The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 19, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic Republic and ambassadors of the Islamic countries.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to congratulate all you honorable people who have attended this meeting, the dear guests and ambassadors who come fromother Islamic countries, the great and pious Iranian nation and every member of the Islamic Ummah in all the Muslim countries and in every part of the world on this great Eid.
The important point is that we should appreciate the value of such opportunities. Allah the Exalted made auspicious Eid ul-Fitr a source of honor and dignity for the Islamic Ummah and for the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). "You made it an Eid for the Muslims and for Muhammad (God's greetings be upon him and his household) and a source of honor and dignity and bounty." This is an instrument for increasing the dignity and honor and of the Islamic Ummah and the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). This depends on how we Muslims make use of such opportunities and occasions. The Muslim nations can use the month of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr as an instrument to achieve glory and dignity. They can use them as a ladder to climb towards spiritual and material improvement and towards dignity in this world and in the next. We should be vigilant. We should use these opportunities.
The Muslim nations were under the hegemony and oppression of the arrogant powers of the world for decades. The world wars, which broke out between the arrogant powers of the world, started from Europe. The arrogant powers of the world attacked each other and they involved the Muslim nations and the regional nations in the consequences and problems that resulted from these wars. It was after these wars that the dangerous and deadly Zionist outgrowth was created in our sensitive region - among Muslim countries, in the heart of the world of Islam. It was after these wars that the wrong and flawed structure of the United Nations and its Security Council was established and certain governments were given a power of veto. That is to say, the same blood stained hands and clutches that started those deadly wars decided to take control of the world afterwards and spread their hegemony over this sensitive, important and rich region, a region which could have been a center for the unity of the world of Islam. And this was exactly what they did. We were suffering from lack of vigilance. The Muslim nations were asleep. They became the target of attacks and their destiny was afflicted with big complex problems, problems that the Muslim nations are still suffering from. We were not vigilant enough. Leaders of the Islamic countries were suffering from lack of vigilance during a certain era and they fell for the games of global powers.
Today it is felt, it is witnessed that this veil of unawareness, which had clouded minds in the regional countries and in the Muslim countries, is disappearing. It is necessary to appreciate this. Today, thanks to Islamic Awakening, our sensitive region, North Africa and West Asia - a sensitive region and the heart of the world, which Europeans decided to call "Middle East" - is determining the destiny of this region. We need to be aware of this opportunity. We need to appreciate it. We should not miss this important opportunity. The issue of holy Quds and oppressed Palestine is at the heart of these issues and at the heart of the events that are taking place in the Middle East.
Many of the issues and problems in our sensitive region are due to the existence of the cancerous Zionist tumor, and the blood stained hands of the global powers are doing everything to safeguard it. The Americans and the other hegemonic powers of the world are openly saying that their destiny depends on the destiny of the Zionist regime. This is not in their interest.
Thanks to Islamic Awakening, today the issue of Palestine has become the main issue of the world of Islamonce again. You should not let this distinction and this advantage disappear and be concealed under the machinations and plots of the enemies of Muslims and the Islamic Ummah. The issue of Palestine is one of the main issues. Over time, the people evaluate their governments with their positions on the issue of Palestine. Of course, pressure by the arrogant and autocratic powers, suppression and coercion have not allowed the wishes of the people to reveal themselves. This year, much to the disappointment of the Zionists, in the Quds Day rallies, the regional nations managed to speak what they felt in their hearts regarding the issue of Palestine.And by Allah's favor, this movement will become stronger on a daily basis.
Of course, the enemy will not stand by and watch. The plots of the enemy will become more complex. Government officials of the Muslim countries, governments of the Muslim countries and outstanding Muslim personalities - including outstanding political personalities, outstanding cultural personalities, intellectuals and religious scholars -have a responsibility to clarify this truth for nations. Today the arrogant and autocratic powers have returned to the old method of fomenting discord in order to overcome nations. Under different pretexts, they foment discord between leaders of different countries, between different governments and between different nations. Fomenting discord has been the permanent method used by the arrogant powers. They have tried to revive ethnic and nationalistic sentiments among the people of different countries. They have tried to highlight the natural differences that exist between languages, races, skin colors and religions. This is what the arrogant powers do. This is their old method: "Divide and rule." And today they are pursuing the same plan. We need to awaken. Both the people and the governments of the Muslim countries should be cautious and vigilant.
Contrary to the existing realities, they hide the main threat to this region and even all of humanity - namely, the Zionist regime. Zionism is a threat to all humanity. Today even western governments are under the influence of the Zionists. They too are suffering from the Zionist centers of power and wealth. And it is clear how the regional nations have suffered at the hands of the Zionists. These assassinations are their work. These conflicts between nations are their work. They do these things with different instruments that are available to them. We need to be vigilant. They hide this threat, which is the main threat to this region. They pass off falsehoods as realities. They falsely highlight threats that do not exist and they foment discord among Muslims. We need to be vigilant. Being Arab or non-Arab, being Shia or Sunni, different denominations and skin colors should not be allowed to create conflicts among us. "O you men, surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other. Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you who is most pious." [The Holy Quran, 49: 13] Being divided into different tribes, families and races should not be source of conflict. "Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you who is most pious." The pivot is something else. The standard is something else. There should be a race between the Muslim nations for practicing Islam, for creating a sense of brotherhood, for making efforts for the people and for acting against the will of the big powers, particularly America. The Muslim nations should know that wherever America and the Zionists are fomenting discord with their policies, these policies are harmful. They should not be deceived by their policies.
The issues of our region are important issues. The regional nations have awakened. Thanks to this awakening, a number of Muslim nations managed to change the conditions which were favorable to the arrogant powers. The people ruined and nullified all the investments and efforts that America had made in Egypt, Tunisia and certain other countries. This is a kind of awakening and it is necessary to safeguard it. It is necessary to see where the enemy of Islam and Muslims is because the camp of the enemy is the camp of falsehood and the camp that opposes his camp is the camp of truth. This is the standard. We need to keep this standard in mind. I believe the most obvious example is the issue of unity among nations. They want to foment discord among the Muslim nations. We should know that discord is wrong and Quranic ayahs have prohibited it. Discord, conflict and fighting each other are like deadly poison for the Muslim nations. We need to avoid these things.
We should ask Allah the Exalted for help. The holy month of Ramadan was a very important opportunity and I hope the Muslim nations managed to make the best of it. Eid ul-Fitr is a great opportunity. Opportunities are easily lost. "Opportunities pass (quickly)." It is necessary to take advantage of them at the right moment.
Dear God, make the Muslims nations successful in using the opportunities that You provide for them. Dear God, bestow Islamic unity and solidarity on this oppressed nation. Make us successful in fulfilling our responsibilities on this path.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings