The following is the full text of the speech delivered on March 26, 2006 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with Basijis.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I welcome you dear brothers and sisters, especially those brothers and sisters who have come from different parts of the country to participate in this meeting. I hope that this new year will be full of success, happiness and progress for all of you and for all the dear youth of our country.
There is a reason behind naming this year "The Year of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)". We should try to understand this reason with all our hearts and souls and we should move ahead accordingly. The reason behind choosing such a name is not just to start the year with the name of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). The reason is that our society - both individuals and organizations - should move closer to what the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) tried to achieve. It is not possible to summarize the goals of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) in a sentence, but it is possible to highlight a number of his goals which can used as our guidelines throughout a year, a decade or our entire lifetime.
One of his goals was perfecting moral virtues. "I was appointed as Prophet to perfect moral virtues". Without having moral virtues the people in a society cannot reach the noble goals of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) be'that. What helps the individual and society achieve transcendence is moral virtues. The term "moral virtues" does not only mean that we should behave properly towards other people. It means that we should improve moral qualities in our hearts and souls and we should show them in practice.
People who are jealous of one another, are greedy and stingy, bear ill will towards one another, try to deceive one another and bear grudges against one another, cannot achieve happiness even if the law is strictly enforced in the society in which these people live. This is not an acceptable human society even if it makes scientific progress and even if the civilization in such a society reaches its highest peak. There is no happiness in a society in which people do not feel safe and in which an individual feels that other people are jealous of him, are suspicious of him, are greedy towards him and his wealth, bear grudges against him and hatch plots against him.
But if in a society people have moral virtues, treat one another kindly, forgive one another, exercise great patience and if they are not greedy for worldly profits, are not stingy about the things that they have, are not jealous of one another, do not create obstacles in the way of people who want to make progress, then these people can have a happy and peaceful life even if they do not make much material progress. These are moral virtues. We need these. We should improve moral virtues in our hearts and souls on a daily basis. Individual and social rules of Islam are a means for helping humanity achieve happiness. There is no doubt in this regard, but in order to implement these rules properly, we need moral virtues.
In order to strengthen morality in society, we need to do two things. First, we should engage in self-education and second, we should provide all the people - at all levels - with moral education. This duty should be carried out by our schools and other centers that are responsible for education. These organizations are responsible for carrying out this duty. This is one of the necessary tasks in "The Year of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)". That is to say, we should be faithful and we should be true Muslims and followers of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) by observing moral virtues. We should make a list of negative and evil qualities and we should try to eliminate these qualities from our hearts and souls if we have any of them.
We should also make a list of moral virtues and try to develop them in our hearts and souls. Of course, what makes us progress on this path is love, love for God Almighty, love for the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), love for this path, love for the teachers of morality - that is to say, the Prophets and infallible Imams (a.s.). This is love which helps us move forward on this path. We should strengthen this love in ourselves on a daily basis. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) says, "Oh God, make me love You and love those who love You and make me love doing things which bring me closer to You". We should nurture in our hearts and souls love for God and love for His saints. God Almighty approves. This is one of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), one that we should pay attention to in "The Year of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)".
Another lesson that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) taught us is resistance. In Sura Hud, Allah the Exalted says to the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), "Therefore stand firm (in the straight path) as you are commanded - you and those who with you turn (unto Allah) - and transgress not" [The Holy Quran, 11: 112]. There is a narration from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) which says, "Sura Hud made me old". It made him old because it is full of heavy concepts. Which part of Sura Hud does he refer to? It has been narrated that what the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) had in mind was the ayah "Therefore stand firm (in the straight path) as you are commanded" when he said this. Why did it make him old? It is because God Almighty says in this ayah, "Therefore stand firm (in the straight Path) as you are commanded." Standing firm and putting up a resistance is a difficult thing to do. This resistance is the same as the Bridge of Sirat which we have to cross on Judgment Day. In this world, our actions are like the Bridge of Sirat. We are walking on the Bridge of Sirat now. We should be very careful. If each person remains so careful in everything he does, he will soon grow old.
In my opinion, the most important part of this ayah is this part: "And those who with you turn (unto Allah)". The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) is not just responsible for his own resistance. He should make the massive number of believers put up a resistance. He is responsible for people who, on the one hand, are faced with the daily problems of life - such as the problems that the enemies, the plotters, the ill-wishers and the dominant powers create for them - and who, on the other hand, are subject to their carnal desires - desires for worldly profits which attract people strongly. He is responsible for people who easily deviate from the right path. The desire for gold and silver, the desire for money, the desire for sexual pleasure, the desire for power and other desires, tie a rope around their necks and pull them toward themselves. Most probably, helping people put up a resistance against these temptations, guiding believers towards the right path and keeping them on this path were the things which made the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) old. Believers may deviate from the right path under the influence of these two strong forces: the enemies and their inner passions and desires.
Do you know what the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) did - both when he was living in Mecca for thirteen years and when he was forming a government in Medina - to help believers tread many difficult paths and reach the peak of humanity? Nobody could do such a thing. He changed people who had no understanding of anything and who did not have any human virtues. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) changed them into such noble people whose great and enlightened hearts made God's angels feel inferior. This is a perfect example of resistance. Today we need resistance.
We can also be tempted by different desires. How many people we saw during the time of the Revolution who could not put up a resistance against laziness, animal desires, the lure of power and position, the threat of the enemy and the flattery of certain people although they had pure hearts and souls and genuine beliefs at first. They deviated from the right path and turned into the enemies of the divine path. Therefore, resistance [against such desires] is necessary.
Resistance against the enemy is also necessary. The enemy makes threats, gives us empty promises, shows off its greatness to the Islamic Ummah, adopts a domineering tone when it speaks to us and sometimes he mixes these things with empty promises so that he can deceive us. Resistance against the schemes and threats of the enemy requires great competence. If a nation achieves such competence, it can reach the peak of success and it will be in a position where the enemy finds out that making threats is useless and that he has to either get along with or surrender to this nation.
Our nation has had a remarkable performance in this regard since the beginning of the Revolution. It has put up a good resistance. You dear basijis are outstanding examples of this resistance. During the Sacred Defense Era, the east and the west formed an alliance against our nation. Our nation stood up against them. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) stood up against them in a firm manner and our people followed him. This resistance brought us success and victory in the difficult and long war which lasted for eight years. The enemy was deeply humiliated. All those evil powers which were behind the Iraqi Ba'ath regime had to acknowledge the power and greatness of the Iranian nation. Later on, they acknowledged this fact in different ways and today they are acknowledging this in a different way.
Making threats is one of the measures of the enemy. He may carry out his threats in certain cases. But only the nation which does not retreat and the nation which stands up to the enemy can preserve its greatness, dignity and identity and safeguard its interests. This resistance has been emphasized in many parts of the Holy Quran. "So as long as they are true to you, be true to them" [The Holy Quran, 9: 7]. As long as the enemy makes threats and uses terror tactics against you, you should stand up against him. Every nation has its own legitimate interests and a right to safeguard them. A nation that has talented youth, natural resources and a good geographical position - such a nation has the right to benefit from these.
Global powers have become used to keeping a tight grip on the resources of all nations. Whenever the people and their leaders showed flexibility towards these global powers and whenever they compromised with them, they became bolder. The English occupied the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century and they cruelly appropriated its wealth. They strengthened themselves, but they weakened the Indian subcontinent. It is the case that when a nation gives in to the demands of greedy and powerful enemies, there will be ample opportunities for the enemies to oppress that nation. In such conditions, the enemies will not show mercy towards this nation or treat it with more consideration just because it gave in to their demands. No, as long as this nation retreats, the enemies will advance. They will dig their claws into the skin and flesh of this nation and they will tear at its flesh as much as they can. The enemies will weaken this nation and try to strengthen themselves.
Peoples are always prepared to resist. The important question is whether their leaders are prepared to do so or not. Notice that the Palestinian people who are mounting such a resistance today are the same people as they were fifty years ago. They did not resist the enemy those days and as a result, they experienced great suffering. Today, they are resisting the enemy and they are making it retreat step by step. The Iranian people are the same people as they were one hundred years ago. One hundred years ago, the officials of our country gave in to the demands of the enemies and they did not put up a resistance. They let the enemy enter our country and establish its domination over the economy, the politics, the resources and the oil of our country. The enemy moved forward step by step. The Qajar dynasty opened the path for the enemies, but the enemy rewarded it by bringing the Pahlavi dynasty to power. The rulers of this dynasty were thuggish and subservient and as a result, the enemy strengthened his domination over our country on a daily basis.
During the Revolution, it was the same people who were awakened by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and who took action against the enemy as a result of the suppressed feelings and intense sufferings they had experienced in previous eras. These suppressed feelings and sufferings made our people climb from the depths of humiliation and insignificance to the heights of dignity. Today our people are one of the most honorable nations in the world, not only in the eyes of Muslim peoples, but also in the eyes of the enemies. What our people did is a perfect example of resistance. Our people should continue treading this path with enormous strength.
Today they raise the issue of nuclear technology. Even if there was not such an issue, they would raise another issue: This is the enemy's tactic. Whatever helps a nation achieve progress is considered a threat for global powers. Nations should not make progress. If our nation had the capability to extract and refine its oil and if it had the capability to use its oil for different purposes, there would have been no need for the English to take over the responsibility for extracting and refining our oil. At that time, they took advantage of the incapability of our nation. Now our nation is capable and it wants to manage its own country. It wants to exploits these resources on its own and it wants to use them for itself, but they are upset about this.
Today America and the Zionist regime are the primary enemies of the Iranian nation. Of course, England adds fuel to the fire. They are opposed to the interests of the Iranian nation, but they refer to this opposition as international consensus. There is no international consensus in this regard. The international consensus is against the arrogance, interference and transgression of America. It is against America's warmongering and efforts to create fitnas. This is the international consensus. "Death to America" signifies that the Iranian nation and you dear youth should stand firm and move forward. Of course, the officials of our country are moving forward in a firm way and they persist in treading this path. Today the enemies raise the issue of nuclear technology. By using propaganda and psychological warfare of Zionist media, they spread the rumor that Iran is making atomic bombs and that Iran is not prepared to negotiate with European and non-European countries. Well, this is what they say. This is what they can do and they are doing it. This is the kind of hostility that they can show and they are showing it. But the truth of this issue is something else. Both they and we know that the truth is something else. The truth is that they are opposed to the progress of the Iranian nation, because this progress prevents them - forever - from pursuing their illegitimate interests in our country. That is why they are opposed to our progress. I said in Mashhad that the Americans are telling us that they used to have domination over everything in your country and that the Revolution has cut off our hands. They are asking us to let them re-establish their domination over our country.
Thankfully, today our youth, our people, our men and women and all the groups in our country have awakened and identified their path and they are moving forward. The officials of our country are treading the right path and they are moving forward thanks to their courage, wisdom and their energetic and youthful spirits and thanks to the inclination of our youth towards reaching high levels in theoretical and practical areas. By Allah's favor, our country will reach a point where it can frustrate the enemy in its efforts to dominate us.
I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows success, His mercy and His kindness on all of you dear youth and basijis and on the dear people of Iran. I hope that you benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that by Allah's favor, you use the opportunity that has been provided for you and try to build the country in a way that future generations feel grateful to you and in a way that a good name remains from you.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings