The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 22, 2006 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with officials in charge of hajj affairs.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome the honorable and successful officials in charge of the great ritual of hajj. Rendering services in this arena is really a source of pride for one at any level. Intentions in the arena of hajj should be far beyond the ordinary and small intentions that we people usually have. The reason is that the horizons of hajj are very wide and broad.
Hajj is a heavy obligation. If it is fulfilled in the right way and on the basis of God's commands and if it meets the requirements of the time, then it will exert influence on an international - as well as individual and domestic - level. Which obligation do we have which is similar to this one? This religious act and obligation purifies and enlightens the hearts and souls of hajj pilgrims. It makes them get close to God and it familiarizes them with dhikr and supplication. Moreover, it influences the affairs of a people. This is because when a group of people go on a trip with a common goal and in a specific direction, their convergence will naturally increase and their spirituality and national morality is promoted.
Hajj exerts influence on an international level as well. Nations have some common points and some differences. These differences make them distinct from one another. This sometimes leads to hostility between them. Hajj decreases these differences and it strengthens their common points and unity. So, we have no religious obligation with such magnitude.
Apparently, the reason why we have been told to fulfill this obligation in a limited and specific period of time is to highlight its international aspect. Otherwise, they could have said that we can fulfill it at any time that we want. But they have not said this. It is not like umrah. Anyone can perform umrah at any time of year. It is a mustahab act. But hajj is not like umrah. It should be done at a specific time.
During hajj, everyone should gather together. Why should they gather together? Should they gather together to fight? "Let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in hajj" [The Holy Quran, 2: 197]. Therefore, the purpose of this gathering is not to fight and to get separated from one another. So, what is the purpose? The purpose is to strengthen unity and solidarity and to engender this feeling in oneself and in the other side. Worldly and otherworldly affairs have really been included in hajj. It is a very vast and resourceful arena that can be benefitted from. If you and I make efforts so that people get to know and benefit from this capacity, then we will receive a divine reward for that. Therefore, this is a very important act and officials in charge of it should really feel proud.
What should receive attention in hajj - both we and others have raised this point many times - is that hajj should get close to its true definition. Of course, there are certain requirements for this. One of the requirements is preparedness. If someone is taken to hajj without preparation, they will definitely not benefit from it in the right way. Therefore, they should be prepared in advance. This is a responsibility. One of the duties of the hajj organization and other organizations in charge of hajj should be to prepare the people who want to go on a hajj pilgrimage. They should increase their capacity. Of course, the hajj organization is doing this in the present time, but it should do it more by preparing books, formulating different plans and educating pilgrims on the matters that they need to know such as fiqhi, social, political, moral, spiritual, religious and mystic matters. Therefore, one of the tasks is to prepare hajj pilgrims.
Another issue is that hajj officials should purge - as much as possible - the environment of materialistic and worldly motives. This is very important. This is one of the criteria that has been considered for the hajj ritual. They say that you do not have the right to smell those things which have a pleasant scent. If you go to a place where there is an unpleasant smell, you do not have the right to cover your nose. Of course, there are very good reasons for this. Hajj is a place where we should be away from worldly and material motives as much as we can. Of course, we do not want to say that you should make pilgrims starve and that you should give them unsuitable places for accommodation. This is not what we mean.
Catering for pilgrims, providing them with suitable accommodation and everything that they need is an important task. We do not disagree with this, but the hearts of pilgrims should be purged of material motives as much as possible. The desire to go shopping, buy souvenirs and other such things should be avoided. You should prevent pilgrims from looking at hajj pilgrimage as if it were a vacation or other things which are not mentionable. Our worldly desires drag us towards dangerous places. These things should be avoided. Hajj pilgrims and officials should avoid material motives. This is another point which should receive attention if we want to benefit from this great capacity.
Another requirement is the issue of Muslims' unity. Hajj should be a mirror of unity, not discord. If we are supposed to gather somewhere so that we accuse one another, what kind of gathering is this? Even if there are some differences, hajj is not the place to express them. About hajj, Allah the Exalted has said, "That they may witness the benefits provided for them" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28]. Some people consider hajj to be a place for showing hostility and obstinacy and for expressing denominational and tribal discords. They use it as a place for pitting Shia against Sunni. If we take an optimistic outlook, we should say that they do this out of ignorance. But if we take a pessimistic outlook, we can refer to other motives. How many times should they say this to us so that we believe that today, discord between Shia and Sunni is one of the main pivots of the enemies' investment? Today, this is being pursued much more vigorously than the past.
They are prepared to spend a lot of money so that they provoke Shia and Sunni against each other. And there are some ignorant people who further this goal of the enemy and arrogance without receiving any money from him. They do this for him for free. Well, why should they do that? This is a mistake which Allah the Exalted will probably not forgive. Allah the Exalted has gathered all Muslims in a place whose clearest goal is to engender a sense of reunion, unity and solidarity. So, should we wrangle with one another and strengthen discord in different corners of this center which has been established for creating unity? Is this not showing obstinacy to God?
We know - this is not an analysis and we know this for certain - that arrogance has employed some agents to strengthen discord in this center. There are some agents whose mission is to find a flaw in Shias so that they can create uproar, swear, insult and provoke Muslims against one another. Even if we did not know this for certain, there are certain analyses which show this. There is no reason that the enemies of Islamic unity do not take advantage of this opportunity in hajj. Of course, we know for sure that they have employed certain agents for this. You should take care not to fall into their trap. The Iranians - whether Shias or Sunnis - should take care not to fall into the enemies' trap.
Of course, we advise our Saudi brothers and brothers in other countries to prevent this. They should prevent the hands that want to create discord from penetrating these centers and from strengthening discord and showing it off. This is a very important matter.
Another issue is the issue of expressing hatred [for the enemies]. The issue of expressing our hatred of kufar and polytheists is very important. All Muslim nations should take a leading role in this task. In our opinion, Saudi Arabians themselves should take a leading role in this matter. Those who host hajj pilgrimage should carry out this task. They should pursue it more seriously than Iranian guests and the guests of other countries. This is their responsibility.
There is no doubt that global arrogance is not on good terms with the world of Islam. And this is not only a feeling. Rather, they express their grudge and enmity. Their enmity does not mean that they sit idle and watch. This is not the case. They show their enmity. Their intention is to do something so that the world of Islam becomes completely empty of the truth of Islam. This is not something that requires proof and evidence. This can be witnessed by all those Muslims whose eyes are open. They are the enemies of Muslims. They like to see the destruction of the world of Islam so that they can dominate Muslim nations. They want Islam not to exist so that they can dominate their resources and promote their culture in Islamic countries. They want to turn them into a second-hand and lower version of their own people.
This is what happens when a nation accepts another nation's culture. They become part of the latter. However, they are more like an adopted child and an inferior people. They have to act according to their wishes, but even when they do so, they are not accepted by them. This is the mistake of those people who tried to copy the behavior of the westerners in all their affairs. They did not understand that by copying the behavior of a nation and a culture, they cannot be like and part of them. They did not understand that they would be subordinate to them and become a second-hand version of them. Arrogance has always wanted this for the world of Islam.
The main obstacle to their goal is Islam. They hate Islam because of these reasons and therefore, they show enmity to it. There is no room for doubt about this matter. Their enmity exists in arrogant, Zionist, violent, bloody, cruel and savage forms. Well, is it not necessary for Muslims to announce their position on this behavior? We do not want to gather a troop from Makah and move towards another country in order to fight against it. We only want to announce our position. Muslims should announce what their position on this arrogant and Zionist behavior is. Other than Makah, where is the place to announce this position? Other than this great center and gathering place for the Islamic Ummah, where is the place to announce this position? Everyone should carry out this task. All peoples and heads of countries should pay attention to this truth. There should be awakening on this matter.
If they do not do so, we will. We will not cancel our plan just because some people do not carry out their responsibility. This is very important. It is only an announcement of a country's position and there is a reason behind it. There should be an effort to make Muslims understand this truth. Through means of mass communication, it should become clear what our purpose and meaning of announcing this hatred is. These things should be done through writings and with good and understandable words and they should be offered to hajj pilgrims from different Islamic countries.
Today, interest in original Islam is increasing throughout the world on a daily basis. From the beginning of the Revolution until today, this interest has gathered strength and it has not decreased. They used to think that the Revolution was like a pale flame which rose and then died. Some narrow-minded and shallow individuals thought like this. You have heard what they have said in the recent years: "The Revolution has come to an end. It has been forgotten and become a museum piece". They did not understand that the flame which seemed to be going out was turning into a fierce and permanent fire. They did not understand that this fire could not be extinguished with the passage of time.
Today in the world of Islam, hatred towards arrogance - particularly towards the Americans, the Zionists and their behavior - has increased on a daily basis. And it is not a mere hatred. The willingness to take action has increased in Muslims. This is why you can see such events in Palestine. Of course, Palestine is the same Palestine that it used to be 50 years ago when they occupied it. But today, it has turned into such a strong and powerful country for which America and the Zionists cannot find a cure. This is while the people of Palestine have nothing and they are under a difficult siege. They are exerting many pressures on Palestine. They are massacring the people and committing various crimes on a daily basis, but they cannot defeat them.
One valuable example of this is the astonishing and miraculous event in Lebanon. They used to think that Lebanon is the weakest link in the chain of Islamic countries, but it became clear that it is actually one of the strongest ones. You saw what the Lebanese people and Hezbollah did.
Iraq and Afghanistan too are showing resistance in different ways. Muslims, Muslim youth and Islamic motives are gaining strength in the entire region on a daily basis. Now that this exists, Muslims should be encouraged to pursue this matter - which is the expression of their hatred - more vigorously and on a daily basis.
In any case, I hope that by Allah's favor, the plans which were referred to - the ones that Mr. Reyshahri and the honorable manager referred to - are implemented in the best way possible because they signify the completion and correction of the plans that have always existed in the area of hajj.
I hope that God willing, your services receive the attention of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that the pure souls of martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) are pleased and satisfied with them.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings