33rd anniv._Imam Khomeini-head1-04

A major benefit brought by Imam Khomeini was his familiarizing people with concept of resistance

The following is the full text of a speech delivered on June 4, 2022, by Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on the 33rd demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (greetings be upon him).

In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qasem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate and chosen household - those who guide the guided, and who are infallible - especially the one remaining with God on earth.

First, I wish to send my greetings to the honorable participants and the dear brothers and sisters who have taken part in this glorious gathering. I hope that you will be successful, God willing. I have missed Imam and this warm gathering that used to be formed annually at the Holy Shrine of Imam Khomeini. I thank God that this year too, this warm and significant gathering has been formed. Our magnanimous Imam is the soul of the Islamic Republic. If this soul is taken away from the Islamic Republic and if it is disregarded, there will only remain a pale mark of the Islamic Republic on the wall.

My discussion today is about certain aspects of the personality of our dear and magnanimous Imam. Of course, I and others have spoken about aspects of Imam’s personality over the years, but there are many things that are left unsaid in this regard: “No matter how much I speak of my love, when I come to her, I feel ashamed” [from a poem by Rumi].

Many aspects of our magnanimous Imam’s personality remain unknown. In fact, the current generation of the Revolution, in particular our young generation, do not correctly know Imam and his greatness. They compare Imam to people like me while the difference is very large and astronomical. Imam was an exceptional personality in the true sense of the word.

Having a correct understanding of Imam is significant for the young generation because it will help them manage the future of the country in an efficient way. Imam was not only Imam for the past, he is also an Imam for the present and the future. Our young and intelligent generation, which is going to undertake the national and revolutionary duty to take the second step of the Revolution and manage the future of the country, needs a real software.

In order to correctly tread the path of the Revolution, which will help Iran and the Iranian nation reach the summit, the young generation needs a reliable and comprehensive software to rely on. This software, which could be accelerating, facilitating and even transforming at certain times, is Imam’s lessons, lessons that can be sought in Imam’s statements and behavior.

The first point that should be discussed about Imam is the leadership of the greatest Revolution in the history of all revolutions. I will explain this leadership later.

Why do we call it the greatest Revolution in the history of revolutions? In the history of revolutions, there are many small and big revolutions. The most famous one is the Great French Revolution which was conducted in 1789, the eighteenth century, and another famous revolution is the Soviet Revolution carried out in 1917, the 20th century. These two revolutions are the most famous revolutions in the history of revolutions, but the Islamic Revolution is greater than these two. Why? There are different reasons.

I will cite an important and fundamental reason and that is: these two revolutions, the French Revolution and the Soviet Revolution, were conducted by the people. It was the people who brought them victory, but after the revolution was conducted, the people were completely sidelined. The people failed to play any part in the continuation of the revolution that had been conducted by them with all their heart and soul on the streets.

What was the result? The result was that these two revolutions quickly deviated from their initial popular course. After 12, 13 years of the Great French Revolution – a revolution that had been carried out against the king and against monarchy – turned into a monarchy of another ilk. Napoleon came to power, wore the crown and monarchy reappeared. He was in power for almost 15 years. Later, he was ousted and the same family which the French Revolution had been formed against returned and took the matters in their hands, the Bourbons. They came to power again. When the people are not in the arena, this is what happens.

This did not even take 12 years to be repeated in the Soviet Revolution. The Revolution was conducted by the people, but after a few years, Stalin and his successors exerted such dictatorship and tyranny over the Soviet countries – the countries that constituted the former Soviet Union – that the monarchies before them had not witnessed in any way. The people did not have any role, but in the Islamic Republic, this is not the case.

The Islamic Revolution too achieved victory with the bodies and lives of the people, but the people were not sidelined thereafter. Fifty days, less than two months, after the victory of the Revolution, a public referendum was held and the people chose the government. The people had the power to choose. The people chose the system and the Islamic Republic through a referendum and a free election. Hardly a year had passed from the victory of the Revolution that the first president was elected with the people’s votes. A few months after, the Islamic Consultative Majlis, the legislative branch, was formed with the people’s votes. From that day until today – in other words, in the space of 43, 44 years – around 50 elections have been held in this country. The people entered the field and they are present in the field today. They choose and they cast their votes. Such is the greatness of this Revolution. Imam was the leader of such a Revolution.

Of course, this is only one facet of the greatness of the Revolution. There are other facets as well which make the Islamic Revolution completely different from other revolutions. One of these facets is the role of spirituality in the Revolution. In former big and small revolutions, whether the French and Soviet revolutions or the small revolutions that were conducted in the 19th and 20th centuries, spirituality was completely missing. The spiritual aspect of humanity, which is one of its fundamental needs, was completely missing and ignored and no one paid any attention to it. The Islamic Revolution is, however, a Revolution that pays attention and attends to both the worldly and otherworldly aspect of humans.

Well, Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) was the leader of this Revolution and the movement that led to it. What does “The leader of the movement and the Revolution” mean? This is where the significance of his work becomes clear. Of course, it was the people who brought victory to the Revolution. There is no doubt about this. If the people had not entered the Revolution with their bodies and souls, with their presence, with their self-sacrifice and offerings of martyrs, the Revolution would not have won. It was the people who brought victory to the Revolution, but whose was the powerful hand that managed to stir that ocean? This is important. That powerful hand, that steel personality, that confident heart and that dhulfiqar-like tongue – which succeeded in bringing millions of people, from different social backgrounds to the arena, in keeping them there, in dispelling any hopelessness in them and in showing them the direction - was our magnanimous Imam, the great Khomeini.

Imam brought the people to the arena, showed them the way, kept them in the arena and steered them away from despair and hopelessness. No other person in the country was capable of pulling this off. We knew political and seminarian personalities, some from close up and some from a distance. No person was capable of carrying that heavy load and bringing it to the destination. That endeavor was exclusive to our magnanimous Imam. It was he who managed to accomplish that feat.

At different stages, Imam even pointed the various arenas of fighting. He showed the people where the arena of fighting was. He did so in different periods of time and in line with the developments of the time. During the time of revolutionary activities, he did it in one way and in the heat of bloody days leading to the victory of the Revolution, he did it in another way. When the regime was thinking of imposing martial law in its last breaths, of sending the people home and of pulling out the root by the absence of the people, Imam called on the people to pour onto the streets with divine inspiration – it was really divine inspiration and Imam himself said it later on. In those hours, many revolutionary politicians were opposed to this. They said that that was dangerous for Imam. Imam, however, said, “no” and he asked the people to take to the streets. This was an effort to determine the arena of fighting. That is, it became clear that in those hours and on that day, the arena of fighting was for the people to take to the streets. He would determine the arena of fighting like this.

In the first months after the Revolution, he determined what the arena of fighting was. In the second month, the arena was to carry out a referendum and to choose the political system and to confront anti-revolutionary forces.

At some point, the issue of Paveh came up during which the revolutionary and fighting forces of the Revolution were besieged. Imam ordered everyone to go and participate. I do not forget that hour and that day. Tehran had taken on a particular atmosphere. It seemed that everyone on the streets wanted to go to Paveh. They were looking for a car or any other means to make it to Paveh on the orders of Imam. So, he would show where the arena of fighting was.

During the Sacred Defense Era, he did so in one way and during the coup launched by the Americans at the airbase in Hamedan, he did it in another way. It would not be bad for me to recount this memory. After I was informed of a coup by a conscientious, pious and young pilot in the Air Force, I notified different organizations and they got ready. The late Mr. Hashemi and I went to Imam because we were worried that Imam might be in danger. We suggested that he leave his house in Jamaran. He did not accept it, saying that he would not leave: “I will stay here, but you should go and protect such and such a place.” He mentioned a certain place – which I do not want to mention – and asked us to go and protect it. He would show the arena of fighting like this.

The same is true of his actions at the time of the Sacred Defense Era, his way of confronting Saddam and his behavior during accepting the resolution. If you look at Imam’s manifesto for accepting the resolution, you notice that Imam had determined what the people had to do after accepting the resolution. He had explained to the people what the arena of fighting would be after his demise. Imam’s testament, statements and important manifestos in the last year of Imam’s (may God bestow paradise on him) life were all efforts to show the arena of fighting to the people after his own time.

Well, leading the Revolution means this. Leading the Revolution is a really significant and meaningful term regarding our magnanimous Imam. In studying the personality of that great leader, we can examine his personal traits and his school of thought. Of course, these require long and detailed discussions. I will try to briefly raise certain points in this regard:

As for his personal traits, our magnanimous Imam was an exemplary personality in the true sense of the world. He was really exemplary. His personal characteristics were such that few personalities could have all together. I do not know any personality in our history who had all these characteristics together.

First of all, he was pure and pious. Imam was a pious, pure and moral personality in the literal sense of the word.

Secondly, he was a man of spiritual and mystic sentiments. He was interested in spiritual and mystic feelings. He would cry at dawn. The late Hajj Ahmad Aqa said to me that the kerchief that he had for crying at dawn during the daily and other prayers would not suffice and that they had to put a towel so that he would be able to wipe his hands and face. He was a man of such a spiritual status.

He was a man of spiritual delicacy. His spiritual books – “The Manners of Daily Prayers” and “Commentary on the Hadith on Wisdom and Ignorance” – were written during his middle age, when he was around 40 years. He was like this since his youth.

Imam combined valor and mysticism. He was both a man of epics and of spirituality.

He was morally brave in the true sense of the word. Imam has been quoted as saying – I myself did not hear this – “By God, I have never feared.” What I myself heard him say was in a meeting with him over a certain matter. I had a suggestion about a problem and I said to him, “You do not do this because you are afraid…” I wanted to finish the sentence by saying: “Because you are afraid that such and such a problem would occur.” But, as soon as I said, “Because you are afraid…” He answered, “I am not afraid of anything.” This was his characteristic. I did not want to say, “You are scared.” This is a common expression meaning, “You are concerned that something might happen.” However, I used the term “afraid”. He answered, “I am not afraid of anything.” He was courageous in the true sense of the word.

He enjoyed acumen and wisdom. He was a man of making careful calculations. He would not do things without calculating them first. And when he reached a result in that calculation, he would put it into action with complete decisiveness. There was no doubts and weaknesses in his work.

He would never become disappointed. So many incidents occurred in the first years of the Revolution, the martyrdom of many people and various other issues, but this never made him disappointed. He was honest in the literal sense of the word. He was honest with both God and the people. He would honor his promises.

When he came to Tehran in the year 1357 – Bahman 12, 1357 – he said that he would form a government at [the speech in] Behesht-e Zahra and he formed a government four days later. During those four days, he summoned the Revolutionary Council and we went there.

Apparently, he had asked some members of the Revolutionary Council – Shahid Motahhari, Shahid Beheshti and the like – to find someone, but they had not managed to find a person yet. Imam was upset about that. He criticized them for not having taken action. He was like that. He was really disciplined and punctual. I myself witnessed this in many cases.

He was a man who would rely on God in the real sense of the word. He believed in divine promises and was confident about them: “And whoever puts their trust in God, then He alone is sufficient for them” [The Holy Quran, 65: 3]. He was the true embodiment of this ayah. He was a warrior. Later, I will explain what this means. He had such characteristics. Of course, he had other exemplary qualities as well. These were his personal qualities.

As for his school of thought, principles and goals, if we wish to briefly explain the foundation of Imam’s school of thought and Revolution, we must say that the foundation for all his activities was rising up for the cause of God. The goal was to rise for the cause of God.

This is what he wrote in his youth at the office of the late Vaziri-Yazdi (God’s greetings be upon him): “Say, O Prophet, ‘I advise you to do only one thing: rise up for the sake of God—individually or in pairs’” [34: 46]. This uprising for the cause of God is firmly rooted in the Quran. This has been mentioned in this ayah of Sura Saba or in the ayah “and stand in true devotion to God” [2: 238] which is in holy sura al-Baqara. Another ayah is in Sura al-Mudathir which was sent down in the beginning of be’that: “Oh you covered up in your cloak! Arise and warn all” [74: 1-2]. This is what rising for the cause of God means. Of course, rising for the cause of God might occur in different ways in every era.

Rising for the cause of God does not always take on a single form, but there is only one goal behind it and that is the establishment of the truth, the administration of justice and the promotion of spirituality. This holds true at all times. This means the establishment of the truth. Rising for the cause of God might take place in the form of a military fight at one time and at another time, it might take on a scientific form and at yet another time it might take on a political form, but the purpose of rising for the cause of God must be to establish the truth.

This is one goal and another is to administer justice. This is the second goal and the third goal is to promote spirituality. These are the goals. I have written down Quranic ayahs in this regard. You can refer to [the Quranic index] “al-Muajam” in the form “qaama”. There, it becomes clear what this uprising is for.

For example, “…So that people may administer justice” [57: 25] in which the purpose of sending prophets and divine books is said to be “So that people may administer justice.” This is one ayah. Another ayah is in holy Sura al-Nisa: “as well as standing up for orphans’ rights” [4: 127]. Another ayah is in Sura ar-Rahman: “Weigh with justice” [55: 9] and another ayah is in Sura al-Shura: “Uphold the faith” [42: 13]. Another ayah is in Sura al-Maedah: “You have nothing to stand on unless you observe the Torah, the Gospel…” [5: 68]. In many ayahs in the Quran – “And rise in prayer” [2: 43] – the uprising for the cause of God must lead to these things. This is the purpose of rising up for the cause of God.

I said that Imam was a fighter. This means that Imam was continuously present in the arena of rising for the cause of God. Imam was truly vigilant about rising for the cause of God. The establishment of the truth and justice was naturally Imam’s goal. Well, how can this goal be realized? The establishment of the truth and justice was Imam’s goal, but is it possible to establish the truth under the hideous roof of the Pahlavi regime and every other dependent regime? Naturally no.

So, the next goal is to bring down this roof. Therefore, Imam tried to remove the hideous roof of the Pahlavi regime for the nation and lay the groundwork for their movement, their uprising and their progress: “Let us split open the roof of the sky and lay out a new design” [Hafiz, Ghazal 374]. This included both a rejection and an establishment. First, the rejection of the taghuti regime and then the establishment of a desirable political system which could move the people forward. This was Imam’s movement in the area of rejection and establishment.

There were a number of outstanding points in the movement of Imam: First of all, there was no fear in him. He did not use to fear and flatter. He was outspoken and had an eloquent tongue. This dates back to the revolutionary era in Qom and Najaf. He would speak to the people and would constantly explain and guide. His tongue was truly a decisive dhulfiqar with which he would move things forward. He was outspoken.

He trusted the people. One of the most important qualities of Imam was his trust in the people from the first day. There were people who wanted to fight, but who said that the people would not follow them. However, Imam believed from the first day that if we entered the arena, the people would follow. In the beginning of the movement, in the year 1341, in his speech after his classes, he pointed to the desert, saying that if we asked the people, they would fill this desert. This happened in the year 1341 during a time when many people did not know Imam yet and had not heard about him. Such was his trust and belief in the people. He would appreciate the value of people’s efforts and would lead the movement in the real sense of the word. He would keep hearts warm with his warm breath and would not let us become disappointed and have doubts. The people did not have a shortage of Imam’s viewpoints. This is related to the era of rejection: the era of fighting the taghuti regime.

As for the era of establishment of the Islamic Republic – Imam’s movement in the era of establishing the Islamic Republic is very important – Imam’s effort and plan was to completely separate the new plan from the country’s corrupt past. This was what he was trying to do. How did he want to make this future distinct? His idea was to make the plan for managing the country completely distinct from western culture, civilization and tradition.

Imam insisted that the Islamic Republic’s plan must not be placed under what was referred to as republic and democracy in the west. That is why I stated in previous years, in the same meeting, that republic belongs to Islam and is not indebted to the west. It originates from Islam. The fact that Imam placed so much emphasis on the people’s votes resulted from his deep understanding of Islam.

That was why Imam was determined to separate the Islamic Republic from the two common schools of thought in the world of those days – liberal democracy, which is based on capital, and communism which is based on dictatorship. That was why one of the main slogans of Imam was, “Neither eastern nor western”. This was a rejection of both communism and liberalism, of capitalism and unrestrained and uncontrolled freedom in the west and of dictatorship common in eastern systems. Imam did not agree with either of these: “Neither eastern nor western”.  Imam presented a new model for the Islamic Republic, which was completely different from those two systems.

In Imam’s model, certain dualisms became coordinated and harmonious. The dualisms that were previously attempted to be set against one another were brought together and harmonized. Imam put them next to one another.

One of these dualisms was the execution of divine rules alongside observance of public expediency and interests. It was Imam who formed the Expediency Council. Some people think that it was I who established it. At that time, I was President. Imam wrote me a letter and held a meeting to establish the Expediency Council. Islamic rules were enforced, but the expediencies of the time and public interests were observed as well. This is what is meant by expediency. It does not mean showing certain considerations for individuals.

Another dualism was attending to the needy and insisting on economic justice – in particular economic justice – as well as generating wealth. Both the generation of wealth and justice in the case of the poor must definitely be observed in Imam’s viewpoint. Another dualism was a rejection of both oppression and accepting oppression. As a political system, government and nation we will not oppress other governments and nations and we will not accept their oppression either. We will not bully others, nor do we surrender to bullying. We will both strengthen science and economy, and the defensive mechanism of the country. It is not the case that we only think of the economy and ignore the country’s defensive mechanism and security. The opposite is true as well.

Both national solidarity and unity, and diversity and the existence of various political orientations must be officially accepted. This is another dualism. Officials should have both piety and purity, and expertise and competence: commitment [to Islamic values] as well as expertise. These are dualisms that some people tried to set against one another before or in the beginning of the Revolution, but Imam harmonized and brought them together. These are the characteristics of Imam’s school of thought.

Well, you may pose a question here, asking to what extent Imam’s school was realized in his own time or will be realized in the future. This is an important question that others may also pose to us. I would say, based on reliable information and study about the realities of the country, that we have made good achievements in all these areas. If someone denies these achievements, they are definitely being unfair. We have had many accomplishments in all these areas including democracy, scientific achievements, diplomatic issues, the status of the country in the world, the economy, and public services.

Of course, we have also had our share of failures. We have had both achievements and failures and weaknesses. Here too, Imam has provided intelligent guidance for us. Imam’s guidance is of huge help to us. In the last year of his life, he said something to the children of martyrs. He said, “Your performance sheet depends on your effort and diligence.” The more you work and try, the more results you will achieve. Imam continued, “Living in today’s world is living in the school of willpower.” Life depends on willpower.

Whenever the nation and officials enter the field with firm willpower, they will succeed. And whenever willpowers become shaky and efforts decrease, there will be backwardness. Yes, we have had some failures and some achievements. This is a matter related to us. We officials and the masses of people in society were involved in all matters. In certain cases, we acted well and made achievements and in certain cases, we showed negligence and laziness and weakness and we naturally fell behind. This cannot be denied in any way. The school of thought, the plan and the path are correct. The path must be treaded correctly. In whichever area we moved correctly, we progressed, but in whichever area we showed laziness and negligence, we fell behind. There are many examples in the course of these years, both during the time of Imam and after his demise until today.

Of course, the role of the enemies’ enmity must not be overlooked. The extensive camp of the enemy entered the field against the Revolution from the beginning of the Revolution.

Some people think that we forced the enemies into enmity. No, the Islamic Republic, which is by nature opposed to oppression, naturally makes oppressors show enmity. Do you not say that you are opposed to arrogance and oppression? Well, everyone who is arrogant and oppressive and every government that has these unfavorable characteristics shows enmity towards you. This is the Islamic Republic. You say that you advocate spirituality. So, everyone who is hostile towards the spirituality of the people will show opposition to you. The Islamic Republic says that it is opposed to vices. Therefore, those who have gotten used to vices and who cannot separate themselves from them will naturally show opposition to the Islamic Republic. This is something natural. The camp of the enemy and of enmities must not be overlooked.

Of course, these enmities have taken on different forms. In the days leading to the victory of the Revolution, the Americans sent their General [Robert Huyser] to Tehran in order to launch a coup. Of course, he thankfully returned frustrated and disappointed. On many other matters too, the Americans and the enemies were rendered frustrated and disappointed. Imam’s endeavor to bring about a serious separation from westerners would have naturally created some enemies because he would not allow them to interfere. He took the current Palestinian Embassy, which was in the hands of the usurping Zionist regime at that time, away from the Zionists and handed it over to the Palestinians, who are the owners of Palestine. Well, this naturally brings about enmity. This is the course of nature.

Our youth must pay attention to this: westerners looted the world for three centuries! For three centuries, they looted the world. Westerners looted the whole world ranging from eastern Asia – Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal and the Indian Subcontinent – to Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, West Africa and the entire sub-Saharan region of the continent.

And they were not satisfied with that either. They even laid their hands on South America. They looted the American continent as well. The American continent had its own owners, it had a civilization with certain nations. They created disaster with various tricks. All these are clear in authoritative history books. You should read books in order to understand these matters more tangibly.

They engaged in murder, plunder, massacre, torture, pressure and slavery. Westerners did these things. During those three centuries, while westerns were busy committing these crimes, their intellectuals and thinkers would discover and impose “human rights” for the world. This contradiction in action and in words and this hypocrisy is clear. Their actions and words were different. European countries, followed by the US, committed all sorts of crimes throughout the world in the literal sense of the word. Well, these are the “masterpieces” of the western civilization. These are the works of art created by westerners!

Imam knew these things well. One of the main issues on which Imam would insist was to create a distance and border between the Islamic thinking, lifestyle and government from western governments. This was one of the major concerns of Imam.

One of the greatest advantages of Imam was that he familiarized the nation with the concept of resistance. It occurs many times that nations are after something, but do not have the power to resist. When there is pressure, they retreat. Imam built the nation like this, he injected resistance and steadfastness in them. That is why today, the Iranian nation is a completely resistant and solid nation.

Thank God, this is another blessing of our magnanimous Imam and the term “resistance” has entered into the political discourse of the world. The resistance taught to the Iranian nation and all of us by Imam has turned into an outstanding term in the political discourse of the world.

I would like to raise an important point about the enemies’ greed, plans, plots and foolish schemes against the Iranian nation. This point is made up of two parts. One is that today, the most important means of the enemies to inflict harm on the country is to pin their hopes on popular protests. They hope that with psychological work, Internet and cyberspace activities, with their various forms, money and employment of mercenaries, they will be able to pit the people against the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic. This is the first part of the matter.

The second part of the matter is that this calculation of the enemy is wrong just like many other calculations made by him. In the beginning of the Revolution, they promised that the Islamic Republic would not live more than six months and that it would fall. When those six months passed, they renewed it, saying that it would happen six months later. More than eighty of these six-month periods have passed now! On that day, the Islamic Republic used to be a thin sapling, but it has become a sturdy and deep-rooted tree and it has become stronger on a daily basis. Their calculations were wrong back then and they are wrong now too. This calculation is just like the previous ones.

An example is their calculation during the Sacred Defense Era. They helped Saddam thinking that he would destroy the Islamic Republic in the course of a few days. They helped the plotters of coups hoping that they would do something. All these were calculations made by the Americans and westerners and all were wrong. Today too, the calculation to pit the people against the Islamic Republic is wrong. They think that they can put an element in the way of the Islamic Republic, one that they know the Islamic Republic cares about very much: the people, but this is wrong.

Why do the Americans make this mistake? Because they have counsellors who are treasonous Iranians. They give them counsel. These treasonous counsellors betray both their country and them as well. Why? Because they give them counsel without having correct information. And those poor creatures act according to their advice and they fail.

One of their counsels is this: “You can count on the Iranian people for confronting the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic. The Iranian people have become tired of religion, the Islamic government and the clergy. You can count on them and they will stand up to the Islamic government.” These ill-advised traitors – for both sides – counsellors say this to their American masters. They give them money and receive such analyses from them. They repeat this in their speeches, in their Senate and in other places. Inside the country too, some naïve individuals – of course, they are fortunately small in number – believe in them.

Sometimes, I hear them say online and newspapers that the people have lost their belief in the clergy and religion. We hear such viewpoints inside the country too. Well, this is one of their a hundred-percent wrong calculations. Today, the people are surely interested in the Revolution and religion more than they were in the first day of the Revolution. If someone wants to understand the people’s orientation towards the Revolution, revolutionary activities and jihad, they must look at the burial ceremony of Shahid Qasem Soleimani with millions of participants in it. The dismembered body of Shahid Soleimani was bid farewell by millions of people. The people commemorated and respected a revolutionary and mujahid person, who had laid down his life for the Islamic Republic, like that.

This is one example. There are many other examples as well, such as the case of religious scholars. The late Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani was a marja taqlid and faqih. Notice what a great movement the people launched in his burial ceremony. The late Ayatollah Behjat was a mystic and faqih. In his burial and farewell ceremony, the people of Qom filled that city with their emotions. People from other cities too went to Qom for his burial ceremony. You tell me for which other person from among outstanding political, artistic and athletic personalities of the country would the people show such emotions. What does this show? Does this show the people’s loss of belief in the clergy? Does it show the people’s disbelief in religion, jihad and resistance? They make such analyses. Their analyses are like this.

Notice what the people are doing about the song that has been released these days, which is an expression of one’s love for the Imam of the Age (may God hasten his reappearance and may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) and a greeting to him. Notice how enthusiastically they express their love. People – young, old, teenagers, children, women and men – throughout the country do so. They do this in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Yazd, all in different ways. What is the reason for this? Is this a sign of people turning their backs on religion? Or is the other way around?

In the beginning of the Revolution, we did not have these things. In the beginning of the Revolution, we did not witness the rushing of young students towards the centers of itikaf. We did not use to witness such great religious gatherings. Today, these things exist. So, they have made a mistake about the Iranian nation. I could equally mention the 22nd of Bahman rallies. It is 43 years now that the people organize magnificent rallies on the 22nd of Bahman or on Quds Day. Is this a sign that the people have turned their backs on the Revolution? This is a reason for the loyalty, resistance and steadfastness of the people. It is a reason that Imam’s lessons have influenced our great and honorable nation.

At the end of my statements, I want to offer some recommendations to activists in revolutionary, social, political and economic areas: either young activists or others. I want to offer a number of recommendations:

One is that you should not let anti-revolutionary forces and the enemy eliminate the identity of your Revolution. You should not let the enemy show the truth of the Revolution upside-down. This is one recommendation which is important. Intelligent and wise youth should think on this.

The next recommendation is that you should not allow the memory of Imam to be undermined in society. As I said, Imam is the soul of the Revolution. You should not let Imam’s memory be undermined. You should not let Imam be distorted.

The next recommendation is that you should not let reactionary forces infiltrate and settle in the country. What does reactionary mean? When we say reactionary, some people begin to think of an araqchin [an Islamic skull cap]. No, a reactionary person is a person who follows the western lifestyle and politics. This is a reactionary person. This used to be the case in our country. At the time of the corrupt and dependent Pahlavi rule, the western lifestyle was prevalent in the country, but the Revolution came and rejected it. Anyone who returns to that lifestyle is a reactionary person. A reactionary person might wear a T-Shirt or jeans or a bow tie and French perfume, but they are reactionary. Anyone who moves towards the western lifestyle and culture is reactionary. You should not let your country move towards a reactionary attitude. You should not let reactionary attitude find its place in the body of the country.

The next recommendation is that you should reveal the enemy’s lies, deceptions and psychological warfare. At the time of Imam, there was no Internet, nor did satellites exist in this form. In those days, Imam used to say that the enemy fought against us with his pen. Imam was aware of this. Today, the issue is not about pens, rather it is about cyberspace, satellites and psychological warfare, one that is comprehensive and rampant everywhere. You should not let the enemy’s psychological warfare impact the country.

Let me cite a small example of psychological warfare. They  stole our oil on Greek shores. Then, our self-sacrificing and valiant soldiers made up for it and confiscated the enemy’s ship carrying oil. Then, the enemy accused Iran of theft via his comprehensive propaganda and media empire. Who is a thief? You stole our oil and we took it back from you! Taking back stolen property is not theft! It is you who are thieves! The Americans order the Greek government and they obey by stealing our oil. Well, these are instances of psychological warfare. You should confront such psychological warfare – examples of which occur every day.

The next recommendation is that you must make the most of the people’s faith for producing good deeds. The people are pious and have faith. This faith can produce good actions. You can do this. Our magnanimous Imam was a master at this. Imam was a genius in making the most of the people’s faith for producing good deeds.

The next recommendation is that you should not let some people pretend that the country has reached a dead end. This is some people’s job right now in cyberspace. Now, some individuals do it out of negligence or they are paid to do it. I do not know, but they want to pretend that the country has reached a dead end. No, the country will not reach a dead end. This happened at the time of Imam too. At that time, some people wrote in newspapers that the country had reached a dead end. Imam said, “No, it is you who have reached a dead end. The Islamic Republic will not reach a dead end.” He said that it was they who had reached a dead end. This is the truth of the matter. You should not let them disappoint the people.

The next recommendation is that Imam would sometimes criticize executive officials in private or in public, but he would also sometimes express his appreciation for their efforts. There are many cases in which Imam explicitly thanked the officials of the country – either one official or a group of them. My recommendation is that now that the enemy is after damaging the reputation of revolutionary officials, the duty to appreciate the value of officials is a heavy one.

We must express our appreciation of officials. When we see that in the Abadan incident, a minister goes there for three, four days and inspects the matter from close up is very important. That the honorable President or Vice President goes and meets with the casualties and comforts them and consoles their hearts is very valuable. They must be thanked. Of course, the agents behind the damage inflicted must be punished, both in the Abadan incident and every other incident. Those who inflict damage must surely be punished.

Dear God, by the blessed souls of our dear martyrs and the immaculate soul of our Imam, make us among the followers of the legitimate and true path of the Islamic Republic.

Dear God, I ask you to make our steps and those of our nation steady on this path.

I was informed that today, during the speech of Hajj Hassan Khomeini, some people made noise. I am opposed to this. I am not at all alright with such acts of damaging someone’s reputation and with such commotion. I am opposed to it. Let everyone know this.

I hope that God the Exalted guides all of us towards the right path, God willing.

Greetings be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings

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