- Explanation and promotion of Islamic resistance
What does resistance mean? Resistance means that you choose a path that you deem legitimate and true. It means moving on this path and not allowing obstacles to prevent you from taking that path. This is what resistance means.
The second point is that you should promote and foster the view of resistance against the enemies’ iron fist. People must not feel that because the enemy has bombs, missiles, propaganda apparatuses, and other such weapons, we should retreat. The theory of resistance is an original and correct theory. It should be promoted in both theoretical and practical ways. The theoretical aspect is that you need to promote it. You, youth, can delineate the theory of resistance very efficiently: among yourselves, in the environment where you live, and even in relations with other countries and youth. You should explain the theory of resistance – the fact that the goal of arrogance is hegemony and domination over nations – to everyone, so they know that arrogance pursues this goal.
And the practical aspect of the issue is that we believe the youth are entitled to pursue a resistance orientation. The youth of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and the youth in North Africa, the Subcontinent, and the surrounding regions are showing resistance against the US. --This is their right, and we think that they are entitled to do so. Strengthening these orientations means strengthening the theory of resistance.
Of course, it should not be forgotten that by Allah’s favor and grace, today the orientation of resistance against oppression and bullying exists in the world, one which is reliant on the Name of God and Islam. Our region is an example in this regard. In our region, the spirit of Islamic Awakening is prevailing in many nations and countries today. When you witness that the arrogant powers of the world headed by the criminal US – the Great Satan – are sensitive about the region, the reason is that the orientation and inclination towards Islam and Islamic Awakening are clearly noticeable in the region. They are opposed to the awakening of Muslim nations. They are afraid of the awakening of Muslim nations. Whenever Islam managed to dominate the hearts and lives of peoples, arrogance was slapped across the face and we firmly believe that once more, arrogance will be slapped across the face by Islamic Awakening in the region.
This is the essence of what I wanted to discuss with our Muslim brothers, Muslim nations, the intellectuals of the world of Islam and the honorable religious scholars in Islamic countries. You should strengthen this Islamic movement as much as you can. The way to the salvation of this region is strengthening Islamic Awakening and the movement of Islamic Resistance. This responsibility falls on all the masses of Muslims – in particular, the ulama of Islam, intellectuals, writers, poets, scholars, artists and political personalities. They are responsible for this. They are the addressees of the invitation of the Holy Prophet and of Islamic guidance. Today, the ground is prepared in the world of Islam. The ground is prepared in West Asia in particular for Islamic Awakening. Everyone should help so that this Awakening will yield results.
- global arrogance, the enemy of nations that take the path of God and seek justice
Today westerners are suffering from weakness in economic matters. They are suffering from weakness in political matters. They are suffering from weakness in international decisions, including the decision to impose sanctions on us. In fact, they wanted to punish the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation for being committed to Islam.
Be suspicious of the kind of Islam that is favorable to Washington, London and Paris, be it laïcist and westernized or rigid and violent. Do not trust the kind of Islam that tolerates the Zionist regime but confronts Islamic denominations in a brutal way, the kind of Islam that extends a hand of peace and friendship to America and NATO but fans the flames of domestic sectarian and tribal conflicts, the kind of Islam that is cruel to believers and compassionate towards unbelievers.
Be suspicious of American and English Islam because it will lure you into the trap of western capitalism, consumerism and moral decline.
In the past centuries, both outstanding personalities and rulers felt proud of increased dependence on France, England, America and the Soviet Union, and they used to run away from Islamic symbols. But today everything has completely changed.
You should know that the west will seek revenge, economically, militarily and politically. If the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries continue on the path of God, they might be threatened with sanctions.
If the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic had abandoned the oppressed Afghan, Bosnian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian brothers the way other so-called Muslim governments did, if we had stayed silent and stabbed Palestine in the back just like most of the Arab governments did, they would never have declared us a supporter of terror and interference. We are thinking of liberating holy Quds and all of the occupied Palestinian lands: this is the big crime of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic.
Our nation is standing, thanks be to God. The Iranian nation, with forty years of experience, is steadfast in its resistance. We have been tested: retreating in face of the enemy only encourages the enemy. In confronting the enemy, resistance will repel the enemy. “And if those [Meccans] who disbelieve had fought you, they would have turned their backs [in flight]. Then they would not find a protector or a helper. [This is] the established way of Allah which has occurred before. And never will you find in the way of Allah any change." (Quran 48:22&23)
This is a divine tradition [on the path of Allah]: if you confront cruelty, oppression, bullying, malignancy, and world criminals, they would certainly have to retreat.--Quran Al-Karim reminds us of this definite path of history and God: this will come true, God willing. We hope that the Iranian nation, the Syrian nation, the Iraqi nation, the oppressed Palestinian nation, the Kashmiri nation, Myanmar, and the people of other places where Muslims are under pressure, God willing, will succeed in the near future, and they push back their enemies.
- Do not replace resistance with negotiating with affiliated bodies
Negotiations with bodies associated with the United Nations are another exercise in futility. The United Nations has perhaps confronted few tests such as the problem of Palestine, wherein it has been exposed and earned such a bad name. It was a day when the Security Council promptly and officially recognized the occupation of Palestine by usurping [Zionist] terrorist groups and played a basic role in the birth and continuation of this historic injustice.
After that, for several decades, it maintained a satisfied silence with regard to the cases of genocide, expulsion of refugees, war crimes and various atrocities committed by that regime. Even when the General Assembly voted branding Zionism as a racist ideology, the Security Council not only did not go along but also maintained practically a diametrically opposite stand. The oppressive world powers, which enjoy permanent membership in the Security Council, use this world body as an instrument. As a result, the Security Council not only does not help the cause of world security, but also rallies to the assistance of these powers whenever they deploy notions such as human rights, democracy and the like as pretexts to further their greed and domination, drawing a curtain of deception and lies over their illegitimate actions.
The deliverance of Palestine cannot be obtained through begging from the United Nations or the dominating powers, and more so from the usurper regime. The sole path of its deliverance is through resistance and fortitude, through the unity of purpose of the Palestinians and the word of God's oneness (Tawhid), which is the inexhaustible resource for human struggle.
The pillars of this resistance, on one side, are the combatant Palestinian groups and each and every one of the faithful and resistant Palestinians, those who are within that country as well as those who are abroad.
From another side, the pillars are the world's Muslim nations and governments, religious scholars, intellectuals, political figures and academics. If these two pillars remain firmly in their place, there is no doubt that in every part of the world, awakened consciences, hearts and minds, which have not been spoiled by the spells of the news media empire belonging to the global arrogance and Zionism, will rally to the assistance of the victims and those who have been denied their rights, forcing imperialism to confront a storm of thoughts, emotions and actions.
- The most important weapon of intelligent services against resistance front
Today one of the most dangerous things that threatens the movement of Islamic Awakening is the efforts to foment discord and turn these movements into bloody sectarian, ethnic and national conflicts. Currently, this plot is being seriously pursued by intelligence services of the West and Zionism with the help of petrodollars and bribed politicians from East Asia to North Africa and particularly in the Arab region. And the money that could have been spent to bring about happiness for mankind is being used to make threats, excommunicate, assassinate, bomb, shed Muslim blood and to kindle the fire of long-lasting grudges. Those who consider the unified power of Islam as an obstacle in the way of their evil goals have come to the conclusion that fanning the flames of conflicts inside the Islamic Ummah is the easiest way to achieve their satanic goal and they have used differences of opinion in Islamic jurisprudence, kalaam, history and hadith - which are natural and inevitable - as a pretext to excommunicate, shed blood and cause fitna and corruption.
A vigilant look at the scene of domestic conflicts clearly reveals the enemy's hands behind these tragedies. These deceptive hands undoubtedly take advantage of the ignorance, prejudice and superficiality that exists in our societies and they add fuel to the fire. The responsibility of religious and political reformers and outstanding personalities is very heavy in this regard.
Currently, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, Syria, Pakistan, and Iraq and Lebanon are in one way or another involved in or exposed to these dangerous flames. It is necessary to be extremely careful and to look for a remedy. It would be naïve to think that all of these things are due to ideological and ethnic factors and motives. Propaganda campaigns of the West and dependent and mercenary media in the region pretend that the destructive war in Syria is a Shia-Sunni conflict and they create a safety margin for the Zionists and the enemies of resistance in Syria and Lebanon. This is while the two sides of the conflict in Syria are not Shia and Sunni, rather they are the supporters and opponents of anti-Zionist resistance. Neither the Syrian government is a Shia government, nor is the secular and anti-Islam opposition a Sunni group. The only achievement of the plotters of this calamitous scenario is that they have managed to make use of religious sentiments of simple-minded people to kindle this deadly fire. A look at the scene and those who are involved in it at different levels can clarify the issue for any just individual.
Also, in the case of Bahrain, this wave of propaganda is spreading lies and deception in another way. In Bahrain, the oppressed majority - who have been deprived of the right to vote as well as other fundamental rights that a nation should enjoy - have risen up to demand their rights. Should this be considered a Shia-Sunni conflict simply because the oppressed majority are Shia and the oppressive secular government pretends to be Sunni? Of course, the European and American colonialists and their friends in the region want to make things appear like this, but what is the truth?
These are the things that call religious scholars and just reformers to careful thinking and sense of responsibility and they make identification of the enemies' goals behind highlighting sectarian, ethnic and partisan differences an obligation for everybody.-
Dear brothers and sisters, they have been lying to you for many years about your Iranian brothers. I will tell you the truth about Islamic Iran. Our Revolution has had victories and weaknesses in its selfless struggle over the past three decades. No Islamic movement in the world had made so much progress after deliverance from the hegemony of the west and the east over the Muslim world during the past centuries. No other Islamic movement has cleared so many obstacles.
By Allah’s favor, we will arrange many discussions between us. The capitalist and Zionist media of the world accuse Iran of terrorism simply because Iran is not prepared to recognize the occupiers and abandon its Arab brothers in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries. This is while we are the biggest victim of terrorism in the world and we are still suffering from continued assassinations and terror operations.
They speak about Iranian or Shia imperialism while everybody knows that we have never considered or described our Revolution as a purely Shia, nationalistic or Iranian revolution. Over the past 30 years, all the expenses we have incurred and all the threats we have heard have been due to our tendency towards Islam, building an Islamic Ummah and shouting slogans of unity, closeness of Islamic denominations, freedom and dignity for our Muslim brothers “ from East Asia to deep into Africa and Europe.
In the area of science, technology, social rights, social justice, development, health, ensuring women’s dignity, respecting the rights of religious minorities and other areas, Islamic Iran made great and exceptional strides. We are aware of our weaknesses and by Allah’s favor, we will eliminate them.
The equation of resistance changed in the region with the help of the Islamic Republic. In Gaza, the Palestinian transition from throwing stones to “answering missiles with missiles” and other instances of Islamic resistance against the occupiers: these things were inspired by the Islamic Revolution.
Iran is not after Iranizing Arabs or making other Muslims become Shia. Iran is only trying to defend the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.). Iran is only after reviving the Islamic Ummah. Helping the Sunni combatants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the Shia combatants of Hezbollah and Amal is an equally important religious obligation for the Islamic Revolution. The people and government of Iran declare in a clear and decisive way that they are committed to popular uprisings and not terror, to Islamic unity and not sectarian conflicts, to brotherhood among Muslims and not ethnic and racial discrimination, to Islamic jihad and not violence against foreigners.