The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 7, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and ambassadors of Islamic countries. The meeting was held on the occasion of Mab'ath.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌
I would like to congratulate you dear audience and dear guests, the ambassadors of Muslim countries, who are present in this meeting, and all the people of Iran - who have followed the path of that great Prophet (s.w.a.) in a pure and sincere way and who continue to follow his path with jihad and self-sacrifice - on this great Eid. I would like to extend my congratulations to the entire Islamic Ummah and all the liberated people throughout the world. Perhaps we can say that this Eid is the greatest Eid and the sweetest memory throughout history for all Muslims and for all of humanity.
On the issue of the eve of be'that, it has been narrated that the sky did not cast its shadow on such a night. That is to say, no night throughout history was like the night of be'that. The day after that, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was entrusted, by order of God, with this greatest and most enduring mission throughout history. Be'that was a great and difficult task. The greatness of all tasks depends on the problems and hardships that occur in the middle of the way. Naturally, small tasks and insignificant measures involve minor problems and great tasks involve great problems and challenges.
During the auspicious life of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) - whether when he was in Mecca or when he was in Medina - there were constant and various interferences against this divine invitation. This is not particular to our Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). All prophets and all missions were faced with such confrontations. Of course, for our Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), these confrontations were heavier, more serious and more comprehensive: "And thus did We make for every prophet an enemy, the shaitans from among men and jinn, some of them suggesting to others varnished falsehood to deceive (them)" [the Holy Quran, 6: 112].
"The shaitans from among men and jinn" help one another against the divine invitation and against the path of human happiness: "To such (deceit) let the hearts of those incline, who have no faith in the hereafter: let them delight in it, and let them earn from it what they may" [The Holy Quran, 6: 113]. That is to say, ignorant and simple-minded people, who have no wisdom and no insight, accept these hostile calls and these oppositions against the divine invitation and against prophets. This began since the era of the emergence of be'that and the divine message and it continued, in different forms, until the end of the auspicious life of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). After the demise of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) too, this opposition continued to prevail until the present era. Wherever there is invitation to the Truth, there is the opposition of shaitans as well. Wherever there is the path of prophets, there is opposition to this path as well.
Of course, history moves towards the Truth. If you look at general patterns in history, you will see that the call of prophets is becoming more comprehensive and more enduring today and it is getting closer to the minds and hearts of the people on a daily basis. Although shaitans are active, the world is moving towards the Truth and this can be seen today. There are always people who understand the truth. Divine teachings, divine truths and divine ethics are promoted, in different forms, in all societies. Of course, oppositions exist in different forms today as well.
After worldly and materialistic invitations - whether the invitation of Marxism, which one day had attracted the attention of the world, or the invitation of the so-called humanist and liberal schools which have dominated civilizations in many parts of the world - showed that they cannot help humanity achieve happiness, the hearts of people have turned to Islam today. Wherever the call of justice rises, it is the call of Islam, although the people who raise this call do not know where it comes from. Wherever the call of human dignity rises, it is the call of Islam and the call of divine religions. Of course, these calls are centered around Islam and faith and they come from any place where the Holy Quran is believed in. Naturally, the enemies of Islam and the Holy Quran show more enmity towards such places. Today, you can see this.
Throughout the world, all policies are formulated by those sick and evil individuals who behave towards the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) in a disrespectful way. One cannot believe that the issue of insulting Islam and showing hostility to Islam and Muslims is being promoted without the support of intelligence services and without the money of global powers. Today, you can see some examples of this. This is fighting against Islam. Of course, they find an excuse to do this. Sometimes, we Muslims show certain deviations and biases and sometimes, we do certain wrong things. As a result, the shaitans use this as a tool to make the ayah "To such (deceit) let the hearts of those incline, who have no faith in the hereafter" come true. Muslims should know this.
The call of Islam should be promoted in the world with outspokenness, courage and honesty and it should be accompanied by the main element in the call of Islam - which is justice. God says, "The word of your Lord does find its fulfillment in truth and in justice" [The Holy Quran, 6: 115]. These two elements are the main characteristics of the divine invitation. These are the characteristics of the word of God: truth and justice. Muslims throughout the world should show that this exists in them. These characteristics attract the hearts of people and deliver the message of God to them. Of course, enmities exist and they will continue to exist. We should stand up against these enmities, as the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) did and as believers in Islam, in the Truth and in justice did throughout history.
Today, we Muslims need vigilance. We need to know our general plan for living and we need to know the plot of the enemies to confront us and to confront Islam. If we know this plot, we will choose the right path. The problem is that sometimes we Muslims do not properly know the plot of the enemy and as a result, we ourselves become part of this plot. Unfortunately, today the world of Islam suffers from this. The plot of the enemy is to create discord among Muslims. The plot of the enemy is to provoke different Islamic denominations into confronting one another. The plot of the enemy is to divert the attention of the Islamic Ummah from the main truth behind this hostility and enmity - that is to say, corrupt and deviant capitalism and Zionism - to other issues.
One day, the world of Islam stood up against usurping Zionists. In their propaganda, the enemies used to say that this is anti-Judaism. This was while it was not anti-Judaism. In Islamic countries, Jews live with people who have other religions such as Christianity and Islam. Today, there are Jews in our country. There are Christians, Muslims and people who practice other religions. All of them live together in the shade of the security of Islam. Therefore, this issue is not about anti-Judaism. It is about confronting the usurping, aggressive, oppressive and cruel Zionism. They used to distort this fact and they used to say that this is anti-Judaism, but today, the westerners themselves promote anti-Islam and anti-Muslim culture.
As you can see in the western world, they provoke and support anti-Muslim waves. They support those who insult Islam and the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). This is anti-Islamic movement and it exists in the west. Besides, they promote anti-Shiaism and the idea that different Islamic denominations should confront one another. Their policy is that Muslims should become busy with fighting against one another. Their policy is to provoke Shia Muslims against Sunni Muslims and vice versa. They do this to divert Muslims' attention away from the main cause of this enmity. They do this so that Muslims do not know who is confronting the world of Islam and who has set traps for the Islamic Ummah today. We should know this. Both the people, and politicians and intellectuals should know this.
We should know the plot of the enemy. If we know the plot of the enemy, the possibility of counteracting this plot will open up. But if we do not know the plot of the enemy, there will be no chance to counteract it and we will make a mistake in finding our own path and in carrying out our actions. This is the plot of the enemy: they want to busy Muslim nations with fighting against one another and they want to create discord among them, as they have created discord today. The plot of the enemy is to make thousands of people be killed, to cause massive bloodshed and to make Muslim nations forget about their main issues and about the progress which is necessary for them to pursue. They want to do this - as they did in the past with the help of colonialism - so that the interests of colonialists and oppressive and cruel superpowers will be safeguarded.
I will tell you that westerners will not manage to remove this humiliating stain from history. The slogan of supporting human rights and the slogan of supporting democracy will fail to consign to oblivion the performance of arrogant and boastful westerners in Asia, Africa and Latin America and in each and every corner of the countries which were under the domination of colonialism for years. One day, westerners did this with colonialism and today, they are following the same plan in a different way. Today, they follow the same plan. Well, we should be vigilant. We should know what we are doing and we should know our own plan and roadmap.
Today, unity, unanimity, harmony and cooperation are among the most necessary and the most urgent things for Muslims. We invite all Islamic countries and governments to benefit from insight. They should see who they are confronting and they should not make a mistake in knowing the enemy and the plots of the enemy. They should know what the enemy is after and what the happiness of their people depends on.
I hope that, by the blessedness of be'that and the auspicious and holy name of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), Allah the Exalted will familiarize all Muslim people with their paths. I hope that He will awaken us from the sleep of ignorance and make the Islamic Ummah succeed in moving towards the peaks of happiness.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings