The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 8, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with participants of the 30th International Quran Competitions.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome all the brothers and sisters and all the members of the Quranic family who have gathered in this meeting. You brothers and sisters are fortunate that you are known by the Holy Quran. Your characteristic is that you are the reciters, memorizers and managers of the Holy Quran and that the Holy Quran is your identity. I enjoyed this meeting, and reciting the Holy Quran by the brothers, experts and veteran reciters, who have spent their entire life at the service of the Holy Quran, was delightful to me. I hope that Allah the Exalted will make all of you and all of us servants of the Holy Quran. By Allah's favor, all of us will be close to and benefit from the Holy Quran, both during our lives and in the hereafter.
These competitions and these meetings are an opportunity for bringing the Holy Quran into prominence and for getting close to the truth and the spirit of the Holy Quran. Reciting is a means for discovering the truth of the Holy Quran, for learning Quranic teachings and for shaping our individual and social lives. This is the goal of such meetings.
If the Holy Quran dominates human societies, this will bring them happiness in this world and it will raise their spiritual positions. The Holy Quran opens up the path to health and to psychological security. The Holy Quran opens up the path to dignity, to the proper way of living and to a happy lifestyle. We are far away from the Holy Quran. If we get familiar with the Holy Quran, if we establish a close relationship with Quranic teachings and if we know how far we are from the ideals that the Holy Quran wants us to achieve, then our movement will be faster and our path will be brighter. This is the goal.
And today dear brothers and sisters, the world of Islam is thirsty for and in urgent need of Quranic truths. There was one day when the youth and outstanding personalities in Islamic countries, from eastern Islamic countries to western Islamic countries, promoted leftist schools if they wanted to raise the voice of freedom. On that day, they shouted socialist and communist slogans. Today in the world of Islam, from the east of Islam to the west of Islam, if a number of people want to shout the slogan of justice, freedom, independence and dignity, they hold up the Holy Quran. This is very valuable and this is the right thing to do. We should get close to the Holy Quran. Of course, it is easy to speak about this, but it is difficult to do it because it requires diligence.
One of the commands of the Holy Quran is that the entire Islamic Ummah should be united with one another and that they should join hands: "And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves" [The Holy Quran, 3: 103]. Who is this ayah addressing? It is addressing us. It is addressing the people of Iran and Muslim countries. It is addressing all believers in Islam who live throughout the world. But, do we obey this order?
The opposite of this Quranic lesson is the lesson that arrogance wants to teach: discord among Muslims. Arrogance wants a group of people to curse and say takfiri things against another group of people. This is what arrogance wants today. It wants to do this so that we do not stay together. Unfortunately, some Islamic governments are deceived by this. They are playing into the enemy's hands and they are deceived by and work for the enemy, sometimes knowingly and sometimes ignorantly.
Today, unity and solidarity among Muslims is an urgent task. You should see what corruptions emerge from war and discord. You should see what crimes blind terrorism commits in the world of Islam with the pretext of denominational hostilities. You should see how easily the Zionist regime breathes because of this discord between Muslims. Whenever Islamic countries and peoples want to get close to one another, they hatch a plot and they create an incident. These things should open our eyes. These things should awaken Muslim nations. These things should help Muslims distinguish between sincere leaders and rulers, and the rulers who have been installed by the enemy. This is a testing ground.
Today, any voice that invites to the unity of the world of Islam is a divine voice. And any voice and tongue that provokes Muslim nations, Muslim denominations and different Muslim ethnicities into showing enmity towards one another is the voice of Satan: "Anyone who listens to a preacher is actually worshipping him. If this preacher speaks of God, then they have worshipped God and if he speaks of Satan, they have worshipped Satan" [Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 2, page 94]. Those people who represent and speak in favor of Satan will drag themselves and their audience towards hell and they will destroy themselves: "Have you not seen those who have changed Allah's favor for ungratefulness and made their people to alight into the abode of perdition. Into hell, they shall enter into it and an evil place it is to settle" [The Holy Quran, 14: 28-29]. There is another ayah which is about Pharaoh: "He will go before his people on the Day of Judgment, and lead them into the Fire" [The Holy Quran, 11: 98].
Today, those who make the world of Islam drift away from unity and solidarity - while today the need for solidarity is more than ever - are working for devils and shaitans. As you can see today, the western world, global imperialism and the owners of oil companies and big financial cartels and trusts are spending money and hatching plots for creating Islamophobia. They burn the Holy Quran, they insult the blessed name of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), they draw caricatures, they publish books [against Muslims] and they provoke ethnicities against Muslims in big capitals of European countries. As you can see, these are clear things. What does this mean? It means Islamophobia.
Today, western enemies have drawn their swords against Muslims. Well, what is the responsibility of Muslims? Muslims should utilize the elements which give them power. They should strengthen, on a daily basis, the factors that contribute to their internal power and capabilities. One of the most important factors in this regard is unity and solidarity. This is a lesson for us. This is a lesson for Muslim peoples.
The group of people who have gathered in this place and the competitions that they have held is a small example and a small sample of unity among Muslims. You should appreciate the value of this. This gathering, this closeness and this understanding should be appreciated. Notice that all of you love the Holy Quran. Notice that all of you are attached to the Holy Quran and the blessed existence of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). All of you are people who love to live with Holy Quran and who love to be associated with the Holy Quran in the hereafter. This is not a minor common point. This is a great common point. This common ground is more significant than all disagreements between Muslims.
These are Quranic pieces of advice. I hope that, by Allah's favor, we will learn many lessons from the Holy Quran. I hope that we will benefit from it and listen to its advice. I hope that Allah the Exalted will make the people of Iran victorious. I hope that He will raise the position of our dear martyrs and associate the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). I hope that He will make the Islamic Ummah stronger, more united and more unanimous on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings