First, I would like to express my warm welcome to all the dear guests from other countries as well as all the dear brothers and sisters from the different cities of our country who have come here to attend the commemorative ceremony marking the 10th demise anniversary of our late magnanimous Imam.
The point that should be stressed is that holding ceremonies in commemoration of the late Imam is aimed at putting emphasis on the example that the late Imam set to the Iranian nation and also to all other Muslims across the world through his Islamic movement and revolution, through his behavior and lifestyle and through his last will and testament.
Imam Khomeini is always present in our minds and in our everyday life as a model, as a teacher and as a leader. He is not present physically, but his thoughts, his guidelines and his teachings are always present. His thoughts and teachings are what our nation and other Muslim nations need. His guidelines were needed yesterday, and they are also needed today.
Therefore, the Imam's Line and teachings are alive and will continue to live. If we try to sum up the late Imam's thoughts and guidelines, we will find that the gist of his teachings is the need for Muslim nations to return to pure Islam.
Islam aims to confer honor and dignity on Muslims and bring about their independence and freedom, freedom from dictatorial and despotic powers, freedom from superstition and ignorance, freedom from prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and freedom from the noose of the economic power and political pressure of the arrogant powers.
Islam also seeks to bring about welfare, prosperity and economic development based on and accompanied by social justice. In other words, Islam does not seek the kind of economic development that widens the gap between different levels of society.
Therefore, Islam disapproves of the Western model of economic development, which brings about economic growth and increases the wealth of certain levels of society at the cost of impoverishing and lowering the living standards of other social strata. What Islam pursues is economic development and prosperity for all social strata based on social justice.
Today, the main afflictions of Muslim nations are lack of independence and freedom as well as scientific, economic and industrial backwardness. Indeed, these afflictions mostly stem from the domination, interference and influence of the arrogant powers, which are plundering the national wealth and natural resources of Islamic countries, thus keeping Muslim nations in a backward and underdeveloped condition.
However, if Muslim nations return to pure Islam and observe and enforce the divine law in their societies, they will be to restore their independence and freedom and eliminate these afflictions
Repudiating and refusing to associate with the enemies of Islam was our magnanimous Imam's message to Muslim nations. The Iranian people got the message and freed themselves from the yoke of the arrogant powers, restored their national honor and dignity and made great strides toward development.
We do not intend to say that we have managed to establish a perfect Islamic system in our country, but we can definitely say that we have made considerable strides in this direction, and that we are determined to continue our efforts until we accomplish this objective.
The Iranian people and the officials of the Islamic Republic highly value the late Imam's guidelines, regarding them as their beacon of guidance. Thank God, the Iranian officials, including the senior executives and those in charge of domestic and foreign affairs, strongly adhere to the Imam's Line. They perform their duties based on and in accordance with the guidelines of the founder of the Islamic Republic.
We are following the same line that was delineated and the same policies that were drawn up by our beneficent Imam. These policies, which had been inspired by the Islamic principles and Qur'anic teachings, formed the cornerstone of the Islamic movement and revolution.
We believe that that our problems could be solved by following this line and by implementing these policies, contrary to what the enemies of Islam are trying to inculcate.
The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran reflected dignity on all Muslim nations, and they welcomed this Islamic revival and felt proud of their Islamic identity. They also realized that Islam, which is a precious gem belonging to all Muslims, is capable of solving their problems and bringing about their independence and prosperity.
Consequently, a wave of Islamic awakening swept through the Islamic world, but it also alarmed the arrogant powers and the enemies of Islam and provoked their hostilities. These powers are now hatching all kinds of plots and machinations to suppress this wave of Islamic awakening.
The current plots and negative propaganda of the arrogant powers against the Islamic Republic, which have been motivated by the Iranian nation's adherence to Islam and Qur'anic teachings, are aimed at both tarnishing the image of Islam and weakening the resistance of the Iranian nation.
The fact is that the arrogant powers have received serious blows over the past two decades from the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation's adherence to Islam. Therefore, they are now trying to take revenge on the Iranian people by diverting them from their Islamic and revolutionary path.
However, the Iranians are strongly resisting all these plots and pressure, and they would never forgo their Islamic and revolutionary ideals in the face of the threats posed by the arrogant powers. The Iranian nation is determined to follow its Islamic and revolutionary path and set an example to other nations, particularly the Muslim nations.
Indeed, any success that is achieved by the Iranian nation will reflect honor and credit on the whole Muslim ummah. Likewise, any harm that is inflicted by the enemies on our Islamic system will harm the interests of the whole Islamic world. This point is very clearly understood by the vigilant Muslims throughout the world, who are cognizant of the plots of the enemies against Islam and Muslim nations.
We can see a bright and promising future for the Iranian nation and also for the whole Muslim ummah. Today, the young generation all over the Islamic world is expressing a strong feeling of attachment and devotion to Islam. By the grace of Almighty Allah, this feeling will become deeper and stronger as time goes on.
God willing, in the not too distant future, we will witness the full-scale progress and development of Islamic countries.
I pray to Almighty Allah to confer more honor, dignity and power on Islam and the Muslim ummah.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings