On the third day of his trip to Kermanshah province, Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met with thousands of basijis. At the meeting, His Eminence discussed the origin of Basij and its unique characteristics.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that after the victory of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini proved his foresight by demanding that Basij be formed.
His Eminence referred to the lofty ideals of the Islamic Republic and its resistance against the arrogant powers, further stating: "Such a government would definitely be confronted with different challenges. It was for this reason that Imam Khomeini formed Basij as one of the pillars of national preparedness for defense. He said at that time that if a country has 20 million people who are prepared to defend the country, that country will become invincible."
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "Of course this basiji preparedness does not mean that all our people should become members of the military. Rather, it means that everybody is prepared to defend the country and fight. And a nation whose people are prepared to fight will not be defeated. Imam Khomeini was the person who introduced this innovation."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed: "Of course military and defense issues are only one dimension of Basij. Basij enjoys various other dimensions such as knowledge and innovation."
His Eminence added: "Regarding the political dimension, innovation in the vast arena of diplomacy, which is accompanied by different kinds of malicious activities, is highly effective and the requirement for a clever diplomacy that enjoys initiative is the basiji spirit."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the basiji spirit has a broad scope and reiterated: "The basiji spirit can include different areas such as basiji scientific progress, basiji acquisition of knowledge, basiji production of wealth, basiji economy, basiji politics, basiji management and basiji organization."
His Eminence referred to the 32-year resistance of the Iranian nation, the spread of Iran's Islamic and revolutionary thought to the region and constant conspiracies of the global powers, further adding: "Until the ultimate victory, there will definitely be challenges and battles. Therefore, the Islamic Republic will always need a competent, vigilant, strong and prepared defensive force and this is the basiji spirit in the arena of defense."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that defending Islamic principles is one of the most important duties of Basij and stressed: "If there is any deviation in the straight path of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, Basij will stand up against it."
His Eminence said that commitment to the laws and regulations is one of the requirements of the basiji spirit and stressed: "On the one hand, Basij and basijis should observe the laws but on the other hand, if Basij and the basiji spirit is thwarted by certain laws and regulations, those who are responsible for changing the laws should eliminate these obstacles."
Ayatollah Khamenei criticized those who have closed their eyes to the positive points and the advances and reiterated: "This is wrong. Of course there are certain shortcomings, but if these shortcomings are addressed, this should be interpreted as a sign that things are being done in the right way."
His Eminence said that in spite of what the enemies say, the country has bright future prospects. "The movement of the Islamic Revolution has been a successful movement and the reason is the experiences of the Iranian nation, the existing realities and the outstanding advances over the past 32 years."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed: "The progressive movement of the Revolution does not mean that there are no problems, but there are many experiences in different arenas that can inspire managers in charge of different sectors in the country."