The following is the full text of the speech delivered on April 28, 2010 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a large group of laborers in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Laborers' Week does not just belong to our esteemed laborers - it belongs to all Iranians. This is because the working class is in fact one of the leaders of the public efforts to built the future of the country. What Islam says about laborers - in the general sense of the word - is not simply a ceremonial gesture to make them feel happy. The fact that the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) bowed to kiss the hand of a laborer cannot be interpreted as a ceremonial gesture. That was an effort to create a cultural norm. That was a lesson which was intended to make the Islamic Ummah appreciate laborers and their efforts throughout history. And that is how I think of the working class. Skilled and unskilled laborers, engineers, designers, and all those who are active in production sectors deserve this Islamic respect.
The material demands of laborers should be properly addressed, and everybody has a duty to respond to and satisfy these legitimate demands. However, there is a spiritual demand as well. That is, laborers should receive respect and appreciation for their efforts. It should be realized labor is a kind of jihad. This is an important point. When working at production lines, on a farm, or anywhere else where something is produced, laborers should feel and know that they are engaged in a great, important, and valuable task. That is the Islamic view of labor, and it is my heartfelt belief. There is a great difference between this view of labor and materialistic views, including those of the capitalist and socialist camps where laborers are viewed as tools. Today in the capitalist world some laborers are well-off in terms of their material wealth. Of course this is not generally the case - only some laborers are financially well-off. But even those well-off laborers are viewed as tools by the employers and policy-makers. Laborers are like nuts and bolts to them - they are valuable as long as they can be used to make money. There is a great difference between this view of labor and the view that considers laborers as mujahids fighting on the path of God. The latter view considers labor to be worthy of a divine reward as well as material compensation. These two views are far removed. It is necessary to adopt the Islamic view. This is the genuine need in this regard.
In the Islamic Republic the working class has emerged victorious out of different tests since the beginning of the Revolution. During the Sacred Defense Era everybody was witness to the presence of laborers from agricultural, industrial, and service sectors of the country and from urban and rural areas. Everybody was witness to their presence on military and logistic fronts. Everybody saw that our laborers played a role during the 8 years of defense. Apart from this, since the Revolution laborers have been among the most successful people in the Islamic Republic in different tests.
As you know, the working class and the slogans that are prepared for this social class throughout the world have always been used as a lever to pressure governments. Since the beginning of the Revolution, some enemies tried to deploy the working class against the Islamic Republic. On Bahman 20-22, 1357, I visited one of the factories on Karaj Highway several times because I had received some troubling news. I received the news from the laborers who were working for the factory. They told me that some people who were tied to Marxist groups had gathered in the factory and were planning to use that place as their base. There were many factories on Karaj Highway, and a huge number of laborers used to work there.
They were planning to assemble the laborers there and rally towards Imam Khomeini's (r.a.) residence. They thought they could take control of the situation in this way. I decided to go there. There were about 300-400 laborers who used to work for that factory. Around 700-800 people had gathered in a hall there. That is to say, there were other people who were not working for the factory. For several days I went to that factory early in the morning and came back late in the evening. One day I stood at a podium and spoke to them for nearly 7 hours! One of them came up and started reasoning and shouting slogans. I responded to his reasoning and tried to convince him.
Eventually, the laborers themselves forced those disruptive elements to leave the factory. Ever since that day inventing political slogans and using laborers as political levers against the Islamic Republic have been among the plots of the enemies of Islam and the Islamic Republic. For 30 years they have been trying to use such levers against the Islamic Republic, and our laborers have made them disappointed each time. That is how I think of our working class. This shows the close relationship between our working class and the Islamic Republic, a relationship that is based on religious faith and the firm foundations on which the Islamic Republic has been established. Therefore, our country will continue its movement towards production on the basis of labor - including labor and management. And they cannot create any problems in this regard.
Let us have a look at the nature of this matter. First and foremost, the material progress of the country is based on two factors. The first factor is knowledge, and production is the second factor. Production will be thwarted in the absence of knowledge. A country can make progress only if it has access to knowledge. If knowledge is available, but production is not based on this knowledge, the country will make no progress. During the reign of taghut the problem was that we did not have knowledge, and our production was not knowledge-based and thriving. The world managed to make progress only when it entered the industrial arena. Asia, which entered this arena later than Europe, also managed to make progress. But due to the reign of taghut and different other factors, we fell behind. If we are determined to compensate for this backwardness, we must pay attention to knowledge and production. We want to make up for the backwardness, and our nation has started its movement and has made considerable progress already. We must pursue knowledge and production in research centers through modern methods. I have repeatedly emphasized the issue of knowledge for several years, and scientific progress and generation of knowledge are thankfully well under way in the country. Of course this process should be accelerated. There is a long way to go.
Production is the second factor. Both in industrial and agricultural areas, production is of primary importance. A country that fails to engage in production will inevitably become dependant. Even if all the oil and gas resources of the world were ours, they would not be of much use to us. As you know, there are some countries that are very rich in terms of their mineral and natural resources - including energy resources as well as precious and rare metals - but they are living an absolutely miserable life in abject poverty. Production must be stepped up in the country, especially knowledge-based production - production that is based on knowledge and scientific findings. This is in the hands of labor and management. And the government has a duty to organize labor and management. The policies outlined in Article 44 of the Constitution - which were announced to our governmental and legislative organizations several years ago - can play a role in this regard, but they have to be extremely careful.
Human beings are wonderful creatures. Sometimes even worship and midnight prayers can be used by Satan to deceive man. All noble thoughts and well-intentioned ideas can create a weak point and an advantage for Satan. The policies outlined in Article 44 of the Constitution are very good. It is necessary to implement all of them, but government officials should be careful not to let them become a satanic trap. These policies may give rise to some weak points which may be utilized by Satan. I have repeatedly said that some opportunistic people - law experts who break the law and those who know how to deceive government officials and ordinary citizens alike - buy factories and then shut them down under various pretexts just to pocket billions later on by selling the production equipment and the land. These things have been going on for a long time. Government officials must be very careful.
The next point that I would like to discuss is the relationship between labor and management. Both of the views that are common in the modern world - that is, socialist and capitalist views of labor - are wrong. From a socialist point of view, labor and management are considered enemies of one another. Labor and management are two enemies that are thirsty for one another's blood. This was how they interpreted the relationship. And the solution they suggested - that is to say, state ownership of all production resources and tools - was also problematic and wrong. Their solution resulted in that disgrace in just a few decades. The socialist view that considers labor and management as enemies is one view of labor. According to another view, which is completely western, management is considered to be in full control of labor, and labor is seen as a simple tool in the hands of management. This latter view is an insult to laborers' human dignity, and it is absolutely wrong. Both views of labor are wrong.
Islam has a different view of labor. From an Islamic point of view, the relationship between labor and management is one of cooperation. Labor and management are two elements that produce results when they work in conjunction. Contrary to the Marxist view according to which everything is based on opposition, the Islamic view of labor is one of compassion and cooperation. Thankfully, the Marxist view has disappeared from the philosophical schools of thought in the world. Instead of working against one another in order to produce a third element, labor and management should work in conjunction to achieve the same result. This is the Islamic view, which is in line with the laws of nature. This is true of everything else in the world, including natural phenomena as well as political, historical, and economic matters. In contrast with the Marxist view which is based on opposition, the Islamic view is generally based on compassion, cooperation, and common goals. This is true of labor and management as well - labor and management are seen as two elements that have to work shoulder to shoulder in order to give rise to production.
Labor cannot achieve anything without management. Similarly, management is incapable of achieving anything in the absence of labor. When these two elements work in conjunction and base their relationship on healthy human and moral values, then the ground will be prepared for boosting production. In addition to material progress, there will be spirituality as well. That is our view of labor and management. Our view is not like that of the leftist movement which rejects management. Unlike the rightist movement, we do not believe management should have absolute authority either. Management can be an honorable element. When management engages in genuine cooperation, it becomes truly honorable - it becomes an honorable element that should work in conjunction with another honorable element. Labor and management should move ahead shoulder to shoulder on the basis of a relationship defined according to human and Islamic values. This is the foundation. Everybody must channel their efforts in this direction. Policy-makers, politicians, and executive officials should all move in this direction. Labor and management should make efforts in a truly sincere manner in order to help the country make progress as a result of their work.
My dear people, we have fallen behind. Of course we have made a lot of progress compared to the time of taghut. During the reign of taghut, we had to depend on foreigners even for the smallest elements of production and machinery. And the factories that had been built in the country were used to assemble products imported in parts, and they were purely dependant on foreigners. We did not know how to design or develop what we needed. Neither did we know how to identify the necessary elements. We had to borrow everything from foreigners. We had to beg them. We had to give them our oil. We had to give up our dignity and political power. We had to tolerate their hegemony in order to get what we wanted. Today the Iranian nation is exporting technical services. Today your country is one of the most advanced and prominent countries in the field of manufacturing dams and power plants. This situation is not comparable to our situation before the Revolution. There is currently a demand in many countries for what you are doing - including your industrial activities and technical services. You are in the process of establishing production lines in many countries of the world.
These things were scoffed at during the reign of taghut. At that time it would be absurd if you said our country had to go and establish production lines in a highly populated, wealthy, and oil-rich country. Industrial production and other such things were rejected as absurd. But today we have already achieved these things. Therefore, we have made a lot of progress compared with the past. But we have fallen behind compared with what the Iranian nation and its historical legacy deserve and the position our country deserves among the countries of the world. We need to make progress. There are a lot of things to be done. That was why I named this year as "The Year of Intensified Effort and Labor ". Our efforts should not just be focused on removing the immediate obstacles from our path - this is not a great achievement. We must focus our efforts on reaching the peaks. That is the meaning of "intensified labor". This will not be easy. It is not possible to achieve these things through talking or praising. These things can be achieved only if we enter the arena of action and innovation in a serious manner.
Our laborers, engineers, designers, researchers, management, sponsors, government officials, and everybody else should make intensified efforts. They have to increase their efforts by several times, and it is possible to do so. My dear people, our capabilities are far beyond our current performance. Sometimes one may be asked to do something that is beyond one's capabilities. This would not be a wise demand. However, when you see someone who looks well-built and strong enough to become a world-class wrestler or gymnast, you may reasonably ask him to give it a try. This is different from asking the same thing of a physically weak person who has no chance of becoming a good wrestler or gymnast even if he spends 20 years on it. The Iranian nation is like a talented and well-built youth who can become a world-renowned champion if he tries hard enough. The Iranian nation is like that, and it has proven this. These are not just empty claims. These realities are based on objective findings. And the experience of the past 30 years made it completely clear that the Iranian nation is capable of achieving these things.
A nation that was helped by no one, a nation that was refused industrial products and technological advances managed to manufacture the second, third, and fourth generation centrifuges. All the countries that enjoy nuclear power and technology were left astonished. They were asking themselves, "Who did they learn these things from?" They suddenly realized that a nation which was not being helped in biological sciences had managed to clone animals from stem cells. How many countries have access to this kind of technology in the world? There are only 7-9 countries. Among all those countries that make extravagant claims regarding their stem cell technology, the Iranian nation suddenly managed to jump to the 8th position in the world. What does this suggest? Is it not indicative of extraordinary talents of our people? During the early days of the war we did not know what an RPG-7 was. It is a small rocket, and our war veterans have seen and used it several times. We did not have RPG-7s. Neither did we know how to manufacture it. It was not among our official weaponry. After the passage of many years, we are now capable of producing missiles like Sejjil as well as space rockets despite being under sanctions. And the world just watches us in astonishment. First, they rejected it. They said that we were lying, and that we did not have the capability. But then they realized that we were telling the truth. The same is true of all other areas. What do these things mean? They mean that our youth are highly talented, and that our nation has great potentials. This manpower is highly valuable, and we need to make use of it. Yes, we can. "Intensified labor" means that we should realize these potentials.
The world that has deployed its forces against Iran is the world of arrogance. It is the world that is speaking to us through clenched teeth, the world that parades its bloody claws, the world that tries to create problems whenever it can. It is the world that is under full control of oppressive capitalism. They cannot tolerate our achievements because our achievements go against their rules. Therefore, they oppose it. And you have seen their enmity during the past thirty years. Everybody has seen a lot of their enmity and spite. They could not do anything, and I assure you that they will not be able to do anything in the future either.
We are relying on divine grace and blessings. We are relying on the religious faith that lies in the heart of each and every Iranian. When one relies on these things and makes serious efforts, one becomes a manifestation of "those who believe and do good deeds" [a phrase frequently repeated in the Holy Quran]. You have faith and engage in good deeds. In the Holy Quran, faithful people who engage in good deeds have been promised numerous rewards - success in this world, salvation in the hereafter, closeness to Allah the Exalted, honor, and dignity. These are all the result of faith and good deeds. We should continue treading this path.
May God bestow His grace and blessings on our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) who showed this path to us. He was the one who encouraged us to tread this path. He was the one who helped us. He awakened us and encouraged us to enter this arena. The more progress our nation makes, the more Allah the Exalted will increase his virtues. Allah's grace and greetings be upon our martyrs, mujahids, those who made sacrifices on this path, and those who laid down their lives and entered the arena. God's grace be upon those who were martyred or disabled and their families. May God bestow His blessings on our war veterans who stayed alive and served our nation. May He reward them all. I hope all of you will benefit from God's blessings and the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake).
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings