from London and America is useless for Shia Muslims.
Shia leaders - particularly the leaders who emerged after the victory of the Islamic Revolution - our Imam and other leaders placed great emphasis on preserving the unity of the Islamic Ummah and behaving in a brotherly way towards Muslims. This is while a number of people - who interfere in the affairs of Muslims for no reason - are after fueling the fire of discord. This is the thing which the enemy wants. This is the thing which the enemies of Islam - who are neither Shia nor Sunni - like to pursue. We should understand this condition properly and we should pay attention to it.
Another important point is that Muslims should share and exchange their original Islamic cultures and their Islamic experiences with one another. This is another strong point of hajj and another source of power for it. We may have heard different things about such and such an Islamic country. But, hearing is different from sitting and talking directly to an individual from an Islamic country. This individual can also compare what he has heard about our dear Islamic Iran with what he sees in you and hears from you. This way, he can discover the truth about Iran.
There are an enormous number of propaganda campaigns against the Islamic Republic. There are a large and surprising number of media networks who propagandize against the Islamic Republic with different methods. When a young individual from such and such an African, Asian, Arab or non-Arab country goes on the Internet, watches such and such an international channel or reads such and such an international newspaper, how can he or she understand that what such media networks say is false? Your presence in hajj and in this international arena gives you the opportunity to reveal the truth not only in words but also in action. It helps you to speak the truth about Shia Islam, the Islamic Revolution and the events which are happening today.
Another important and crucial point about hajj is the thing which I referred to earlier: strengthening spirituality in our hearts and souls. My dear ones, we can put up a resistance in the arenas of jihad for the sake of God only if our hearts are filled with faith in God and reliance on Allah the Exalted. It is not possible to move forward without spirituality. It is not possible to take difficult paths without a strong faith. Without reliance on Allah the Exalted, it is not possible to ignore the superficial power of powerful countries and see the real power. Reliance on God, faith and belief in God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s promises are necessary. These things can be achieved in hajj. When people go on hajj pilgrimage they \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Witness the benefits (provided) for them.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28] These benefits are not only material benefits. There are otherworldly, spiritual and psychological benefits as well as material benefits in hajj pilgrimage. This is the significance of hajj.
Well, today you can see that besides creating intellectual, psychological and ideological discord among Muslims throughout the world of Islam, the enemies fuel the fire of war as well. See how they fuel the fire of war in our neighboring countries with the pretext of Shia and Sunni differences. They do this in different ways in our neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. Even when the problem is not about Shia and Sunni, they say that it has occurred because of Shia and Sunni differences. I have given many examples in this regard. The enemies are prepared to set the region on fire for their own political interests. Superpowers are like this. They are not afraid that an explosion may take place in such and such a neighborhood of an Iraqi city and they are not afraid that 50 people may be killed in this explosion. They are not afraid that certain events may happen in Syria, Egypt or other countries which may turn them into a ruin. Superpowers - such as America and countries like America - do such things for their own illegitimate interests. We hope that the Americans are serious about their new outlook on Syria. We hope that it is not another political game.
It is several weeks that they have been threatening the region to wage a war and create a serious conflict for the sake of the interests which they have defined for themselves. And they consider it legitimate to defend these interests no matter if they jeopardize the interests of ten other countries and nations. They are such people. They do not care about justice and the interests of human beings. They refer to such interests as national interests, but these are not really their national interests. Rather, these are the interests of the Zionists and the enemies of humanity. These are the interests of capitalists who have proved during the last 70, 80 years that they are not committed to any human principle and value. But they call it national interests and they are prepared to fuel all kinds of wars and fitnas for the sake of these proclaimed national interests.
It is several weeks that they have been trying to cause great controversy by threatening the region with a war and bombardment. Well, if they are serious about their recent outlook, this means that they have turned back from the wrong path which they have been taking during the last few weeks. We hope that they are serious. This is the condition of the region and the world.
The Islamic Republic takes a look at all these issues with open eyes and with its full attention. What we have understood is that as a nation with a total population of 70, 80 million people and with a sensitive geographical location in the world, we should strengthen our position by adopting the right outlook and by benefiting from our Islamic power. We should let the entire humanity see our lofty and human goals which have originated from Islam and we should invite all human beings to cherish the gift which Islam has offered to human beings. This is our responsibility. I have repeatedly said that strengthening the country from the inside is possible primarily with firm faith, unity of the people, appropriate actions by the officials of the country, cooperation between the people and officials and reliance on Allah the Exalted. That is to say, we should benefit from rationality, spirituality, reliance on God and diligence. Undoubtedly, this will influence the conditions of the region as it has influenced the region so far.
I hope that what Islam wants for the Islamic Republic, people throughout the world, Muslims and non-Muslims will be achieved with your presence in different arenas - including your presence in the arena of hajj which manifests your rationality and your clear outlook. I hope that your presence in such arenas will bring about communal happiness.
I ask all of you to pray for us. I hope that this year you will experience a good hajj pilgrimage and I hope that you, all Iranian hajj pilgrims and all the pilgrims who visit the House of God from throughout the world will benefit from divine blessings and mercy. I hope that your hajj pilgrimage will be accepted by God.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
28:01
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[17 Sep 13] Supreme Leader’s Speech in Meeting with Commanders of IRGC - Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with commanders and officials of the...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with commanders and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 20th Congress of Officials and Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First, I would like to welcome you and second, I congratulate you on this auspicious Eid. You turned our day into an Eid with your presence and warm breath and with the good programs that you performed. I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, your hearts will always be happy. I hope that your hearts will always remember God and achieve loftier positions.
I would like to say a few things about our great Imam and knowledgeable member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (thousands of greetings and praise be upon him). In fact, we cannot understand the spiritual position of these holy personalities, let alone describe them in words. However, before our eyes and before the eyes of history, the lives of these great personalities are a practical, eternal and undeniable lesson. If, in certain cases, we take a look at the lives of the Imams (a.s.) and if we put great emphasis on their policies, the measures they took and their biographies, this does not mean that these are the most important parts of their lives. This is not the case. Their spiritual world, their effort to get close to God and the wisdom and love which radiated from their peerless hearts are other important parts of their lives. However, what is before our eyes is the lives of these great personalities and we should learn from them.
Imam Ridha (a.s.) lived for almost 55 years. That is to say, he was born in the year 148 - the year when Imam Sadiq (a.s.) was martyred - and he was martyred in the year 203 of the Hijri calendar. The entire life of this great personality with all its greatness, depth and dimensions took place in this fairly short era. Nineteen, twenty years out of these 55 years constituted the era of the Imamate of this great personality. But if you take a look at this short era, you will see that it exerted a considerable influence on the world of Islam, it gave great depth to the true meaning of Islam and it helped people follow the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and get familiar with their teachings. This is an extraordinary phenomenon and it is like a deep sea.
When that Imam achieved Imamate, his close friends and his followers said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What can Ali ibn Musa do in such an environment which is filled with Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s oppression?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" There is a narration which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Blood trickles from Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sword.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" These friends and followers used to say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In such conditions, what can this young Imam do to continue the jihad of Shia Imams and to carry out the great responsibility which falls on his shoulders?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the beginning of the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.). When you take a look, you will see that after the passage of 19, 20 years - when Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was martyred and his Imamate ended - the ideas and thoughts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the issue of commitment to the Imams were established, in the world of Islam, so firmly that the oppressive and dictatorial Abbasid regime could not confront it. Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha had done this.
You have heard that De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee went to Merv in Khorasan and composed and recited a number of well-known poems in praise of Imam Ridha for which he was rewarded. He stayed in Merv and other cities of Khorasan for a few days and then he went towards Baghdad, Kufa and other cities that he wanted to visit. In the middle of the way, some bandits attacked and looted the caravan on which De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel was travelling. The travelers sat and watched the looting of their property. The chief of the bandits was sitting on a rock and proudly watching the prisoners and captives of this caravan and the things which they had stolen and collected.
De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel heard that the chief was whispering a poem. He listened and he realized that it was his own poem. It was one of the couplets of the qasida that he had recited one month or one month and a half ago in Merv: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I see that their property has been looted and divided among outsiders and wicked people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Speaking in Arabic] In the middle of the way to Rey and Iraq, the chief of the bandits was reciting this poem from memory. De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel became happy. He stood up and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Who has composed the poem that you are reciting?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The chief said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"It belongs to De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, I am De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" When the chief saw that this person was De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee, he stood up, held De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel in his arms, kissed him and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Because of the presence of this person in the caravan, give them back all their property.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" They gave them back all their property, respected them and helped them move towards their destination.
Well, this is a small event in history, but it has a great significance. The poem which was composed in praise of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was recited and memorized, in Rey and Iraq, by a bandit after the passage of almost one month or one month and a half since the poem was composed. What does this mean? It means that the ground for promoting the position of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the auspicious name of Imam Ridha was so prepared that, in a short time, this poem - at that time, poetry was one of the most effective means of communication - spread rapidly by word of mouth until it was picked up by a bandit in the middle of a desert. This indicates the great movement which was launched during the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha in order to promote the school of thought of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. During this time, the love of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household was shared by all individuals and the hearts of all people felt the presence and existence of the Imams in the Islamic community.
The movement of the honorable children of the Imams towards Iran has a positive and meaningful dimension as well as a tragic dimension because of their martyrdom in the middle of the way to Iran. The reason for their movement towards Iran was the request of the people and their acceptance of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. As you know, when we speak about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, we mean the school of thought which was established by the Imams and the Islamic concepts which they introduced. It means a deeply cultural and spiritual achievement and a great ideological feat.
This is the movement of Imam Ridha (a.s.). According to the events that you know and have heard about, Ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'mun finally feels that he has to martyr Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.) - he had forced that great Imam to leave Medina in order to get close to him and he did not plan to kill Imam Ridha at first - contrary to what he had planned. The divine will and plan to bury a member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household in this place, which was faraway from Medina, was exercised by the enemies of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. This is divine wisdom and engineering.
In order to reach lofty goals, one should carry out his responsibilities in such a way. Long-term outlooks should be adopted with such intention, motives and hopes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has such a position. The issue is not that a new government was formed after the Revolution and that it has certain supporters and opponents and certain soldiers, guardians and armed forces. The issue is not this. It is beyond such things. The issue of the Islamic Revolution - which is protected by you members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - is beyond such things.
First of all, I would like to say a few things about the experience of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over these many years. Then, I will raise the point which I had wanted to discuss with you dear brothers.
The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over the past 30-plus years has been brilliant. I am not saying this as a ceremonial gesture, like the words of praise which are uttered in many places. This is a fact. The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps represents the experience of our nation. That is to say, the depth of the personality and identity of the Iranian nation can be seen in this performance because the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps enters the arena with faith and belief. What kind of arena? The arena of jihad and resistance. It has built the strongest and the most intelligent military commanders. During the war, those who became designers- and as foreigners say \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strategists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"- while they were young and below thirty years old and had not received any military education.
It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who built them. It was this organization which created such a spiritual environment. It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which founded such an organization on the basis of faith and belief. It has built a number of outstanding personalities whom our nation and our history will never forget. This is the art of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. These are the things which this organization has done in the area of war. Besides these, we can see that it has built and introduced the wisest, the strongest and the best managers in non-military areas. The list of people that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has introduced to the ruling organizations of the Islamic Republic is very long and glorious. This is the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
One of the important parts of the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is that it lives a revolutionary life and it preserves its revolutionary nature. That is to say, different events have not been able to make this strong and powerful organization deviate from the main and the right path. It has not changed its path just because life and the world have changed. These are the excuses that a number of people make. These people make excuses for compromising their principles and they justify their mistakes. Their excuse is that the world has changed, that everything has changed. Well, certain things do not change.
Since the beginning of history until today, the virtue of justice and the tendency of human beings to seek justice have not changed. The fact that oppression is bad and national independence and national dignity are great virtues has not changed. These things and many other principles cannot be changed. The fact that the world has changed cannot give us an excuse to change our behavior, our ideals and our goals. When our ideals change, our path changes too. When our ultimate goal changes, then it is absurd to follow the previous path. In such circumstances, we should move towards achieving a new goal and we should follow a new path. One of the most important strong points of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is its resistance and steadfastness on this enlightened path. These are the points which I wanted to raise about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Of course, one can say many things about this organization. We have said many things about it. Other people too have said many things. Of course, there are many points which have not been raised about this organization, but right now, I am not going to speak about this issue more than this.
What is important is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the guardian of the Islamic Revolution. I do not want to say that this guardianship means the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should protect the Islamic Revolution in all arenas including scientific, intellectual, cultural and economic arenas. This is not what I mean. What I want to say is that as a living organism, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should know what it wants to protect and what this Revolution is. It is not necessary for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to engage in protection of the Islamic Revolution in political arenas, but it should gain a proper understanding of political arenas. Some people mix certain issues together. This should be clarified. It is not possible to describe a certain organization as the arm and the guardian of the Revolution, but make it ignore and close its eyes to different political orientations - while some of these orientations behave in a deviant way and become dependent on such and such a group and some of them do not. This is meaningless. Such an organization should know what it wants to protect.
If we relegate the challenges that the Revolution is faced with to political and partisan challenges and to confrontation between certain people, this is negligence and carelessness. These are not the challenges that the Revolution is faced with. The main challenge of the Revolution is that it has introduced a new system for humanity. We are not saying that since the beginning, the Revolution addressed the entire humanity. This is not the case. At first, it was the Islamic Revolution of Iran and it only addressed issues which were related to Iran and fundamental changes in this country. However, the language and message of this Revolution could not naturally be confined to the borders of Iran. Through this Revolution, a message which was based on a universal and human truth was conveyed to the entire humanity. Anybody in the world who hears this message feels that they are attached to it. What is this message? If we want to describe the social and human function of this message in a phrase we should say that it is: confrontation with global arrogance. This is the message of the Revolution.
Global arrogance is a system which divides the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. The logic of the Revolution, which is based on the logic of Islam, is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 279] You should not oppress others and you should not let others oppress you. Who in the world is not happy about and interested in this message? This message is: neither oppress other people nor let them oppress you. This is the exact opposite of the current order in the world which was imposed after the emergence of the new industrial civilization and the prevalence of industrial tools and the culture of domination. Any organization in the world which is dependent on global arrogance is against this message.
Those who like to achieve domination over other countries - that is to say, oppressive governments and economic networks which suck at the resources of other nations - are against this message because they are oppressors. The dependent governments which rule over poor or rich nations, which follow global arrogance, which have no power but which follow and obey these arrogant powers are also against this message. Such and such a government which completely implements the policies of arrogant powers such as America or England is naturally against the message of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The international, multinational or domestic organizations which loot people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wealth are against this message. Those politicians who promote the three elements of war, poverty and decadence throughout the world are against this message.
During the last two, three centuries, many of the wars which were waged were influenced by global arrogance. Global powers either waged a war against a certain country or made two other countries fight one another. They have done this for the sake of their own interests.
Poverty too is the result of their policies. They are to blame for the situation that they have created in many poor countries where the people live in poverty and cannot benefit from their natural resources. With their political domination, these arrogant powers have prevented many countries from drawing on their own intellectual resources.
You should read the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Glances at World History\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Jawaharlal Nehru. In the chapter which is about the interference of the English in India, he says that the kind of industry and science which existed in India was not inferior to the one in Europe, England and the west. Rather it was superior to European science. Well, Nehru was both trustworthy and well-informed. When the English entered India, one of their plans was to prevent the domestic industry of India from developing. Well, India ended up watching tens of millions of people in that era and hundreds of millions of people in future eras suffer from hunger in the real sense of the word. The same is true of Africa. The same is true of many Latin American countries. So, not only does global arrogance wage wars but it also brings about poverty.
The great treasure which has been accumulated on the peaks of wealth and which belongs to the richest individuals in the world reminds us of this hadith: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I have not seen any kind of wealth which was accumulated without someone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s right being violated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Derasat fi Nahjul Balaghah, page 40] When they loot the oil, agricultural products and tea resources of a country, when they take control of financial sectors of a country in a way that the people have no access to it and when they do not let the people in such a country have control over production, industry and other areas related to national progress, this country and nation becomes poor. So, they are responsible for war, poverty and decadence. They are responsible for the prevalence of decadence and fueling the fire of sexual desire - which is a natural process and which can be ignited in all individuals. Each of these issues requires a long and detailed discussion.
Well, global arrogance promotes war, poverty and decadence and it does this by dividing the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. Islam - that is to say, the Islamic Revolution which is based on Islamic concepts - says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" It rejects all these negative elements. This is the main challenge. This is the root of their enmity. This is why they fight the Islamic Revolution. Other issues are all excuses. We should adopt such an outlook on sanctions, domestic wars, coups d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and other events which have taken place during the recent years such as the nuclear issue.
Contrary to what everyone thought, our Revolution achieved victory. Then it formed a government which managed to prevail. This was while everyone in the world thought that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in six months or in one or two years. Then they gave a generous figure and said that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in three, four years. Contrary to what they thought, it became stronger on a daily basis and its \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"root is firm and its branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]. It has turned into a regional power and a country which is influential in major international issues. They are against this.
They raise the issue of nuclear weapons. Well, we do not believe in nuclear weapons, not because of such and such people and not because of America and other countries. Rather, we are against nuclear weapons because of our belief. No one should have nuclear weapons. When we say that other countries should not have nuclear weapons, it means that we ourselves should not and will not have them. But, their problem is something else. If certain countries emerge which put an end to their exclusive right, they will have no problems with that. Of course, they do not want to give up their self-proclaimed right, but if this happens, they will not create uproar about it.
But when it comes to Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic, they create uproar. Why do they do this? It is because having such a capability and power is a source of support for the Islamic Republic which is based on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the main challenge. We should know and see this. With such an outlook, we should analyze and interpret the behavior of America, the west and such and such a country and orientation which is dependent on and attached to these powers. This is the Islamic Revolution.
In the eyes of these enemies, no one is more hated than our magnanimous Imam who was an outstanding personality and who was like a shining sun. They looked at him with respect, but they also showed enmity towards him from the bottom of their hearts because he resisted and because he was perceptive and wise due to two unique characteristics that he enjoyed: complete wisdom and complete decisiveness. He put up resistance in a determined way and he was like a barrier in the way of their progress and in the way of the harm which they wanted to inflict. This was why they were his enemies. Of course, as I said, they looked at him with respect. They knew about his greatness, but the greater he was, the angrier they became. Today, the same situation exists. They show the same hatred towards anybody who is committed to these main values and principles - that is to say, values which determine the political identity of the Revolution such as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They hate anybody who realizes that the problems the enemies created for the Islamic Republic are based on this outlook and who takes this path by adopting such an outlook and showing such resistance.
Of course, the world of diplomacy is the world of smiling. They smile and ask to negotiate with us. They themselves offer to negotiate with us. A few days ago, one of the western politicians was asked, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You want to negotiate with Iran. This is while Iran is your enemy.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, negotiations should be conducted with the enemy, not other people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" That is to say, they admit that they are the enemies of Iran and they say this openly. The reason for their enmity is not the behavior of certain people. Rather, the reason is the true nature and identity of the Islamic Revolution. Everything that they say should be analyzed, interpreted and identified from this perspective.
We are not against proper and reasonable moves, whether in the world of diplomacy or in the world of domestic policies. I believe in the idea which was referred to as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Flexibility is necessary in many areas. It is very good and there is nothing wrong with it. But the wrestler who is wrestling against his opponent and who shows flexibility for technical reasons should not forget who his opponent is and what he is doing. This is the main condition. Our politicians too should know what they are doing, who they are faced with, who their opponent is and which area the opposing side wants to attack. They should pay attention to this point.
Well, you are the guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The meaning of the guardian of the Islamic Revolution is not that you should be present in all arenas and you should have a responsibility in all areas. As it was reflected in the statements of the dear and honorable commander who delivered a speech today, you have a certain and clear responsibility. As he pointed out, it is an appropriate move to take a look on the scope of activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. I agree with what he said. But, first, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should always know what it wants to do and what it wants to protect. Second, it should preserve its stability and steadfastness which is the main characteristic of the glorious identity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. It should not forget this. Everybody, at all levels, should pay attention to this point.
I have repeatedly pointed out that what the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps does is based on spirituality. Spirituality does not contradict scientific progress, systematic organization, new methods and different scientific and practical innovations. We should not think that when we pay attention to spirituality, we should ignore the material aspects of life. This is not the case. During the early Islamic era, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Muslims employed the best and the cleverest tactics in the arenas of war. In our own times too, revolutionary elements - whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army or other revolutionary elements - employed the cleverest tactics and methods during the Sacred Defense Era. Spirituality does not contradict the idea that we should pay attention to the material aspects of our work and the effective organization of things. This spirituality should be preserved because it is the essence of our work.
The last point I want to raise is that, in my opinion, the future of the Islamic Revolution is a bright future. This is not a vain hope. I am saying this because we have taken everything into consideration. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is experience. Well, during the early years of the Revolution, we were in a terrible condition because of our lack of manpower, lack of material resources, lack of weapons, lack of executive experience and different other shortcomings. But, where are we now? Today, we benefit from a wealth of manpower, material resources, scientific and political progress and international dignity. Where were we 30-plus years ago and where are we now? All of our moves during the past 35 years were made while we were under pressure from the opposing side. That is to say, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, but we managed to move forward. On the path that we were taking, there were fierce and adverse winds, but we managed to move forward. Is this experience not good? Is it not enough? Hostile orientations cannot confuse or stop a nation who is united, determined and religious and who knows what is wants to do.
On the issue of the regional events which recently took place in the world of Islam, wherever Muslims suffered a loss, it was because they did not know what they should do. In these events, there was not a clear guideline and therefore such things happened. Of course, it will not remain like this. The event which happened in regional and Islamic countries - that is to say, Islamic Awakening - is an unprecedented phenomenon and it will play its part in these events. So, our experience is the first reason.
Another reason is that we are moving forward with rationality and scientific precision. Our opposing side suffers from increasing weaknesses and internal contradictions because of the wrong way the infrastructures of this civilization are built. They are retreating. Of course, they do not need to admit that they are retreating and it is not necessary to visibly and clearly see this in their statements. This is the truth of the matter.
When a people move things forward with precision and by finding the right way, they will definitely achieve the desired results. We have said that we should promote the idea of building the Islamic Republic from the inside. We have said that knowledge should develop and spread. We have said that domestic production should be the essence of our work. We have said that we should adopt a serious outlook on the issue of optimism about the domestic capabilities of the country. We have said that talents should develop and blossom. These things are the essence of our work. When a country moves forward by relying on its domestic capabilities, its manpower, its knowledge, its faith and its unity, it will certainly achieve the desired results. Therefore, we have no doubts that we have a bright future ahead of us. Whether this future arrives sooner or later depends on you and I.
If laziness, negligence, selfishness, materialism and attachment to superficial things divert our attention and if we do something to cause our downfall - whether individual downfall or social downfall - then this future will be achieved later than expected. But it will definitely be achieved and this is because of the efforts and sacrifices which were made. Thankfully, in the arena of sacrifices too, you have been very active. You have put in a good performance and made brilliant moves in this arena. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future.
I hope that God will make you benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that He will make you and us the guardians of Islam and the Islamic Revolution in the real sense of the word. I hope that He will associate the pure souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam with His saints and with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
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 September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with commanders and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 20th Congress of Officials and Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First, I would like to welcome you and second, I congratulate you on this auspicious Eid. You turned our day into an Eid with your presence and warm breath and with the good programs that you performed. I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, your hearts will always be happy. I hope that your hearts will always remember God and achieve loftier positions.
I would like to say a few things about our great Imam and knowledgeable member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (thousands of greetings and praise be upon him). In fact, we cannot understand the spiritual position of these holy personalities, let alone describe them in words. However, before our eyes and before the eyes of history, the lives of these great personalities are a practical, eternal and undeniable lesson. If, in certain cases, we take a look at the lives of the Imams (a.s.) and if we put great emphasis on their policies, the measures they took and their biographies, this does not mean that these are the most important parts of their lives. This is not the case. Their spiritual world, their effort to get close to God and the wisdom and love which radiated from their peerless hearts are other important parts of their lives. However, what is before our eyes is the lives of these great personalities and we should learn from them.
Imam Ridha (a.s.) lived for almost 55 years. That is to say, he was born in the year 148 - the year when Imam Sadiq (a.s.) was martyred - and he was martyred in the year 203 of the Hijri calendar. The entire life of this great personality with all its greatness, depth and dimensions took place in this fairly short era. Nineteen, twenty years out of these 55 years constituted the era of the Imamate of this great personality. But if you take a look at this short era, you will see that it exerted a considerable influence on the world of Islam, it gave great depth to the true meaning of Islam and it helped people follow the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and get familiar with their teachings. This is an extraordinary phenomenon and it is like a deep sea.
When that Imam achieved Imamate, his close friends and his followers said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What can Ali ibn Musa do in such an environment which is filled with Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s oppression?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" There is a narration which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Blood trickles from Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sword.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" These friends and followers used to say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In such conditions, what can this young Imam do to continue the jihad of Shia Imams and to carry out the great responsibility which falls on his shoulders?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the beginning of the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.). When you take a look, you will see that after the passage of 19, 20 years - when Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was martyred and his Imamate ended - the ideas and thoughts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the issue of commitment to the Imams were established, in the world of Islam, so firmly that the oppressive and dictatorial Abbasid regime could not confront it. Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha had done this.
You have heard that De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee went to Merv in Khorasan and composed and recited a number of well-known poems in praise of Imam Ridha for which he was rewarded. He stayed in Merv and other cities of Khorasan for a few days and then he went towards Baghdad, Kufa and other cities that he wanted to visit. In the middle of the way, some bandits attacked and looted the caravan on which De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel was travelling. The travelers sat and watched the looting of their property. The chief of the bandits was sitting on a rock and proudly watching the prisoners and captives of this caravan and the things which they had stolen and collected.
De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel heard that the chief was whispering a poem. He listened and he realized that it was his own poem. It was one of the couplets of the qasida that he had recited one month or one month and a half ago in Merv: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I see that their property has been looted and divided among outsiders and wicked people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Speaking in Arabic] In the middle of the way to Rey and Iraq, the chief of the bandits was reciting this poem from memory. De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel became happy. He stood up and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Who has composed the poem that you are reciting?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The chief said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"It belongs to De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, I am De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" When the chief saw that this person was De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee, he stood up, held De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel in his arms, kissed him and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Because of the presence of this person in the caravan, give them back all their property.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" They gave them back all their property, respected them and helped them move towards their destination.
Well, this is a small event in history, but it has a great significance. The poem which was composed in praise of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was recited and memorized, in Rey and Iraq, by a bandit after the passage of almost one month or one month and a half since the poem was composed. What does this mean? It means that the ground for promoting the position of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the auspicious name of Imam Ridha was so prepared that, in a short time, this poem - at that time, poetry was one of the most effective means of communication - spread rapidly by word of mouth until it was picked up by a bandit in the middle of a desert. This indicates the great movement which was launched during the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha in order to promote the school of thought of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. During this time, the love of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household was shared by all individuals and the hearts of all people felt the presence and existence of the Imams in the Islamic community.
The movement of the honorable children of the Imams towards Iran has a positive and meaningful dimension as well as a tragic dimension because of their martyrdom in the middle of the way to Iran. The reason for their movement towards Iran was the request of the people and their acceptance of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. As you know, when we speak about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, we mean the school of thought which was established by the Imams and the Islamic concepts which they introduced. It means a deeply cultural and spiritual achievement and a great ideological feat.
This is the movement of Imam Ridha (a.s.). According to the events that you know and have heard about, Ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'mun finally feels that he has to martyr Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.) - he had forced that great Imam to leave Medina in order to get close to him and he did not plan to kill Imam Ridha at first - contrary to what he had planned. The divine will and plan to bury a member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household in this place, which was faraway from Medina, was exercised by the enemies of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. This is divine wisdom and engineering.
In order to reach lofty goals, one should carry out his responsibilities in such a way. Long-term outlooks should be adopted with such intention, motives and hopes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has such a position. The issue is not that a new government was formed after the Revolution and that it has certain supporters and opponents and certain soldiers, guardians and armed forces. The issue is not this. It is beyond such things. The issue of the Islamic Revolution - which is protected by you members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - is beyond such things.
First of all, I would like to say a few things about the experience of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over these many years. Then, I will raise the point which I had wanted to discuss with you dear brothers.
The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over the past 30-plus years has been brilliant. I am not saying this as a ceremonial gesture, like the words of praise which are uttered in many places. This is a fact. The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps represents the experience of our nation. That is to say, the depth of the personality and identity of the Iranian nation can be seen in this performance because the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps enters the arena with faith and belief. What kind of arena? The arena of jihad and resistance. It has built the strongest and the most intelligent military commanders. During the war, those who became designers- and as foreigners say \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strategists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"- while they were young and below thirty years old and had not received any military education.
It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who built them. It was this organization which created such a spiritual environment. It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which founded such an organization on the basis of faith and belief. It has built a number of outstanding personalities whom our nation and our history will never forget. This is the art of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. These are the things which this organization has done in the area of war. Besides these, we can see that it has built and introduced the wisest, the strongest and the best managers in non-military areas. The list of people that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has introduced to the ruling organizations of the Islamic Republic is very long and glorious. This is the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
One of the important parts of the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is that it lives a revolutionary life and it preserves its revolutionary nature. That is to say, different events have not been able to make this strong and powerful organization deviate from the main and the right path. It has not changed its path just because life and the world have changed. These are the excuses that a number of people make. These people make excuses for compromising their principles and they justify their mistakes. Their excuse is that the world has changed, that everything has changed. Well, certain things do not change.
Since the beginning of history until today, the virtue of justice and the tendency of human beings to seek justice have not changed. The fact that oppression is bad and national independence and national dignity are great virtues has not changed. These things and many other principles cannot be changed. The fact that the world has changed cannot give us an excuse to change our behavior, our ideals and our goals. When our ideals change, our path changes too. When our ultimate goal changes, then it is absurd to follow the previous path. In such circumstances, we should move towards achieving a new goal and we should follow a new path. One of the most important strong points of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is its resistance and steadfastness on this enlightened path. These are the points which I wanted to raise about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Of course, one can say many things about this organization. We have said many things about it. Other people too have said many things. Of course, there are many points which have not been raised about this organization, but right now, I am not going to speak about this issue more than this.
What is important is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the guardian of the Islamic Revolution. I do not want to say that this guardianship means the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should protect the Islamic Revolution in all arenas including scientific, intellectual, cultural and economic arenas. This is not what I mean. What I want to say is that as a living organism, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should know what it wants to protect and what this Revolution is. It is not necessary for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to engage in protection of the Islamic Revolution in political arenas, but it should gain a proper understanding of political arenas. Some people mix certain issues together. This should be clarified. It is not possible to describe a certain organization as the arm and the guardian of the Revolution, but make it ignore and close its eyes to different political orientations - while some of these orientations behave in a deviant way and become dependent on such and such a group and some of them do not. This is meaningless. Such an organization should know what it wants to protect.
If we relegate the challenges that the Revolution is faced with to political and partisan challenges and to confrontation between certain people, this is negligence and carelessness. These are not the challenges that the Revolution is faced with. The main challenge of the Revolution is that it has introduced a new system for humanity. We are not saying that since the beginning, the Revolution addressed the entire humanity. This is not the case. At first, it was the Islamic Revolution of Iran and it only addressed issues which were related to Iran and fundamental changes in this country. However, the language and message of this Revolution could not naturally be confined to the borders of Iran. Through this Revolution, a message which was based on a universal and human truth was conveyed to the entire humanity. Anybody in the world who hears this message feels that they are attached to it. What is this message? If we want to describe the social and human function of this message in a phrase we should say that it is: confrontation with global arrogance. This is the message of the Revolution.
Global arrogance is a system which divides the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. The logic of the Revolution, which is based on the logic of Islam, is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 279] You should not oppress others and you should not let others oppress you. Who in the world is not happy about and interested in this message? This message is: neither oppress other people nor let them oppress you. This is the exact opposite of the current order in the world which was imposed after the emergence of the new industrial civilization and the prevalence of industrial tools and the culture of domination. Any organization in the world which is dependent on global arrogance is against this message.
Those who like to achieve domination over other countries - that is to say, oppressive governments and economic networks which suck at the resources of other nations - are against this message because they are oppressors. The dependent governments which rule over poor or rich nations, which follow global arrogance, which have no power but which follow and obey these arrogant powers are also against this message. Such and such a government which completely implements the policies of arrogant powers such as America or England is naturally against the message of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The international, multinational or domestic organizations which loot people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wealth are against this message. Those politicians who promote the three elements of war, poverty and decadence throughout the world are against this message.
During the last two, three centuries, many of the wars which were waged were influenced by global arrogance. Global powers either waged a war against a certain country or made two other countries fight one another. They have done this for the sake of their own interests.
Poverty too is the result of their policies. They are to blame for the situation that they have created in many poor countries where the people live in poverty and cannot benefit from their natural resources. With their political domination, these arrogant powers have prevented many countries from drawing on their own intellectual resources.
You should read the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Glances at World History\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Jawaharlal Nehru. In the chapter which is about the interference of the English in India, he says that the kind of industry and science which existed in India was not inferior to the one in Europe, England and the west. Rather it was superior to European science. Well, Nehru was both trustworthy and well-informed. When the English entered India, one of their plans was to prevent the domestic industry of India from developing. Well, India ended up watching tens of millions of people in that era and hundreds of millions of people in future eras suffer from hunger in the real sense of the word. The same is true of Africa. The same is true of many Latin American countries. So, not only does global arrogance wage wars but it also brings about poverty.
The great treasure which has been accumulated on the peaks of wealth and which belongs to the richest individuals in the world reminds us of this hadith: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I have not seen any kind of wealth which was accumulated without someone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s right being violated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Derasat fi Nahjul Balaghah, page 40] When they loot the oil, agricultural products and tea resources of a country, when they take control of financial sectors of a country in a way that the people have no access to it and when they do not let the people in such a country have control over production, industry and other areas related to national progress, this country and nation becomes poor. So, they are responsible for war, poverty and decadence. They are responsible for the prevalence of decadence and fueling the fire of sexual desire - which is a natural process and which can be ignited in all individuals. Each of these issues requires a long and detailed discussion.
Well, global arrogance promotes war, poverty and decadence and it does this by dividing the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. Islam - that is to say, the Islamic Revolution which is based on Islamic concepts - says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" It rejects all these negative elements. This is the main challenge. This is the root of their enmity. This is why they fight the Islamic Revolution. Other issues are all excuses. We should adopt such an outlook on sanctions, domestic wars, coups d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and other events which have taken place during the recent years such as the nuclear issue.
Contrary to what everyone thought, our Revolution achieved victory. Then it formed a government which managed to prevail. This was while everyone in the world thought that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in six months or in one or two years. Then they gave a generous figure and said that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in three, four years. Contrary to what they thought, it became stronger on a daily basis and its \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"root is firm and its branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]. It has turned into a regional power and a country which is influential in major international issues. They are against this.
They raise the issue of nuclear weapons. Well, we do not believe in nuclear weapons, not because of such and such people and not because of America and other countries. Rather, we are against nuclear weapons because of our belief. No one should have nuclear weapons. When we say that other countries should not have nuclear weapons, it means that we ourselves should not and will not have them. But, their problem is something else. If certain countries emerge which put an end to their exclusive right, they will have no problems with that. Of course, they do not want to give up their self-proclaimed right, but if this happens, they will not create uproar about it.
But when it comes to Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic, they create uproar. Why do they do this? It is because having such a capability and power is a source of support for the Islamic Republic which is based on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the main challenge. We should know and see this. With such an outlook, we should analyze and interpret the behavior of America, the west and such and such a country and orientation which is dependent on and attached to these powers. This is the Islamic Revolution.
In the eyes of these enemies, no one is more hated than our magnanimous Imam who was an outstanding personality and who was like a shining sun. They looked at him with respect, but they also showed enmity towards him from the bottom of their hearts because he resisted and because he was perceptive and wise due to two unique characteristics that he enjoyed: complete wisdom and complete decisiveness. He put up resistance in a determined way and he was like a barrier in the way of their progress and in the way of the harm which they wanted to inflict. This was why they were his enemies. Of course, as I said, they looked at him with respect. They knew about his greatness, but the greater he was, the angrier they became. Today, the same situation exists. They show the same hatred towards anybody who is committed to these main values and principles - that is to say, values which determine the political identity of the Revolution such as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They hate anybody who realizes that the problems the enemies created for the Islamic Republic are based on this outlook and who takes this path by adopting such an outlook and showing such resistance.
Of course, the world of diplomacy is the world of smiling. They smile and ask to negotiate with us. They themselves offer to negotiate with us. A few days ago, one of the western politicians was asked, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You want to negotiate with Iran. This is while Iran is your enemy.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, negotiations should be conducted with the enemy, not other people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" That is to say, they admit that they are the enemies of Iran and they say this openly. The reason for their enmity is not the behavior of certain people. Rather, the reason is the true nature and identity of the Islamic Revolution. Everything that they say should be analyzed, interpreted and identified from this perspective.
We are not against proper and reasonable moves, whether in the world of diplomacy or in the world of domestic policies. I believe in the idea which was referred to as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Flexibility is necessary in many areas. It is very good and there is nothing wrong with it. But the wrestler who is wrestling against his opponent and who shows flexibility for technical reasons should not forget who his opponent is and what he is doing. This is the main condition. Our politicians too should know what they are doing, who they are faced with, who their opponent is and which area the opposing side wants to attack. They should pay attention to this point.
Well, you are the guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The meaning of the guardian of the Islamic Revolution is not that you should be present in all arenas and you should have a responsibility in all areas. As it was reflected in the statements of the dear and honorable commander who delivered a speech today, you have a certain and clear responsibility. As he pointed out, it is an appropriate move to take a look on the scope of activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. I agree with what he said. But, first, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should always know what it wants to do and what it wants to protect. Second, it should preserve its stability and steadfastness which is the main characteristic of the glorious identity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. It should not forget this. Everybody, at all levels, should pay attention to this point.
I have repeatedly pointed out that what the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps does is based on spirituality. Spirituality does not contradict scientific progress, systematic organization, new methods and different scientific and practical innovations. We should not think that when we pay attention to spirituality, we should ignore the material aspects of life. This is not the case. During the early Islamic era, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Muslims employed the best and the cleverest tactics in the arenas of war. In our own times too, revolutionary elements - whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army or other revolutionary elements - employed the cleverest tactics and methods during the Sacred Defense Era. Spirituality does not contradict the idea that we should pay attention to the material aspects of our work and the effective organization of things. This spirituality should be preserved because it is the essence of our work.
The last point I want to raise is that, in my opinion, the future of the Islamic Revolution is a bright future. This is not a vain hope. I am saying this because we have taken everything into consideration. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is experience. Well, during the early years of the Revolution, we were in a terrible condition because of our lack of manpower, lack of material resources, lack of weapons, lack of executive experience and different other shortcomings. But, where are we now? Today, we benefit from a wealth of manpower, material resources, scientific and political progress and international dignity. Where were we 30-plus years ago and where are we now? All of our moves during the past 35 years were made while we were under pressure from the opposing side. That is to say, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, but we managed to move forward. On the path that we were taking, there were fierce and adverse winds, but we managed to move forward. Is this experience not good? Is it not enough? Hostile orientations cannot confuse or stop a nation who is united, determined and religious and who knows what is wants to do.
On the issue of the regional events which recently took place in the world of Islam, wherever Muslims suffered a loss, it was because they did not know what they should do. In these events, there was not a clear guideline and therefore such things happened. Of course, it will not remain like this. The event which happened in regional and Islamic countries - that is to say, Islamic Awakening - is an unprecedented phenomenon and it will play its part in these events. So, our experience is the first reason.
Another reason is that we are moving forward with rationality and scientific precision. Our opposing side suffers from increasing weaknesses and internal contradictions because of the wrong way the infrastructures of this civilization are built. They are retreating. Of course, they do not need to admit that they are retreating and it is not necessary to visibly and clearly see this in their statements. This is the truth of the matter.
When a people move things forward with precision and by finding the right way, they will definitely achieve the desired results. We have said that we should promote the idea of building the Islamic Republic from the inside. We have said that knowledge should develop and spread. We have said that domestic production should be the essence of our work. We have said that we should adopt a serious outlook on the issue of optimism about the domestic capabilities of the country. We have said that talents should develop and blossom. These things are the essence of our work. When a country moves forward by relying on its domestic capabilities, its manpower, its knowledge, its faith and its unity, it will certainly achieve the desired results. Therefore, we have no doubts that we have a bright future ahead of us. Whether this future arrives sooner or later depends on you and I.
If laziness, negligence, selfishness, materialism and attachment to superficial things divert our attention and if we do something to cause our downfall - whether individual downfall or social downfall - then this future will be achieved later than expected. But it will definitely be achieved and this is because of the efforts and sacrifices which were made. Thankfully, in the arena of sacrifices too, you have been very active. You have put in a good performance and made brilliant moves in this arena. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future.
I hope that God will make you benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that He will make you and us the guardians of Islam and the Islamic Revolution in the real sense of the word. I hope that He will associate the pure souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam with His saints and with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
3:13
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34:55
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دیدار معلمان و فر ھنگیان سراسر کشور - Ayatollah Khamenei - 07th May 2014 - Farsi
Ayatollah Khamenei describes three main elements of the noble vocation of teaching 07th May 2014
Translation of speeech
souce: english.khamenei.ir
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the...
Ayatollah Khamenei describes three main elements of the noble vocation of teaching 07th May 2014
Translation of speeech
souce: english.khamenei.ir
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome you dear teachers and managers of the educational system, who imbued our working environment and our life with your warm and friendly presence.
First of all, it is the month of Rajab which is an opportunity to serve God. Our entire life can be an opportunity for serving God in a proper way and true happiness lies in this. Some occasions increase our opportunities and the month of Rajab is one of these opportunities. We should prepare ourselves in this month. We should pray for one another so that Allah the Exalted helps us prepare ourselves in this month and in the month of Sha\\\\\\\'ban and Ramadan and so that He helps us take one step forward and achieve transcendence.
Reviving the memory of a number of martyrs is one of the opportunities of this meeting and this day as well. Primarily, I would like to revive the memory of our dear martyr, Shahid Ayatollah Motahhari, who was our great thinker, our teacher and a mujahid on the path of Islamic thought and belief. With his martyrdom, he achieved the blessing to obtain the approval of Allah the Exalted for his long jihad. Good for him!
I would also like to revive the memory of Shahid Rajai and Shahid Bahonar who spent their lives in the educational system. They were two mujahid, pious and sincere individuals who were at the service of the educational system. We witnessed up close the efforts of these two dear personalities in these areas for many years and for a short time after the Revolution.
Our annual meeting with teachers has a major goal and several minor goals. The major goal is expressing respect for teachers. With this meeting, we want to show our respect to the position of teachers. This symbolic move is necessary. Respecting teachers and teaching should become a widespread practice in our society. Everyone should feel proud of being a teacher. Everyone should be proud of greeting and respecting teachers. The higher the position of teachers is, the higher the position of education will be in our society.
Adopting a narrow-minded outlook towards teachers is a loss for society. This should be prevented. The outlook towards teachers should be a respectful one. There are many different professions in the country which are seemingly very prestigious, but the position of all of these professions is much lower than the position and the profession of teaching. All of us should know and understand this.
The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) is quoted as saying, \\\\\\\"I was sent as a teacher\\\\\\\" [Usul al-Kafi, Volume 2, page 95]. The fact that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) considered himself to be a teacher is the greatest honor. Of course, teaching exists at different levels, but the truth of teaching is only one thing. This is a source of honor. This is our issue. With this meeting, we want to show that we hold teachers in great respect and that we are indebted to them because of what they did for ourselves and because of what they do for our children and for those whose future is important to us. This feeling is shared by all the people. All of us are indebted to teachers. This is our main issue.
There are some minor issues as well. One issue is addressed to teachers themselves. Another issue is addressed to the managers and officials of the large educational system. What is related to teachers is that the dear teachers should know their job is not only teaching. In other words, their job is not only to teach the textbooks that are available to them. Teachers should promote knowledge, teach the way to think and strengthen morality in themselves. If we consider teaching to have a broad meaning, it will include these three tasks:
The first task is promoting knowledge and teaching the textbooks that our children - the future men and women of the country - should learn. This is one task.
The second task, which is more important, is teaching how to think. Our children should learn how to think in a proper and reasonable way. They should be properly guided about how to think. Shallow outlooks and shallow learning of the issues of life cripple a society. In the long run, it destroys a people. Thinking should be firmly established in society.
This is why when we mention someone like Shahid Motahhari, we do not only speak about his knowledge. We speak about his thinking as well. If someone knows how to think, this spirit will help them to discover the important issues of knowledge. If our youth, our scholars and our scientists are thinkers, they will use the knowledge that they have to pose tens and hundreds of new questions and to get answers for these questions. So, using knowledge is only possible with thinking.
The third task is behavioral and moral education and what the honorable minister referred to in his statements: lifestyle and behavior. We are a people with lofty ideals, with great slogans and with clear and definite peaks that we want to reach - if there is time, I will briefly address this issue later on. This requires patient, wise, religious, innovative, kind, compassionate, courageous, polite and pious individuals who are ready to take action, who avoid laziness and who consider others\\\\\\\' pains to be their own pains.
The mold and make-up of a person that Islam wants to build is shaped through education. All people can be educated. Some people may learn late and some may learn sooner than others. Some learn more efficiently and some learn less efficiently than others. But all individuals are subject to change and this change takes place with education. Primarily, this falls on the shoulders of certain main elements one of which is a teacher. Of course, parents, friends and other such people are influential as well, but the influence that a teacher exerts is deeper and more permanent. This is a task that teachers should carry out.
Therefore, teachers teach how to acquire knowledge, how to think and how to be moral. Learning morality is not like acquiring knowledge. That is to say, one cannot be moral by reading books. Morality cannot be taught with books. Behavior is more influential than books and words. You teach with your behavior in your classrooms and among your students. Of course, you teach with words as well. You should provide verbal advice, but behavior has a deeper and more comprehensive influence. It is one\\\\\\\'s behavior which makes it clear whether one\\\\\\\'s words are sincere or not. This is what we wanted to say to teachers.
The society of teachers has been entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of children. We should pay attention to this issue. If, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, our teachers decide to build children and teenagers with this method - that is to say, by paying attention to these three elements - then I believe that this will exert great influence on the future of society.
Of course, after the Revolution, certain good measures were adopted in this regard. The society of teachers exerted great influence with their commitment and by showing their presence in the revolutionary environment - whether during the Sacred Defense Era or afterwards. I sometimes read the books which are about teachers. A teacher who took part in the front lines of the Sacred Defense and who was martyred exerted great influence on the minds of his students. One can see this.
One issue about the educational system and its management is the issue of the transformation plan. The transformation plan - which has thankfully been prepared and established - was not something that was created all of a sudden. This plan was one of our desires from the beginning of the Revolution. Because the educational system in our country was created by imitating western educational systems with the same form, content and order, there was a need for a fundamental change in the educational system of the country, whether in terms of form or in terms of content.
Well, many people shared this thought for many years. Then, it was developed gradually and it led to the transformation plan. I am not saying that this transformation plan is the peak of our desires. This is not the case. For everything, there is a higher form. It is possible that by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, you take action, move forward and gain experience in a way that you can add something to what is available to you today.
However, this transformation plan is what is available to us in the present time and therefore, it should be taken seriously. My advice to the honorable officials and managers of the educational system is that we should take the transformation plan seriously. And this seriousness should be beyond formal statements. It should be shown in practice.
Well, as the friends in this meeting quoted what I had said before, if we want this transformation plan to be implemented, we need a roadmap and a plan. If our thoughts and the general ideas that officials and sympathetic personalities have in mind do not take the form of a practical plan, then it will remain a mere idea and it will decay. Therefore, it requires a practical plan.
You should prepare and implement this practical plan in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution - which is a great cultural center and a reference point for making decisions and in which officials are present. You should feel that this step has been taken. Then, you should go to the next step. Of course, some tasks should be carried out simultaneously and in line with one another.
An issue for the management of the educational system is the issue of manpower. As was pointed out in this meeting, the educational system is the greatest decision-making organization in the Islamic Republic. More than one million officials exist in this great system. These officials are directly involved with more than 12 million people and they are indirectly involved with tens of millions of people - that is to say, families. Such a great network is very important.
The forces that should be employed in this great network should have certain characteristics. One of these characteristics is that they should be motivated and enthusiastic. You should not give priority to tired, old and unimaginative forces - those who tried whatever they knew and who do not have new methods anymore. The priority should be given to young, enthusiastic, motivated, pious and revolutionary forces and to those for whom the main goal is what the main issue of the educational system is - which is building individuals.
You should benefit from these forces. This is one issue. Therefore, in my opinion, the first issue about the macro-management of the educational system is that they should see what forces they are using. They should benefit from religious, revolutionary, enthusiastic and zealous forces who love their job and who are ready to enter difficult arenas for the sake of the goals of the educational system. This is the most important task.
The second issue is the issue of support. All governmental organizations are responsible for supporting the educational system, whether the organizations which are in charge of the budget or the organizations which are formed on the basis of the laws that the Majlis passes. The outlook of all these organizations should be such an outlook. They should not think that the educational system is only a consumer. Sometimes, there is such an outlook. Some people say that the educational system is only a consumer. But this is not the case. The more you spend money on it, the more results you will achieve. The educational system is such a system.
This is an organization which creates the future generators of wealth, knowledge and civilization and the future managers of the country. It is not the case that we think the educational system is a costly organization. There is no achievement which is greater than the one the educational system makes. Whatever achievement and innovation you see throughout the country is rooted in the educational system. You should improve this organization so that everything will be improved. Therefore, spending money on the educational system and expanding the financial resources of this organization is one of the tasks that we hope government officials pay attention to.
Another issue is that - as I mentioned in the middle of my speech - the managers that we choose should be managers whose focus is on the main issue of the educational system. Adopting partisan, political and other such outlooks is poison for the educational system. Over the course of these long years, we have witnessed certain eras during which there was more attention to such issues. As a result of this, the educational system suffered a loss. You should be careful about this. You should adopt such an outlook towards the different issues of the educational system that for each manager in each sector of this large and vast organization, the main issue is the issue of education and building revolutionary forces.
Dear brothers and sisters, the reason why we stress the issue of building revolutionary and religious forces is that we have a long way ahead of us. Our people have a long way ahead of them. The goal that we have in mind for the Islamic Republic - which is based on the general guidelines of the Revolution - is a very lofty goal. When I say \\\\\\\"we\\\\\\\", I do not mean this humble person. Rather, I mean the people of Iran, officials and the owners of the Revolution. This goal is creating an exemplary society. You want to build a society in dear Iran - which has been located in a very sensitive geographical area in the world - which is a model in the shade of Islam and under the flag of the Holy Quran. This model is both in material areas and in spiritual and moral areas.
Westerners made a leap in material areas. They made a leap in a certain era, but this leap was separated from and opposed to the moral movement. It was a hundred percent materialistic leap. In the beginning, no one understood what had happened, but now they are beginning to understand. They are gradually feeling the irreversible damage of what they did. No one should think that a purely materialistic and secular civilization can help its people achieve happiness. This is not the case. The people in this civilization will face a great disaster.
In the present time, they are witnessing this disaster. This disaster is not because of the demonstrations which are held in European streets. For the west, this disaster is much deeper than this. Primarily, what humanity needs is psychological, moral and conscience-based security. Primarily, what it needs is the satisfaction of its conscience. Such satisfaction does not exist in western environments and it will get even worse.
If you are familiar with western writers, critics and thinkers, you will see that it is several years now that they have been raising their voices. These people are showing some aspects of increasing corruption in their societies. A materialistic lifestyle is like this. Although they have moved forward in the area of science, technological achievements and the like and although they have accomplished great feats in this regard, they have collapsed in the area of morality and they will continue to collapse because of this.
The society that Islam wants to build is a society that is at an advanced level in terms of wealth, knowledge and welfare. But it also wants this society to be at this level or even at a higher level in terms of morality and spirituality. This is an Islamic society. You want to build this society. So, you have a long way ahead of you. But it is possible. No one should say that it is not. Many things were considered to be impossible, but they happened.
When a people show determination, they can accomplish great and historical feats. Our societies have shown that they can be great, that they can blossom and that they can grow and exert influence. Man is an endless and infinite creature. Knowledge has made so much progress, but the main parts of man\\\\\\\'s brain are still unknown. This is what the scientists who work on this say. This physical aspect of man is unknown, let alone his spiritual, psychological and inner aspect. Man has many capabilities. We can carry out many tasks. An individual can simultaneously achieve great material and spiritual growth.
Well, we want to reach these goals. Reaching these goals requires manpower more than anything else. What is more important than the path is the person who takes this path. If there is not such a person, then even a well-paved road is useless. But if there is a determined person, then lack of a well-paved road will not be problematic. You have seen that mountaineers climb so high while there is no road. But they have feet and determination. So, it is possible to move forward and to reach peaks. It is possible to know and utilize unknown talents. It is possible to solve problems in a constant way.
All of these things require human resources. These human resources should be created in the educational system. Universities are important in this regard. The same is true of society and the IRIB. But none of these is as important as primary school. The teachers and managers of this great organization have such a responsibility. Therefore, we stress that they should be religious and revolutionary.
It is with this religious and revolutionary spirit that we can take this path. Even if there is a hard obstacle ahead of us, we can move forward. Even if there are certain hurdles, we can jump over them provided that this revolutionary spirit, this piety and this commitment to religious and revolutionary steadfastness exist. This is one point.
Another issue is the issue of textbooks. We should be very careful about textbooks. They should be well-developed. If they are poor in content, this is harmful. Not only is it not beneficial, but it is also harmful. If they contain deviant statements - whether political, religious or factual deviation - this is harmful. Those who are responsible for this should carry out their responsibility with complete trustworthiness and precision.
Another issue is the issue of the teachers\\\\\\\' training university. On my way to this meeting, I spoke with the honorable minister about this issue. This university is different from ordinary universities. As well as the advantages that other universities have, this university has the advantage of producing teachers. This has certain requirements. Great significance should be attached to this university.
Another issue is the issue of moral education and the deputy of moral education. This issue was neglected. This deputy was closed at one point. Later on, they opened and closed it again and again. The deputy of moral education is an organization in charge of attending to the issue of moral education - spiritual, revolutionary, behavioral and moral aspects of education. This deputy is important both at a ministerial level and at lower levels.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings and mercy on all of you. I hope that, God willing, the immaculate soul of our dear Imam (r.a.) - who opened this path for us - is pleased with you. I hope that the pure souls of our dear martyrs - particularly those martyrs who were teachers and students - benefit from divine blessings.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
More...
Description:
Ayatollah Khamenei describes three main elements of the noble vocation of teaching 07th May 2014
Translation of speeech
souce: english.khamenei.ir
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome you dear teachers and managers of the educational system, who imbued our working environment and our life with your warm and friendly presence.
First of all, it is the month of Rajab which is an opportunity to serve God. Our entire life can be an opportunity for serving God in a proper way and true happiness lies in this. Some occasions increase our opportunities and the month of Rajab is one of these opportunities. We should prepare ourselves in this month. We should pray for one another so that Allah the Exalted helps us prepare ourselves in this month and in the month of Sha\\\\\\\'ban and Ramadan and so that He helps us take one step forward and achieve transcendence.
Reviving the memory of a number of martyrs is one of the opportunities of this meeting and this day as well. Primarily, I would like to revive the memory of our dear martyr, Shahid Ayatollah Motahhari, who was our great thinker, our teacher and a mujahid on the path of Islamic thought and belief. With his martyrdom, he achieved the blessing to obtain the approval of Allah the Exalted for his long jihad. Good for him!
I would also like to revive the memory of Shahid Rajai and Shahid Bahonar who spent their lives in the educational system. They were two mujahid, pious and sincere individuals who were at the service of the educational system. We witnessed up close the efforts of these two dear personalities in these areas for many years and for a short time after the Revolution.
Our annual meeting with teachers has a major goal and several minor goals. The major goal is expressing respect for teachers. With this meeting, we want to show our respect to the position of teachers. This symbolic move is necessary. Respecting teachers and teaching should become a widespread practice in our society. Everyone should feel proud of being a teacher. Everyone should be proud of greeting and respecting teachers. The higher the position of teachers is, the higher the position of education will be in our society.
Adopting a narrow-minded outlook towards teachers is a loss for society. This should be prevented. The outlook towards teachers should be a respectful one. There are many different professions in the country which are seemingly very prestigious, but the position of all of these professions is much lower than the position and the profession of teaching. All of us should know and understand this.
The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) is quoted as saying, \\\\\\\"I was sent as a teacher\\\\\\\" [Usul al-Kafi, Volume 2, page 95]. The fact that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) considered himself to be a teacher is the greatest honor. Of course, teaching exists at different levels, but the truth of teaching is only one thing. This is a source of honor. This is our issue. With this meeting, we want to show that we hold teachers in great respect and that we are indebted to them because of what they did for ourselves and because of what they do for our children and for those whose future is important to us. This feeling is shared by all the people. All of us are indebted to teachers. This is our main issue.
There are some minor issues as well. One issue is addressed to teachers themselves. Another issue is addressed to the managers and officials of the large educational system. What is related to teachers is that the dear teachers should know their job is not only teaching. In other words, their job is not only to teach the textbooks that are available to them. Teachers should promote knowledge, teach the way to think and strengthen morality in themselves. If we consider teaching to have a broad meaning, it will include these three tasks:
The first task is promoting knowledge and teaching the textbooks that our children - the future men and women of the country - should learn. This is one task.
The second task, which is more important, is teaching how to think. Our children should learn how to think in a proper and reasonable way. They should be properly guided about how to think. Shallow outlooks and shallow learning of the issues of life cripple a society. In the long run, it destroys a people. Thinking should be firmly established in society.
This is why when we mention someone like Shahid Motahhari, we do not only speak about his knowledge. We speak about his thinking as well. If someone knows how to think, this spirit will help them to discover the important issues of knowledge. If our youth, our scholars and our scientists are thinkers, they will use the knowledge that they have to pose tens and hundreds of new questions and to get answers for these questions. So, using knowledge is only possible with thinking.
The third task is behavioral and moral education and what the honorable minister referred to in his statements: lifestyle and behavior. We are a people with lofty ideals, with great slogans and with clear and definite peaks that we want to reach - if there is time, I will briefly address this issue later on. This requires patient, wise, religious, innovative, kind, compassionate, courageous, polite and pious individuals who are ready to take action, who avoid laziness and who consider others\\\\\\\' pains to be their own pains.
The mold and make-up of a person that Islam wants to build is shaped through education. All people can be educated. Some people may learn late and some may learn sooner than others. Some learn more efficiently and some learn less efficiently than others. But all individuals are subject to change and this change takes place with education. Primarily, this falls on the shoulders of certain main elements one of which is a teacher. Of course, parents, friends and other such people are influential as well, but the influence that a teacher exerts is deeper and more permanent. This is a task that teachers should carry out.
Therefore, teachers teach how to acquire knowledge, how to think and how to be moral. Learning morality is not like acquiring knowledge. That is to say, one cannot be moral by reading books. Morality cannot be taught with books. Behavior is more influential than books and words. You teach with your behavior in your classrooms and among your students. Of course, you teach with words as well. You should provide verbal advice, but behavior has a deeper and more comprehensive influence. It is one\\\\\\\'s behavior which makes it clear whether one\\\\\\\'s words are sincere or not. This is what we wanted to say to teachers.
The society of teachers has been entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of children. We should pay attention to this issue. If, by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, our teachers decide to build children and teenagers with this method - that is to say, by paying attention to these three elements - then I believe that this will exert great influence on the future of society.
Of course, after the Revolution, certain good measures were adopted in this regard. The society of teachers exerted great influence with their commitment and by showing their presence in the revolutionary environment - whether during the Sacred Defense Era or afterwards. I sometimes read the books which are about teachers. A teacher who took part in the front lines of the Sacred Defense and who was martyred exerted great influence on the minds of his students. One can see this.
One issue about the educational system and its management is the issue of the transformation plan. The transformation plan - which has thankfully been prepared and established - was not something that was created all of a sudden. This plan was one of our desires from the beginning of the Revolution. Because the educational system in our country was created by imitating western educational systems with the same form, content and order, there was a need for a fundamental change in the educational system of the country, whether in terms of form or in terms of content.
Well, many people shared this thought for many years. Then, it was developed gradually and it led to the transformation plan. I am not saying that this transformation plan is the peak of our desires. This is not the case. For everything, there is a higher form. It is possible that by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, you take action, move forward and gain experience in a way that you can add something to what is available to you today.
However, this transformation plan is what is available to us in the present time and therefore, it should be taken seriously. My advice to the honorable officials and managers of the educational system is that we should take the transformation plan seriously. And this seriousness should be beyond formal statements. It should be shown in practice.
Well, as the friends in this meeting quoted what I had said before, if we want this transformation plan to be implemented, we need a roadmap and a plan. If our thoughts and the general ideas that officials and sympathetic personalities have in mind do not take the form of a practical plan, then it will remain a mere idea and it will decay. Therefore, it requires a practical plan.
You should prepare and implement this practical plan in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution - which is a great cultural center and a reference point for making decisions and in which officials are present. You should feel that this step has been taken. Then, you should go to the next step. Of course, some tasks should be carried out simultaneously and in line with one another.
An issue for the management of the educational system is the issue of manpower. As was pointed out in this meeting, the educational system is the greatest decision-making organization in the Islamic Republic. More than one million officials exist in this great system. These officials are directly involved with more than 12 million people and they are indirectly involved with tens of millions of people - that is to say, families. Such a great network is very important.
The forces that should be employed in this great network should have certain characteristics. One of these characteristics is that they should be motivated and enthusiastic. You should not give priority to tired, old and unimaginative forces - those who tried whatever they knew and who do not have new methods anymore. The priority should be given to young, enthusiastic, motivated, pious and revolutionary forces and to those for whom the main goal is what the main issue of the educational system is - which is building individuals.
You should benefit from these forces. This is one issue. Therefore, in my opinion, the first issue about the macro-management of the educational system is that they should see what forces they are using. They should benefit from religious, revolutionary, enthusiastic and zealous forces who love their job and who are ready to enter difficult arenas for the sake of the goals of the educational system. This is the most important task.
The second issue is the issue of support. All governmental organizations are responsible for supporting the educational system, whether the organizations which are in charge of the budget or the organizations which are formed on the basis of the laws that the Majlis passes. The outlook of all these organizations should be such an outlook. They should not think that the educational system is only a consumer. Sometimes, there is such an outlook. Some people say that the educational system is only a consumer. But this is not the case. The more you spend money on it, the more results you will achieve. The educational system is such a system.
This is an organization which creates the future generators of wealth, knowledge and civilization and the future managers of the country. It is not the case that we think the educational system is a costly organization. There is no achievement which is greater than the one the educational system makes. Whatever achievement and innovation you see throughout the country is rooted in the educational system. You should improve this organization so that everything will be improved. Therefore, spending money on the educational system and expanding the financial resources of this organization is one of the tasks that we hope government officials pay attention to.
Another issue is that - as I mentioned in the middle of my speech - the managers that we choose should be managers whose focus is on the main issue of the educational system. Adopting partisan, political and other such outlooks is poison for the educational system. Over the course of these long years, we have witnessed certain eras during which there was more attention to such issues. As a result of this, the educational system suffered a loss. You should be careful about this. You should adopt such an outlook towards the different issues of the educational system that for each manager in each sector of this large and vast organization, the main issue is the issue of education and building revolutionary forces.
Dear brothers and sisters, the reason why we stress the issue of building revolutionary and religious forces is that we have a long way ahead of us. Our people have a long way ahead of them. The goal that we have in mind for the Islamic Republic - which is based on the general guidelines of the Revolution - is a very lofty goal. When I say \\\\\\\"we\\\\\\\", I do not mean this humble person. Rather, I mean the people of Iran, officials and the owners of the Revolution. This goal is creating an exemplary society. You want to build a society in dear Iran - which has been located in a very sensitive geographical area in the world - which is a model in the shade of Islam and under the flag of the Holy Quran. This model is both in material areas and in spiritual and moral areas.
Westerners made a leap in material areas. They made a leap in a certain era, but this leap was separated from and opposed to the moral movement. It was a hundred percent materialistic leap. In the beginning, no one understood what had happened, but now they are beginning to understand. They are gradually feeling the irreversible damage of what they did. No one should think that a purely materialistic and secular civilization can help its people achieve happiness. This is not the case. The people in this civilization will face a great disaster.
In the present time, they are witnessing this disaster. This disaster is not because of the demonstrations which are held in European streets. For the west, this disaster is much deeper than this. Primarily, what humanity needs is psychological, moral and conscience-based security. Primarily, what it needs is the satisfaction of its conscience. Such satisfaction does not exist in western environments and it will get even worse.
If you are familiar with western writers, critics and thinkers, you will see that it is several years now that they have been raising their voices. These people are showing some aspects of increasing corruption in their societies. A materialistic lifestyle is like this. Although they have moved forward in the area of science, technological achievements and the like and although they have accomplished great feats in this regard, they have collapsed in the area of morality and they will continue to collapse because of this.
The society that Islam wants to build is a society that is at an advanced level in terms of wealth, knowledge and welfare. But it also wants this society to be at this level or even at a higher level in terms of morality and spirituality. This is an Islamic society. You want to build this society. So, you have a long way ahead of you. But it is possible. No one should say that it is not. Many things were considered to be impossible, but they happened.
When a people show determination, they can accomplish great and historical feats. Our societies have shown that they can be great, that they can blossom and that they can grow and exert influence. Man is an endless and infinite creature. Knowledge has made so much progress, but the main parts of man\\\\\\\'s brain are still unknown. This is what the scientists who work on this say. This physical aspect of man is unknown, let alone his spiritual, psychological and inner aspect. Man has many capabilities. We can carry out many tasks. An individual can simultaneously achieve great material and spiritual growth.
Well, we want to reach these goals. Reaching these goals requires manpower more than anything else. What is more important than the path is the person who takes this path. If there is not such a person, then even a well-paved road is useless. But if there is a determined person, then lack of a well-paved road will not be problematic. You have seen that mountaineers climb so high while there is no road. But they have feet and determination. So, it is possible to move forward and to reach peaks. It is possible to know and utilize unknown talents. It is possible to solve problems in a constant way.
All of these things require human resources. These human resources should be created in the educational system. Universities are important in this regard. The same is true of society and the IRIB. But none of these is as important as primary school. The teachers and managers of this great organization have such a responsibility. Therefore, we stress that they should be religious and revolutionary.
It is with this religious and revolutionary spirit that we can take this path. Even if there is a hard obstacle ahead of us, we can move forward. Even if there are certain hurdles, we can jump over them provided that this revolutionary spirit, this piety and this commitment to religious and revolutionary steadfastness exist. This is one point.
Another issue is the issue of textbooks. We should be very careful about textbooks. They should be well-developed. If they are poor in content, this is harmful. Not only is it not beneficial, but it is also harmful. If they contain deviant statements - whether political, religious or factual deviation - this is harmful. Those who are responsible for this should carry out their responsibility with complete trustworthiness and precision.
Another issue is the issue of the teachers\\\\\\\' training university. On my way to this meeting, I spoke with the honorable minister about this issue. This university is different from ordinary universities. As well as the advantages that other universities have, this university has the advantage of producing teachers. This has certain requirements. Great significance should be attached to this university.
Another issue is the issue of moral education and the deputy of moral education. This issue was neglected. This deputy was closed at one point. Later on, they opened and closed it again and again. The deputy of moral education is an organization in charge of attending to the issue of moral education - spiritual, revolutionary, behavioral and moral aspects of education. This deputy is important both at a ministerial level and at lower levels.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings and mercy on all of you. I hope that, God willing, the immaculate soul of our dear Imam (r.a.) - who opened this path for us - is pleased with you. I hope that the pure souls of our dear martyrs - particularly those martyrs who were teachers and students - benefit from divine blessings.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
71:28
|
(Full Speech) Supreme Leader on demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (ra) - 4 June 2014 - [ENGLISH]
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Speech on 25th Demise Anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) Print
06/06/2014
Hotuba ya Kiongozi Muadhamu katika Maadhimisho ya Mwaka wa 25 wa Kufariki Dunia Imam...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Speech on 25th Demise Anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) Print
06/06/2014
Hotuba ya Kiongozi Muadhamu katika Maadhimisho ya Mwaka wa 25 wa Kufariki Dunia Imam KhomeiniThe following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2014 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 upon our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
\\\\\\\"Our Lord, forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of us in faith, and do not allow any spite to remain in our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord, surely You are Kind, Merciful\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 59: 10]. \\\\\\\"Our Lord, surely You have given to Pharaoh and his chiefs finery and riches in this world\\\\\\\'s life. To this end, our Lord, that they lead people astray from Your way. Our Lord, destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they believe not until they see the painful punishment\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 10: 88].
Allah the Omniscient said in His book: \\\\\\\"Have you not considered how Allah sets forth a parable of a good word being like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord?\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]
On this unforgettable and important day, I would like to divide my statements to you dear brothers and sisters into three parts. In the first part, I will speak about an important reality which exists about the Islamic Republic. Today, paying attention to this reality is very important. In the second part, I will provide a brief explanation of our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) permanent and eternal school of thought. Although we have said and heard many things about Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought, it is necessary to provide a brief explanation at this point in time. I will provide a short portrayal of all the things that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) created as a unique phenomenon in the contemporary world. The third part is about two important challenges which lie ahead of the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic. It is important for us to pay attention to these two challenges in order to move forward in the right way and on the right path.
As for the first part, the reality that I referred to is that 25 years have passed from the demise of our great Imam (r.a.), but people\\\\\\\'s enthusiasm and excitement to hear and know about him has not diminished. And this is not particular to our country. Rather, this reality exists in the world of Islam and even beyond that.
Not only in our country - where the third generation of the Revolution is growing and blossoming - but also in the entire world of Islam, the youth of the age of communications and Internet are after gaining more information about the issues of the Revolution, about the Islamic Republic and about the architect of this great structure. And these youth can easily familiarize themselves with the issues which occur far away from their own environment. The phenomenon of religious democracy and the theory of Wilayat-e Faqih are issues which are significant and attractive for the intellectual environments of the world of Islam.
From the first days, our enemies began making a comprehensive effort and the more we moved forward, the more comprehensive this effort became. They used hundreds and thousands of television, radio stations and Internet sites to abuse the Islamic Republic, its great founder and its supporters. Of course, this issue has been helpful to us because it has aroused the curiosity of listeners and viewers throughout the world.
These listeners and viewers want to know the reason behind all these enmities, hostilities and mudslinging. They want to know the nature of the truth which has been the target of these enmities. So, our enemies mentioned our names and they spoke about our Imam (r.a.) and our system with the purpose of showing their enmity, but \\\\\\\"...surely they will scheme, and I too will scheme\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 86: 15-16].
This is what Allah the Exalted says. They started this widespread movement with such an intention, but it eventually created an opportunity for us because the sense of curiosity of the listeners to these stations was aroused throughout the world. Islamic Awakening - in which anti-arrogant feelings were dominant more than any other phenomenon - in Islamic countries and our region is the sign of this curiosity and search for the truth and it continues to exist.
It is possible that western and American intelligence services report to their seniors that they have managed to suppress Islamic Awakening in our region. If they have such a notion, then this will be another strategic mistake and another wrong interpretation on the part of our enemies. Islamic Awakening might be suppressed for a while in part of the world of Islam, but it will undoubtedly not be uprooted. On the contrary, it will develop.
This understanding, this perception and this awareness in all countries and among Muslim youth in the region is not something that can be destroyed easily. Of course, they will make certain efforts in order to destroy it and these efforts may seem to be successful in some areas in the short run, but in the end, they will prove to be fruitless.
The curiosity that exists in today\\\\\\\'s young generation all over the world - particularly in the world of Islam - about the phenomenon of religious democracy is rooted in the fact that the Islamic Republic is a phenomenon from whose birth 35 years have passed. And during all these 35 years, it has faced the violent and hostile reactions of the dominant powers in the world. They showed military reactions, they showed propaganda reactions, they showed economic reactions - which began from the beginning of the Revolution and which have been reinforced on a daily basis - and they showed political reactions.
It is 35 years now that this powerful western camp has been doing whatever it could against the Islamic Republic. It has made military efforts, it has helped the aggressors who attacked our country, it has supported the enemies of the Islamic Republic in any area, it has used widespread propaganda and it has made perfect and unprecedented efforts in the area of sanctions and economic siege. But in the face of all these invasions and all these violent and unscrupulous hostilities, the Islamic Republic was not destroyed, it did not adopt a conservative outlook, it was not blackmailed by the west and it made progress on a daily basis. This is what forms the essence of this curiosity.
Despite the fact that the primary military, political and economic powers of the world joined hands against a country and a government and despite the fact that they made efforts for 35 years, not only was this government not destroyed, but it also became stronger on a daily basis. This government was not blackmailed by them and it did not pay any attention to them at all. The Islamic Republic showed its power and capability to survive in different arenas.
Today, when they look at the Islamic Republic, they see that the second and third generations of the Revolution in the country are comprised of several million students, several thousand knowledgeable clergy, several thousand researchers, several thousand university and seminary professors, thousands of scientific and intellectual personalities - some of whom are well-known on an international level - and thousands of activists and producers and thousands of political, cultural and economic personalities. This is the reality about our today\\\\\\\'s society.
In the arena of science and technology, the Islamic Republic launches satellites into space despite all sanctions. It sends living creatures into space and it brings them back. It produces nuclear energy. It is ranked among the first ten countries in the world in many new sciences. The centers in charge of releasing statistics have announced that the rate of scientific progress in the Islamic Republic is 13 times faster than the global average. It gives scientific and technological services to different countries. Despite unprecedented sanctions, it manages a 75-million-strong country. It has the final word on regional policies. It shows resistance against the usurping Zionist regime, which is supported by global bullies, and it does this on its own. It does not compromise with oppressors and it defends the oppressed.
Any well-informed individual becomes curious to know what this organism and phenomenon is and how it benefits from all these innate capabilities and this potential to survive despite all the enmities. This is the nature of this curiosity. This was about the issues related to scientific, technological and other such areas.
As for political and social issues, the higher aspect of this religious democracy is that we have had 32 elections during the 35 years from the beginning of our Revolution. Thirty two public elections have been held in this country. Is this a minor achievement? This is an exceptional phenomenon. Elections in the Islamic Republic are held with a high turnout - higher than the global average and in some cases, it is much higher. Our elections witness a turnout of 70, 72 percent. Our elections are like this. These elections are the manifestation of democracy.
Another exceptional example is the two phenomena which we people have gotten used to, but which are extraordinarily exciting and important for global inspectors and witnesses. These two phenomena are the 22nd of Bahman rallies and Quds Day Rallies in the month of Ramadan. During the past 35 years, the people have held the Revolution celebration each year with a great, exciting and glorious rally on the cold days of late Bahman. We have gotten used to this and we do not truly see the significance and greatness of this issue, but global witnesses see these things and they are very astonishing to them.
These are the factors behind the element which arouses people\\\\\\\'s curiosity and which presents a new path to the minds of enthusiastic, inquisitive and research-oriented individuals. This is the important reality of our time which can be described as the general curiosity of youth, intellectuals, well-informed personalities and analysts throughout the world of Islam about the phenomenon which has emerged and grown on a daily basis in Islamic Iran. This is the first issue.
This reality has been built by the hands of our great architect. We have said many things about Imam (r.a.). Perhaps some people think that we have spoken about Imam in an exaggerated way. But this is not the case. What we have said about our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) is neither exaggeration nor magnification of the truth. Rather, it is the truth. Our magnanimous and dear Imam (r.a.) was more complex and meaningful than what we managed to say and reflect about him.
What is available to the people of Iran and what is in front of the eyes of people throughout the world has been built by those powerful hands. We should know about the architect\\\\\\\'s plan in order to take the path in the right way. If developers and builders do not have access to a plan in order to build an ordinary building and if it is not clear what the main plan is, then they may make a mistake no matter how skilled they are. We should know the main plan so that we can use our expertise in building on the basis of this plan.
Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) plan was not one that could be designed by a human being. It was definitely God\\\\\\\'s work. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) himself knew and acknowledged this. He himself used to say, \\\\\\\"What has occurred is a handicraft of divine power\\\\\\\". He had understood this correctly and his insightful and vigilant eyes had seen this correctly.
We should be careful. We should know the plan so that we can continue the path. If we do not know the plan, we will deviate from the right path. And when we deviate, we will drift away from the main and the straight path on a daily basis. When we drift away from the straight path, we will drift away from goals and we will fail to reach them.
In order to reach the goals, we should take care not to lose the path and in order to avoid losing the path, we should have the main plan in front of our eyes. We should know and identify this plan. Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) plan and main task was to create a civil-political system on the basis of Islamic reason. The prerequisite for carrying out this task was to uproot the monarchic regime which was corrupt, dependent and dictatorial.
The monarchic regime had these three characteristics: it was corrupt - different moral, financial and other such corruptions. It was dependent on powers. One day, it was dependent on England and another day, it was dependent on America. It was prepared to abandon its own interests and the interests of the people for the sake of the interests of foreigners. And it was dictatorial and oppressive. For the monarchic regime, the people\\\\\\\'s votes and requests counted for nothing. Each of these characteristics forms a long chapter. Each of them forms a long book.
The prerequisite for the great task that Imam (r.a.) wanted to carry out was to uproot this corrupt, dependent and dictatorial regime. He focused his efforts on doing this and consequently, the regime was uprooted. In our country, the issue was not replacing a monarchic regime with another monarchic or semi-monarchic regime. The issue was uprooting the characteristics that the monarchic regime had and this was done by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) statements, guidelines and behavior were oriented towards this goal.
There are two fundamental points in building this civil-political system and these two points are interconnected. In one sense, these two points are two sides of the coin of truth. One is entrusting the affairs of the country to the people through democracy and elections and another is launching this movement - which originated from Islam - and any movement which originates from democracy and entrusting tasks to people, within the framework of Islamic sharia. These are two parts. In other words, these are two sides of the same truth.
Some people should not think that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) derived elections from the western culture and then mixed it with Islamic thoughts and Islamic sharia. This was not the case. If elections, democracy and reliance on the votes of people had not been part of religion and Islamic sharia, then Imam (r.a.) would have told us. If this had been the case, he would have announced it in an outspoken and decisive way. Democracy is part of religion. Therefore, Islamic sharia is the framework.
When passing and implementing laws, when assigning individuals different tasks and discharging them from their service and during all tasks that follow this political-civil system, Islamic sharia should be observed. All tasks in this system revolve around democracy. All the people elect the members of the Majlis and the president, they elect ministers indirectly, they elect the members of the Assembly of Experts and they elect the Leader indirectly. All tasks are in the hands of the people. This was the main base of our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) movement. The great structure that this great personality built was founded on these two bases.
Commitment to Islamic sharia is the soul and truth of the Islamic government. Everyone should pay attention to this issue. If Islamic sharia is completely observed in society, this will ensure both civil and individual freedom - the freedom of individuals - and collective freedom which is called independence. Independence means freedom of a people. It means that a people are not dependent on anyone and any place.
\\\\\\\"A free people\\\\\\\" means a people who are not under the influence and domination of their opponents, their enemies and foreigners in any way. If Islamic sharia is observed, it will ensure both justice and spirituality in society. These are the four main elements: freedom, independence, justice and spirituality. If Islamic sharia dominates society, these main phenomena in the order of Islamic society will show themselves. Therefore, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) stressed the necessity of Islamic sharia which is the soul of the Islamic Republic. He also stressed the necessity of religious democracy which is a means and a tool and which is derived from sharia.
According to Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought, any power and force which has come into being through deception and oppression is unacceptable. In the Islamic government, oppression and subjugation are meaningless. Power and authority are meaningful, but only the one that originates from people\\\\\\\'s free will and choice. The kind of power which originates from bullying, subjugation and weapons is meaningless from the viewpoint of Islam, Islamic sharia and Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought.
The kind of power which emerges on the basis of people\\\\\\\'s choice is respectable. No one should confront this power. No one should try to suppress and subjugate this power. If they do so, this is called fitna. This is the new prescription that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) introduced to the world. He added this important chapter to the political literature of the world. As we pointed out, one of the main elements in this new version is rushing to help the oppressed and confronting the oppressor. We should help the oppressed and in the present time, the concrete manifestation of being oppressed is the people of Palestine.
As you witnessed, from the first day until the end of his life, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) stressed the issue of Palestine. He supported the issue of Palestine and stated in his testament that the people of Iran and the officials of the country should not forget about this issue. Helping the oppressed, showing resistance against the oppressor, condemning his transgressions, rejecting his power and grandeur in an outspoken way and shattering this grandeur are among the parts of this system and this new version presented by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.).
This is a short summary, portrayal and description of the political order and the foundation that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) introduced to society after overthrowing the monarchic regime in the country. This matter was completely accepted by the people and it was put into practice. Unlike many political slogans, this matter was not confined to books. Rather, it was realized, put into practice and reflected in reality. And the people of Iran showed their determination, loyalty and self-sacrifice by preserving this matter and strengthening it on a daily basis until today.
So, Imam (r.a.) succeeded. He achieved complete success in what he wanted to do. Will this great task continue? Will the empty boxes of this table - naturally, there are some empty boxes in social and historical tables - be filled in? This depends on how determined and aware you and I are and to what extent we observe and move in the direction of that clear line. It is completely possible to do this.
Considering the people that we see, considering the experience that they have gained and considering the successful and continuous movement that they have launched in the past 35 years - and in the past 25 years since Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) demise - it is possible to continue this path. The empty boxes will be filled in, great feats will be accomplished and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, our people will reach the peaks.
Like all the important paths which have been delineated for reaching great goals, this path involves certain challenges and obstacles. We should identify these obstacles so that we can pass through them. If we do not identify obstacles, overcoming them will be either difficult or impossible. I am saying these things to you honorable participants of this great and magnificent meeting and, in fact, to the people of Iran who will hear these statements. But it is our youth, our scholars and our intellectuals who should think about, work on and study each of these chapters and parts.
They should work on not only semi-intellectual and theoretical discussions but also on practical and functional discussions which reflect the truth. What we are saying is some chapters for carrying out intellectual tasks. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, these chapters will be followed up by our youth who are much better and prepared than we are.
I would like to refer to two challenges: one is an external challenge and another is an internal challenge. Our external challenge is the interferences of global arrogance. I would like to speak without any consideration. The external challenge is the interferences of America. They engage in mudslinging.
Although some of their thinkers say in their analyses that it is useless or impossible to confront this great movement, they engage in mudslinging.
We should know their plan. This is America\\\\\\\'s plan which has been revealed through their discussions, reports, statements and behavior: America divides all countries, orientations and people throughout the world into three groups: the first group is made up of the submissive including submissive countries, submissive political and social orientations and submissive individuals. The first group is comprised of these people. The second group is comprised of countries which are not submissive and which should be tolerated. From the viewpoint of America, a number of countries, personalities and orientations should be tolerated. They believe that they should define common interests with these countries and that they should get along with them somehow. Later on, I will explain this more. The third group is made up of disobedient countries, those which do not give in to America and which refuse to be blackmailed by it. The third group is comprised of these countries.
From the viewpoint of the Americans, no country, no political, social, civil and economic orientation and no individual in the world is out of these three groups. Everyone is either submissive and docile or independent - and you should get along with them - or disobedient, bold and courageous. One should behave in a different way towards the third group.
America\\\\\\\'s policy towards the first group is complete support. Of course, they do not provide this support for free. They support them, but they also milk them. In fact, they use their capabilities and resources to the advantage of their own interests and for safeguarding their own interests. The Americans ride roughshod over these people and they make them render all kinds of services to them. As I said, they milk them and they do not care at all.
Of course, if these people and countries behave in a way that is considered to be indecent according to global conventions, the Americans do not condemn it. On the contrary, they defend and justify it. For example, there are some dictatorial countries which are managed by biased, reactionary and completely dictatorial regimes, but they have friendly relations with the Americans. These countries give in to the Americans and they are prepared to serve and obey them. They are members of the first group.
When the Americans want to describe them, they do not refer to them as dictatorial countries. Rather, they say that they are patriarchal countries and thus they cover up their dictatorship. They say, \\\\\\\"They are not dictators. Rather, they are patriarchal countries\\\\\\\". What is the meaning of patriarchal in political systems? What does it mean? Is a patriarchal country a country in which there is no parliament, no elections, no power to speak freely, no freedom of speech and no freedom of expression? Is a patriarchal country a country in which the slightest disobedience to the wishes of the rulers is suppressed in a very serious and severe way?
In one part of his life, Saddam Hussein was one of these obedient and submissive individuals. In that stage of his life, they gave him all kinds of support and they rendered some services to him. They gave him chemical weapons and they provided him with the plans of our military movement which had been discovered via satellite. They gave him military plans because he was at their service and because he was against the disobedient Islamic Republic which was a member of the third group. So, these people represent the first group.
As I said, the second group is made up of the countries which America gets along with. The policy and plan of America is to get along with these countries. What does getting along mean? It means defining common interests and establishing friendly relations with someone. But when America has the opportunity, it will stab them in the back and tear their hearts open and it will not show any consideration for them.
Which countries represent the second group? European countries represent the second group. Today, European countries are in such conditions. America gets along with them, but this does not mean that it defends their interests. This is not the case. It will kick them as much as it can. For example, it spies - Internet espionage - on the number one in its allied country. It also spies on him by tapping his cell phone. The Americans even keep watch on his personal life and they have no scruples whatsoever. When it comes out, they say, \\\\\\\"Sorry, it happened because we had no choice\\\\\\\".
They are not even willing to apologize in a sincere way. My understanding of political issues tells me that the Europeans are making a great strategic mistake by serving America. They promote the interests of America, but America does not and will not do so and it will be the same until the end. This was about the second group.
The third group is made up of countries which do not give in to America. America\\\\\\\'s policy towards this group is to use each and every tool they find against these disobedient countries. They use any tool they find and they do not have any limits for that. If you see that there is a country which is disobedient to America and that America does not attack or impose sanctions on it, then you should know that there is a problem - that is to say, there is an obstacle in their way. To put it simply, they cannot do it. If they can, they will definitely do it.
The only crime that this disobedient country has committed is that it is not willing to give in to America, to be blackmailed by it and to let the interests of America have priority over its own interests. This is the definition of a disobedient country. In order to bring this country to its knees, the Americans do everything that they can. They do whatever is possible for them. If they do not do something, it is because they cannot.
Well, what are the things that the Americans do? Today, launching a military attack is not a priority from the viewpoint of the Americans. They have understood that they suffered a loss on the issue of Iraq and Afghanistan where they launched military attacks. They have understood that launching a military attack is as dangerous for the aggressor as it is for the defender and sometimes, it is even more dangerous for the aggressor. They have understood this correctly. Therefore, it can be said that they have changed their mind about launching a military attack.
They have other ways ahead of them. One of these ways is entrusting the task of furthering their goals in the target country - which is the target of their attacks - to the elements inside this country. The issue is not only about Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic. They are doing these things all over the world and we are witnessing some instances of their effort in the present time.
Another way is launching a coup d\\\\\\\'état. They empower some people inside the target country so that they can launch a coup d\\\\\\\'état and overthrow those governments and political systems which do not give in to them. One of the ways that they use is this.
Another way is drawing part of the people to the streets. An example is the color revolutions which were carried out in each and every part of the region in recent years. Take the case of a government which comes to power in a country. After all, if the government that comes to power holds 60 percent of the votes, it means that 40 percent of the people did not vote for it. The Americans go to that 40 percent, choose certain elements and leaders among them and make them - either by bribing or by threatening them - draw that 40 percent or part of it to the streets. America\\\\\\\'s hands were behind the color revolutions - for example, such and such an orange revolution and other revolutions in different countries - that were carried out in recent years.
We do not make any judgment about the events which are taking place in an area in Europe. But when one takes a look, one sees what a role an American senator and official can play - by showing his presence - in the demonstrations of a minority against a country. They showed their presence in such areas. One of the measures that they adopt is that they draw part of the people to the streets and make them break the law, thereby overthrowing the government which they do not approve of and which is not blackmailed.
Another measure that they adopt is empowering and forming terrorist groups. They did this in Iraq, Afghanistan and some Arab countries in the region. They did it in our country as well. They form terrorist groups in order to kill well-known personalities. In our country, they struck and martyred scientists and experts on atomic energy. Before that too, they struck political, cultural, scientific and seminary personalities. These terrorists grew with the help of the Americans. Some of them were accepted into America by the Americans for the services that they rendered.
Today, munafeqeen are in America\\\\\\\'s arms. They take part in different meetings and commissions of the U.S. Congress. The same munafeqeen who killed people from different social backgrounds - including great personalities, ulama, scientists and political personalities - and who carried out explosions are with the Americans today. So, this is another way they use.
Another way is creating discord among decision-makers of countries. One of the measures that they adopt is this: they try to create a rift in the highest levels of the government and system that is not with them. They try to establish a dual government. Of course, they do not succeed in many countries. But unfortunately, they succeed in some areas. This is one of their ways.
Another way is that they discourage - with their propaganda - the hearts and minds of people from following their ideological and religious principles. They try such measures. The regime of the United States of America has done all these things to our dear and Islamic Iran and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, it has failed in all of them.
Launching military coups d\\\\\\\'état, supporting those who instigate fitna, drawing some people to the streets, confronting elections and creating rifts were some of the measures that they either adopted or tried to adopt and thankfully, they failed in all of them. Why did they fail? It was because the people were vigilant and religious. It is here that I want to speak about the second challenge which is the internal challenge.
Dear brothers and sisters, the internal challenge for our people is the risk of ignoring, forgetting about and losing the spirit and orientation of our magnanimous Imam (r.a). This is the greatest danger. The internal challenge is making a mistake in knowing our enemies and our friends and confusing the camp of our enemies and friends so much so that we do not know who our enemies and friends are.
Another mistake is failing to know our major and minor enemies. This is another danger. You dear brothers and sisters and all the people of Iran should pay attention that sometimes, someone shows enmity towards you. But if you pay careful attention, you will see that his enmity is not the main one. It is a function of another factor and another person. You should find the main enemy. Otherwise, if one confronts the lesser enemy, one\\\\\\\'s energy is sapped and the result will not be good.
Today, some people in different parts of the world of Islam - which go by the name of takfiri, Wahhabi and Salafi groups - are adopting bad and inappropriate measures against Iran, Shia Muslims and Shia Islam. But everyone should know that they are not the main enemies. They show enmity and they adopt foolish measures, but the main enemy is the person who provokes them, who gives them money and who motivates them with different means when their motivation is weakened to some extent.
The main enemy is the person who sows the seeds of rupture and discord between that foolish and ignorant group and the oppressed people of Iran. These measures are adopted by the hidden hands of intelligence and security services. That is why we have constantly said that we do not consider these foolish groups - who confront the Islamic Republic in the name of Salafism, takfiri and Islam - to be our main enemy.
We consider you to be the deceived. We have said to these people: \\\\\\\"If you stretch your hand against me to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against you to slay you: for I fear Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 5: 28]. If you make a mistake and if you prepare yourself to kill your Muslim brothers, we do not consider you to be so important that we try to kill you.
Of course, we defend ourselves. Anyone who attacks us will face our firm fist. This is natural, but we believe that these people are not our main enemies. They have been deceived. The main enemy is the person who acts behind the scenes. The main enemy is the visible hand that comes out of the sleeve of intelligence services, that confronts Muslims and that pits them against one another.
This is our internal challenge: becoming busy with domestic differences - those which are trivial and unimportant. Such differences make us busy, pit us against one another, create tension and make us forget about the main issues and guidelines. This is one of the manifestations of the main challenge which was referred to. Losing national solidarity is one of our challenges. Suffering from laziness, lack of confidence, idleness, desperation and hopelessness and thinking that we cannot succeed and that we have not succeeded until today are among the internal challenges we should confront.
As Imam (r.a.) said, we can. We should show determination. National determination and jihadi management can untie all the knots. As we said, our dear youth, our outstanding personalities and our scholars should sit and study these issues. These are our main points. The auspicious name of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the remembrance of that great man and the plan of that great architect can help us in all these chapters. It can give us hope, enthusiasm and morale, as it has done this until today and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, it will continue to do this in the future.
Dear God, bestow your blessings on our dear people. Dear God, help our dear youth on the path of building an ideal Islamic structure. Dear God, protect us from deviations and digressions. Dear God, make the hands of the people of Iran stronger than the hands of their enemies. Help them achieve victory over their enemies. Make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) kind to us. Help us benefit from the prayers of that great Imam (a.s.). Associate the pure souls of Imam (r.a.) and our dear martyrs with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1921
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Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Speech on 25th Demise Anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) Print
06/06/2014
Hotuba ya Kiongozi Muadhamu katika Maadhimisho ya Mwaka wa 25 wa Kufariki Dunia Imam KhomeiniThe following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2014 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 upon our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
\\\\\\\"Our Lord, forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of us in faith, and do not allow any spite to remain in our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord, surely You are Kind, Merciful\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 59: 10]. \\\\\\\"Our Lord, surely You have given to Pharaoh and his chiefs finery and riches in this world\\\\\\\'s life. To this end, our Lord, that they lead people astray from Your way. Our Lord, destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they believe not until they see the painful punishment\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 10: 88].
Allah the Omniscient said in His book: \\\\\\\"Have you not considered how Allah sets forth a parable of a good word being like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord?\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]
On this unforgettable and important day, I would like to divide my statements to you dear brothers and sisters into three parts. In the first part, I will speak about an important reality which exists about the Islamic Republic. Today, paying attention to this reality is very important. In the second part, I will provide a brief explanation of our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) permanent and eternal school of thought. Although we have said and heard many things about Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought, it is necessary to provide a brief explanation at this point in time. I will provide a short portrayal of all the things that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) created as a unique phenomenon in the contemporary world. The third part is about two important challenges which lie ahead of the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic. It is important for us to pay attention to these two challenges in order to move forward in the right way and on the right path.
As for the first part, the reality that I referred to is that 25 years have passed from the demise of our great Imam (r.a.), but people\\\\\\\'s enthusiasm and excitement to hear and know about him has not diminished. And this is not particular to our country. Rather, this reality exists in the world of Islam and even beyond that.
Not only in our country - where the third generation of the Revolution is growing and blossoming - but also in the entire world of Islam, the youth of the age of communications and Internet are after gaining more information about the issues of the Revolution, about the Islamic Republic and about the architect of this great structure. And these youth can easily familiarize themselves with the issues which occur far away from their own environment. The phenomenon of religious democracy and the theory of Wilayat-e Faqih are issues which are significant and attractive for the intellectual environments of the world of Islam.
From the first days, our enemies began making a comprehensive effort and the more we moved forward, the more comprehensive this effort became. They used hundreds and thousands of television, radio stations and Internet sites to abuse the Islamic Republic, its great founder and its supporters. Of course, this issue has been helpful to us because it has aroused the curiosity of listeners and viewers throughout the world.
These listeners and viewers want to know the reason behind all these enmities, hostilities and mudslinging. They want to know the nature of the truth which has been the target of these enmities. So, our enemies mentioned our names and they spoke about our Imam (r.a.) and our system with the purpose of showing their enmity, but \\\\\\\"...surely they will scheme, and I too will scheme\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 86: 15-16].
This is what Allah the Exalted says. They started this widespread movement with such an intention, but it eventually created an opportunity for us because the sense of curiosity of the listeners to these stations was aroused throughout the world. Islamic Awakening - in which anti-arrogant feelings were dominant more than any other phenomenon - in Islamic countries and our region is the sign of this curiosity and search for the truth and it continues to exist.
It is possible that western and American intelligence services report to their seniors that they have managed to suppress Islamic Awakening in our region. If they have such a notion, then this will be another strategic mistake and another wrong interpretation on the part of our enemies. Islamic Awakening might be suppressed for a while in part of the world of Islam, but it will undoubtedly not be uprooted. On the contrary, it will develop.
This understanding, this perception and this awareness in all countries and among Muslim youth in the region is not something that can be destroyed easily. Of course, they will make certain efforts in order to destroy it and these efforts may seem to be successful in some areas in the short run, but in the end, they will prove to be fruitless.
The curiosity that exists in today\\\\\\\'s young generation all over the world - particularly in the world of Islam - about the phenomenon of religious democracy is rooted in the fact that the Islamic Republic is a phenomenon from whose birth 35 years have passed. And during all these 35 years, it has faced the violent and hostile reactions of the dominant powers in the world. They showed military reactions, they showed propaganda reactions, they showed economic reactions - which began from the beginning of the Revolution and which have been reinforced on a daily basis - and they showed political reactions.
It is 35 years now that this powerful western camp has been doing whatever it could against the Islamic Republic. It has made military efforts, it has helped the aggressors who attacked our country, it has supported the enemies of the Islamic Republic in any area, it has used widespread propaganda and it has made perfect and unprecedented efforts in the area of sanctions and economic siege. But in the face of all these invasions and all these violent and unscrupulous hostilities, the Islamic Republic was not destroyed, it did not adopt a conservative outlook, it was not blackmailed by the west and it made progress on a daily basis. This is what forms the essence of this curiosity.
Despite the fact that the primary military, political and economic powers of the world joined hands against a country and a government and despite the fact that they made efforts for 35 years, not only was this government not destroyed, but it also became stronger on a daily basis. This government was not blackmailed by them and it did not pay any attention to them at all. The Islamic Republic showed its power and capability to survive in different arenas.
Today, when they look at the Islamic Republic, they see that the second and third generations of the Revolution in the country are comprised of several million students, several thousand knowledgeable clergy, several thousand researchers, several thousand university and seminary professors, thousands of scientific and intellectual personalities - some of whom are well-known on an international level - and thousands of activists and producers and thousands of political, cultural and economic personalities. This is the reality about our today\\\\\\\'s society.
In the arena of science and technology, the Islamic Republic launches satellites into space despite all sanctions. It sends living creatures into space and it brings them back. It produces nuclear energy. It is ranked among the first ten countries in the world in many new sciences. The centers in charge of releasing statistics have announced that the rate of scientific progress in the Islamic Republic is 13 times faster than the global average. It gives scientific and technological services to different countries. Despite unprecedented sanctions, it manages a 75-million-strong country. It has the final word on regional policies. It shows resistance against the usurping Zionist regime, which is supported by global bullies, and it does this on its own. It does not compromise with oppressors and it defends the oppressed.
Any well-informed individual becomes curious to know what this organism and phenomenon is and how it benefits from all these innate capabilities and this potential to survive despite all the enmities. This is the nature of this curiosity. This was about the issues related to scientific, technological and other such areas.
As for political and social issues, the higher aspect of this religious democracy is that we have had 32 elections during the 35 years from the beginning of our Revolution. Thirty two public elections have been held in this country. Is this a minor achievement? This is an exceptional phenomenon. Elections in the Islamic Republic are held with a high turnout - higher than the global average and in some cases, it is much higher. Our elections witness a turnout of 70, 72 percent. Our elections are like this. These elections are the manifestation of democracy.
Another exceptional example is the two phenomena which we people have gotten used to, but which are extraordinarily exciting and important for global inspectors and witnesses. These two phenomena are the 22nd of Bahman rallies and Quds Day Rallies in the month of Ramadan. During the past 35 years, the people have held the Revolution celebration each year with a great, exciting and glorious rally on the cold days of late Bahman. We have gotten used to this and we do not truly see the significance and greatness of this issue, but global witnesses see these things and they are very astonishing to them.
These are the factors behind the element which arouses people\\\\\\\'s curiosity and which presents a new path to the minds of enthusiastic, inquisitive and research-oriented individuals. This is the important reality of our time which can be described as the general curiosity of youth, intellectuals, well-informed personalities and analysts throughout the world of Islam about the phenomenon which has emerged and grown on a daily basis in Islamic Iran. This is the first issue.
This reality has been built by the hands of our great architect. We have said many things about Imam (r.a.). Perhaps some people think that we have spoken about Imam in an exaggerated way. But this is not the case. What we have said about our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) is neither exaggeration nor magnification of the truth. Rather, it is the truth. Our magnanimous and dear Imam (r.a.) was more complex and meaningful than what we managed to say and reflect about him.
What is available to the people of Iran and what is in front of the eyes of people throughout the world has been built by those powerful hands. We should know about the architect\\\\\\\'s plan in order to take the path in the right way. If developers and builders do not have access to a plan in order to build an ordinary building and if it is not clear what the main plan is, then they may make a mistake no matter how skilled they are. We should know the main plan so that we can use our expertise in building on the basis of this plan.
Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) plan was not one that could be designed by a human being. It was definitely God\\\\\\\'s work. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) himself knew and acknowledged this. He himself used to say, \\\\\\\"What has occurred is a handicraft of divine power\\\\\\\". He had understood this correctly and his insightful and vigilant eyes had seen this correctly.
We should be careful. We should know the plan so that we can continue the path. If we do not know the plan, we will deviate from the right path. And when we deviate, we will drift away from the main and the straight path on a daily basis. When we drift away from the straight path, we will drift away from goals and we will fail to reach them.
In order to reach the goals, we should take care not to lose the path and in order to avoid losing the path, we should have the main plan in front of our eyes. We should know and identify this plan. Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) plan and main task was to create a civil-political system on the basis of Islamic reason. The prerequisite for carrying out this task was to uproot the monarchic regime which was corrupt, dependent and dictatorial.
The monarchic regime had these three characteristics: it was corrupt - different moral, financial and other such corruptions. It was dependent on powers. One day, it was dependent on England and another day, it was dependent on America. It was prepared to abandon its own interests and the interests of the people for the sake of the interests of foreigners. And it was dictatorial and oppressive. For the monarchic regime, the people\\\\\\\'s votes and requests counted for nothing. Each of these characteristics forms a long chapter. Each of them forms a long book.
The prerequisite for the great task that Imam (r.a.) wanted to carry out was to uproot this corrupt, dependent and dictatorial regime. He focused his efforts on doing this and consequently, the regime was uprooted. In our country, the issue was not replacing a monarchic regime with another monarchic or semi-monarchic regime. The issue was uprooting the characteristics that the monarchic regime had and this was done by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) statements, guidelines and behavior were oriented towards this goal.
There are two fundamental points in building this civil-political system and these two points are interconnected. In one sense, these two points are two sides of the coin of truth. One is entrusting the affairs of the country to the people through democracy and elections and another is launching this movement - which originated from Islam - and any movement which originates from democracy and entrusting tasks to people, within the framework of Islamic sharia. These are two parts. In other words, these are two sides of the same truth.
Some people should not think that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) derived elections from the western culture and then mixed it with Islamic thoughts and Islamic sharia. This was not the case. If elections, democracy and reliance on the votes of people had not been part of religion and Islamic sharia, then Imam (r.a.) would have told us. If this had been the case, he would have announced it in an outspoken and decisive way. Democracy is part of religion. Therefore, Islamic sharia is the framework.
When passing and implementing laws, when assigning individuals different tasks and discharging them from their service and during all tasks that follow this political-civil system, Islamic sharia should be observed. All tasks in this system revolve around democracy. All the people elect the members of the Majlis and the president, they elect ministers indirectly, they elect the members of the Assembly of Experts and they elect the Leader indirectly. All tasks are in the hands of the people. This was the main base of our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) movement. The great structure that this great personality built was founded on these two bases.
Commitment to Islamic sharia is the soul and truth of the Islamic government. Everyone should pay attention to this issue. If Islamic sharia is completely observed in society, this will ensure both civil and individual freedom - the freedom of individuals - and collective freedom which is called independence. Independence means freedom of a people. It means that a people are not dependent on anyone and any place.
\\\\\\\"A free people\\\\\\\" means a people who are not under the influence and domination of their opponents, their enemies and foreigners in any way. If Islamic sharia is observed, it will ensure both justice and spirituality in society. These are the four main elements: freedom, independence, justice and spirituality. If Islamic sharia dominates society, these main phenomena in the order of Islamic society will show themselves. Therefore, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) stressed the necessity of Islamic sharia which is the soul of the Islamic Republic. He also stressed the necessity of religious democracy which is a means and a tool and which is derived from sharia.
According to Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought, any power and force which has come into being through deception and oppression is unacceptable. In the Islamic government, oppression and subjugation are meaningless. Power and authority are meaningful, but only the one that originates from people\\\\\\\'s free will and choice. The kind of power which originates from bullying, subjugation and weapons is meaningless from the viewpoint of Islam, Islamic sharia and Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) school of thought.
The kind of power which emerges on the basis of people\\\\\\\'s choice is respectable. No one should confront this power. No one should try to suppress and subjugate this power. If they do so, this is called fitna. This is the new prescription that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) introduced to the world. He added this important chapter to the political literature of the world. As we pointed out, one of the main elements in this new version is rushing to help the oppressed and confronting the oppressor. We should help the oppressed and in the present time, the concrete manifestation of being oppressed is the people of Palestine.
As you witnessed, from the first day until the end of his life, our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) stressed the issue of Palestine. He supported the issue of Palestine and stated in his testament that the people of Iran and the officials of the country should not forget about this issue. Helping the oppressed, showing resistance against the oppressor, condemning his transgressions, rejecting his power and grandeur in an outspoken way and shattering this grandeur are among the parts of this system and this new version presented by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.).
This is a short summary, portrayal and description of the political order and the foundation that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) introduced to society after overthrowing the monarchic regime in the country. This matter was completely accepted by the people and it was put into practice. Unlike many political slogans, this matter was not confined to books. Rather, it was realized, put into practice and reflected in reality. And the people of Iran showed their determination, loyalty and self-sacrifice by preserving this matter and strengthening it on a daily basis until today.
So, Imam (r.a.) succeeded. He achieved complete success in what he wanted to do. Will this great task continue? Will the empty boxes of this table - naturally, there are some empty boxes in social and historical tables - be filled in? This depends on how determined and aware you and I are and to what extent we observe and move in the direction of that clear line. It is completely possible to do this.
Considering the people that we see, considering the experience that they have gained and considering the successful and continuous movement that they have launched in the past 35 years - and in the past 25 years since Imam\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) demise - it is possible to continue this path. The empty boxes will be filled in, great feats will be accomplished and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, our people will reach the peaks.
Like all the important paths which have been delineated for reaching great goals, this path involves certain challenges and obstacles. We should identify these obstacles so that we can pass through them. If we do not identify obstacles, overcoming them will be either difficult or impossible. I am saying these things to you honorable participants of this great and magnificent meeting and, in fact, to the people of Iran who will hear these statements. But it is our youth, our scholars and our intellectuals who should think about, work on and study each of these chapters and parts.
They should work on not only semi-intellectual and theoretical discussions but also on practical and functional discussions which reflect the truth. What we are saying is some chapters for carrying out intellectual tasks. By Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, these chapters will be followed up by our youth who are much better and prepared than we are.
I would like to refer to two challenges: one is an external challenge and another is an internal challenge. Our external challenge is the interferences of global arrogance. I would like to speak without any consideration. The external challenge is the interferences of America. They engage in mudslinging.
Although some of their thinkers say in their analyses that it is useless or impossible to confront this great movement, they engage in mudslinging.
We should know their plan. This is America\\\\\\\'s plan which has been revealed through their discussions, reports, statements and behavior: America divides all countries, orientations and people throughout the world into three groups: the first group is made up of the submissive including submissive countries, submissive political and social orientations and submissive individuals. The first group is comprised of these people. The second group is comprised of countries which are not submissive and which should be tolerated. From the viewpoint of America, a number of countries, personalities and orientations should be tolerated. They believe that they should define common interests with these countries and that they should get along with them somehow. Later on, I will explain this more. The third group is made up of disobedient countries, those which do not give in to America and which refuse to be blackmailed by it. The third group is comprised of these countries.
From the viewpoint of the Americans, no country, no political, social, civil and economic orientation and no individual in the world is out of these three groups. Everyone is either submissive and docile or independent - and you should get along with them - or disobedient, bold and courageous. One should behave in a different way towards the third group.
America\\\\\\\'s policy towards the first group is complete support. Of course, they do not provide this support for free. They support them, but they also milk them. In fact, they use their capabilities and resources to the advantage of their own interests and for safeguarding their own interests. The Americans ride roughshod over these people and they make them render all kinds of services to them. As I said, they milk them and they do not care at all.
Of course, if these people and countries behave in a way that is considered to be indecent according to global conventions, the Americans do not condemn it. On the contrary, they defend and justify it. For example, there are some dictatorial countries which are managed by biased, reactionary and completely dictatorial regimes, but they have friendly relations with the Americans. These countries give in to the Americans and they are prepared to serve and obey them. They are members of the first group.
When the Americans want to describe them, they do not refer to them as dictatorial countries. Rather, they say that they are patriarchal countries and thus they cover up their dictatorship. They say, \\\\\\\"They are not dictators. Rather, they are patriarchal countries\\\\\\\". What is the meaning of patriarchal in political systems? What does it mean? Is a patriarchal country a country in which there is no parliament, no elections, no power to speak freely, no freedom of speech and no freedom of expression? Is a patriarchal country a country in which the slightest disobedience to the wishes of the rulers is suppressed in a very serious and severe way?
In one part of his life, Saddam Hussein was one of these obedient and submissive individuals. In that stage of his life, they gave him all kinds of support and they rendered some services to him. They gave him chemical weapons and they provided him with the plans of our military movement which had been discovered via satellite. They gave him military plans because he was at their service and because he was against the disobedient Islamic Republic which was a member of the third group. So, these people represent the first group.
As I said, the second group is made up of the countries which America gets along with. The policy and plan of America is to get along with these countries. What does getting along mean? It means defining common interests and establishing friendly relations with someone. But when America has the opportunity, it will stab them in the back and tear their hearts open and it will not show any consideration for them.
Which countries represent the second group? European countries represent the second group. Today, European countries are in such conditions. America gets along with them, but this does not mean that it defends their interests. This is not the case. It will kick them as much as it can. For example, it spies - Internet espionage - on the number one in its allied country. It also spies on him by tapping his cell phone. The Americans even keep watch on his personal life and they have no scruples whatsoever. When it comes out, they say, \\\\\\\"Sorry, it happened because we had no choice\\\\\\\".
They are not even willing to apologize in a sincere way. My understanding of political issues tells me that the Europeans are making a great strategic mistake by serving America. They promote the interests of America, but America does not and will not do so and it will be the same until the end. This was about the second group.
The third group is made up of countries which do not give in to America. America\\\\\\\'s policy towards this group is to use each and every tool they find against these disobedient countries. They use any tool they find and they do not have any limits for that. If you see that there is a country which is disobedient to America and that America does not attack or impose sanctions on it, then you should know that there is a problem - that is to say, there is an obstacle in their way. To put it simply, they cannot do it. If they can, they will definitely do it.
The only crime that this disobedient country has committed is that it is not willing to give in to America, to be blackmailed by it and to let the interests of America have priority over its own interests. This is the definition of a disobedient country. In order to bring this country to its knees, the Americans do everything that they can. They do whatever is possible for them. If they do not do something, it is because they cannot.
Well, what are the things that the Americans do? Today, launching a military attack is not a priority from the viewpoint of the Americans. They have understood that they suffered a loss on the issue of Iraq and Afghanistan where they launched military attacks. They have understood that launching a military attack is as dangerous for the aggressor as it is for the defender and sometimes, it is even more dangerous for the aggressor. They have understood this correctly. Therefore, it can be said that they have changed their mind about launching a military attack.
They have other ways ahead of them. One of these ways is entrusting the task of furthering their goals in the target country - which is the target of their attacks - to the elements inside this country. The issue is not only about Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic. They are doing these things all over the world and we are witnessing some instances of their effort in the present time.
Another way is launching a coup d\\\\\\\'état. They empower some people inside the target country so that they can launch a coup d\\\\\\\'état and overthrow those governments and political systems which do not give in to them. One of the ways that they use is this.
Another way is drawing part of the people to the streets. An example is the color revolutions which were carried out in each and every part of the region in recent years. Take the case of a government which comes to power in a country. After all, if the government that comes to power holds 60 percent of the votes, it means that 40 percent of the people did not vote for it. The Americans go to that 40 percent, choose certain elements and leaders among them and make them - either by bribing or by threatening them - draw that 40 percent or part of it to the streets. America\\\\\\\'s hands were behind the color revolutions - for example, such and such an orange revolution and other revolutions in different countries - that were carried out in recent years.
We do not make any judgment about the events which are taking place in an area in Europe. But when one takes a look, one sees what a role an American senator and official can play - by showing his presence - in the demonstrations of a minority against a country. They showed their presence in such areas. One of the measures that they adopt is that they draw part of the people to the streets and make them break the law, thereby overthrowing the government which they do not approve of and which is not blackmailed.
Another measure that they adopt is empowering and forming terrorist groups. They did this in Iraq, Afghanistan and some Arab countries in the region. They did it in our country as well. They form terrorist groups in order to kill well-known personalities. In our country, they struck and martyred scientists and experts on atomic energy. Before that too, they struck political, cultural, scientific and seminary personalities. These terrorists grew with the help of the Americans. Some of them were accepted into America by the Americans for the services that they rendered.
Today, munafeqeen are in America\\\\\\\'s arms. They take part in different meetings and commissions of the U.S. Congress. The same munafeqeen who killed people from different social backgrounds - including great personalities, ulama, scientists and political personalities - and who carried out explosions are with the Americans today. So, this is another way they use.
Another way is creating discord among decision-makers of countries. One of the measures that they adopt is this: they try to create a rift in the highest levels of the government and system that is not with them. They try to establish a dual government. Of course, they do not succeed in many countries. But unfortunately, they succeed in some areas. This is one of their ways.
Another way is that they discourage - with their propaganda - the hearts and minds of people from following their ideological and religious principles. They try such measures. The regime of the United States of America has done all these things to our dear and Islamic Iran and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, it has failed in all of them.
Launching military coups d\\\\\\\'état, supporting those who instigate fitna, drawing some people to the streets, confronting elections and creating rifts were some of the measures that they either adopted or tried to adopt and thankfully, they failed in all of them. Why did they fail? It was because the people were vigilant and religious. It is here that I want to speak about the second challenge which is the internal challenge.
Dear brothers and sisters, the internal challenge for our people is the risk of ignoring, forgetting about and losing the spirit and orientation of our magnanimous Imam (r.a). This is the greatest danger. The internal challenge is making a mistake in knowing our enemies and our friends and confusing the camp of our enemies and friends so much so that we do not know who our enemies and friends are.
Another mistake is failing to know our major and minor enemies. This is another danger. You dear brothers and sisters and all the people of Iran should pay attention that sometimes, someone shows enmity towards you. But if you pay careful attention, you will see that his enmity is not the main one. It is a function of another factor and another person. You should find the main enemy. Otherwise, if one confronts the lesser enemy, one\\\\\\\'s energy is sapped and the result will not be good.
Today, some people in different parts of the world of Islam - which go by the name of takfiri, Wahhabi and Salafi groups - are adopting bad and inappropriate measures against Iran, Shia Muslims and Shia Islam. But everyone should know that they are not the main enemies. They show enmity and they adopt foolish measures, but the main enemy is the person who provokes them, who gives them money and who motivates them with different means when their motivation is weakened to some extent.
The main enemy is the person who sows the seeds of rupture and discord between that foolish and ignorant group and the oppressed people of Iran. These measures are adopted by the hidden hands of intelligence and security services. That is why we have constantly said that we do not consider these foolish groups - who confront the Islamic Republic in the name of Salafism, takfiri and Islam - to be our main enemy.
We consider you to be the deceived. We have said to these people: \\\\\\\"If you stretch your hand against me to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against you to slay you: for I fear Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 5: 28]. If you make a mistake and if you prepare yourself to kill your Muslim brothers, we do not consider you to be so important that we try to kill you.
Of course, we defend ourselves. Anyone who attacks us will face our firm fist. This is natural, but we believe that these people are not our main enemies. They have been deceived. The main enemy is the person who acts behind the scenes. The main enemy is the visible hand that comes out of the sleeve of intelligence services, that confronts Muslims and that pits them against one another.
This is our internal challenge: becoming busy with domestic differences - those which are trivial and unimportant. Such differences make us busy, pit us against one another, create tension and make us forget about the main issues and guidelines. This is one of the manifestations of the main challenge which was referred to. Losing national solidarity is one of our challenges. Suffering from laziness, lack of confidence, idleness, desperation and hopelessness and thinking that we cannot succeed and that we have not succeeded until today are among the internal challenges we should confront.
As Imam (r.a.) said, we can. We should show determination. National determination and jihadi management can untie all the knots. As we said, our dear youth, our outstanding personalities and our scholars should sit and study these issues. These are our main points. The auspicious name of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the remembrance of that great man and the plan of that great architect can help us in all these chapters. It can give us hope, enthusiasm and morale, as it has done this until today and by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor, it will continue to do this in the future.
Dear God, bestow your blessings on our dear people. Dear God, help our dear youth on the path of building an ideal Islamic structure. Dear God, protect us from deviations and digressions. Dear God, make the hands of the people of Iran stronger than the hands of their enemies. Help them achieve victory over their enemies. Make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) kind to us. Help us benefit from the prayers of that great Imam (a.s.). Associate the pure souls of Imam (r.a.) and our dear martyrs with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1921
11:55
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[Iran Quds Day 2014] Millions of Iranians take to the streets on Quds Day - 26 July 2014 - English
In Iran, people from all walks of life are taking part in the rallies. The demonstrators express their support for the Palestinians against Israel’s aggression. They also call for an end to the...
In Iran, people from all walks of life are taking part in the rallies. The demonstrators express their support for the Palestinians against Israel’s aggression. They also call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The Quds Day has become a symbol of the global condemnation of Israeli crimes against the Palestinian nation. The annual event is held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. This year, the rallies have coincided with Israel\\\'s brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip. In many places, there have already been huge protest rallies against the airstrikes and ground invasion of Gaza that have claimed hundreds of lives.
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In Iran, people from all walks of life are taking part in the rallies. The demonstrators express their support for the Palestinians against Israel’s aggression. They also call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The Quds Day has become a symbol of the global condemnation of Israeli crimes against the Palestinian nation. The annual event is held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. This year, the rallies have coincided with Israel\\\'s brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip. In many places, there have already been huge protest rallies against the airstrikes and ground invasion of Gaza that have claimed hundreds of lives.
22:24
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[29 July 2014] Eid ul Fitr Sermon - Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29,...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on.
I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan.
Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings.
Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr.
Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it.
In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle.
Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions.
This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis.
\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
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 and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem.
I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity.
Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react.
Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request.
And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point.
The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them.
All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds.
We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack.
This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis.
That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point.
And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want.
The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can.
God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you.
\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938
More...
Description:
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on.
I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan.
Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings.
Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr.
Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it.
In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle.
Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions.
This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis.
\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
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 and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem.
I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity.
Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react.
Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request.
And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point.
The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them.
All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds.
We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack.
This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis.
That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point.
And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want.
The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can.
God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you.
\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938
14:14
|
[29 July 2014] Eid ul Fitr Sermon - Sayed Ali Khamenei - [English]
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on.
I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan.
Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings.
Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr.
Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it.
In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle.
Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions.
This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
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 and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem.
I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity.
Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react.
Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request.
And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point.
The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them.
All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds.
We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack.
This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis.
That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point.
And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want.
The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can.
God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938
More...
Description:
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr Prayers Print
29/07/2014
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Sermons at Eid ul-Fitr PrayersThe following is the full text of the sermons delivered on July 29, 2014 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, at the Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All Praise is due to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject faith hold others as equal, with their Guardian-Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 6: 1]. And peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, the friend of our hearts and the interceder with our sins, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad, upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, and upon those who guide the guided. All praise is due to Allah, from Whom I seek help, to Whom I repent and Whom I rely on.
I would like to tell all you dear brothers and sisters about divine mercy and forgiveness on this holy and auspicious day and I congratulate you on Eid ul-Fitr. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you and accepts your good deeds and your jihad of worship - those you fulfilled on the warm days and in the blessed nights of the auspicious month of Ramadan.
Thankfully, our people benefitted from the auspicious month of Raman. They benefitted from Quranic, dua and dhikr meetings, from iftar meals, from the enthusiastic Nights of Qadr and from the different prayers and supplications that were thankfully said throughout our Islamic country. These prayers, supplications and the like prepare the ground for divine mercy and they are a source of divine blessings.
Moreover, at the end of the month, the great movement of the people of Iran was launched on Quds Day. This movement announced to the world the lively, vigilant and loud cry of our people. These were the events of this great month out of which our people emerged glorious and finally they reached Eid ul-Fitr.
Dear brothers and sisters, each religious practice that you did in the month of Ramadan was a good deed and a piece of paradise. When you ask Allah the Exalted - in a prayer of the auspicious month of Ramadan - to help you achieve paradise, this means that you want to achieve the practices whose manifestation is divine paradise, as promised by God. And thankfully this happened. You should appreciate the value of what you achieved in the month of Ramadan and you should preserve it.
In the month of Ramadan, what we witnessed in personal, public, popular and social practices was that the people organized public and simple iftar meals. Thankfully, this has become common. Last year, our dear people were asked to organize iftar meals in a less extravagant way and to increase the number of those people who benefit from these meals. This year, the news that we received showed that the people made an effort and developed this in public and holy centers, on the streets, in hussainiyahs and in each and every part of the country. The piece of advice that this humble person wants to offer is that you should promote and develop such practices as much as you can because it influences our Islamic lifestyle.
Quds Day was really and truly a great day. While the weather was very hot and our people were fasting, men and women - particularly those women wearing hijab and who had their children in their arms - participated in the rallies. When a people want to show that they are alive and when they want to show their communal determination, they show it on such occasions.
This communal determination is not particular to a specific group of people. Rather, it involves all individuals. Our dear people thankfully showed this communal determination. I hope that God bestows His blessings on you dear people. I hope that He increases your dignity and achievements on a daily basis and I hope that He bestows upon the officials of the country the blessing to render services to you on a daily basis.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
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 and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. And greetings be upon the Commander of the Faithful, Siddiqat at-Tahirah, the mistress of all women, Hassan, Hussein - the children of mercy and the Imams of guidance - Ali ibn al-Hussein, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali and Hujjat al-Qaem.
I advise the dear brothers and sisters - who say prayers - all the people of Iran and myself to observe divine piety. This piety is a source of influence in all areas including the area of making judgments and taking action on all important social and international issues and issues related to the world of Islam and humanity.
Today, the first issue of the world of Islam is the issue of Gaza. Perhaps, it can be said that this issue is the first issue of humanity. A rabid dog and a marauding wolf has attacked innocent people. Who is more innocent than the innocent children who lost their lives in an oppressive way during these attacks? Who is more innocent than the mothers who held their children in their arms and who witnessed their death and pains? Today, the usurping and kafer Zionist regime has committed these crimes in front of the eyes of all human beings. Therefore, humanity should react.
Three points need to be said about the issue of Gaza: The first point is that what the leaders of the Zionist regime are doing today is genocide and a great historical catastrophe. The perpetrators and supporters of these crimes should be put on trial and punished on an international level. Their punishment is what people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s representatives and righteous and sympathetic personalities in the world should request.
And they should not escape punishment with the passage of time. They should be punished, whether they are in power or when they lose their power and are overthrown. Both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who are openly supporting them - you have heard and seen the news about their support - should be punished. This was the first point.
The second point is that we should see the power of endurance and resistance of a people who have stood up for their legitimate claims. They are a people who have been surrounded by all sides and who live in a small and confined area. The sea is closed to them, the land is closed to them and all borders are closed to them. Their drinking water, their electricity and their basic amenities are not usable. All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them.
All these disasters have befallen them because of the enmity and invasion of the enemy and there is no one to help them. These people are faced with an armed, malevolent and merciless regime such as the Zionist regime and its evil, malevolent and najis leaders who are striking them day and night without any consideration. Despite such crimes, these people have stood firm and they are resisting. This is a lesson. This shows that one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s power of resistance - the power of resistance of a mother who sees her child dead in front of her and the power of resistance of a woman who sees her husband, brother and father under pressure - is beyond what we can imagine in our minds.
We should know our inner power. Human beings can be powerful and show resistance like this. These people - whose population is about 1,800,000 persons - are standing firm despite the fact that they live in an enclosed and surrounded land that is about 400, 500 square kilometers. They are standing firm despite the fact that their gardens, shops and houses are the target of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s attack. Besides, the path of business and finance is closed to them and they are under such attack.
This shows the level and amount of a people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s resistance. And I will tell you that by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and permission, these people will finally achieve victory over the enemy. Of course, even in the present time, the transgressing enemy is regretful like a dog which has done something wrong. He has gotten stuck and he does not know what to do. If he turns back, he will be disgraced. If he continues, it will be more difficult for him on a daily basis.
That is why you see that America, Europe and all global criminals have joined hands to force an imposed truce on the people of Gaza. They want to do this in order to save the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has gotten stuck and it will continue to get stuck from now on. This was the second point.
And the third point is that the political leaders of arrogance say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should disarm Hamas and Jihad\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". What does it mean to disarm these groups? It means that these groups have a number of missiles with which they can somehow defend themselves in the face of the incessant attacks of the enemy. They say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We should even take away these few missiles from them\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". From their viewpoint, Palestine - including Gaza - should be in such a condition that the enemy can attack and fire on it whenever it wants. And Palestine should not be able to defend itself at all. This is what they want.
The President of America has issued a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"fatwa\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" saying that the resistance should be disarmed. Of course, it is clear that you want it to be disarmed so that it cannot deliver any blow against these crimes. But we say that the opposite should happen. The entire world - particularly the world of Islam - should provide the people of Palestine with as many weapons as they can.
God, help Islam and the Muslims. Help the armies of the Muslims. Abandon the kufar, the enemies and the hypocrites. And I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and you.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He, Allah, is One.
Allah is He on Whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And none is like Him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 112]
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938
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How God Helped People By Imam Khomeini - Farsi Sub English
ENG- HOW GOD HELPED PEOPLE BY IMAM KHOMEINI.
Over many years in this country they worked very hard.
A sector of the intellectual classes, by the pen, propaganda and through the educational...
ENG- HOW GOD HELPED PEOPLE BY IMAM KHOMEINI.
Over many years in this country they worked very hard.
A sector of the intellectual classes, by the pen, propaganda and through the educational system, they worked very hard.
A sector of the mass media and publications, with all the power at their disposal, they worked very hard...to dispossess this nation of its most valuable assets. That is, to convince them to believe, to brainwash them to believe that you are nothing, you yourselves possess nothing of value. Hence, you must subordinate yourselves to the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' or the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'East.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' used to say you are ours and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' used to say you are ours... \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'you yourselves are incapable of accomplishing anything\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'
This revolution appeared among a people that had been subjected to this type of training for at least the past 50 years. The universities were teaching it, this is how they trained its military forces, and all other sectors of society.
It is noteworthy that a revolutionary transformation occurred in this nation during less than one year.
The population transformed itself from a people who used to think of nothing but their immediate gratification into a militant nation ready to to stand on its own feet and to fight for independence and self determination.
The Revolution transformed a dispossessed people with little self confidence, convinced that it is incapable of governing itself into a nation of intellectuals eager to take significant strides in every aspect of their lives.
Had God Almighty not come to the help of this nation no one knows to what low levels the corruptions of the king would have descended. Many of you are possibly informed of the events that unfolded in Shiraz. The scene they created in Shiraz... The act that occurred between a man and a boy. That is the direction they were taking this nation. God heard the calls of this oppressed people and transformed it into a Hezbullahi nation. A nation, a people who are sacrificing everything they possess in the path of God.
More...
Description:
ENG- HOW GOD HELPED PEOPLE BY IMAM KHOMEINI.
Over many years in this country they worked very hard.
A sector of the intellectual classes, by the pen, propaganda and through the educational system, they worked very hard.
A sector of the mass media and publications, with all the power at their disposal, they worked very hard...to dispossess this nation of its most valuable assets. That is, to convince them to believe, to brainwash them to believe that you are nothing, you yourselves possess nothing of value. Hence, you must subordinate yourselves to the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' or the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'East.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'West\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' used to say you are ours and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' used to say you are ours... \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'you yourselves are incapable of accomplishing anything\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'
This revolution appeared among a people that had been subjected to this type of training for at least the past 50 years. The universities were teaching it, this is how they trained its military forces, and all other sectors of society.
It is noteworthy that a revolutionary transformation occurred in this nation during less than one year.
The population transformed itself from a people who used to think of nothing but their immediate gratification into a militant nation ready to to stand on its own feet and to fight for independence and self determination.
The Revolution transformed a dispossessed people with little self confidence, convinced that it is incapable of governing itself into a nation of intellectuals eager to take significant strides in every aspect of their lives.
Had God Almighty not come to the help of this nation no one knows to what low levels the corruptions of the king would have descended. Many of you are possibly informed of the events that unfolded in Shiraz. The scene they created in Shiraz... The act that occurred between a man and a boy. That is the direction they were taking this nation. God heard the calls of this oppressed people and transformed it into a Hezbullahi nation. A nation, a people who are sacrificing everything they possess in the path of God.
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11:00
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Animated Cartoon - Pororo - Magical Car, Tu-tu - English
Pororo and his friends encounter a new friend during a sled race. It’s Tu-tu, the talking car. They learn that he was made by his grandfather, and while taking a quick walk on the day he was...
Pororo and his friends encounter a new friend during a sled race. It’s Tu-tu, the talking car. They learn that he was made by his grandfather, and while taking a quick walk on the day he was made, a tornado swept him into the ocean! However, with the help of a kind whale, he found his way to Porong Porong Island. Tu-tu is a very playful and carefree little Naughty. He enjoys sledding with his friends and tossing snow at them. He joins his friends in a soccer game, and even scores a goal! Pororo and his friends give the lonely Tu-tu a warm welcome. What adventures await them in Porong Porong Forest?
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Description:
Pororo and his friends encounter a new friend during a sled race. It’s Tu-tu, the talking car. They learn that he was made by his grandfather, and while taking a quick walk on the day he was made, a tornado swept him into the ocean! However, with the help of a kind whale, he found his way to Porong Porong Island. Tu-tu is a very playful and carefree little Naughty. He enjoys sledding with his friends and tossing snow at them. He joins his friends in a soccer game, and even scores a goal! Pororo and his friends give the lonely Tu-tu a warm welcome. What adventures await them in Porong Porong Forest?
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Hajj Message 2015 | The Leader Sayed Ali Khamenei | English Dubbed
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remark in a message to the Hajj pilgrims.
The full text of the message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Greetings to the holy...
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remark in a message to the Hajj pilgrims.
The full text of the message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Greetings to the holy Ka’aba, the base of monotheism, and pilgrimage place of the faithful. The place on which angels land, and greetings to Masjid al-Haram, Arafat, Mash’ar and Mina, and greetings to humble hearts, and tongues mentioning God, and eyes opened with insight, and thoughts which have set examples to others, and greetings to you blissful Hajj pilgrims, who have succeeded in answering positive to the divine call and are taking advantage of this bountiful occasion.
The first duty of Hajj pilgrims is to muse on this global, historical and eternal positive response to the divine call: “verily all thanks and blessings are yours as well as absolute rule, and there is no partner for you, and I accept your call.”
All eulogies and thanks, belong to Him, and all blessings come from Him, and all the rules and power belong to Him. This is the viewpoint that is given to a Hajj pilgrim at the first step of this rich and meaningful obligation, and continuation of these rituals takes place in coordination with it, and then, like a lasting training and an unforgettable lesson, it is put in front of him, and requires him to regulate his life plan on its basis. Learning this great lesson and acting upon It, is the same blessed spring which can impart vivacity, liveliness and dynamism to the lives of Muslims, and relieve them from the problems with which they are grappling – both at this time, and in all other times.
The idol of human proclivities, vanity and lust, the idol of seeking dominance over others and submission to dominance, the idol of the global arrogance, the idol of laziness and irresponsibility, and all idols that bring humiliation to the endeared human soul will be shattered with this Abrahamic outcry, when it comes from the bottom of one’s heart and turns into a life plan, and will substitute freedom and dignity and health for dependence and hardship and affliction.
Brethren and sisters who are performing the Hajj pilgrimage, from any nation and any country, think about this wise divine word, and through a painstaking approach to problems facing the Islamic world, especially in West Asia and North Africa, define for yourself, in view of your personal and environmental capacities and potentialities, a duty and responsibility and then strive towards fulfilling it.
Today, the mischievous policies of America in this region, which are the source of war, bloodshed, devastation, homelessness as well as poverty, and backwardness and ethnic and religious differences on the one hand, and crimes committed by the Zionist regime, which has taken its usurping behavior in the country of Palestine to the ultimate degree of ruthlessness and evilness, in addition to repeated violations of the sacred sanctuary of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and trampling on the lives and property of the oppressed Palestinians on the other hand, are the foremost problem for all of you Muslims. About which you must think and in the face of which you must know your Islamic obligation. Religious ulema, political, and cultural elites shoulder a much heavier responsibility, which is unfortunately ignored by them most of the time. The ulema, instead of fanning the flames of religious discord, and the politicians, instead of passivity in the face of the enemy, and the cultural elite, instead of being preoccupied with marginal issues, must try to know the great ailment of the Islamic world and accept their mission, which they are responsible to fulfill before God, and try to cope with it. The regretful incidents in the region, [including] in Iraq and the Levant and Yemen and Bahrain, and in the West Bank and Gaza, and in some other Asian and African countries, are major problems of the Islamic Ummah, in which the plotting hands of the global arrogance must be seen, and for which a remedy must be sought. Nations must demand this from their governments, and governments must remain loyal to their heavy responsibility.
Hajj and its glorious gatherings are the loftiest place for the rise and exchange of this historic obligation. The opportunity to denounce [infidels], which must be valued through participation of all Hajj pilgrims, from all places, is one of the most expressive political rituals in this overarching obligation.
This year, the bitter and devastating incident of Masjid al-Haram, brought bitterness to all Hajj pilgrims and their nations. It is true that those who passed away in this incident, who went to meet their God while saying prayers and going around Ka’aba and worshipping God, have achieved great bliss and are, God willing, resting in the sanctuary of divine safety, observance and mercy, and this could be a great source of consolation for their families. But this issue cannot reduce the heaviness of the responsibility of those people who are committed to providing security for the guests of the Beneficent God.
Acting upon this commitment and fulfilling this responsibility is our ultimate demand.
May Allah bless those doing good
Seyyed Ali Khamenei
4 Dhu al-Hijjah 1436
September 18, 2015
More...
Description:
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remark in a message to the Hajj pilgrims.
The full text of the message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Greetings to the holy Ka’aba, the base of monotheism, and pilgrimage place of the faithful. The place on which angels land, and greetings to Masjid al-Haram, Arafat, Mash’ar and Mina, and greetings to humble hearts, and tongues mentioning God, and eyes opened with insight, and thoughts which have set examples to others, and greetings to you blissful Hajj pilgrims, who have succeeded in answering positive to the divine call and are taking advantage of this bountiful occasion.
The first duty of Hajj pilgrims is to muse on this global, historical and eternal positive response to the divine call: “verily all thanks and blessings are yours as well as absolute rule, and there is no partner for you, and I accept your call.”
All eulogies and thanks, belong to Him, and all blessings come from Him, and all the rules and power belong to Him. This is the viewpoint that is given to a Hajj pilgrim at the first step of this rich and meaningful obligation, and continuation of these rituals takes place in coordination with it, and then, like a lasting training and an unforgettable lesson, it is put in front of him, and requires him to regulate his life plan on its basis. Learning this great lesson and acting upon It, is the same blessed spring which can impart vivacity, liveliness and dynamism to the lives of Muslims, and relieve them from the problems with which they are grappling – both at this time, and in all other times.
The idol of human proclivities, vanity and lust, the idol of seeking dominance over others and submission to dominance, the idol of the global arrogance, the idol of laziness and irresponsibility, and all idols that bring humiliation to the endeared human soul will be shattered with this Abrahamic outcry, when it comes from the bottom of one’s heart and turns into a life plan, and will substitute freedom and dignity and health for dependence and hardship and affliction.
Brethren and sisters who are performing the Hajj pilgrimage, from any nation and any country, think about this wise divine word, and through a painstaking approach to problems facing the Islamic world, especially in West Asia and North Africa, define for yourself, in view of your personal and environmental capacities and potentialities, a duty and responsibility and then strive towards fulfilling it.
Today, the mischievous policies of America in this region, which are the source of war, bloodshed, devastation, homelessness as well as poverty, and backwardness and ethnic and religious differences on the one hand, and crimes committed by the Zionist regime, which has taken its usurping behavior in the country of Palestine to the ultimate degree of ruthlessness and evilness, in addition to repeated violations of the sacred sanctuary of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and trampling on the lives and property of the oppressed Palestinians on the other hand, are the foremost problem for all of you Muslims. About which you must think and in the face of which you must know your Islamic obligation. Religious ulema, political, and cultural elites shoulder a much heavier responsibility, which is unfortunately ignored by them most of the time. The ulema, instead of fanning the flames of religious discord, and the politicians, instead of passivity in the face of the enemy, and the cultural elite, instead of being preoccupied with marginal issues, must try to know the great ailment of the Islamic world and accept their mission, which they are responsible to fulfill before God, and try to cope with it. The regretful incidents in the region, [including] in Iraq and the Levant and Yemen and Bahrain, and in the West Bank and Gaza, and in some other Asian and African countries, are major problems of the Islamic Ummah, in which the plotting hands of the global arrogance must be seen, and for which a remedy must be sought. Nations must demand this from their governments, and governments must remain loyal to their heavy responsibility.
Hajj and its glorious gatherings are the loftiest place for the rise and exchange of this historic obligation. The opportunity to denounce [infidels], which must be valued through participation of all Hajj pilgrims, from all places, is one of the most expressive political rituals in this overarching obligation.
This year, the bitter and devastating incident of Masjid al-Haram, brought bitterness to all Hajj pilgrims and their nations. It is true that those who passed away in this incident, who went to meet their God while saying prayers and going around Ka’aba and worshipping God, have achieved great bliss and are, God willing, resting in the sanctuary of divine safety, observance and mercy, and this could be a great source of consolation for their families. But this issue cannot reduce the heaviness of the responsibility of those people who are committed to providing security for the guests of the Beneficent God.
Acting upon this commitment and fulfilling this responsibility is our ultimate demand.
May Allah bless those doing good
Seyyed Ali Khamenei
4 Dhu al-Hijjah 1436
September 18, 2015
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Kids Cartoon - TAYO - Rogi the Sweeper - English
Rogi is taking a sweeper job from Rubby and is going on a picnic!
Do you think Rogi would do a good sweeping job? Let\'s find out!
Rogi is taking a sweeper job from Rubby and is going on a picnic!
Do you think Rogi would do a good sweeping job? Let\'s find out!
6:16
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[29 Nov 2015] Common Worry - Supreme Leader slams West’s support for state terrorism of Israel - English
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
To the Youth in...
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
To the Youth in Western Countries,
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people. For me, it is unfortunate that such incidents would have to create the framework for a conversation, however the truth is that if painful matters do not create the grounds for finding solutions and mutual consultation, then the damage caused will be multiplied.
The pain of any human being anywhere in the world causes sorrow for a fellow human being. The sight of a child losing his life in the presence of his loved ones, a mother whose joy for her family turns into mourning, a husband who is rushing the lifeless body of his spouse to some place and the spectator who does not know whether he will be seeing the final scene of life- these are scenes that rouse the emotions and feelings of any human being. Anyone who has benefited from affection and humanity is affected and disturbed by witnessing these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in Palestine or Iraq or Lebanon or Syria.
Without a doubt, the one-and-a-half billion Muslims also have these feelings and abhor and are revolted by the perpetrators and those responsible for these calamities. The issue, however, is that if today’s pain is not used to build a better and safer future, then it will just turn into bitter and fruitless memories. I genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by learning the lessons of today’s hardship, have the power to discover new means for building the future and who can be barriers in the misguided path that has brought the west to its current impasse.
“
Anyone who has benefited from affection and humanity is affected and disturbed by witnessing these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in Palestine or Iraq or Lebanon or Syria.
It is correct that today terrorism is our common worry. However it is necessary for you to know that the insecurity and strain that you experienced during the recent events, differs from the pain that the people of Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan have been experiencing for many years, in two significant ways. First, the Islamic world has been the victim of terror and brutality to a larger extent territorially, to greater amount quantitatively and for a longer period in terms of time. Second, that unfortunately this violence has been supported by certain great powers through various methods and effective means.
Today, there are very few people who are uninformed about the role of the United States of America in creating, nurturing and arming al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their inauspicious successors. Besides this direct support, the overt and well-known supporters of takfiri terrorism- despite having the most backward political systems- are standing arrayed as allies of the west while the most pioneering, brightest and most dynamic democrats in the region are suppressed mercilessly. The prejudiced response of the west to the awakening movement in the Islamic world is an illustrative example of the contradictory western policies.
“
I genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by learning the lessons of today’s hardship can be barriers in the misguided path that has brought the west to its current impasse.
The other side of these contradictory policies is seen in supporting the state terrorism of Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine have experienced the worst kind of terrorism for the last sixty years. If the people of Europe have now taken refuge in their homes for a few days and refrain from being present in busy places- it is decades that a Palestinian family is not secure even in its own home from the Zionist regime’s death and destruction machinery. What kind of atrocious violence today is comparable to that of the settlement constructions of the Zionists regime?
This regime- without ever being seriously and significantly censured by its influential allies or even by the so-called independent international organizations- everyday demolishes the homes of Palestinians and destroys their orchards and farms. This is done without even giving them time to gather their belongings or agricultural products and usually it is done in front of the terrified and tear-filled eyes of women and children who witness the brutal beatings of their family members who in some cases are being dragged away to gruesome torture chambers. In today’s world, do we know of any other violence on this scale and scope and for such an extended period of time?
Shooting down a woman in the middle of the street for the crime of protesting against a soldier who is armed to the teeth- if this is not terrorism, what is? This barbarism, because it is being done by the armed forces of an occupying government, should not be called extremism? Or maybe only because these scenes have been seen repeatedly on television screens for sixty years, they should no longer stir our consciences.
The military invasions of the Islamic world in recent years- with countless victims- are another example of the contradictory logic of the west. The assaulted countries, in addition to the human damage caused, have lost their economic and industrial infrastructure, their movement towards growth and development has been stopped or delayed and in some cases, has been thrown back decades. Despite all this, they are rudely being asked not to see themselves as oppressed. How can a country be turned into ruins, have its cities and towns covered in dust and then be told that it should please not view itself as oppressed? Instead of enticements to not understand and to not mention disasters, would not an honest apology be better? The pain that the Islamic world has suffered in these years from the hypocrisy and duplicity of the invaders is not less than the pain from the material damage.
“
Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives.
Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives. In my opinion, the first step in creating security and peace is reforming this violence-breeding mentality. Until double-standards dominate western policies, until terrorism- in the view of its powerful supporters- is divided into “good” and “bad” types, and until governmental interests are given precedence over human values and ethics, the roots of violence should not be searched for in other places.
Unfortunately, these roots have taken hold in the depths of western political culture over the course of many years and they have caused a soft and silent invasion. Many countries of the world take pride in their local and national cultures, cultures which through development and regeneration have soundly nurtured human societies for centuries. The Islamic world is not an exception to this. However in the current era, the western world with the use of advanced tools is insisting on the cloning and replication of its culture on a global scale. I consider the imposition of western culture upon other peoples and the trivialization of independent cultures as a form of silent violence and extreme harmfulness.
Humiliating rich cultures and insulting the most honored parts of these, is occurring while the alternative culture being offered in no way has any qualification for being a replacement. For example, the two elements of “aggression” and “moral promiscuity” which unfortunately have become the main elements of western culture, has even degraded the position and acceptability of its source region.
So now the question is: are we “sinners” for not wanting an aggressive, vulgar and fatuous culture? Are we to be blamed for blocking the flood of impropriety that is directed towards our youth in the shape of various forms of quasi-art? I do not deny the importance and value of cultural interaction. Whenever these interactions are conducted in natural circumstances and with respect for the receiving culture, they result in growth, development and richness. On the contrary, inharmonious interactions have been unsuccessful and harmful impositions.
We have to state with full regret that vile groups such as DAESH are the spawn of such ill-fated pairings with imported cultures. If the matter was simply theological, we would have had to witness such phenomena before the colonialist era, yet history shows the contrary. Authoritative historical records clearly show how colonialist confluence of extremist and rejected thoughts in the heart of a Bedouin tribe, planted the seed of extremism in this region. How then is it possible that such garbage as DAESH comes out of one of the most ethical and humane religious schools who as part of its inner core, includes the notion that taking the life of one human being is equivalent to killing the whole humanity?
One has to ask why people who are born in Europe and who have been intellectually and mentally nurtured in that environment are attracted to such groups? Can we really believe that people with only one or two trips to war zones, suddenly become so extreme that they can riddle the bodies of their compatriots with bullets? On this matter, we certainly cannot forget about the effects of a life nurtured in a pathologic culture in a corrupt environment borne out of violence. On this matter, we need complete analyses, analyses that see the hidden and apparent corruptions. Maybe a deep hate- planted in the years of economic and industrial growth and borne out of inequality and possibly legal and structural prejudice- created ideas that every few years appear in a sickening manner.
“
Any rushed and emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety for the Muslim communities living in Europe and America not only will not solve the problem but will increase the chasms and resentments.
In any case, you are the ones that have to uncover the apparent layers of your own society and untie and disentangle the knots and resentments. Fissures have to be sealed, not deepened. Hasty reactions is a major mistake when fighting terrorism which only widens the chasms. Any rushed and emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety for the Muslim communities living in Europe and America- which are comprised of millions of active and responsible human beings- and which would deprive them of their basic rights more than has already happened and which would drive them away from society- not only will not solve the problem but will increase the chasms and resentments.
Superficial measures and reactions, especially if they take legal forms, will do nothing but increase the current polarizations, open the way for future crises and will result in nothing else. According to reports received, some countries in Europe have issued guidelines encouraging citizens to spy on Muslims. This behavior is unjust and we all know that pursuing injustice has the characteristic of unwanted reversibility. Besides, the Muslims do not deserve such ill-treatment. For centuries, the western world has known Muslims well- the day that westerners were guests in Islamic lands and were attracted to the riches of their hosts and on another day when they were hosts and benefitted from the efforts and thoughts of Muslims- they generally experienced nothing but kindness and forbearance.
Therefore I want you youth to lay the foundations for a correct and honorable interaction with the Islamic world based on correct understanding, deep insight and lessons learned from horrible experiences. In such a case and in the not too distant future, you will witness the edifice built on these firm foundations which creates a shade of confidence and trust which cools the crown of its architect, a warmth of security and peace that it bequests on them and a blaze of hope in a bright future which illuminates the canvass of the earth.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
8th of Azar, 1394 - 29th of Nov, 2015
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Description:
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people.
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
To the Youth in Western Countries,
The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again, moved me to speak to you young people. For me, it is unfortunate that such incidents would have to create the framework for a conversation, however the truth is that if painful matters do not create the grounds for finding solutions and mutual consultation, then the damage caused will be multiplied.
The pain of any human being anywhere in the world causes sorrow for a fellow human being. The sight of a child losing his life in the presence of his loved ones, a mother whose joy for her family turns into mourning, a husband who is rushing the lifeless body of his spouse to some place and the spectator who does not know whether he will be seeing the final scene of life- these are scenes that rouse the emotions and feelings of any human being. Anyone who has benefited from affection and humanity is affected and disturbed by witnessing these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in Palestine or Iraq or Lebanon or Syria.
Without a doubt, the one-and-a-half billion Muslims also have these feelings and abhor and are revolted by the perpetrators and those responsible for these calamities. The issue, however, is that if today’s pain is not used to build a better and safer future, then it will just turn into bitter and fruitless memories. I genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by learning the lessons of today’s hardship, have the power to discover new means for building the future and who can be barriers in the misguided path that has brought the west to its current impasse.
“
Anyone who has benefited from affection and humanity is affected and disturbed by witnessing these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in Palestine or Iraq or Lebanon or Syria.
It is correct that today terrorism is our common worry. However it is necessary for you to know that the insecurity and strain that you experienced during the recent events, differs from the pain that the people of Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan have been experiencing for many years, in two significant ways. First, the Islamic world has been the victim of terror and brutality to a larger extent territorially, to greater amount quantitatively and for a longer period in terms of time. Second, that unfortunately this violence has been supported by certain great powers through various methods and effective means.
Today, there are very few people who are uninformed about the role of the United States of America in creating, nurturing and arming al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their inauspicious successors. Besides this direct support, the overt and well-known supporters of takfiri terrorism- despite having the most backward political systems- are standing arrayed as allies of the west while the most pioneering, brightest and most dynamic democrats in the region are suppressed mercilessly. The prejudiced response of the west to the awakening movement in the Islamic world is an illustrative example of the contradictory western policies.
“
I genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by learning the lessons of today’s hardship can be barriers in the misguided path that has brought the west to its current impasse.
The other side of these contradictory policies is seen in supporting the state terrorism of Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine have experienced the worst kind of terrorism for the last sixty years. If the people of Europe have now taken refuge in their homes for a few days and refrain from being present in busy places- it is decades that a Palestinian family is not secure even in its own home from the Zionist regime’s death and destruction machinery. What kind of atrocious violence today is comparable to that of the settlement constructions of the Zionists regime?
This regime- without ever being seriously and significantly censured by its influential allies or even by the so-called independent international organizations- everyday demolishes the homes of Palestinians and destroys their orchards and farms. This is done without even giving them time to gather their belongings or agricultural products and usually it is done in front of the terrified and tear-filled eyes of women and children who witness the brutal beatings of their family members who in some cases are being dragged away to gruesome torture chambers. In today’s world, do we know of any other violence on this scale and scope and for such an extended period of time?
Shooting down a woman in the middle of the street for the crime of protesting against a soldier who is armed to the teeth- if this is not terrorism, what is? This barbarism, because it is being done by the armed forces of an occupying government, should not be called extremism? Or maybe only because these scenes have been seen repeatedly on television screens for sixty years, they should no longer stir our consciences.
The military invasions of the Islamic world in recent years- with countless victims- are another example of the contradictory logic of the west. The assaulted countries, in addition to the human damage caused, have lost their economic and industrial infrastructure, their movement towards growth and development has been stopped or delayed and in some cases, has been thrown back decades. Despite all this, they are rudely being asked not to see themselves as oppressed. How can a country be turned into ruins, have its cities and towns covered in dust and then be told that it should please not view itself as oppressed? Instead of enticements to not understand and to not mention disasters, would not an honest apology be better? The pain that the Islamic world has suffered in these years from the hypocrisy and duplicity of the invaders is not less than the pain from the material damage.
“
Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives.
Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives. In my opinion, the first step in creating security and peace is reforming this violence-breeding mentality. Until double-standards dominate western policies, until terrorism- in the view of its powerful supporters- is divided into “good” and “bad” types, and until governmental interests are given precedence over human values and ethics, the roots of violence should not be searched for in other places.
Unfortunately, these roots have taken hold in the depths of western political culture over the course of many years and they have caused a soft and silent invasion. Many countries of the world take pride in their local and national cultures, cultures which through development and regeneration have soundly nurtured human societies for centuries. The Islamic world is not an exception to this. However in the current era, the western world with the use of advanced tools is insisting on the cloning and replication of its culture on a global scale. I consider the imposition of western culture upon other peoples and the trivialization of independent cultures as a form of silent violence and extreme harmfulness.
Humiliating rich cultures and insulting the most honored parts of these, is occurring while the alternative culture being offered in no way has any qualification for being a replacement. For example, the two elements of “aggression” and “moral promiscuity” which unfortunately have become the main elements of western culture, has even degraded the position and acceptability of its source region.
So now the question is: are we “sinners” for not wanting an aggressive, vulgar and fatuous culture? Are we to be blamed for blocking the flood of impropriety that is directed towards our youth in the shape of various forms of quasi-art? I do not deny the importance and value of cultural interaction. Whenever these interactions are conducted in natural circumstances and with respect for the receiving culture, they result in growth, development and richness. On the contrary, inharmonious interactions have been unsuccessful and harmful impositions.
We have to state with full regret that vile groups such as DAESH are the spawn of such ill-fated pairings with imported cultures. If the matter was simply theological, we would have had to witness such phenomena before the colonialist era, yet history shows the contrary. Authoritative historical records clearly show how colonialist confluence of extremist and rejected thoughts in the heart of a Bedouin tribe, planted the seed of extremism in this region. How then is it possible that such garbage as DAESH comes out of one of the most ethical and humane religious schools who as part of its inner core, includes the notion that taking the life of one human being is equivalent to killing the whole humanity?
One has to ask why people who are born in Europe and who have been intellectually and mentally nurtured in that environment are attracted to such groups? Can we really believe that people with only one or two trips to war zones, suddenly become so extreme that they can riddle the bodies of their compatriots with bullets? On this matter, we certainly cannot forget about the effects of a life nurtured in a pathologic culture in a corrupt environment borne out of violence. On this matter, we need complete analyses, analyses that see the hidden and apparent corruptions. Maybe a deep hate- planted in the years of economic and industrial growth and borne out of inequality and possibly legal and structural prejudice- created ideas that every few years appear in a sickening manner.
“
Any rushed and emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety for the Muslim communities living in Europe and America not only will not solve the problem but will increase the chasms and resentments.
In any case, you are the ones that have to uncover the apparent layers of your own society and untie and disentangle the knots and resentments. Fissures have to be sealed, not deepened. Hasty reactions is a major mistake when fighting terrorism which only widens the chasms. Any rushed and emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety for the Muslim communities living in Europe and America- which are comprised of millions of active and responsible human beings- and which would deprive them of their basic rights more than has already happened and which would drive them away from society- not only will not solve the problem but will increase the chasms and resentments.
Superficial measures and reactions, especially if they take legal forms, will do nothing but increase the current polarizations, open the way for future crises and will result in nothing else. According to reports received, some countries in Europe have issued guidelines encouraging citizens to spy on Muslims. This behavior is unjust and we all know that pursuing injustice has the characteristic of unwanted reversibility. Besides, the Muslims do not deserve such ill-treatment. For centuries, the western world has known Muslims well- the day that westerners were guests in Islamic lands and were attracted to the riches of their hosts and on another day when they were hosts and benefitted from the efforts and thoughts of Muslims- they generally experienced nothing but kindness and forbearance.
Therefore I want you youth to lay the foundations for a correct and honorable interaction with the Islamic world based on correct understanding, deep insight and lessons learned from horrible experiences. In such a case and in the not too distant future, you will witness the edifice built on these firm foundations which creates a shade of confidence and trust which cools the crown of its architect, a warmth of security and peace that it bequests on them and a blaze of hope in a bright future which illuminates the canvass of the earth.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
8th of Azar, 1394 - 29th of Nov, 2015
45:25
|
5:01
|
Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish | Biskit | English
Animated comical series discussing the application of Islamic concepts in modern society.
We see around us a society which has made the dunia its ‘qibla’. Both work and education aim to...
Animated comical series discussing the application of Islamic concepts in modern society.
We see around us a society which has made the dunia its ‘qibla’. Both work and education aim to make progress on a worldly level, rather than for what’s worth much, much more.
“And the life of this world is nothing but a sport and a play; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life” -The Holy Qur’an 29:64
Have we become so busy living the 9-5 lifestyle that we are afraid of breaking out of the box of mundane life? Why are we afraid to step out and explore new realms? Is the life of this world truly worth living in a cage for?
This world with all its murkiness has entangled many of us in its unfruitful production line. The dunia, like the sea only makes us thirstier the more we drink and yet people have become so obsessed with gaining more and more on a material level, they have forgotten to look at the hereafter.
It\\\\\\\'s like the famous children\\\\\\\'s story from Aesop\\\\\\\'s fables: In a field one summer\\\\\\\'s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart\\\\\\\'s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"Why not come and chat with me,\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Grasshopper, \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"I am helping to lay up food for the winter,\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Ant, \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"and recommend you to do the same.\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"Why bother about winter?\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Grasshopper; \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"We have got plenty of food at present.\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger - while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.
In this episode, we discuss how a Muslim must be just like the ant: working hard and preparing for what comes next, regardless of what the grasshoppers of our society might think.
Have a topic in mind? Then drop us a message at fb.com/IslamicPulse to request your very own episode of Biskit and our team will try and get you your very own Biskit.
More...
Description:
Animated comical series discussing the application of Islamic concepts in modern society.
We see around us a society which has made the dunia its ‘qibla’. Both work and education aim to make progress on a worldly level, rather than for what’s worth much, much more.
“And the life of this world is nothing but a sport and a play; and as for the next abode, that most surely is the life” -The Holy Qur’an 29:64
Have we become so busy living the 9-5 lifestyle that we are afraid of breaking out of the box of mundane life? Why are we afraid to step out and explore new realms? Is the life of this world truly worth living in a cage for?
This world with all its murkiness has entangled many of us in its unfruitful production line. The dunia, like the sea only makes us thirstier the more we drink and yet people have become so obsessed with gaining more and more on a material level, they have forgotten to look at the hereafter.
It\\\\\\\'s like the famous children\\\\\\\'s story from Aesop\\\\\\\'s fables: In a field one summer\\\\\\\'s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart\\\\\\\'s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"Why not come and chat with me,\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Grasshopper, \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"I am helping to lay up food for the winter,\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Ant, \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"and recommend you to do the same.\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"Why bother about winter?\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" said the Grasshopper; \\\\\\\"\\\\\\\"We have got plenty of food at present.\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\" But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger - while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.
In this episode, we discuss how a Muslim must be just like the ant: working hard and preparing for what comes next, regardless of what the grasshoppers of our society might think.
Have a topic in mind? Then drop us a message at fb.com/IslamicPulse to request your very own episode of Biskit and our team will try and get you your very own Biskit.
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5:05
|
The Hardest Battle | When He Calls | pt.7/8 | English
Episode 7 of the ground-breaking new film following the journey of five students as they make their way to the Holy land of Karbala.
This episode depicts the ultimate sacrifice that took place...
Episode 7 of the ground-breaking new film following the journey of five students as they make their way to the Holy land of Karbala.
This episode depicts the ultimate sacrifice that took place in the plains of Karbala.
The tyrannical Yazid had amassed an army of over 10,000 soldiers with one intention: to destroy the essence of Islam.
Imam Husayn took a small party of Godly men, as well as his own family: a group consisting of women and children as young as his six-month old baby son.
While the armies of Yazid blocked off the camp of Imam Husayn from having any access to the river Euphrates, Imam Husayn himself gave up his own water supplies to quench the thirst of one of the battalions of Yazid, which was led by Hurr.
After seeing the pure-hearted intentions and the merciful personality of Imam Husayn, Hurr changed sides and joined the heroic ranks of Husayn, despite knowing that he would be slain amongst them. But knowing that he was on the right path was more valuable to Hurr than the worldly riches Yazid had offered him.
Al-Abbas, the brother of Imam Husayn and the flag-bearer of the righteous, rode against the armies of Yazid, in an attempt to get water from the Euphrates. When he filled his water-carrier, the armies attacked from all sides. First, they cut one of his arms and then they cut the other arm from his body. Thus, Al-Abbas was tragically martyred.
The events of Karbala make you wonder: how could people become so cruel the they would prevent a man from taking water to children dying of thirst?
The tragedy of Karbala epitomised the struggle between good and evil which has existed before time. Both armies claim to be Muslims.
On the one hand, you see masses of pawns united for the sake of wealth, worldly rewards and fear of losing their mundane comforts. And on the other side, you see 72 men who with courage stand up, ready to sacrifice everything they have for the sake of justice and truth.
Imam Husayn’s sacrifice is the greatest sacrifice made in history. It defines humanity, friendship, love and freedom and the true message of the Holy Prophet [s]
What is it about the ancient city of Karbala that captivates Muslims? What makes approximately 30 million people travel there each year?
The ziarat [pilgrimage] to Karbala is considered a sacred journey for Muslims across the world, especially the followers of Ahlulbayt (as).
Every week, Islamic Pulse will be releasing two episodes of ‘When He Calls’ by the will of God, so stay tuned!
More...
Description:
Episode 7 of the ground-breaking new film following the journey of five students as they make their way to the Holy land of Karbala.
This episode depicts the ultimate sacrifice that took place in the plains of Karbala.
The tyrannical Yazid had amassed an army of over 10,000 soldiers with one intention: to destroy the essence of Islam.
Imam Husayn took a small party of Godly men, as well as his own family: a group consisting of women and children as young as his six-month old baby son.
While the armies of Yazid blocked off the camp of Imam Husayn from having any access to the river Euphrates, Imam Husayn himself gave up his own water supplies to quench the thirst of one of the battalions of Yazid, which was led by Hurr.
After seeing the pure-hearted intentions and the merciful personality of Imam Husayn, Hurr changed sides and joined the heroic ranks of Husayn, despite knowing that he would be slain amongst them. But knowing that he was on the right path was more valuable to Hurr than the worldly riches Yazid had offered him.
Al-Abbas, the brother of Imam Husayn and the flag-bearer of the righteous, rode against the armies of Yazid, in an attempt to get water from the Euphrates. When he filled his water-carrier, the armies attacked from all sides. First, they cut one of his arms and then they cut the other arm from his body. Thus, Al-Abbas was tragically martyred.
The events of Karbala make you wonder: how could people become so cruel the they would prevent a man from taking water to children dying of thirst?
The tragedy of Karbala epitomised the struggle between good and evil which has existed before time. Both armies claim to be Muslims.
On the one hand, you see masses of pawns united for the sake of wealth, worldly rewards and fear of losing their mundane comforts. And on the other side, you see 72 men who with courage stand up, ready to sacrifice everything they have for the sake of justice and truth.
Imam Husayn’s sacrifice is the greatest sacrifice made in history. It defines humanity, friendship, love and freedom and the true message of the Holy Prophet [s]
What is it about the ancient city of Karbala that captivates Muslims? What makes approximately 30 million people travel there each year?
The ziarat [pilgrimage] to Karbala is considered a sacred journey for Muslims across the world, especially the followers of Ahlulbayt (as).
Every week, Islamic Pulse will be releasing two episodes of ‘When He Calls’ by the will of God, so stay tuned!
4:26
|
Swimming, showering & ritual impurity | Fasting | Ahkam Notes EP10 | English
Lesson 10
-submerging your head under water (intentionally)
-washing your head under the shower
-is it permissible to go swimming while fasting?
-if you stay in the state of janabah...
Lesson 10
-submerging your head under water (intentionally)
-washing your head under the shower
-is it permissible to go swimming while fasting?
-if you stay in the state of janabah until fajr adhan
-if you wake up in that state after Fajr Adhan
-if you do not have access to water before Fajr Adhan
-other issues related with state of impurity (janabah)
-other issues regarding waking up close to Fajr Adhan in the state of ritual impurity (janabah)
-issues related to taking ghusl in the month of Ramadhan
More...
Description:
Lesson 10
-submerging your head under water (intentionally)
-washing your head under the shower
-is it permissible to go swimming while fasting?
-if you stay in the state of janabah until fajr adhan
-if you wake up in that state after Fajr Adhan
-if you do not have access to water before Fajr Adhan
-other issues related with state of impurity (janabah)
-other issues regarding waking up close to Fajr Adhan in the state of ritual impurity (janabah)
-issues related to taking ghusl in the month of Ramadhan
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1:58
|
The Training of the Imam\'s Forces | Agha Mahdi Taeb | Farsi sub English
When the Imam arrives, what is going to happen? Is he going to spend time training forces before he starts taking over the world, or is he going to start removing injustice immediately? What is he...
When the Imam arrives, what is going to happen? Is he going to spend time training forces before he starts taking over the world, or is he going to start removing injustice immediately? What is he going to do? How is he going to fulfill his mission? What have the last 1200 years been meant for?
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Description:
When the Imam arrives, what is going to happen? Is he going to spend time training forces before he starts taking over the world, or is he going to start removing injustice immediately? What is he going to do? How is he going to fulfill his mission? What have the last 1200 years been meant for?
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War,
Warship,
4:12
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25:29
|
20:15
|