The following is the full text of the speech delivered on October 1, 2008 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a group of government officials on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I congratulate the great Islamic Ummah, all the Muslims of the world, the great faithful Iranian nation, and all those present in this meeting on this great Islamic Eid. I pray to Allah the Exalted to make Eid ul-Fitr a true Eid [a day on which no sin is committed] for the Islamic Ummah. I also pray to Allah to help our nation get closer to the glorious future - promised by God - which awaits it.
Most of our people, the government officials, and the Muslims of the world took the opportunity provided for them in the holy month of Ramadan to benefit from God's blessings in the best way. Ramadan was an opportunity for repentance, asking for God's forgiveness, dhikr, and supplication. Fasting and suppressing one's worldly desires provide great opportunities for God's servants to benefit from His blessings in this holy month. In this holy month, the hearts of Muslims are filled with the joy of dhikr and praying. In this month, Muslims get closer to their divine nature, strengthen their determination, and engage in pious deeds.
I have to say that today the Muslim Ummah is in need of faith more than any other time. There was a time when the Islamic Ummah had no hope about the future. Those days, Muslim intellectuals lamented the hard times the Muslims were going through. Take a look at the literary works of such prominent Muslim figures as sayyid Jamal-al-Din and other intellectuals of the Muslim world. Some of the elites of the Muslim world who had become aware of this situation lamented the situation the Muslims were in those days. There was no trace of hope in the Muslim world. The arrogant powers had then entered the Islamic countries and taken charge of their affairs. They took advantage of our negligence as much as possible and painted a bleak picture of the future for the Muslim Ummah. This was the situation the Muslims were living in during that era.
Today, the situation has changed. Those dark days have turned into bright prospects for the Islamic Ummah. In every part of the world where Muslims live - either as a nation or a minority group among followers of other religions - there is hope about the future among Muslims. They feel they can continue their movement. The enemies of the Muslim world - the arrogant, materialist, and hegemonic powers - entered Muslim countries with deceptive slogans and brought about the most difficult times for them. Although these powers have made great progress compared to the past in terms of technological progress, destructive weapons, mass-communication facilities, and propaganda tools, they feel they are in a weak position to stand against the great movement of the Islamic Ummah. They feel they have been subjugated by the Muslim world. This is a reality in the Muslim world today. If there are any people who think otherwise, they should know they are denying the realities.
Today, the Muslim world has a bright future ahead of it. The great enemies of the Muslim world and the powerful arrogant powers who have taken control of the whole world feel that they are unable to oppose the vigilance and great movement of Muslim nations. They have no options to achieve their goals. This bears testimony to the promises made by God. "And surely Allah will help him who helps Him. Surely Allah is Strong, Mighty." [The Holy Quran, 22: 40] God Almighty says: "And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the leaders, and to make them the heirs." [The Holy Quran, 28: 5] These are God's promises. There is also another Quranic verse: "And Allah has full control over His affair, but most people know not." [The Holy Quran, 12: 21] These promises which have been made by God will gradually turn into realities thanks to the vigilance and great movement of the Muslim nations.
Muslim nations must engage in a jihad. This is not necessarily an armed jihad. This is a form of political, intellectual, scientific, social, and moral jihad. The great Islamic Ummah has been gaining more and more familiarity with the different aspects of this jihad. If you take a brief look at the Middle East, you will instantly see the progress made by the Islamic Ummah.
Today, the Israeli violence against the Palestinian nation has grown far more severe, but the faces of the Palestinian people are still full of hope. The Palestinian issue has always been a tragedy for the Muslim world.
Today, even the occupation forces in Palestine have expressed their disappointment over continuing their plans in Palestine. They admit that they have reached a deadlock. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the American government felt that it was the indisputable chief of the global village. But you can see that they have reached a deadlock in different parts of the world. They are faced with different serious issues. They entered this strategic region under the pretext of fighting terrorism. American plans have proved to be ineffective and hopeless in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine. Even they themselves acknowledge that they do not have much hope in their plans. They admit their failure.
Last year I told our faithful nation in Eid ul-Fitr prayers that their "Fall Conference" would be a failure. The conference had been organized to help Americans increase their control over the Middle East region. Today you can see that their plots have failed to affect the situation in Palestine, Lebanon, and the Middle East. This shows that the American government - which is there to oppose Islam and the Muslim Ummah and which intends to increase its control over this strategic region - feels that it cannot make any progress. Of course, we are not being overly optimistic. What we say are bitter realities that anyone can see. The point is that the arrogant powers have not been able to deal with the will of nations, neither will they be able to do so in the future. They are already stuck in a quagmire in Afghanistan and Iraq. Still they interfere in the other countries' affairs - for instance in Pakistani. You have seen and heard about their interference in the internal affairs of our eastern neighbor. But their plans will fail in Pakistan as well. That is because the Muslim nations are well familiar with their Islamic rights. Nations are determined to resist and, God willing, their determination will increase on a daily basis.
Paying attention to God, asking Allah the Exalted for help, and gaining access to divine source of power are what the Islamic Ummah needs most in the present situation. When we become familiar with divine source of power, we will not be intimidated or made hopeless when we are faced with the enemies' threats. This is a well trodden path. The Islamic Republic has been subject to thirty years of enmity, obstructionism, and malevolence on the part of superpowers and the network of arrogance. We endured all these problems. Benefiting from its efforts and determination, the Iranian nation put up a strong resistance. Thankfully, we managed to make more and more progress. This progress will, by Allah's favor, increase on a daily basis. And hopefully the entire world of Islam will one day enjoy Islamic glory.
We must appreciate divine guidance and favor. We must appreciate Eid ul-Fitr, on which an impressive number of people face the Qiblah, pray to God, and connect their souls with Allah. We must preserve our unity and determination and try to increase our hope in the future.
I hope that the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) will benefit all our faithful people as well as other Muslims living in different countries. I hope that the future of the world of Islam will be far better than it is today.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings