Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met today with the officials in charge of the cultural and executive affairs of Hajj. Speaking at this meeting, the Leader described Hajj as a valuable opportunity for pilgrims, the great Islamic Ummah, and the Islamic Republic. He further reiterated: "Hajj is the best opportunity for Muslims to avoid material attractions and to create bonds among the hearts and wills of Muslim nations."Ayatollah Khamenei said that Hajj provides Muslims with three distinct opportunities. He referred to the individual aspect of Hajj as one of these opportunities and added: "During Hajj, Muslims avoid many of the ordinary things in life. These ordinary things bring about decadence, false material pride, and lack of vigilance. In the course of doing the Hajj rituals, Muslims enter a vast spiritual world. In fact, Hajj is an occasion which provides us with the opportunity to practice tearing ourselves away from material attractions."
"Your duty is to make Iranian and non-Iranian pilgrims aware of this golden opportunity and to encourage them to make the best of it," the Leader told the Officials in charge of Hajj affairs.
His Eminence described Hajj as an opportunity for the Islamic Ummah and added: "The Islamic Ummah is in danger of division due to the large number of ethnicities, races, cultures, and tendencies which make up the Muslim world. Moreover, this danger is threatening us due to conventional differences that have been imposed on Muslims. Hajj provides Muslims with a great opportunity to resolve these differences."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that Islamic unity provides the Islamic Ummah with a great privilege and added: "Muslims must always be vigilant so that this opportunity for unity is not used to provide an opportunity for division."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic is a powerful but oppressed government. He added: "Hajj is an appropriate opportunity to express the exquisite realities that the Islamic Republic has been trying to promote. The Islamic Republic has been oppressed due to a variety of intellectual and political lies and accusations. Hajj must be used as an opportunity to clarify the principles of the Islamic Republic and the realities related to it."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that Iranian Shia and Sunni are living peacefully under the Islamic Republic, the Quran, and Sharia. He added: "In Muslim countries and in different parts of the world, the hearts of Muslims are filled with affection for the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini (r.a.), and the Iranian nation. However, the enemies are trying to accuse our government of being hostile towards different Islamic denominations. These lies have to be revealed to all Muslims."
His Eminence touched upon the frustration of the Muslims living across the world and their hatred towards the enmity and interference of the arrogant powers, especially the US, and added: "Due to different reasons, most Muslims are currently deprived of expressing their dissatisfaction. But the Islamic Republic of Iran is a large, independent, globally active beacon which speaks to and from the hearts of all Muslims. That is the reason behind the enmity of the US towards our government."
Elsewhere in his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution touched upon the efforts on the part of certain individuals to create doubt and psychological turbulence in society and added: "The Iranian nation is faithful, sincere, and determined, a nation that helped this great Revolution to achieve victory. For thirty years, the Iranian nation used all its strength to defend the Islamic Republic. The achievements of the Islamic Republic have not been accomplished easily. Therefore, nobody is allowed to raise doubts about the basic principles of the Islamic Republic due to certain personal motives and enmity towards the administration."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the current atmosphere prevailing in the national press and reiterated: "This unprincipled atmosphere in which different objections are made against the administration is not something that Allah will pass over easily."
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that divine blessings will benefit people only as long as they pay close attention to their speech and behavior.
"Some types of oppression create such serious problems that the consequences plague all people - including those who oppress and those who do not. Therefore, everybody must pay close attention to their activities and their expression of views," His Eminence told the audience.