The following the full text of the speech delivered on February 20, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei to the participants of the 24th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I really enjoyed the comments that our dear brothers made. I wish there was more time and I could benefit from the comments of the other brothers as well. When I hear such comments from you, once again I can visualize the greatness of Islam, Islamic teachings and the victory of Islam.
Today's meeting and the conference you are holding are arranged in the name of unity - unity in the world of Islam and among Muslims. Of course unity is the central issue. If Muslims are truly united, most of their problems will be resolved. We should all make efforts to make hearts, and not just statements, move closer to each other. When hearts get closer to each other, actions will converge as well.
Today the world of Islam is at a historic stage. We need to become familiar with this stage. We must not turn our attention away from this stage. Such a situation has never existed in the past 30 years - ever since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. When I call this a stage, I do not mean that the world of Islam has been calm during the past 30 years. It does not mean that the world of Islam has been silent and indifferent. It is my belief - and it is definitely a fact - that over many years the movement of luminaries and reformers, the blood of selfless individuals, the teachings of intellectuals and finally the Islamic Revolution in Iran have affected the world of Islam. They have transformed hearts. They have illuminated the paths. As a result, the necessary motives have accumulated over time, and they are manifesting themselves at this opportunity. This stage is an important stage. It can help us resolve the problems of the world of Islam. It can also create other problems if we fail to develop appropriate knowledge of this stage and make use of the opportunity.
What has happened is the presence of millions of people on the scene. This is a unique event. It was this movement that managed to save Iran in the Islamic Republic. If parties, political groups and prominent figures had stepped into the arena instead of millions of ordinary citizens, such an effect would not have been produced. The presence of millions of ordinary citizens produces an effect that cannot be produced in any other way. Of course the presence of millions of people on the scene is impossible in the absence of strong faith. Stepping into the arena, staying there until the ultimate result is achieved and safeguarding the ultimate result - these things require religious faith.
Somebody mentioned the French Revolution in this meeting. The French Revolution was a popular movement, and it achieved victory. But that victory was not safeguarded. The French Revolution took place in the year 1789. In the year 1800 - that is to say, 11 years after the French Revolution - another monarchy was re-established in France. Napoleon came to power as if there had been no revolution. After Napoleon died, members of the same royal family who had been removed by the French Revolution - namely, the Bourbons - came to power again. For many years the right to rule was passed on from one monarch to another. Therefore, the people of France gave rise to the French Revolution, but they failed to safeguard it. This is a very important point. Thanks to religious faith, thanks to Islam and thanks to the fact that the spirit of the Quran was constantly instilled into the hearts of our people, we managed to safeguard our Revolution. This is what can ensure the survival of movements, their continuation and their victory. This must happen.
Today the people are present on the scene - in Egypt, in Tunisia, in some other parts of the world. It is necessary to manage this public presence. The enemies are trying to present this movement as a non-Islamic movement. This is wrong. The movement is definitely Islamic. The historical background of Egypt shows this. The current Egyptian movement shows this. The slogans shouted by the people and their participation in Friday prayers show this. Therefore, the movement is definitely Islamic although the enemies are trying to prevent this Islamic characteristic from being consolidated in Egypt or in other places. It is necessary to strengthen this movement.
America is the root of the problem in the world of Islam. The presence of the arrogant powers and colonialists in the world of Islam has always been the biggest blow to Muslim nations' Islamic and national identity. From the east of the world of Islam, from Indonesia, Malaysia and India to Africa - colonialists have been present in every part of the world of Islam. Their presence has weakened Muslim nations, shed their blood and undermined their determination. Today America is the main arrogant and colonial power: the rest are on the margin. The presence of America is the greatest problem. Today the presence of America is more important than all other problems of the world of Islam. This problem should be solved. It is necessary to push America out of the arena. It is necessary to weaken it, and fortunately it has already been weakened. Today's America is different from the America of 20 or 30 years ago. Today America is very weak, and it is necessary to keep it that way. We must not lose hope.
The early Islamic era is a model for us. I am not claiming that all the events of our time are identical to the events of the early Islamic era. No, the world has changed. Forms and motives have changed, but the early Islamic era is like a very complex and artistic picture in which one can see different historical stages of the life of the Islamic Ummah until today and until the end of time. If a person compares each part of this picture with his own time, he would realize the similarities.
Notice that when faced with the enemy, there are two kinds of reactions: "And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease began to say: Allah and His Messenger did not promise us (victory) but only deception. And when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib, there is no place to stand for you (here), so go back." [The Holy Quran, 33: 12-13] This is one reaction when faced with such events. "And when the believers saw the allies, they said: This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth, and it only increased them in faith and submission." [The Holy Quran, 33: 22] This is another reaction. Both reactions are related to the same event. They are both related to the Battle of the Trench. When some people look at the Battle of the Trench, they say, "Allah and His Messenger did not promise us (victory) but only deception." Some others say, "This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth, and it only increased them in faith and submission." This is an important point. This shows our current situation.
There are two kinds of people. Some people are intimidated when they see the power of America, when they see its military power, when they see its diplomatic power, when they see its power of propaganda, when they see its huge sources of money. They say, "We cannot do anything. Why should we waste our energy?" There are such people living among us. We had such people among us during the Revolution as well. We had to deal with people who used to say, "Why all this trouble? Just settle for a minimum and be done with it." Some people were like this.
In contrast, there are other people who compare the power of the enemy with the power of Allah the Exalted. They compare the glory of the enemy with the glory of God. Then they see that the enemy is nothing compared to God. They also have faith in the divine promise. This is an important point. Allah the Exalted has promised, "Surely Allah will help him who helps His cause." [The Holy Quran, 22: 40] This promise is definite, and it has been repeatedly emphasized. If we have faith in the divine promise, we will act in a certain way. And if we suspect the divine promise, we will act in a different way. Allah the Exalted has specified those who suspect His promise: "And (that) He may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the polytheistic men and the polytheistic women, the entertainers of evil thoughts about Allah. On them is the evil turn, and Allah is wroth with them and has cursed them and prepared hell for them, and evil is the resort." [The Holy Quran, 48: 6] Such "entertainers of evil thoughts about Allah" exist today as well. God also says, "Nay, you rather thought that the Messenger and the believers would not return to their families ever, and that was made fair-seeming to your hearts and you thought an evil thought and you were a people doomed to perish." [The Holy Quran, 48: 12] Distrust of God causes people to stop moving forward and making efforts. If we trust God, we can move forward.
We trust God, and Allah the Exalted has not done anything to undermine this trust. During the past 33 years, Allah the Exalted has treated us the way we believe He treats believers. We had a lot of problems. We emerged victorious out of all these problems. An economic siege is not something trivial, and it has never been trivial. We rose above the siege. Recently they told us that they would stop selling gas to our country. Our country exports oil, but it imports gas. They told us that they would stop selling gas to our country. This is just an example. There are hundreds of such examples. Our experts started making efforts while relying on God, and we became self-sufficient in gas in less than a year. They imposed an eight-year war on us. They forced us to fight a spiteful and evil enemy like Saddam Hussein, and they did everything in their power to support and defend him. Thankfully we managed to rise above this situation.
We made progress in all areas relying on God. We have made progress in the arena of science as well. The issue of nuclear technology was mentioned [as an example] in this meeting. By Allah's grace, we managed to make progress in nuclear technology. Today westerners are creating uproar, but they do not know all the details. They level allegations. They speak against us. They broadcast propaganda. They exert pressure on us. But they cannot do anything to stop us. The passage of time is to our benefit. We are making constant progress, and they are just making uproar. This is what happens when you enter the arena relying on God.
Two or three years ago the youth who are working on nuclear technology persistently demanded a meeting with me. They set up an exhibition in this Hussayniyyah so that I could see their achievements up close. I went there, and I saw that everybody was young and faithful. There was a time when they thought that anybody who enters the arena of modern sciences and becomes an expert should be indifferent to religion. What I saw was the opposite. All of them were faithful and sincere youth. They were all interested in religion. The same is true of different sectors of our country. This is what we have experienced, and this experience is at the disposal of the world of Islam.
Of course Egypt and other Muslim countries are thankfully full of Islamic concepts and teachings. I am familiar with the Islamic teachings that have been prevalent in Egypt during different eras. As I said in the recent Friday prayer sermons, the Egyptian nation was the first to become familiar with western culture - Napoleon introduced western culture into Egypt. It was also the first Muslim nation to realize and confront the flaws of this culture. Sheikh Muhammad Abdu, Sayyid Jamal and others had chosen Egypt as their stronghold, and they were the first to face and fight western culture. Afterwards, Egypt and many other Arab countries thankfully became a center for development of Islamic thoughts, and they were useful to Islam in its entirety.
Today the Egyptian people are present in the arena. Efforts should be made in order to prevent the enemy from hijacking and diverting the movement of the Egyptian people. Efforts should be made to prevent the enemy from leaving a vestige of taghut and the pharaonic regime in Egypt, which may gradually spread throughout the country. It is necessary to be vigilant in this regard. This is the duty of the Egyptian people as well as the entire world of Islam.
It is necessary to eliminate discord among Muslim nations. The first effect of Islamic unity is that Muslim nations should sympathize with each other. When a Muslim nation is happy, other Muslim nations should also feel happy. When a Muslim nation is sad, other Muslim nations should feel sad. When a Muslim nation is in trouble, other Muslim nations should share in their trouble. When a Muslim nation asks for help, other Muslim nations should rush to its aid. This is our duty. We believe in this divine promise. We believe that "those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them to Our paths." [The Holy Quran, 29: 69] And Allah the Exalted will undoubtedly help faithful people.
We should all appreciate such meetings. This heartfelt closeness is very valuable. The Shia-Sunni disagreements are the things that the enemies of Islam want to emphasize today. Those who speak about Shia and Sunni Islam and the differences do not believe in what Shia or Sunni Muslims say. They believe neither in the Islamic luminaries of the past, nor in contemporary religious scholars. They have other goals. It is necessary to rise above all these things and restore unity. By Allah's favor, unity will prepare the ground for the victory of the world of Islam.
Once again I would like to welcome the dear brothers.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings