In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
My dear brothers and children, welcome! Your presence reminds of the exciting memories of the early and latter years of the war in Ahwaz. The youth of Khuzestan and Ahwaz are among the people who played an exceptional role in safeguarding the independence of our country, the Islamic Revolution and our national dignity. We have been witness to their efforts in Ahwaz and the surrounding areas as well as in the entire Khuzestan province. Among the great personalities that I know from the Sacred Defense Era, there are several people from Ahwaz whom I will never forget. I hope that Allah the Exalted will turn you brave youth into assets that will strengthen the pillars of the Islamic Republic, our independence and our national dignity.
This is the most important point that the youth throughout our country should pay attention to: they should know the reasons behind the conflict that is going on between the arrogant powers and Islam. It cannot be denied that today the arrogant powers are currently fighting Islam. Westerners themselves have openly announced this. The president of America described it as a crusade. The propaganda machines of the arrogant powers are constantly broadcasting negative propaganda against Islam throughout the world and they are doing this in a sly way. They produce films. They make computer games. They write articles. Islam is the target of all these efforts. Why are they opposed to Islam? This is a big question. They themselves say they are opposed to Islam simply because Islam creates wars, terror and hatred. They spread lies in the world in such an open and clear way.
Today it is the arrogant powers that spread hatred in the world. It is the Americans who wage wars in the world. It is they themselves who transgress on the rights of peoples and carry out military invasions against different countries. They deploy their soldiers thousands of kilometers away from their borders and invade different countries and peoples. If you take a look at the past one hundred years, you will realize that westerners have waged the largest number of wars. It was Europeans who caused the two world wars. The capitalist regime that is ruling America started many wars in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is they themselves who create hatred among different peoples. One cannot place the blame on Islam. The problem is not what they are saying. They are lying. The problem is that Islam calls Muslim peoples to independence. Islam calls Muslim peoples to national dignity. Islam teaches Muslim peoples to know their rights. Islam teaches them to demand these rights and stand up against those who want to transgress on these rights. It is this resistance and this awareness that the arrogant powers are opposed to. This is the reason behind the conflict between Islam and the arrogant powers.
Today the conflict between the Islamic Republic and the arrogant government of America and its allies is not about human rights or terrorism. Today the fake reasons that they use to cover up their real motives have lost their credibility in the world. Their problem with the Islamic Republic is that the Islamic Republic wants Iran to have dignity and independence. The problem is that the Islamic Republic wants the people of Iran to be in power, not the arrogant powers and international centers of power. Today loyalty to the Islamic Republic and its pillars is loyalty to the independence of the country and to the rights of our people. Loyalty to the Islamic Republic is loyalty and commitment to the rejection of foreign aggressors. For many years, it has been the propaganda tactic of the arrogant powers of the world to mislead public opinion throughout the world. They cannot move things forward except through misleading public opinion. Sometimes they are successful to some extent in misleading public opinion, but their hideous actions reveal the truth.
Today anybody who wants to know the meaning of the kind of human rights and democracy that the Americans want to promote in the Middle East, they can take a look at Iraq. Today Iraq is the testing ground for the claims of America. They insult and pressure the people of Iraq through the use of military force and bayonets. They subject the people of Iraq to intolerable bullying through the use of military force. This is while they are trying to convince global public opinion that they are saviors of the Iraqi nation or that they want to restore the rights of the people of Iraq. Who in the world believes such a thing?
The story of America is analogous to the story of the butcher who saved a deer from a wolf, only to butcher it later on: a wolf was chasing after a deer. The deer was running away although it had been wounded. A butcher came along, scared away the wolf and caught the deer. The deer was thinking that the butcher would let it go and return to nature. But the butcher tied up the deer, put it in his car and drove to his friends. Later on, he put his knife to the throat of the deer. The deer said, "I thought you saved me from the wolf, but I see now that you were the real wolf."
They have pressured the people of Iraq through the use of military force, through installing a foreign ruler, through appropriating their resources, through creating chaos in that country, through transgression on the rights of Iraqi families and women. But then they want to convince the regional nations, the people of Iraq and global public opinion that they are the savior of the people of Iraq. What kind of saving is this? This is the kind of human rights and democracy that America has brought for the countries of the Middle East region.
The president of America speaks about Palestinian terrorism without feeling ashamed. Terrorism by the fake Israeli regime has pressured the people of Palestine for more than fifty years. They are trampling the people of Palestine under their Zionist boots. They openly and shameless destroy houses and kill people. They kill youth, arrest men and humiliate and insult women. This is an instance of open terrorism that even the Israelis themselves do not deny it. They admit that they are engaged in acts of terror. Yet the president of America ignores such things and labels as terrorists the Palestinian youth who act out of anger and frustration to defend their honor, safeguard their homes and stand up against the aggressor. This is their support for the anti-terror movement. According to the Americans, the actions of the Palestinians are the definition of terrorism. The peoples of the region are filled with hatred towards America and its extension in Europe, namely England. This hatred is not particular to our people. All the peoples in the region hate America. It was they themselves who gave rise to this hatred. Those who transgress on the rights, independence, dignity, honor and borders of nations fill the hearts of those nations will hatred. Why do they complain about being hated? Yes, we hate you.
There is only one thing that can stand up against the aggressive nature of the arrogant powers. National awakening and determination are the only thing that can counter this aggression. When a nation awakens, it recognizes its rights, it identifies its enemy, it realizes what goal the enemy is pursuing and it decides to stand up against him. This is when all the tools and military equipment of the arrogant powers and America become ineffective. This is when the arrogant powers fail. This is the essential point that the Islamic Revolution has been stressing from the beginning, and the Islamic Republic built its foundations on this firm pillar. This is why you young people should appreciate your value. This is why the officials of the country should appreciate the value of these enthusiastic, faithful and determined youth. This is why the officials in charge of education and higher education should appreciate the value of these faithful and determined youth. Those who value their national honor, independence and noble Islamic values, will not accept the presence and aggression of the enemy and they will reject his interference. These things are valuable for a nation.
Dear people, try as much as you can to improve yourselves with knowledge and with actions. Just like the previous generation of youth, you can play a key role in the destiny of our nation during your youth. If the young generation before you had decided to stand idly by and remain in their houses when they were needed in the arena or if they had engaged in immoral activities, our nation would have remained submerged in the disgrace of inferiority and dependence on America. That generation stood up and resisted until the Revolution achieved victory. They resisted until they achieved victory in the war. They put up a whole-hearted resistance to defend our national identity. Today it is your turn to continue this path.
The enemy is afraid of our youth. He knows that if the faithful youth of our country remain on the scene, no weapon, no bomb and no missile will bring our nation to its knees. Every step that you take in order to improve yourselves scientifically and ethically is like a bullet that you fire at the enemy. This is a great jihad. At that time too, our men and women and different ethnic groups - including Arabs, Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Lors and Baluchis - focused their efforts on defending the honor, identity and independence of the country and on confronting the arrogant powers and their agents inside the country. And they were successful on this path. The same is true today. Arabs, Persians, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Lors and other ethnicities throughout the country should continue this auspicious path through holding on to "the covenant of Allah" and through solidarity and unity.
Our young generation must make progress in scientific areas, just as it has made progress until today. The uproar that they try to cause in the world against the Islamic Republic about weapons of mass destruction and other such things, is motivated by the same tactic: they are just deceptively covering up their motives. The problem is not what they are saying. The problem is that they get upset when our competent youth achieve advanced technologies. They want peoples of the world to be dependent. They want peoples to be inferior. They want peoples to extend their hands and beg them for whatever they need. They want peoples of the world to be weak so that they can do whatever they want with them. Peoples of the world should strengthen themselves scientifically and religiously and this is the exact opposite of what the enemies want.
They do not like a young generation that makes efforts on the straight path of spirituality and religious faith by relying on their firm determination and their pure hearts. They want a young generation that indulges in immoral activities. This is what they want. Our youth should put up a resistance against the wishes of the enemies. Our government officials should build their confidence by relying on this young generation and on the people of Iran. The determination of our faithful people is a manifestation of divine determination and willpower.
Our government officials must not be afraid of anybody or anything and they must not be intimidated by the enemy's efforts to create uproar. This young generation is a great national asset for resistance and our government officials should use their help in the best possible way. And our people - particularly, our youth - should appreciate their value and engage in self-improvement.
In these summer days, many of our good youth are spending their free time helping Construction Basij and Basij Resistance Forces or they are helping other people to improve their knowledge. Some of our youth take the trouble of helping others. Some others spend their time reading books and improving their intellectual level by planning their time in a good and organized way. This is how faithful youth spend their free time. I have received numerous reports about young people who during summer or during their school breaks, spend their time in remote areas of the country in order to help villagers build mosques, health centers, roads, hussainiyahs and bridges for themselves. I have seen photos of these activities. There is a narration from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) in this regard: "Surely my Ummah engage in jihad in the way of God for recreation."
This is how our youth spend their free time. Their recreation is making efforts for the sake of their people. This is valuable. You should appreciate the value of your youth. You should appreciate the value of spiritual and religious education, the value of Islamic studies, the value of Islamic understanding, the value of studying history, the value of scientific progress. Thankfully, our youth are already following this path today. Work hard on this path. You should know that the enemy wants you to stop making progress and developing your country. But despite the wishes of the enemy, you should make progress in the area of scholarly work, in the area of physical capabilities, in the area of knowledge and understanding, in the area of religious faith and in the area of ethics.
I am to some extent aware of the plans that Mr. Jazayeri spoke about. These plans are very good. Hopefully, Allah the Exalted will help him and those who work with him. Their efforts have been extremely valuable. By Allah's favor, the work they have done will prove auspicious. I hope that by the blessedness of these days - which are for mourning the martyrdom of Hazrat Fatima Zahra, the great lady of Islam and the entire human history (God's greetings be upon her) - all of you and all the people of Iran, particularly our youth who follow Fatima Zahra (s.a.) as their role model, will benefit from the attention, blessings and prayers of that great woman and her pure and immaculate descendants, particularly the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake).
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings