The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 3, 2004 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on the occasion of the demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (r.a.). The speech was delivered at Imam Khomeini's shrine.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad and upon his immaculate and pure household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. Allah the Exalted has said, "And We appointed, from among them, leaders, giving guidance under Our command, so long as they persevered with patience and continued to have faith in Our signs" [The Holy Quran, 32: 24].
After the passage of 25 years from the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the formation of the Islamic Republic and after the passage of 15 years from the demise of the great leader of the Revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic, the main pivot of the propaganda that the angry enemies of the Revolution and our country use is enmity towards our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). Even after the passage of 25 years from the formation of the Islamic Republic, their most important goal is to question the charismatic and brilliant character of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) by putting a thousand hours per month on making programs for hundreds of radio and television networks. And these networks have been established by Zionist and arrogant groups.
We should acknowledge that the enemies of the Islamic Republic have no other option in order to confront the Islamic Republic and the movement of the people of Iran. This is because Imam's (r.a.) political philosophy and school of thought is the most important factor in the resistance and steadfastness of the people of Iran on their glorious path. Our people firmly believe in his school of thought. The enemies of the Revolution have no option other than showing enmity to Imam's (r.a.) philosophy, school of thought and character - which is still alive - so that, as they foolishly think, they can make our people retreat and surrender.
It was with his political school of thought that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) managed to break the long-established spell of tyranny in this country. It was with his political school of thought that he managed to cut the hands of the looters in this country. These looters had turned Iran into their safe refuge with the cooperation of dictators. They were people who had hoped to keep Iran for themselves as a country which produces raw materials and as an endless oil store.
I would like to highlight Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought. His political school of thought cannot be separated from his attractive personality. The secret of Imam's (r.a.) success is the school of thought that he presented and that he showed to people all over the world as a tangible and clear system. Of course, our great Islamic Revolution achieved victory because of our people and the people of Iran showed the depth of their capabilities and capacity. But they were not able to accomplish such a great feat without Imam (r.a.) and his political school of thought. His political school of thought opens an arena whose scope is even wider than the formation of the Islamic government. The political school of thought that Imam (r.a.) introduced and established and for which he made great efforts has new ideas for humanity and for the whole world. It offers new paths to them.
There are certain ideas in his school of thought that humanity is thirsty for. Therefore, they do not become old-fashioned. Those who try to introduce our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) as a person who belongs to history and the past do not succeed in their efforts. Imam (r.a.) is alive through his political school of thought and as long as this school is alive, his presence and existence is a source of great and permanent influence for the Islamic Ummah and even for the entire humanity.
Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought has certain characteristics. Today, I want to speak about a few outstanding characteristics of this political school of thought. The first characteristic is that in Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought, spirituality and politics are closely intertwined. In his political school of thought, spirituality is not separate from politics. In it, politics and mysticism, and politics and morality are interconnected. Imam (r.a.), who was the embodiment of his political school of thought, enjoyed politics and spirituality together. He pursued them together. Even during his political activities, the main pivot of Imam's (r.a.) behavior was spirituality. His behavior and positions at all times pivoted around God and spirituality. He believed in God's tashrii will and he trusted His takwini will. He knew that if someone moves in the direction of divine sharia, the laws and traditions of creation will help them. He believed in, "to Allah belong the armies of the heavens and the earth and Allah is exalted in power, full of wisdom" [The Holy Quran, 48: 7]. He considered the laws of sharia to be the main motive behind his movement. He considered them to be a guide for his movement.
Imam's (r.a.) movement was for the happiness of the country and the people and it was based on the guidance of Islamic sharia. So, Imam (r.a.) looked at divine obligations as a key to success. It was these divine obligations that helped him to reach his great idealistic goals. All of us know this well-known sentence by Imam (r.a.), "We act for the sake of responsibility, not for the sake of victory". However, this does not mean that he was not interested in victory. Without a doubt, Imam's (r.a.) aspiration was to achieve victory in all his great goals. Victory is one of the blessings of God and he was interested in it. He was not at all reluctant to achieve victory. But what made him move towards goals was carrying out divine obligations and responsibilities and moving for the sake of God. This was his motivation and therefore, he was not afraid and he did not have any doubts at all. He did not become disappointed and arrogant, nor did he become tired and weak. These are the characteristics of carrying out divine obligations and taking action for the sake of God. Those who take action for the sake of carrying out divine obligations do not become hesitant and weak. They do not become afraid and tired, they do not return from their path and personal interests do not determine their orientation.
Fear of death and defeat does not mean anything to those who add together politics and mysticism, and spirituality and political movement. This is the exact opposite of the old-fashioned and outmoded western policy which they falsely call, "modern policy". This so-called modern policy is the separation of religion from politics. It means the separation of government from spirituality. Western civilization was founded on rejecting and showing hostility towards spirituality. This was the great mistake of those people who began the scientific and industrial civilization and movement in Europe. They attached significance to knowledge. This was good, but they waged a war against spirituality. This was bad and deviant. Therefore, the more this materialistic and irreligious civilization progresses, the more deviant it will become. It will poison them and the entire humanity with its poisonous fruits, as it has done so until today.
The phenomenon of colonialism - which caused most hardships and difficulties for tens of countries and millions of people in the course of many years - is one of the things that took place as a result of the separation of knowledge and politics from spirituality, and government from morality in Europe. The two world wars were among those bitter fruits. Communism and the dictatorial Marxist government too were among the bitter fruits of the separation of the scientific and industrial movement from spirituality. The destruction of family, the flood of sexual decadence and the chaos of extremist capitalism were all the result of that separation.
Today too, you can see the peak of this separation in Abu Ghraib and other prisons of Iraq. Those who run these prisons claim that they are the most advanced people in human civilizations. People throughout the world saw the results of this progress - through photos and clips - in the prisons of Iraq. The disasters that befell the people of Iraq - and before that, the people of Afghanistan - are not confined to these things. Two, three years ago, a wedding caravan was bombed in Afghanistan. A month ago, a wedding in Iraq turned into a funeral ceremony and this was done by English planes. The humiliation of Iraqi youth, the torture of Iraqi men, the harassment of Iraqi women, transgression against the safe environment of Iraqi families and the establishment of a puppet government for the people of Iraq are all the results of this movement that naturally leads to such disasters. Spirituality has been eliminated from politics.
In the past too, rulers, tyrants and dictators used to do such things in the east and west of the world. But when beautiful slogans such as human rights and human freedom to vote were introduced to the Europeans and when they set foot in the path of knowledge, being away from spirituality did not allow these slogans to bring good to humanity the way they were expected to do so. The same slogans became a source of evil and corruption. The new idea that exists in our magnanimous Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought is that politics and spirituality, and power and morality should be combined in all plans of a political system. This new idea is that moral principles should be observed. This is the first characteristic of Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought.
The second characteristic is firm and sincere belief in the role of the people and in human beings' dignity and will. In Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought, human identity is both valuable and respectable, and powerful and influential. The result of this value and dignity is that the people's votes play a fundamental role in managing the fate of humanity and society. Therefore, in his political school of thought, democracy - which has been derived from Islam - is real and genuine. Like American and other such democracies, it is not a hollow slogan and it does not want to deceive people's minds. In such democracy, the people choose the path with their votes, will, decision and faith. And it is the people who elect their officials.
About two months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Imam put to the vote the system which was based on the Revolution. Compare this with the behavior of those who launch a military coup d'état in the world. Compare it with the behavior of communist governments. Compare it with America's behavior in the present time. Today, after the passage of 15 months from the occupation of Iraq, America does not allow the people of Iraq to say what and who they want for their own government. Yesterday, the United Nations spokesman said, "Because the Americans have a military presence in Iraq, their opinion should receive attention in electing the Iraqi cabinet". This is their democracy. Their democracy is deceitful.
Even in their own countries, democracy is not real. It is a mere exhibition which has been staged with the help of colorful propaganda and big money. And it is not clear where this money comes from. So, in this democracy, the people's votes cannot be seen.
In Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought, the people's votes play a determining role in the real sense of the word. This means the value of the people's votes. On the other hand, he believed that with the iron determination of the people and by relying on the power of their votes, one can stand up against all transgressing powers in the world. And he did stand up against them. In his political school of thought, democracy originates from religion. It originates from "Those who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation" [The Holy Quran, 26: 38] and from "He it is That has strengthened you with His aid and with the company of the believers" [The Holy Quran, 8: 62].
We have not borrowed this from anyone. Some people want to pretend that it is the westerners who should come and teach us the role of people in managing governments. The westerners themselves have gotten stuck in this. The same Americans and the same people who claim to support democracy embraced, defended and supported dictators like Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was the absolute dictator of this country for 35 years and before him, his father ruled the country in a complete dictatorial manner for 20 years. Do such people support democracy? They are lying!
Anyone who likes to see their democracy should go to Iraq. They should go and see how they behave towards the innocent people of Afghanistan. They should go and see how the American democracy supports criminal Sharon. This is their democracy. So, should we learn democracy from them? Do they place any value on human beings? Notice what disasters are taking place in Palestine. Are the Palestinians not humans? Do they not own their own land? Do they not have the right to vote and express their viewpoints? Today, the most heinous and shocking crimes are being committed in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Before that too, such crimes were committed in many other areas. This is while those who behave in such disgusting manner are not ashamed at all and they claim to support democracy.
The President of America shamelessly claims that the heavy responsibility of promoting democracy in the world and in the Middle East region falls on his shoulders. The people all over the world are witnessing their democracy in prisons such as Abu Ghraib - which are not few in number in Iraq and Guantanamo. This is their democracy and human rights. It is very stupid if some people in our country and other Islamic countries think that the westerners should teach our peoples what democracy is. We expect those influential personalities and writers who are fair-minded not to speak in a way that it seems as if the westerners are teaching us the message of democracy. It was Imam (r.a.) who introduced democracy. It was the Revolution which brought democracy.
In a country in which the people did not know the meaning of voting and willpower for many centuries - except for very short spans which seemed like a moment - our Imam (r.a.), our Revolution and our Islamic Republic introduced democracy. In the past, we had not seen a ballot box. No one placed any value on the people of Iran and dictators showed most indifference to our people throughout their reign. Some people speak as if we are just beginning to enter the arena of democracy. Is this not injustice? Is this not closing one's eye to the truth?
The third characteristic of Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought is its international and global outlook. In his political opinions and ideas, Imam (r.a.) addressed the entire humanity, not just the people of Iran. The people of Iran carefully listened to his message. They fought and stood up for it and they managed to achieve dignity and independence. But this message addressed the entire humanity. His political school of thought wants good, independence, dignity and faith for the entire Islamic Ummah and humanity. This is a mission which falls on a Muslim individual.
Of course, the difference between Imam (r.a.) and those who assume a global responsibility is that Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought does not want to make a people believe in its thoughts and path by using weapons and torture. The Americans say, "We have a responsibility to promote human rights and democracy in the world". Is using nuclear bombs in Hiroshima the way to promote democracy? Is it using cannons, tanks, waging wars and launching coup d'états in Latin America and Africa? Today too, such deception, oppression, tricks and crimes are being witnessed in the Middle East region. They want to promote human rights and carry out their global responsibility with these tools.
Islam's political school of thought leaves its new and correct thoughts and opinions in people's minds and these thoughts spread everywhere like a spring breeze and like the scent of flowers. Those who have a good sense of smell can benefit from it, as many people in many countries have benefitted from it until today. The Palestinians say that they have been revived and awakened by Imam's (r.a.) message. The people of Lebanon say that they have learned from Imam's (r.a.) political school how to defeat the army of the Zionist regime. Muslims in all areas of the world - Muslim youth, intellectuals and outstanding personalities - believe that their intellectual victories in different political arenas have originated from his political school of thought.
The masses of people in Islamic countries feel dignified with the name of Islam. This is the same international outlook that Imam's (r.a.) school of thought adopted towards the issues of humanity. And it is not confined to the world of Islam. Today, the issue of Palestine is the main issue for us. The disasters that have befallen the Islamic Ummah are painful for us. What happens in the world of Islam is the main issue for the people of Iran and for those who are attached to and interested in the name and memory of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). They cannot be indifferent to such matters. This is why the world of arrogance wants to commit the biggest crimes against Muslim nations and they want to act in a way that other Muslim nations do not see and understand these crimes and do not make a decision. They want to act in a way that they do not even complain. However, the people of Iran see and understand these things. They make complaints and adopt positions and they do not remain indifferent to the matters of the world of Islam.
Another important characteristic of Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought is protecting and guarding values whose manifestation can be seen in his establishing Wilayat-e Faqih. From the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and the formation of the Islamic Republic, some people have tried to portray the issue of Wilayat-e Faqih as inappropriate, bad and false. They interpreted it in the wrong way, they told lies and they had expectations which were not compatible with the political viewpoint of Islam and our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). When you hear that those propagandists who are infatuated with the enemies promote these ideas, you should know that this is not related to the present time. From the beginning, these orientations, students [of the west] and propagandists have been promoting such notions.
Some people try to introduce Wilayat-e Faqih as an absolute and dictatorial system. This is a lie. On the basis of our Constitution, Wilayat-e Faqih does not reject the responsibilities of high-ranking officials and important organizations. The responsibility of different organizations of the country cannot be taken away. Wilayat-e Faqih is the engineer of the system. It protects the guidelines and directions of the system and it prevents it from deviation. This is the most important and pivotal definition of Wilayat-e Faqih. Therefore, Wilayat-e Faqih is not a symbolic responsibility and formality. It does not only play an advisory role - this is what some people have wanted and promoted from the beginning of the Revolution until today - nor does it play an executive role in the country.
The country already has executive, judiciary and legislative officials and everyone should carry out their duties within the remit of their responsibilities and they have to answer for their measures. The role of Wilayat Faqih is that the movement of this complex system - in which different roles are interconnected - should not deviate from its goals and values. The role of Wilayat-e Faqih is to make sure that this movement does not deviate from its straight path. Guarding the general movement of the system and directing it towards its ideal and lofty goals is the most important and fundamental responsibility of Wilayat-e Faqih.
Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) found and derived this role from Islam's political fiqh. Our faqihs throughout the history of Shia and Shia fiqh understood and acknowledged this as well, but they did not have the opportunity to implement it. So, they considered - rightly so - Wilayat-e Faqih to be one of the clear truths of Islamic fiqh. This very important and sensitive responsibility is based on religious standards and guidelines and on the votes and wishes of the people.
According to the political school of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the criteria for Leadership and Wilayat-e Faqih originate from religion. Unlike capitalist countries, its main criterion is not dependence on powerful and wealthy groups. They too have certain criteria and they act according to them, but these are their criteria: they have to be part of powerful and wealthy groups. Otherwise, they will not have the necessary criteria for ruling. These are not the criteria in Islam's political school of thought. The main criterion is the criterion of spirituality. The main criteria are knowledge, piety and acumen. Knowledge brings awareness. Piety brings courage and acumen safeguards the interests of the country and the people. These are the main criteria in Islam's political school of thought. If someone who accepts this sensitive position loses one of these criteria and characteristics, he will no longer be eligible even if all the people of the country support him. The people's votes exert their influence, but only within this framework.
If the person who has taken on the role of the Leader and Wali-e Faqih loses the criteria of knowledge, piety and acumen, he will no longer be eligible and he will not be able to continue his responsibility even if the people want him and chant his name. On the other hand, someone who has these qualifications and who is elected with the votes of the people through the Assembly of Experts - and the Assembly of Experts is formed with the votes of the people - cannot say, "Because I have these qualifications, the people should accept whatever I do. We have no "shoulds". It is the people who choose. The right to choose belongs to the people. Notice how clearly and beautifully religious rules and the people's will have been combined in the most sensitive center of the government's management.
It was Imam (r.a.) who introduced this. It is evident that the enemies of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and his political school of thought do not like this role. This is why they target it. Such individuals are led by those whose hands have been cut from looting the worldly and otherworldly resources of this country thanks to our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and his political school of thought. They lead the front and some people follow them. Some of them know what they are doing and some of them do not.
The last characteristic of Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought is social justice. Social justice is one of the most important and fundamental guidelines in his political school of thought. In all plans of the government - in all legislative, executive and judiciary plans - social justice and filling class rifts should be the goal. If we say that we will make the country rich - that is to say, we will increase gross domestic product - but all sources of wealth are accumulated in the hands of a small group of people with a large number of people excluded from it, this is not compatible with Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought. Filling economic rifts for the people and combating discrimination in using different national resources is our most important and difficult responsibility. All decision-makers, law-makers, executive officials and those who are working in different organizations should pay attention to this and they should consider it to be one of their most important standards.
This political school of thought established the Islamic Republic. Twenty five years have passed from that time. During these 25 years, most attacks have been launched on our country, our people and this political school of thought. But our people have progressed on a daily basis. In the area of knowledge, construction and international politics and in the area of raising awareness in different arenas, building great infrastructures, achieving technological capability and reviving talents, our people have made such progress that no one could have even imagined in the distant past. This has been achieved in the shade of Islam. We never claim that in implementing the plans of the Revolution, we have moved forward according to the requirements of the time and that we are where we should be. This is not what we claim. We have shown laziness. If we officials - at different levels - work more and better, achievements will undoubtedly be more.
Today, we have made many achievements. Today, our people and government are strong, the infrastructures of the country are prepared and our scientific progress and the cultivation of our young talents are extraordinary. We can accelerate our movement. Our people will do this and by Allah's favor and grace, we will make progress. Today, the flag of Islam, piety, courage and innovation in the area of politics is in the hands of our people. In their propaganda, the enemies try to play down these achievements and eliminate what our people have fulfilled, but they cannot do so.
They have made all sorts of efforts in order to confront us. The enemies of the Islamic Revolution - headed by America - even went as far as creating a completely wrong version of the Islamic government in Afghanistan. This version turned into the Taliban government. It turned into a funny and ridiculous caricature. And the same government became a source of disaster for them. Perhaps they wanted to take away the flag of reviving political Islam from our people and give it to their own students, but they failed to do so and they will continue to fail in the future. We thank God that our determination is firm, that our path is clear, that our people are pious and that Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought is alive and bright.
Our enemies too have understood and acknowledged that our people are powerful. We adopt independent positions on different international matters. We are not influenced by anyone and we do not intend to create uproar. However, we condemn oppression, oppose oppressors and support the oppressed. We condemn the crimes that were committed by the Zionists in Palestine. We condemn the savagery and the appalling and unprecedented crimes that have been committed by the usurping Zionist government against the people of Palestine. They have destroyed houses, they have killed children and disabled and sick people like Shaikh Ahmed Yasin and they have made thousands of Palestinians homeless. We think that such crimes are despicable and we damn the perpetrators of these crimes and America which supports them.
Contrary to the Americans' claims, we do not interfere in the events of Iraq. We believe that Iraq belongs to all the people of Iraq. The will of the people of Iraq should determine the fate of that country. In Iraq, there are many religious and political leaders and many political, cultural and religious personalities. In our opinion, the occupiers should not stay in Iraq even for one single day. Not a single drop of Iraq's oil belongs to them. They should not appoint even one single official in Iraq. They have no responsibilities whatsoever in Iraq. We believe that America's situation in that country has become much more difficult compared to one year ago and it will continue to be more difficult on a daily basis. America has faced defeat in Iraq whether it wants and accepts it or not.
Dear God, we are proud of our courageous, religious and motivated people who are always present on the scene. We thank You for these people. We are proud of Imam's (r.a.) political school of thought and we thank You for that.
Dear God, bestow Your blessings and mercy on our people. Dear God, defeat the enemies of our people. Dear God, help our dear and religious people to achieve all their lofty goals and ideals. Dear God, reward our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) - who introduced and opened this glorious path for us - because of these people. Dear God, associate him with Your saints. Dear God, bestow your blessings on our people and our country.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings