Khamenei.ir

Leader Meets Executive Officials

Leader's Speech to President Ahmadinejad and Cabinet Members

Leader Urges Vigilance Against Enemy Plots

Leader’s Speech to Government Officials and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries

Leader’s Sermons during Eid ul-Fitr Prayers

Leader Leads Eid ul-Fitr Prayers in Tehran

Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution led this year's Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Tehran. During the sermons, His Eminence described the recent developments in the world of Islam as unprecedented and added: "By Allah's favor, these developments, which will determine the future path of the world of Islam, will continue at this rate."

Leader’s Speech to Former Iranian Prisoners of War

Leader’s Speech to Professors

Religious democracy, a novel idea in the area of politics

the Islamic Republic is intellectually productive, as opposed to the inability of the west to produce novel ideas. After the introduction of humanism and the schools of thought which rely on humanism, after the introduction of the philosophies that originate from western humanism, the west was no longer intellectually productive and it no longer produces novel ideas for humanity and human life. We have new things to say about issues related to human spirituality, social issues related to humanity and issues related to government. When we say we have novel things to say, it does not mean that the world will accept our novel ideas once we present them. It only means that our novel ideas will create a new intellectual current, a new wave in the world.

Leader Meets Outstanding University Students

The erroneous foundation established during Pahlavis at the beginning of formation of university

Some people think that university is an environment wherein it is not necessary and desirable to adhere to religion and ethics. This is due to the erroneous foundation that was laid out at the beginning of the formation of universities during the era of the Taghut (tyrannical regime of Pahlavi). At that time, those who created universities did not believe in the principles of religion, spirituality, and ethics; they were fascinated by the West, and deceived by the ethics of the West. Of course, fascination was the common form; some of them even acted as mercenaries and proxies of the West. They wanted to design and plan a program inside the country that would give them the type of dominance over Iran they enjoyed during the Pahlavi era, and during the Qajar era, and give it a different, subtle form: a less explicit one. [The plan was to] educate an enlightened and educated generation who thinks like the Westerners, though they are Iranian; they would think French, English and American; their aspirations would be aspirations of an American person; their actions would be the actions of an American or English person, even though they were Iranian nationals and residents of Iran. They were looking forward to educating such a generation.

Leader’s Speech to Researchers and Managers of Knowledge-Based Companies

Leader’s Speech to Government Officials

Leader Meets Government Officials

The false claim links the sanctions to the nukes

Their claim that they are opposed to the Islamic Republic because of nuclear weapons, is also a lie. In the beginning, we announced it as a guess, but later on it became clear during international negotiations and interactions that they know the Islamic Republic is not after nuclear weapons. They believe and acknowledge that the Islamic Republic is not after nuclear weapons and this is the truth, yet they bring up the issue of nuclear weapons. Therefore, the claim that these pressures, these sanctions, these sieges, these enmities and these hostilities are due to the issue of nuclear weapons and technology, is a lie. The fact that this claim is false is also a reality. The truth is that their opposition is because of the essence of the Revolution and the existence of the Islamic Republic. They were ruling the region without any worries. They had full control over a country like Iran, with its rich resources and numerous facilities. They used to do whatever they wanted. They used to make whatever decisions they wanted. They used to make the best of the facilities of our country in order advance their own goals. But now they have been deprived of all these things.

The same people who sympathize with animals, have been silent while innocent humans are being killed.

In the East Asian country of Myanmar, thousands of Muslims are being killed because of prejudice and ignorance - assuming that the claims are true and that these killings are due to prejudice and ignorance, and not because of political matters - but those who falsely claim to support human rights keep silent. The same people who sympathize with animals, the same people who magnify every problem that exists in countries which are not dependent on them, have been silent while innocent and defenseless men, women and children are being killed. They also make attempts at justification. This is how they support human rights, the kind of human rights which are independent from morality, spirituality and God. They say the people who are being killed are not the people of Myanmar. Let us assume that they are not the people of Myanmar - which is a lie and according to the reports I have received, they have been living in Myanmar for three, four hundred years. So what? Should they be killed?

Leader’s Speech at Quranic Meeting

Leader's Speech in Meeting with Officials of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Qazi Commemoration Congres

The impact of the Islamic Revolution on empowering women

Today, it is an honor to announce that Muslim women in Iran are proud and dignified. They use numerous propaganda techniques to distort this truth, the truth has remained intact: today our educated women are the most pious and revolutionary people in our country. Today, our women, our educated women, and our young women are active in the most advanced laboratories of scientific and scholarly centers. Our pious and revolutionary young women are among the most active women in political, scientific, and managerial areas: they are highly educated, and they think critically. The advancements that the Iranian nation has achieved are due to resistance. If the people of a country resist for the sake of God, and in the way of God, Allah, the Exalted, will help them: this is a divine promise, and divine promises are inviolable.

The strategic role of women in the victory and the persistence of the Revolution

In revolutions, in the great wave of Islamic Awakening. I would think that if women do not take part in the social movements of a nation, that movement will not reach effective results: it will not succeed. [Audience shout "Allahu Akbar!"] If women take part in a movement with awareness and insight, that movement will take off quickly. In this great wave, of an Islamic Awakening, women play an unparalleled role, and it is necessary for them to continue this role. It is women who prepare and encourage their husbands and children to step into the most dangerous areas. We have clearly witnessed the significance of the role women played during the time we were fighting taghut [tyrannical monarchy] in Iran and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. If our women had not fought in the battlefields during the eight-year war, which was imposed on us, if they had not been present in different national arenas, we would not have achieved victory during that difficult test. Our women helped us to achieve victory. The mothers and wives of our martyrs and war veterans created an atmosphere with their unwavering patience, in which our youth and men were encouraged to have a determined presence. And this atmosphere spread to every part of the country. As a result, the general atmosphere of our country was filled with selflessness and self-sacrifice, and we achieved victory. This is the case today within the world of Islam--in Egypt, in Tunisia, in Libya, in Bahrain, in Yemen, and in every other place. If women strengthen and continue their presence on the front lines, they can achieve victories one after another: there is no doubt about it.

Disintegration of family foundation

In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly growth; she achieves personal growth; she achieves ethical growth; she achieves political growth; she becomes a pioneer of the most essential social issues: yet, she remains a woman. Being a woman is an advantage for any human: a source of pride. Isolating women from much needed feminine environments and characteristics will not bring about a feeling of honor for most women. Moreover, housekeeping, raising children and taking care of one's husband must not be considered a source of disgrace for women! Western culture led to the collapse of family values. Today, one of the greatest problems of the Western world is the breakup of family environments and an increase in the number of orphaned children! The West is suffering from the consequences of neglecting family values and will suffer more: these social developments build up over time. The West will be harmed greatly by this problem, and the flashy, materialistic civilization of the West will collapse along the faults of this problem.

In the western perspective, women are basically viewed as products

The western view of women is an insult to women: they call it "freedom," but it is not, in fact, representative freedom. Over the past two, three decades, Westerners have chosen charming names for their crimes against humanity. Whenever they've committed murder; whenever they've plundered a country; whenever they've enslaved people; whenever they've confiscated other nations' sources of wealth; whenever they've imposed wars on nations or whenever they've committed other crimes, they chose deceptive and beautiful names for their actions: liberation, human rights, democracy and other such things. Describing the western attitude towards women as "freedom" is a deception: it has nothing to do with freedom. The cornerstone of Western culture is that women should be socially presented as a product, an object that men can benefit from; for instance, promoting immodest clothing is a step in this direction. Over the past 100 years, or more, violence against women in the West has been on the rise: there has been no decrease of violence in this regard. Sexual freedom and unprincipled sexual behaviors in the West have not curbed sexual desires, which are natural and instinctive. In the past, they used to promote the idea that men and women should be allowed to have free relationships with one another to diminish their sexual desires; later on, clearly, quite the opposite happened. The more that they allowed men and women to have free sexual relationships with one another, the more the resulting situation of sexual desires increased. Today, Westerners feel no shame of promoting homosexuality as a moral value: this makes any dignified human embarrassed, but Westerners have no shame. The Western view of women is perverted, flawed, misleading and simply wrong. The Islamic view of women brings about dignity, honor, growth and an independent identity for women: this is our assertion, and we can prove it with extremely compelling evidence.

Imposing Western culture on Islamic societies, especially on women

For a hundred years, now, the West has been trying to impose Western culture and lifestyles on women of Islamic communities: relying on its money, power, weapons, and diplomacy. Efforts have been made over the past one hundred years to detach Muslim women from their identity. All implements of power and propagation have been employed to achieve this goal: money, propaganda, weapons, different deceptive materials, sexual impulse; they have employed all these things to separate Muslim women from their Islamic identity. Today, carrying out efforts to restore the Muslim woman's identity is the greatest service that you can render for the Islamic Ummah, Islamic Awakening, and Islamic dignity... Islamic Awakening and Islamic dignity will be strongly affected by the women's awakening, the women's sense of identity, and women's awareness and insight.

Islam ensures women's growth in all aspects

The Islamic view of women brings about dignity, honor, growth and an independent identity for women. This is our claim and we can prove it with very compelling reasons. In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly growth. She achieves personal growth. She achieves ethical growth. She achieves political growth. She becomes a pioneer in the most essential social issues. Yet she remains a woman. Being a woman is an advantage, a source of pride. Isolating women from womanly environments and characteristics will not bring about any honor for women. Housekeeping, raising children and taking care of one's husband must not be considered a source of disgrace for women. Western culture made the family collapse. Today one of the great problems of the Western world is the breakup of the family and the increase in the number of abandoned children. The West will suffer from the consequences. Social developments build up over time. The West will be harmed most by this problem and the flashy materialistic civilization of the West will collapse along the fault lines of this problem.

Violence against women is on the rise in the West

The basis of western culture is that women should be presented in society as a product, an object that men can benefit from. Promoting immodest clothing is a step in this direction. Over the past 100, 200 years, violence against women has been on the rise. There has been no decrease in this regard. Sexual freedom and unprincipled sexual behaviors in the west have not curbed sexual desires, which are natural and instinctive. In the past they used to promote the idea that men and women should be allowed to have free relationships with each other so that their sexual desires are diminished. Later on it became clear that what happens is the opposite. The more men and women are allowed to have free relationships with each other in society, the more the resulting situation increases sexual desires... The Western view of women is a degenerate, flawed, misleading and wrong view.

Iranian women played significant role fighting Pahlavi regime

It is women who prepare and encourage their husbands and children to step into the most dangerous arenas. We have clearly witnessed the significance of the role women played during the time we were fighting taghut in Iran and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. If our women had not fought in the battlefields during the eight-year war which was imposed on us, if they had not been present in different national arenas, we would not have achieved victory in that difficult test. Our women helped us achieve victory. The mothers and wives of our martyrs and war veterans created an atmosphere with their patience in which our youth and men were encouraged to have a determined presence. And this atmosphere spread to every part of the country. As a result, the general atmosphere of our country was filled with selflessness and self-sacrifice, and we achieved victory.

Iranian women have a significant role in all arenas against fighting arrogant powers

In this great wave of Islamic Awakening, women play an unparalleled role and it is necessary for them to continue this role. It is women who prepare and encourage their husbands and children to step into the most dangerous arenas. We have clearly witnessed the significance of the role women played during the time we were fighting taghut in Iran and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. If our women had not fought in the battlefields during the eight-year war which was imposed on us, if they had not been present in different national arenas, we would not have achieved victory in that difficult test. Our women helped us achieve victory. The mothers and wives of our martyrs and war veterans created an atmosphere with their patience in which our youth and men were encouraged to have a determined presence. And this atmosphere spread to every part of the country. As a result, the general atmosphere of our country was filled with selflessness and self-sacrifice, and we achieved victory

Leader Meets Participants of International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening

Leader’s Speech to International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening

The following is the full text of a speech delivered on July 11, 2012, by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with participants of the International Conference of Women and Islamic Awakening in Tehran.

Leader Meets with Judiciary Officials

In a meeting with judiciary officials, Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed the need for cooperation among the three branches of government and added: "Today the bullying powers of the world have reached the conclusion that they should do everything in their power in order to deal a blow to the Islamic Republic, in order to harm the Islamic Republic."