The following is the full text of the speech delivered in a meeting with the members of the Assembly of Experts on September 24, 2009. The Assembly of Experts, which is currently headed by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, is charged with the duty of electing and supervising the Leader.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome the esteemed brothers, the pious members of the Assembly of Experts. I am grateful to you for your efforts during the past two days and the fruitful meetings you held. I would like to thank the honorable head of the Assembly of Experts [Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani] for his speech. I would also like to thank Mr. Shahroudi for his informative and detailed statements.
First of all, I extend my condolences to the Kurdish people of our country and our Sunni brothers over the martyrdom of Sheikholeslam Mamousta. I also extend my condolences to all those who are concerned about the future of the country and our national unity. The martyrdom of this scholar was indeed a great loss for me as well as Kurdistan province. There is no doubt that this crime was planned from outside our borders. Undoubtedly, these crimes were carried out by the intelligence agencies established in occupied Iraqi territories and in Iraqi Kurdistan. They are the masterminds behind these crimes. Of course the martyrdom of Sheikholeslam Mamousta was indeed a great loss, but there is no doubt that the enemies will not achieve what they have planned.
Terrorism has never been successful in dealing any blows to the Revolution. On the contrary, wherever the enemy shed the blood of some innocent people, a larger group of people started to advocate their cause. The same thing is going to happen this time as well. Undoubtedly, young Sunni seminarians and ulama as well as Kurdish people - living in Kurdistan and other places - will tread the path of this martyr more enthusiastically than before. I was familiar with this brother's role in Kurdistan province. He used to promote unity and the ideology of the Islamic Republic. He was sincerely and seriously committed to the principles of the Islamic Republic. And his attitude will undoubtedly be promoted among his followers and the young seminarians of Kurdistan province. The enemy should know that this brutal crime will not get them anywhere and will not help them achieve their goals. And everybody should know that the enemy does not discriminate between Shia, Sunni, Kurds, Persians, Turks, and Baluchis. Anyone who advocates unity and is committed to the principles of the Islamic Republic will be the focus of the enemy's hostility and spite - no matter who he is, what religion he follows, and what his ethnic background is.
The second point that I would like to discuss is that the Assembly of Experts enjoys a unique advantage: The Assembly of Experts deals with public and national concerns, especially the ones related to Islam and the Revolution. Thankfully, partisan orientations have had no effect on the Assembly of Experts so far. And by Allah's favor, these orientations will not affect their activities in the future either. This characteristic is the source of dignity and importance in the eye of the public. As a result, you can see that the enemy's hostility towards the Assembly of Experts is more severe, and at every stage, they show this enmity in one way or another. The people will feel assured when they see that their representatives in the Assembly of Experts - who are all faithful individuals and are famous for their piety - are concerned with major issues of religious and national importance. Personal preferences and partisan orientations have no effect on their statements and decisions. That is a very important point. There may be different opinions and tastes, but the Assembly of Experts works to safeguard the principles and values. And hopefully, this attitude will be preserved.
The next point I would like to discuss with the esteemed brothers is that the Islamic Republic has faced opposition for thirty years. This opposition is not something new. Their opposition has just changed its form once in a while, but they have always continued their hostility. And our internal situation has been the factor determining the severity of their opposition. Whenever they felt they could play a role, they tried to deal us a blow. The Revolution has resisted these blows during the past thirty years. It has not been weakened by these blows. On the contrary, the Islamic Republic has thankfully grown more powerful on a daily basis. However, the enemy's plots grew more complicated as the Islamic Republic strengthened itself and made more complex achievements. We should pay attention to this point. Although we have thirty years of experience in facing the challenges they have imposed on us, we should keep it in mind that - as our friend said today - the enemy is alert. "And when you fall asleep, the enemy will not fall asleep." The reports I have received about the strategic political and security centers of the world show that great, well-funded organizations have focused their efforts on the Islamic Republic. Their ulterior motives are obvious to you and I. They are working hard. They hatch a new plot each and every day. They present the Islamic Republic with a new problem each day. And they will continue their efforts until they lose hope. They will continue their plots until the Islamic Republic achieves certain levels of progress in political, economic, security, scientific, and moral areas. When we achieve these levels of progress, the enemy will naturally lose its hope and will completely accept the reality. Anyway, today the enemy's plots are complicated.
We should clearly identify different aspects of this plot and help others identify them as well. That is our duty. Today a military attack against us is unlikely. I am not saying that there is no possibility of a military threat - this threat is just unlikely. However, the kind of war that they have waged on us is not less dangerous than a military attack, and it does not require less vigilance, if not more. In a military confrontation, the enemy goes for the strongholds on the borders. It tries to destroy centers of resistance along the borders. In a psychological warfare and in what is known as "soft war" in the world, the enemy tries to destroy the spiritual strongholds. It goes for the faith, determination, and the main foundations of the opponent. In a soft war, the enemy tries to destroy these elements and presents the strong points of its opponent as weak points in its propaganda. It tries to turn the opportunities of a government into threats. These are what they are currently doing, and they are experienced. They are also diligently making use of their numerous facilities. In order to succeed, we should identify the enemy and the aspects of its enmity. Of course we will undoubtedly receive divine assistance in our battle. That is what we can see now. However, we will not enjoy divine assistance if we fail to take the necessary measures and fight vigilantly.
As is obvious in their propaganda, the enemies of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic are following several courses of action. These strategies are not concealed. We should summarize them for ourselves.
One course of action that they are following is to distort the signs of hope. The presidential election was a case in point. The 85 percent turnout rate is promising and important. As I have pointed out elsewhere, the fact that so many people voted for the government - which has emerged out of a revolution - after the passage of thirty years does not signify anything other than their trust in their government and their commitment to it. Such a large number of votes were unprecedented in our presidential elections. That is a very important strong point. They tried to turn this strong point into a weak point. They tried to turn this source of hope into a source of despair for the country. That shows their hostility. There are many sources of hope in the country. The infrastructures of the country are very strong today. Many achievements have been made during the past years, and the country is ready for a quantum leap now. Our scientific advances are so prominent that even foreign scientists - who do not have a political axe to grind - acknowledge their importance. You saw one instance of this progress on TV last night. Regarding our stem cell research, they admitted that they cannot believe Iran has achieved so much progress. Someone said that he had attended last year's stem cell conference as well and that there was a lot of progress this year. That is one of the instances of our progress. Tens of similar scientific advances have been made in the country. These are sources of hope.
Our thirty-year experience and our dynamic and educated young generation are other strong points and sources of hope. The educated young generation is a source of hope, a generation of youth who have self-confidence and feel they can push the country forward. We have the Twenty-Year Strategic Plan which has determined the path of our scientific progress up to the year 1404. That is very important. We specified what we want to achieve and what course of action we should follow. These are strong points - our sources of hope. They are trying to turn them into sources of despair. When they talk about the Twenty-Year Strategic plan, they say it has practically been ignored. When they discuss our scientific advances, they say these advances are not very important. When they talk about our elections, they create doubts. When they talk about our youth, they just discuss the offences committed by a few youth in a certain corner of the country. That is to say, they try to dismiss all these strong points and all these promising achievements as unimportant. They also magnify our weak points. They blow these weak points out of all proportion. They promote a mood of pessimism about the Islamic Republic. As you see, they want to force-feed our society with despair.
When a society is infused with despair, it will lose its dynamism. Innovative, intellectual, young, and dynamic individuals will be isolated and sidelined. They will not feel motivated to make efforts. Social participation will be reduced, and the society will lose its dynamism. This is one of the courses of action the enemy is following. They constantly infuse the people with the feeling that they are moving up a blind alley. Take the propaganda broadcast by foreign radio stations - of course radio stations are not the only means of their propaganda today. There was a time when we had to deal with only a number of radio stations. But today there are thousands of radio stations, TV channels, and websites. They are constantly infusing our people with the feeling that they are moving up a blind alley, that they are in a crisis, and that the conditions are extremely bad. They are working hard to attract and convince as many viewers, listeners, and readers as possible. This is one of the courses of action the enemy is following.
Another course of action the enemy is following is to foment discord, which you appropriately emphasized in your reports. The issue of discord was also stressed in the final statement issued by the Assembly of Experts. National unity and the efforts that are being made to foment discord among our people are of paramount importance. We can see the signs of national unity among our people. You saw the impressive presence of the people in Friday prayers during the month of Ramadan and in Eid ul-Fitr and Quds Day prayers. When you look at public presence - not only in Tehran, but also in Mashhad, Isfahan, Kerman, Tabriz, and other parts of the country - you can see unparalleled events. Maybe such impressive Eid ul-Fitr prayers - nationwide participation - have not been observed elsewhere throughout the history of Islam.
We enjoy these advantages today. These are all signs of unity, signs of public unanimity. They show that there is a common center that all the people rely on despite the minor disagreements regarding secondary issues. They all have an emotional tendency towards this center - that is, religion, Islamic principles, and lofty values. This is very important. Everybody should feel humble when they see this unity. Unfortunately, we can see that some people have taken the opposite position and are promoting discord because of being ignorant and unaware. Their behavior really signifies ignorance more than any other thing. The issue of forming unity - religious, ethnic, and political unity - is extremely important. We should try our best. Fomenting discord is one of the courses of action that the enemy is following. They try to foment discord - among different groups of people, including government officials, ordinary citizens, clergymen, academics, and other groups of people - wherever they can. You can see many of the instances in our society today.
The next point that I would like to discuss here is the enemy's efforts to divert public attention away from its enmity. I believe this is another course of action that the enemy is investing on. I never deny the fact that there are individual and social flaws in our society and that various shortcomings and problems are in the way of our society and our people. There is no doubt that such shortcomings and problems exist in our society. Nobody would deny these things. They are obvious. "Whatever good befalls you (O man), it is from God, and whatever misfortune befalls you, it is from yourself." [The Holy Quran, 4: 79]. Even the serious blows that the enemy deals us are caused by ourselves. There is no doubt about that. In the Battle of Uhud, when the enemy launched an attack on Muslims and dealt them a blow, it was in fact the Muslims who inflicted the blow on themselves. There is no doubt about that.
However, the point is that if you want to avoid receiving blows, you should identify the role of the enemy. One of the requirements of avoiding blows is to realize that the enemy wants to deal us a blow. We should not allow them to divert our attention away from this. One course of action that the enemy follows in its propaganda is to deceive our people, especially our elites. Of course they use different strategies to achieve this goal. As soon as someone mentions the existence of enemies, they say, "You keep pinning all the blame on the enemy!" The enemies do exist. Why do we fail to see them? Why do we fail to notice the great delight the enemies feel when something bad happens to us? Why do we fail to notice their great delight at our post-election turmoil? They provoke the perpetrators. The head of a large country mentions the names of certain individuals. Does this mean anything other than causing enmity? He mentions the names of the opponents of the Islamic Republic and praises them. He says he is surprised by a certain individual's courage. Why? That is because they were delighted by what that particular individual said. We should try to see these things. We should understand these things. We should not be unaware of the enemy's enmity.
Of course the enemy's enmity is not surprising. It is our lack of vigilance that would be surprising. The English government, with its 200-year black record of presence in our country, is now claiming to support the Iranian nation! It is not possible to find even one single occasion on which the English government did something for the Iranian nation. Its presence and its relations with our country only brought about great losses for us. The American government is claiming that it supports the Iranian nation! They want to say that they are opposed to the Islamic Republic, but that they love the people of Iran. The people are part of the Islamic Republic. Our government is not separable from the people. These are the plots hatched by the enemy. We should identify these machinations and try to understand them. Of course the enemy will naturally continue its enmity, but it is not acceptable if we fail to notice its enmity. Sometimes we are only a piece in the jigsaw puzzle made by the enemy, and this is totally unacceptable. We should not act like a piece in its puzzle. The enemy has constructed a crossword puzzle in order to identify a pattern and read something into it. We should take care not to act as some letters in this crossword puzzle. That is the point. We should not help the enemy complete its puzzle. We should see what the enemy is trying to do. We should try to identify its goals and recognize its presence.
Today media propaganda is the most effective international weapon used by the enemy against its opponents. Propaganda is the most effective weapon in the modern world, and it is even more dangerous than an atomic bomb. Did you not notice this weapon during the post-election turmoil? Using this weapon, the enemy was closely following the events that were happening in our country, and it was providing directions for those who wanted to make trouble. "And certainly the devils inspire their friends to contend with you." [The Holy Quran, 6: 121] The enemy was constantly providing its followers with inspiration. That shows the presence of the enemy. Is it possible for the enemy to show its presence more obviously than this?
We should have insight. The elites and political groups and movements are expected to confront these events - and the enemy's strategies - with insight. Having insight and being determined to confront the enemy would change our behavior in many ways. Then the situation would be improved. Some actions originate in our lack of insight.
The courses of action followed by the enemy - which I explained here - should be carefully considered before we do or say something. When we want to express an opinion, we should take these points into consideration. We should see whether we are helping the enemy or not. I believe this is extremely important.
The fourth point is that the Islamic Republic - which came into being as a result of the Islamic Revolution - has two aspects: The Islamic aspect and the republican aspect. The Islamic Republic is both Islamic and republican. It is republican because it is Islamic - because Islam is a religion for society. Religion is a duty that should be shouldered by everyone. Islam is not just restricted to individuals. It applies to individuals in society. Islam is a religion that is based on the people and public commitment. Therefore, the republican aspect is the result of being Islamic. Our government has an Islamic aspect too because Allah the Exalted says, "They assume they are doing you a favor by becoming Muslims. Say: Your becoming Muslims is not a favor to me. Rather, God did you a favor by guiding you to the faith if you are truthful." [The Holy Quran, 49: 17] Allah the Exalted did us a favor and guided us towards Islam. God did our people a favor. Therefore, the republican aspect of our government is in need of the Islamic aspect, and Allah the Exalted thankfully bestowed this divine religion on us. The Islamic Republic is made up of these two aspects, which should be considered together. These integrated aspects should be preserved. If either of these two aspects are undermined, the entire structure of the Islamic Republic will be weakened.
Wilayat [leadership/authority] is a matter of being committed to these two aspects - be it leadership of the infallible Imams (a.s.) or Wilayat al-Faqih [leadership of a leading Islamic jurisprudent], which is an offshoot of leadership of Imams (a.s.). Wilayat is a matter of being committed to these two aspects and preserving them in the country, a matter of guarding against diversion. And the issue of pure Islam, which was emphasized by Imam Khomeini (r.a.) in his statements, is related to the same point. That is because the Imam introduced the concept of pure Islam as opposed to American Islam. American Islam is not just the kind of Islam that America likes. Rather, anything that is outside the framework of pure Islam is American Islam. The same goes for royal Islam, eclectic Islam, capitalist Islam, socialist Islam, and various other types of Islam which lack the essential elements. They are all against pure Islam. One can see the presence of various types of Islam in the hostility that the Islamic Republic has faced during the past thirty years. In our view of Islam, society and individuals, sharia and rationality, and emotions and strictness are considered together. These elements should all be present. There is a place for strictness, emotions, sharia, and rationality - which is not of course outside the framework of sharia. They should all be viewed together. Departure from this strong structure will result in diversion from the path of the Islamic Republic.
The next point that I would like to discuss is that we need courage not only in our actions but also in our understanding. In the absence of courage, even our understanding will be flawed. Sometimes people can understand major issues, but they make a mistake when it comes to understanding minor issues. Appropriate understanding of the principles of religion - and major and minor issues - necessitates that we have courage. Being afraid of losing our wealth, life, and reputation, being passive against the enemies, and being afraid of propaganda would all impair our understanding. Sometimes people fail to understand even the major aspects of issues because of these fears and considerations. Such superficial understanding will lead to mistakes. Therefore, it is essential that we "fear none but God". "Those who deliver the messages of God and fear Him, and fear none but God. And God is sufficient to take account." [The Holy Quran, 33: 39] According to this Quranic verse, courage is a prerequisite for promoting Islam. One may be afraid of being deceived, but "God is sufficient to take account". People should leave calculations to God. If we replace our fear of others' judgment with fear of God, the problems will go away. That is because fearing God is called piety. If we replace fear of people with fear of God, then we will find the distinction promised by Allah the Exalted. "If you keep your duty to God, He will grant you a distinction." [The Holy Quran, 8: 29] This distinction is the result of piety. Clarification of the truth is due to piety. I believe this is very important.
Fearing the loss of one's wealth, life, and reputation and fearing slander are of paramount importance. This issue is so important that Allah the Exalted warned His Messenger, "When you said to him whom God had blessed and you had favored, 'Keep your wife to yourself, and fear God,' and you were concealing within yourself what God should reveal, fearing other men. And God has better right for you to fear Him." One should not be worried about slander and what people will whisper or do because "God has better right for you to fear Him". I believe Imam Khomeini's courage was one of the reasons behind his numerous achievements - his scholarly, spiritual, political, and social achievements as well as his incredible magnetism. And he was courageous because he did not fear anything. After all, those who are after fitna want to instill their awe in the hearts of our elites and replace fear of God with their own awe. That is to say, they want to appear intimidating. "Those to whom men said: Surely people have gathered against you, so fear them; but this increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and He is an excellent Guardian." [The Holy Quran, 3: 173] They are constantly saying, "People have gathered against you, so fear them." And our response is, "God is sufficient for us and He is an excellent Guardian." And the result is, "No evil touched them, and they followed the pleasure of Allah." [The Holy Quran, 3: 174] That is the result of this feeling, this understanding, and this spiritual reality. Therefore, we should have courage.
The enemy will try different machinations. And I believe our elites are currently the main target of the enemy's plots. The enemy carefully hatches plots to influence our elites and attract the people in this way. That is because our elites are influential among the people. I believe increasing our insight is one of the main duties that you and I should fulfill. We should increase our insight of different issues, and we will hopefully increase the insight of those who listen to us.
The Islamic Republic is powerful, and it is firmly established. Its foundations are extremely firm. And our people have the support of Allah the Exalted. I have constantly quoted Imam Khomeini (r.a.) as saying, "Since the beginning, when I entered this arena, I have seen or felt that a power is setting things in order." That is completely true. One can see this divine power. Of course this divine support is not reserved for us. "O you who believe, if you help Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet." [The Holy Quran, 47: 7] "And surely Allah will help him who helps Him." We should sincerely devote ourselves to this cause. Then Allah the Exalted will bestow His grace on us. That is what has happened today, and the enemy's blows have backfired - its arrow has been directed towards itself. They could not achieve anything through their plot.
Informed experts believe that the post-election turmoil was undoubtedly preplanned. If you consult anyone who is familiar with the global issues and the issues of our country, he will tell you that the turmoil was preplanned. The other day, I told Mr. Rafsanjani the same thing. He said, "There is no doubt about that." That is to say, everybody knows that these events were preplanned. The turmoil did not develop by itself. For instance, the statements were not spontaneous. No, the turmoil was preplanned, and it was being controlled from a center. They were unsuccessful. By Allah's favor, their failures will continue in the future as well. However, they are constantly hatching plots.
I would also like to add that in the atmosphere of fitna [sedition] some people misinterpreted Imam Ali's (a.s.) recommendation: "In case of sedition, be like a 2-year old camel that has neither a hump to be used for a ride nor a breast to be milked." They thought it means they should keep a low profile in case of sedition. Imam Ali's recommendation does not at all suggest such a thing. It means that we should not allow the agents of sedition to take advantage of us in any way. We should stay vigilant.
In the Battle of Saffin, Ammar was constantly making speeches to Imam Ali's troops because there was sedition. Two groups of Muslims had deployed their troops against one another. That was great sedition. Some people were in doubt. Ammar was constantly clarifying the reality to the troops. As is recorded in history, he talked to different groups of people. On the other hand, some people went to Imam Ali and told him, "Commander of the Faithful, we are doubtful about this battle." They were in doubt. In order to avoid fighting in that battle, they asked him to send them to the borders. By being passive, they showed they were prepared to "give a ride" and "be milked". Sometimes staying silent and keeping a low profile would promote sedition. In case of sedition, all people should clarify the reality - everybody should have insight. I hope Allah the Exalted will help us do what we say and what we plan to do. I hope He will make us successful.
As for the point that was raised by Mr. Shahroudi, I believe the members of the Assembly of Experts should not declare that there is someone among them with an opposing view. I think this is not an appropriate thing to do. Of course I do not want to dictate anything to the Assembly of Experts. Neither do I want to tell them what to do. Someone may have a different opinion about something. But I do not think there is any disagreement in the basic principles.
As for the exact day of Eid ul-Fitr, I think it is not possible to have all ulama believe that a particular day should be declared as Eid. I mean this is impossible according to the principles of fiqh. It is not possible to have all religious jurisprudents agree on a certain fatwa. After all, there may be a faqih with a different opinion. Therefore, disagreements are natural. However, we should not magnify these disagreements. A certain faqih - who may or may not have followers - may issue a different fatwa and act on the basis of his fatwa. Why is that so important? What is wrong with this? Of course you saw this year that, like previous years, although some of the esteemed marja taqlids had a different opinion, they did not protest. That is a very important point, and we should appreciate it. We did not hold Eid ul-Fitr prayers on two different days. That is very important. I believe our dignitaries are strongly committed to the interests of the Islamic Republic and its principles. One can see these things, and we should deeply appreciate this commitment. I would like to thank the marja taqlids whose fatwa was different from mine, but who did not protest. That is very important. Of course the enemy may say something and magnify the problem. It may try to cause uproar about this disagreement. But we are not supposed to dance to the enemy's tune. I hope Allah the Exalted will make us all successful.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings