Imam Khomeini's Political Ideology Should Be Conveyed to Future Generations: Leader

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Imam Khomeini's political thoughts should be conveyed to future generations.

In a meeting with Mohammad Ali Ansari, the director of the headquarters responsible for organizing the ceremonies commemorating the death anniversary of the late Imam Khomeini, the Leader said that Imam Khomeini ushered in a new ideology and political school which should be conveyed to future generations.

"Loving the late Imam Khomeini without understanding his political thoughts is not acceptable. He explained his thoughts for many years. He suffered many hardships for his political thoughts during his life," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

He noted that extensive efforts have been made to cast Imam Khomeini's political ideology in a bad light by describing it as reactionary and inconsistent with the requirements of modern times.

"Contrary to the propaganda, Imam Khomeini's political ideology addresses the main needs of humanity because all the suffering of people stems from the ‘liberal democracy' the West advocates as an ‘advanced political school of thought.'"

Citing an example of Western liberal democracy, the Leader said that the scandal the U.S. troops have created in Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad indicates that such practices are routine in the prisons of the United States.

"What is going on in Iraq, Palestine, and even in the United States is a lesson to people, showing them the product of Western liberal democracy and how the so-called advocates of human rights and democracy are behaving," Ayatollah Khamenei added.

"The cause of the scandal is liberal democracy's lack of morality. Whereas, Imam Khomeini's political ideology respected morality in addition to democracy and at the same time pinned hope on the Almighty," the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled that the late Imam Khomeini once issued a statement saying "The United States is also doomed," adding that Imam Khomeini had made the same prediction about the Soviet Union, which collapsed after his death.

"The United States has hurt the feelings of Muslims worldwide. They thought that they would win the game easily, but they are now experiencing the bitter taste of defeat. With every passing day in Iraq, the U.S. comes closer to the brink of the precipice.

"It is intolerable to see U.S. occupation troops desecrating the holy shrines in Iraq. It has provoked the ire of the Muslim world," Ayatollah Khamenei said.