The following is the full text of the speech delivered on January 11, 2016 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the officials of the Athlete Martyrs Congress. The congress was held in Tehran on February 2, 2016.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I am very grateful to you dear athlete brothers and sisters for emphasizing athlete martyrs from among the large number of the martyrs of the country and introducing them to the people so that society understands that sacrifice on the path of God, religion and the Revolution and laying down one’s life and becoming disabled, is not particular to a specific class of people. All classes of people in the country have participated in this great and spiritual competition: “Be you foremost in seeking forgiveness from your Lord” [The Holy Quran, 57: 21].
In my opinion, introducing athlete martyrs is a very interesting measure and innovation. Perhaps, I – like others – did not know that we have five thousand athlete martyrs or that there were athletes and champions among the recent martyrs who were martyred defending the Wilayat and the holy shrines of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.)[in Syria and Iraq]. These things are very valuable.
With this measure, you are strengthening the revolutionary spirit in the country and improving revolutionary thoughts. You were correct in saying that young athletes are actually and naturally role models for a large number of youth. Their behavior, disposition, lifestyle and way of life can influence them. How important it is for young athletes to draw individuals towards religion, morality and spirituality with the influence that their characters can exert.
In my heart, I have always admired and praised the statement that Imam (r.a.) made. Imam praised and showed his respect for athletes with a completely understandable and entirely native expression. He referred to athletes as “pahlavans” [heroes]. In the eyes of our people and in our domestic and national literature, being a pahlavan is a great privilege. He used the term “pahlavan” which is a very good term.
Fortunately, in the recent years, our athletes have accomplished very good and outstanding feats in athletic environments. I do not want to say that all of our athletes have acted in this way, but there were a number of individuals among our athletes who have become a source of honor. Well, honor does not only mean that they should sing the national anthem. Of course, this is a good honor. It is a good and outstanding honor, but the greater honor is that our wrestlers, for example, do not compete with Zionist athletes. This is a very great feat.
Another example is that a female athlete from our country stands on the medal podium wearing a chador. This is very important. Who can tolerate the critical and questioning looks of the materialistic world in which a woman’s honor lies in appearing naked in sports competitions? Men appear covered from head to toe, but women should definitely appear naked. Part of their bodies should be naked and open to eyes. This is a wrong, deviant, devious and political measure.
In such a world, a woman stands on the medal podium and receives her award while wearing a chador and complete Islamic hijab. This is very important. This is even more important than the raising of our flag because it shows the strong Iranian-Muslim spirit. This shows that such an individual is not defeated and overcome by a wave of illusions and illusionary feelings. This is how one can understand the identity of a people and the strength and resistance of their element and metal. These things are very valuable.
Thankfully, we have had such individuals. I mentioned wrestling only as an example. In volleyball and other sports too, we have had certain individuals and teams who were not prepared to compete against enemies. Of course, this caused them to fall behind, but they accepted it. And the world admired them for doing so.
This is like going to the arena of war. One can see the same spirit, strength of character and identity that exists in war in that arena as well. These are very valuable. By Allah’s favor, you should do something to turn the sports environment of the country into such an environment. We have had the opposite environment as well. We have had a different kind of behavior in sports environments as well. We have seen, heard and been informed about this. By Allah’s favor, you should do something to help the sports environment of the country move towards this path. Of course, what you have done – your innovation to commemorate athlete martyrs – is a very good step to that end. Even the few cases that you referred to are important.
The issue that I discussed – thanking those athletes who protect values in sports arenas, in a public manner and in front of the cameras of billions of people- billions of people watch athletes- is very important. You should thank such athletes. One of your tasks should be to thank those individuals who do so and those athletes who mention God’s Name and who perform a prostration after defeating their rivals. These things are very important. They represent a symbol. They are a symbol of Islamic Iran’s identity and character. You should thank and strengthen such individuals. How can such athletes be compared with those who take part in sports competitions or exercise during the day and who do other things at night in a very inappropriate manner. I do not want to say that such athletes exist in our country only. There are such athletes in other countries as well. This should not be the case. You should strengthen those individuals who observe Islamic values and who move forward in this way.
Very well, I became happy that you are thankfully doing this. I hope that by Allah’s favor, you will make the sports environment cleaner and more enlightened on a daily basis.
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