Statements at the Meeting with Participants of the Seventh Assembly of the World Assembly of Ahlulbayt (AS)

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on the earth.

I extend my welcome to all the esteemed attendees and dear guests. This session is truly and justly an outstanding and distinguished gathering. One can observe a manifestation of international coordination and synergy among a specific group of Muslims in this assembly.

The World Assembly of Ahlulbayt is an important center, a magnificent center. This center is affiliated with the Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them), and the Ahlulbayt hold an unparalleled greatness and popularity in the Islamic world; that is, no one can be found among the personalities of the Islamic world who shares such widespread popularity as the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) do collectively in the Islamic world. This popularity, this greatness, this spiritual glory naturally transfers to your assembly, which has been established in the name of the noble Ahlulbayt. Therefore, this place becomes significant, it gains importance; this greatness must be utilized. Titles and names are means, they are causes, and we must reach a result; what is the result? The result is that this center must be a place of attention and inspiration for all Muslims. Your art is to be able to establish this important center, namely the World Assembly of Ahlulbayt, as a source of inspiration for the Islamic world and for the hearts, souls, and spirits of those who seek and yearn throughout the Islamic world.

I would like to mention a few points in this regard. The first point is that the members of this assembly bear a heavy burden. This famous saying from the Imams (peace be upon them) that states "Be a beauty for us" is addressed to all of us; we must all be vigilant, and this is particularly relevant to you; the importance of your work necessitates that this phrase "Be a beauty for us" be given more consideration in relation to this assembly and the individuals within it. Well, if we want this to be realized, we must establish this assembly as a base for disseminating the teachings of the Ahlulbayt. The teachings of the Ahlulbayt — this is an important point — are not limited to a specific aspect of life; anyone who refers to the words of the Ahlulbayt will confirm that their teachings encompass a vast array of issues, divine knowledge, monotheism, mysticism, spirituality, ethics, personal and individual duties, family responsibilities, social duties, and even the responsibilities of governing a country and civilization-building; in other words, the teachings of the Ahlulbayt include all of these.

Today, Islamic societies are in need of all of these. If you observe any of the Islamic countries, you will see that they require both knowledge-related issues and practical matters; whether in personal environments or in small gatherings, or in the larger civilizational and political context, they need these teachings. Today, the Islamic world is in need, it is in need of these teachings, and this is a gap. You can, with precise and correct planning and diligent effort on the level of the Islamic world, and with reasonable methods — today there are many influential tools — convey the teachings of the Ahlulbayt to various communities; both to the elites and to the general public. This is one point; this is a heavy duty that I believe rests on the shoulders of this assembly.

The next point is that the followers of the Ahlulbayt are honored to have carried out the most significant movement in confronting the system of global arrogance, the system of domination. Many slogans are proclaimed, yet what has actually occurred on the ground is a clear and specific matter, and that is the flag of the Islamic Republic. The Shia are proud that they stood against the system of domination, they shielded themselves, and halted this seven-headed dragon that unjustly and tyrannically intervened in all aspects of the lives of countries, governments, and nations; today they themselves admit that many of their demands have been halted and destroyed by the Islamic Republic; this is one of the honors of the Islamic Republic system and this is the pride of the Shia. And this is only due to the inspiration drawn from the statements of the Imams of guidance (peace be upon them) and the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet; they were the ones who encouraged us to reflect on the Quran and draw inspiration from it, they were the ones who clarified the Quranic teachings for us; they were the ones who, through their practical conduct, taught us how to act; from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) to Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him).

Well, this flag of the Islamic Republic is the flag of justice and spirituality; there is nothing ambiguous here. The flag of the Islamic Republic is the same flag that the prophets raised, the Imams raised. In various pilgrimages, whether the pilgrimage to Imam Hussein or the pilgrimage to Imam Reza (peace be upon them), you explicitly state the inheritance of these great figures from the prophets: "Peace be upon you, O inheritor of Abraham, the friend of God; peace be upon you, O inheritor of Moses, the speaker of God"; this is the same flag, the flag of the Imams, the flag of the prophets, and the inscription on this flag consists of these two words: justice and spirituality.

Be aware that when you raise the flag of justice and spirituality, it is natural that in a world whose behavior is based on force and whose thoughts are based on materialism — that is, exactly the opposite of justice and the opposite of spirituality — it will provoke a reaction. Some tell us, "You have created enmity with such and such words, such and such actions, such and such decisions"; no, we have created enmity by raising the flag of the Islamic Republic, we have created enmity by presenting divine rulings. When you advocate justice, a civilization and world based on domination and global arrogance will naturally oppose you. When you advocate spirituality, a materialistic world that bases everything on materialism and reduces all concepts of the world to money will oppose you; this is natural. Therefore, the opposition and confrontation of the world of arrogance and the world of domination with the movement of the Islamic Republic is a natural and inevitable matter. Today, at the forefront of the world of domination is America, nothing else; with this statement, the responsibilities of all regarding America become clear. Today, the active enemy and at the head of the enemy front is America. This is another point.

There is a complementary point following this second point that I mentioned, and that is that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) taught everyone to set aside the existing lines of division among the various Islamic communities; there is only one line of division, and that is the line between faith and Islam on one side and disbelief and arrogance on the other; this is what the Imam taught everyone. The lines of division that the Imam taught us to set aside are sectarian lines, ethnic lines, racial lines, party lines, and similar divisions; he said to set these aside. There is one line of division, and that is the division between the realization of Islam and the Islamic system and the political embodiment of Islam against the system of domination, which is headed by America; this is the line of division that must be emphasized, and the Imam highlighted this from the very first day; not from the first day of the Islamic Revolution, but from the very first day of the movement; that is, from the time the Imam began this movement; fifteen years before the victory of the Islamic Revolution. This action of the Imam is also rooted in the verses of the Quran. "Indeed, there has been for you an excellent example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, 'Indeed, we are disassociated from you and from what you worship other than God. We have denied you, and there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in God alone'"; this is based on this Quranic verse. This does not mean that anyone who disagrees with us in belief, we have animosity and hatred towards them; no. In another verse, which is also in Surah Al-Mumtahana, it states, "God does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes from being righteous toward them"; God Almighty has said, "Indeed, God only forbids you from being allies to those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes". Therefore, the Imam's recommendations and actions are based on Quranic verses and texts; there is no doubt about this. One prominent line of division is the confrontation between the Islamic world and the world of disbelief and arrogance; the remaining lines of division should be diminished, they should not be given attention; Sunni, Shia, Iran, any other country, Arab, non-Arab, skin color, such and such race, and similar matters should not be given attention.

Thus, you have observed that from the very first days of the victory of the revolution, the issue of Palestine was highlighted in our country; the issue of Palestine was highlighted. I do not wish to compare, but we have seen in the Islamic world those who have acted in the name of Islam, who have risen up, not only did they not oppose the wicked Zionists, but they expressed friendship, and immediately faced the consequences. The Islamic Republic did not make this mistake, the noble Imam did not make this mistake. In the early days of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, they took the unnamed embassy of the Zionist regime from them and gave it to the Palestinians, and the Imam stood firmly for the issue of Palestine with all his being. For the Imam, Hezbollah, the fighting Shia in Lebanon, was not different from that Palestinian group which is also fighting and struggling; he viewed both as fighters in the path of God and for Islam. Whoever is closer to the Islamic Republic, to our actions, to our behavior, to our positions, is naturally closer to us; this is very important. This has led to an unparalleled solidarity between the Iranian nation and the Muslim nations throughout the Islamic world; this currently exists. Now, in the east of the Islamic world, in the west of the Islamic world, from the farthest reaches of Asia to the depths of Africa, nations are happy with the Iranian nation; we do not concern ourselves with governments, the situations of governments vary; the nations. This is because these lines of division were unofficially announced by the noble Imam.

Today, the Islamic Republic is influenced by this political geometry of the noble Imam. The Imam outlined this political geometry for the Islamic system, and today we are still pursuing the same, and God willing, it will remain so in the future. The Imam's foundation is "harsh against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves". We have never told countries that they must follow the political model of our system; no, we have never said this to any country and we will not say it. Our message is to act according to Islamic principles, which is what the verse I recited and the verse "harsh against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves" in Surah Al-Fath is about; these are Islamic principles. And God willing, in the future, we will stand against divisions, and we have stood against them until today.

Another point that exists is that when we emphasize this demarcation, this line of division between the vast Islamic world — which I will provide a brief explanation about shortly — and the world of domination and arrogance, it naturally has a reaction, it is very heavy for them. The world of arrogance has become accustomed to speaking forcefully and having no one respond decisively to its bullying. This world, which has perhaps been accustomed to bullying and speaking and invading nations for over a century, now sees that a nation in such a sensitive point of the world, in this important geography, has shielded itself and encourages Muslims to stand against it, against arrogance; naturally, this is unacceptable for them, they become hostile, it is heavy for them. The fact that the criminal plans of America in various countries are thwarted by the Islamic Republic, well, this angers them; one example is ISIS. ISIS was a creation of America; they themselves have admitted this. Well, when the Islamic Republic enters the field and stands firmly against this conspiracy and this plot, it becomes intolerable for them; hence they begin to react. The source of all the propaganda of Iranophobia and Shia-phobia and accusing Iran of interference in this country and that country is this anger and rage of America from the thwarting of its plans; thus you see that as much as they can, through various propaganda methods, they try to create both Iranophobia and Shia-phobia, separately. One of their claims is, "Why does Iran interfere in such and such country?" There is no interference.

Our policy is to stand against the crimes of the system of domination, and this angers them, hence they accuse the Islamic Republic. Everyone must be aware not to cooperate with this arrogant policy of America. Whatever they do, in our view — that is, according to my analysis — is out of weakness and incapacity. These assassinations that occur, they carry out strange and extraordinary propaganda, because they are powerless, they cannot do anything. The nature of the matter is the progress of the Islamic Republic; the nature of the matter is the visible and significant successes of the slogans of the Islamic system; the nature of the matter is this, and it has been this way and will continue to be this way, and they must retreat step by step. Well, this is the nature of the matter, and it will be this way; they are compelled to take some action in response, hence they resort to assassination and such propaganda; even one day they encourage people like Saddam to attack — this has been the case since the beginning of the revolution — they compel insignificant individuals to insult the luminous figures of the Islamic world.

One of the efforts that must be carefully monitored is that the arrogance wants to reverse this demarcation of the Imam; that is, to emphasize the lines of division in the Islamic world with the Shiite-Sunni war, the Arab and non-Arab war, sometimes the Shiite-Shiite war and the Sunni-Sunni war, which you currently see; [the war] of one Sunni faction with another Sunni faction, one Shiite faction with another Shiite faction! These are the works of arrogance, these are the works of America, these are their provocations, their plotting, which unfortunately exists; we must be vigilant; this is the desire of Satan. The Imam said that America is the Great Satan, and the Quran says, "Indeed, Satan only intends to cause animosity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling"; this intoxicants and gambling do not have a specific quality; that is, Satan wants to create animosity and hatred among you, and one of its tools is intoxicants and gambling; if it can create animosity and hatred through another tool, it will naturally do so; this is natural. Therefore, "Indeed, Satan only intends to cause animosity and hatred among you"; wherever you see animosity and hatred, you must observe the hand of Satan. Now, how to remedy this is another discussion; in every case, there is a way to remedy it, and we must think and find the way to remedy it. We must be vigilant against the satanic policies of the enemy.

We, the followers of the Ahlulbayt, must be the flag bearers of solidarity and synergy. From the very beginning, we said that the formation of the World Assembly of Ahlulbayt does not mean enmity with non-Shiites; this must be clear to everyone. You see that the Islamic Republic has from the beginning cooperated with those who are not Shiite but are moving in a good direction, in a correct path. In the Islamic world, who has helped the people of Gaza and the people of Palestine as much as the Iranians, as much as the Islamic Republic? Countries that share a common religion with them have not even provided one-hundredth of this assistance, and have sometimes inflicted harm, sometimes dealt blows.

One more point I would like to mention. When the discussion of confrontation and opposition arises, a question comes up: Can we, are we capable of confronting? My answer is that absolutely and one hundred percent; yes, we can. The capacities of the Islamic world to stop the arrogance and then push back the world of arrogance and domination are very good capacities; both soft power capacities and hard power capacities. Our soft power capacities are our teachings, our beliefs. Our view of the world is an optimistic view; our view of the course of history and the movement of history is a bright view, an optimistic view. We rely on a great power that empowers us, gives us hope. We are people of reliance on God; those who do not have this reliance, this recourse, become hopeless, depressed, remain powerless, remain stuck in the middle of the road. They make noise, but their essence is hollow. Today, the Western world is in a theoretical and intellectual deadlock; many of the issues of the world are incomprehensible and unexplainable for them; with the liberal-democratic perspective they have, many of the things that exist in the world today do not fit. However, for us, everything is solvable. The role of humanity, the role of human will, the role of reliance on God, the issue of Mahdism and the certain future of Islam are things that are clear to us, but not to them; they do not have them, they are lacking, their hands are empty. This is the issue of soft power.

As for hard power, yes, they have used the resources of the Islamic world for years, strengthening themselves through colonialism and various tricks, but the Islamic world has great capacity for progress; vast lands, extraordinarily valuable resources that human life depends on. Today, you see the issue of oil and gas in the world and how important it is; well, these belong to the Islamic world, and the Islamic world can utilize them in the best way.

We had these capabilities in the past as well; in the past, during the era of colonialism and neo-colonialism, these capabilities existed, but what was lacking was a resolute determination, what was lacking was the recognition of the enemy. Our nations during colonialism did not recognize the enemy, they did not have a resolute determination to confront the enemy, they did not have someone to guide them like our noble Imam, which is why they could not achieve anything. Today, thanks be to God, all of these are in place, the necessary determination and will are present in the nations. The nations are now ready, the elites of the nations are ready today. [Of course] some weaknesses are observed, which stem from our shortcomings. When I say that the duties of the World Assembly are heavy duties, one of the groups that must work in these areas is your assembly, and certainly many others; undoubtedly, our Islamic government is the most obligated and responsible. If there is a deficiency somewhere, it is due to our shortcomings; otherwise, today the capacities are abundant, the elites of Islamic countries are ready, they are truly ready, and the general public is the same. The actuality of the Islamic world is the Islamic Republic.

The Islamic Republic is a reality that exists on the ground; it is not a promise that "we will do it now"; no, this is a system that has come into being, and in my opinion, more important than the emergence of the Islamic system is the resilience of the Islamic system. The Islamic system has endured against these hostilities, these attacks, these various blows; resilience! It has been able to withstand, it has been able to stand firm, it has been able to remain, and it has been able to grow stronger. Today, the Islamic Republic is not the Islamic Republic of thirty or forty years ago; today, thanks be to God, that newly sprouted sapling has turned into an old tree, and this is a model; this is a model. Of course, we have stated that when we say "the Islamic Republic is a model," it does not mean that all Islamic countries must have a political structure like the Islamic Republic; no, the political structure may change. We ourselves have changed our political structure in some respects, it has undergone changes from the beginning until today, and other places may have different political structures. The main thing is the principles, the main thing is the foundations — those foundations that our noble Imam has articulated in his statements — the main issue is "harsh against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves," the main issue is "and upon God let the believers rely"; these are the main issues that must be given attention.

In any case, the future, God willing, is a bright future; we see the future of the Islamic world as a good one, and the Shia community worldwide can play a significant role, and you, as the World Assembly of Shia, can play a significant role. We ask God Almighty for your success. I once again extend my welcome and congratulations to all of you, and God willing, may you all be successful, supported, and able to carry out this work, and may you have a pleasant journey as well, God willing.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.