In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
It is very enjoyable and memorable for me to see you - a group of the best youth and brave basijis in this country - here in this meeting. It is also very enjoyable for me to address other people throughout the country who have organized gatherings like this one elsewhere.
Like the Revolution, Basij is one of the signs of divine blessings. The nature of Basij is similar to that of the Revolution. The same characteristics which made the Islamic Revolution of Iran prominent in the history of all revolutions and which magnified the effects of the Revolution in the hearts of the people of other countries can be seen in this great and valuable organization called Basij. Like the Revolution, Basij is unprecedented in history.
Many countries put up resistance forces in different forms. According to the fashion of these countries, the taghuti regime also constituted such forces, but the essence of Basij is radically different from these forces. When people throughout the world follow the lead of others in different matters, it might be an affectation and they may not pay attention to the meaning and content, but it is the opposite concerning the Basij.
Basij-e Mostazafin which the Imam founded was full of meaning, spirituality and dynamism. The birth of Basij happened to coincide with the imposed war, which made this nation defend itself for eight years. Since its birth, Basij entered the very difficult battlefields. On the one side stood all global powers who supported the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein, and on the other side stood the Iranian nation with their armed forces. Basij entered the arena in such a battle.
The participation of Basij in this war led to the victory of spiritual forces in the battlefields - who had no supplies, but they were full of faith - while the whole world watched in surprise. The whole world saw clearly how the Iranian youth entered the battlefield with faith, trust in God and self-confidence. They saw that the Iranian youth employed the most complicated tactics which created miraculous achievements such as Fath-ol-Mobin and Beit-ol-Moqadas. The tactics that the Iranian youth employed in the Beit-ol-Moqadas operation -which led to the liberation of Khoramshahr - and the plan they devised has served as a very valuable lesson for experts on military operations until today. They employed complicated, dynamic and difficult tactics which seemed impossible to adopt but the faithful and innovative Iranian youth who relied on God, accomplished this incredible feat.
Such spirituality, reliance on divine power, self-confidence, courage, disdain for worldly concerns and active participation which basijis had for the sake of God were unprecedented in other countries as the Islamic Revolution of Iran was so throughout history.
Like the Revolution, Basij was based on people's will and it still is. It is true that you may join military brigades in the form of resistance forces, receive military training, prove yourselves in the battlefield, and it is true that if the country needs military forces, you will serve in the front line, but the role of Basij is the not limited to military forces only. The role of Basij extends to all areas of life. When we need construction, Basij plays a leading role. When the country needs essential services, Basij plays a leading role. When we need exact and detailed research, basijis always make the first move. Look at the nuclear issue which requires complex and advanced technology. The people who work there are among the religious youth and true servants of Basij. And it is the same in all areas.
The active founder of Royan Research Institute, Dr. Kazemi, was proud of the fact that he was a basiji. The faithful and active youth working there are basijis by nature. In that institute, there is abiding faith and unshakable self-confidence, which is a characteristic of a basiji.
Basij is present in all areas of life in our Islamic country. One role of Basij is the military role which involves military actions, military training and military discipline. Like the Revolution itself, this aspect of Basij involves people's participation. Each individual and each organization that can have the characteristics of the Revolution is like the Revolution itself eternal. It can be as influential and as active as the Revolution in the area it plays its role.
Basij should be based on people's will in the arena of politics, construction and macromanagement. The Islamic Revolution of Iran and Basij are both based on people's will.
Like the Revolution, Basij is full of Islamic teachings and religious beliefs. Our Revolution did not fall under the influence of atheistic revolutionaries who had made extravagant claims throughout the world. The embodiment of following religious teachings was our magnanimous Imam. He carefully followed religious principles and Islamic teachings in his personal life. The Revolution was carried out in this way. Our nation wished to move towards this path and they sacrificed their lives to achieve this goal. Basij was also founded on Islamic beliefs and it is a devoutly religious organization.
In the battlefields, no one told basiji youth to worship God or pray to him in a certain way because they worshiped God from the bottom of their heart and because their faith drew them to Allah. Their religious make-up which deepened in the battlefields taught them how to worship God, and they honestly worshiped Him. What you hear and read in the diaries of that time about basijis' act of worship and about their genuine tears in the battlefields, came from the bottom of their heart. Nobody can teach one how to do these things. These are not things that are learnable. It comes from the bottom of the heart. A basiji is a devoutly religious person.
Like the Revolution, Basij does not give in to the enemies' demands. The enemies put the Islamic Revolution of Iran under pressure to force it into retreating from its stance so that things change in favor of their own repressive regimes. They placed the Islamic Revolution of Iran under all sorts of pressures - one of which was the eight-year war that was imposed on our country -to achieve that goal. However our Revolution and our Imam did not surrender. As well as the Revolution, Basij will never surrender in the face of pressures and repressive measures of the enemies and it will never take a step back.
Basij is like a sanctuary in which the best youth of this country can gather in order to reach the great ideals of this nation. Basij is not confined to the old, the young, men, women and this or that class. Each of us should be proud if one day we can call ourselves basijis in the true sense of the word. We are already proud of being basijis.
Due to the existence of these characteristics in Basij, the enemies of the Revolution have always regarded Basij as their prime target of attack. They accused Basij of different things, and demagogues said whatever they liked against Basij in political arenas. Keeping its calm, Basij- like a deep and calm ocean - did not make and will not make any response. You should do the same.
Basij is the collection of the best people of this country and we are making all-out efforts to help Basij be inclusive. We are hoping fervently that Basij can include all people of this great nation. It has partly achieved this goal. We say that Basij has 20 million members, but in fact it should have tens of millions more members. By Allah's favor, Basij will be able to attain this goal.
When this nation stands up well to hard conditions, when it persists in achieving its ideals, when it does not become influenced by the enemies' propaganda, when it does not back out of its plans by the propaganda spread throughout the world and it does not change its course, when it manages to raise the flag of Islam with its great determination and when it encourages all Islamic nations and the Islamic Ummah with its strong presence in all arenas - then Basij can prove that it has been successful. If these things happen, Basij will be more successful and the enemies of Basij and those who are against Basij because of the Revolution and its ideals, must acknowledge that they have been defeated.
The great power of Basij comes from the great power of the Iranian nation. You dear youth, dear boys, dear girls, you who are from different social classes, dear members of this great organization, you should develop your competence as much as you can so that you can exert considerable influence over the fabric of our society and you can attract more young people to Basij and encourage more organizations to affiliate with this essential and ideal institution which is Basij. Public organizations of Basij should carry out such a task. Executives and decision-makers of Basij should also cooperate to fulfill this task.
Thanks to the competent individuals in the Islamic Revolution of Iran - the individuals have actively promoted the development of Basij - our Revolution has managed to pursue its ideals and it has surpassed its enemies. How is our status today compared to 20 or 25 years ago? The Iranian nation has improved in all arenas and the enemies of Iran acknowledge that they have fallen behind the Iranian nation in all areas. The Iranian nation has managed to follow its great path and other nations regard Iran as their models. The oppressed people of Palestine and Iraq, who have sacrificed their lives for their ideals, regard you as their models. Your liveliness, determination, spirit of resistance, honor and strong determination exert considerable influence on their morale. Today you see that the Americans and their collaborators have attempted to organize a fall conference in order to carry out their schemes. As I said on Eid ul-Fitr, the name of this conference reveals its meaning as it has the characteristics of the fall. By holding this conference, they hope they can give some help to the oppressive Zionist regime, make up for past failures and build up some reputation for the current White House officials. Today all people and all politicians know in advance that this conference, which will be held in a couple of days, will not produce any results. Why will it fail? It is because the Palestinian nation has awakened. The awakening of the Palestinian nation has been interconnected with the awakening of other nations, among which the awakening of the great Iranian nation and the vigilance of you faithful youth are the most outstanding. Your actions, slogans and presence exert as much influence on international affairs as the awakening of other nations.
Dear God, raise the position of the immaculate soul of Imam Khomeini on a daily basis who encouraged the youth, by his tremendous faith, to foster their talent. Dear God, associate the dear martyrs of this nation, the martyrs of the armed forces and the martyrs of Basij - who fought courageously and who were martyred innocently like their Imam, the Commander of the Faithful - with the martyrs of Karbala. Dear God, let the Iranian nation benefit from the capabilities of these dear youth. Dear God, increase the dignity of the Iranian nation and their youth on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessing