The following is the full text of a speech delivered on August 24, 2005 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with Basijis.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Being present among you dear youth and pure-hearted basijis is always exciting. The Islamic Revolution itself and the events that it gave rise to one after the other in different areas are all amazing, but the establishment of these massive Basij forces is miraculous and exceptional. Basij is indeed a reality that is like legends. For those who are not familiar with the origin of Basij, it is not easy to imagine how it became so massive and comprehensive and how it managed to achieve this level of quality and variety. There are no age-related limits for Basij. Both very young and very old people are members of Basij. There are no gender-related limits for Basij. Both men and women are members of Basij.
There are no profession-related, geographical and ethnic limits for Basij. All Iranian ethnicities and people from all professional backgrounds at different intellectual levels - including outstanding scholars and students as well as active and enthusiastic youth - are members of Basij. Basij is the manifestation of national resistance and the presence of the people on the scene. Basij is the manifestation of our nation's awareness, the kind of awareness that is accompanied by vibrancy, spirituality and sincerity. Basij is a reality, but it looks like a legend. Basij infuses young people with enthusiasm. It creates hope for friends and strikes fear into enemies. Today you see the enthusiastic and beautiful presence of young people in dangerous arenas in Palestine and Lebanon and this is because they are following Basij as their role model. Today you see that young students have awakened throughout the world of Islam and this is because they consider Basij as their role model. Basij means the great movement that has been started by the Iranian nation, a movement that is accompanied by awareness, a movement that is imbued with emotions as well as rationality, a movement that is accompanied intellectual principles, a movement that is accompanied by pragmatism as well as ambitions and foresight. These are the elements that constitute the identity and attitude of Basij. This is why since the victory of the Revolution until today, Basij has been a thorn in the enemies' eyes, both domestic and foreign enemies. Basij has always been the target of the enemies' verbal and non-verbal attacks.
The attempts at mudslinging against the best youth of our country who are present in the rank and file of Basij, are not particular to a specific era after the Revolution. These attempts have been made since the victory of the Revolution until today and they will continue in the future as well. Of course, the enemies are aware of the achievements of Basij. During the Sacred Defense Era, the performance of Basij astonished the world. The presence of Basij in the battlefields both provided military support and raised the morale of our military - namely, the Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. This presence of Basij in the battlefields had a miraculous effect. Wherever Basij was present, there was high morale and spirituality as well as resistance, as a result of which victory would ensue. This was how the Iranian nation managed to overpower the satanic forces of Iraq in less than two years - that is to say, by the time Khorramshahr was liberated. When Khorramshahr was captured by the enemy, it became a manifestation of the enemy's power and Iran's weakness, but when the Iranian forces powerfully liberated Khorramshahr from the clutches of the enemy and captured thousands of enemy soldiers, basically the fate of the war was determined.
At that time, leaders of certain countries visited Iran in order to intervene and put an end to the war. One famous revolutionary personality - who was the leader of a country in Africa - told me that the situation of Iran and the Islamic Republic was completely different from before the liberation of Khorramshahr. Today everybody considers you as the victors. And this is the truth. It took six more years for the Islamic Republic to defeat the massive global powerhouse that was behind Saddam's Ba'ath regime. And we achieved victory and managed to defeat an enemy that was being supported by the Soviet Union, NATO and America. They would provide our enemy with conventional weapons. They would provide our enemy with chemical weapons. They would provide our enemy with intelligence. This victory was achieved thanks to the presence of the people, the presence of Basij, the presence of pure-hearted youth.
Basij is the school of spiritual and sincere struggle. This struggle is for the people of Iran and more importantly, for Islam and for raising the flag of Islamic liberation in the world. This struggle is accompanied by certain dangers. The biggest danger for a human being is death. In the basiji school of thought, this death is called "martyrdom", which is the most valuable virtue among all spiritual values. There is a narration that says, "Superior to all virtue is the virtue of being killed for a divine cause." Among all virtues and spiritual values, martyrdom has the highest value. This is the significance of jihad and martyrdom.
There are certain individuals who are working for the enemies of our nation's dignity by undermining the value of jihad. You know that in certain countries in the region, the Americans are trying to purge textbooks of the ayahs that are related to jihad. They have insisted that this should be done and certain weak and pathetic governments have accepted their demands. They want to eliminate jihad from the Holy Quran and Islamic teachings. This is because jihad in the way of God ensures the dignity of Muslim nations and the Islamic Ummah and it is the most important base for resistance. They tried to promote the idea that martyrdom is simplistic and naïve. This is while martyrdom is one of the most valuable outcomes of jihad. Jihad can completely reveal its significance only when it is accompanied by a commitment to martyrdom. Jihad and martyrdom are two important values of the Basij movement. Our honorable basijis have made good progress so far. It is necessary to continue making progress. There is no doubt that this role model in our dear country will play a role in the world. Today domestic issues of Iran and global issues are interrelated.
The government of the United States of America is threatening the Iranian nation, but this is not its only crime against us. The other crime is that they have made the region unstable and this instability will harm the entire world. Today we have stood up against the Americans' activities in the region and we are in fact a guardian of the stability of the region. We are defending our identity. We are defending our national identity. We are defending our religion. We are defending the noble values of the Islamic Republic. We are defending the region and in this way, we are in fact defending the entire world.
The Americans have used all the tools that were available to them in order to counter the Iranian nation and they have always been frustrated in their efforts against our brave people and youth. They are afraid of our youth. The population of Iran is young. Iranian youth are vigilant and they are standing firm thanks to their faith in the principles of Islam and Islamic values. Basij is in fact a massive movement by the people. Many people might not be members of Basij or resistance forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, but they are basijis at heart. In the surveys that were conducted in the country, more than ninety percent of our youth said that they are prepared to defend the country. This is what Basij means.
When this spirit is accompanied by more sincerity, more commitment to the principles and more piety and religious faith, it reveals the enlightened nature of our honorable basiji youth in areas in which they play an outstanding and pioneering role. The enemies cannot do anything to stop our basijis. You saw that America acted in a dishonorable way in the case of our elections. The way they tried to take advantage of the elections was against all human values and international regulations. But they were frustrated in their efforts. What happened in Iran was the opposite of what they wanted. A more significant defeat that America will suffer is in the arena of efforts to transform the Islamic Republic beyond recognition. They want to destroy the essence, spirit and identity of the Islamic Republic through the use of various cultural tools and through their cultural and political puppets. They will be defeated in this arena as well and this will be America's biggest defeat against you faithful youth of Basij.
Always remain on God's side. Have faith in Him. Do not stop relying on Allah the Exalted. Have faith in the great power that Allah the Exalted has built into your hearts, your minds, your willpower and your bodies. You should know that you can move mountains with the power that has been bestowed on you. The Iranian people might seem like a calm ocean sometimes, but once they are stirred, they will give rise to devastating tsunamis. If this great ocean with its religious depth is stirred into action, our youth can accomplish great achievements. These great achievements will not be confined to battlefields, rather great accomplishments will be made in the arena of science, in the arena of social issues, in the arena of culture, in the arena of establishing moral virtues and promoting them among people, in the arena of technology and scientific advances. You dear youth are capable of such achievements and miracles. You dear people of Iran are capable of such things. Young and old basiji men and women are capable of such things. Basij is in fact the representation of the people of Iran and all Iranians are in fact members of Basij. May Allah the Exalted make the soul of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) happy- he established this noble foundation and planted this sapling, which has become a mighty tree now.
I hope that you always benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope God bestows special blessings on you. I hope Allah the Exalted channels all of your actions in the right direction and makes them serve His cause.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings