Speech on the Anniversary of the Nineteenth of Dey Uprising in Qom

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

I extend my congratulations on this great day and historical juncture to you, brave and pioneering brothers and sisters, whose names are intertwined with the revolution and its glorious history. Both the nineteenth of Dey, which marked a new phase in the Islamic movement and heralded victory, and the name of Qom and its people, who created this great day, will always remain magnificent in the memory of this nation and this revolution.

In the tumultuous history of our oppressed and bloodied Iran, Qom stands out as a prominent name, representing a specific orientation and movement. Nearly seventy years ago, the city of Qom warmly embraced the seminary established by the late Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Abdulkarim Haeri. After the establishment of this seminary, approximately forty years passed before the first signs of its worldwide blessings—the Islamic movement and the unique shining gem of the great Imam—emerged. Although during those forty years, scholars and great figures emerged from the Qom seminary, and blessings ensued, the period around the seminary's fortieth anniversary, when the Imam rose and the seminary entered a new historical phase, is another story.

Approximately sixty years after the seminary's establishment by Ayatollah Haeri, the greatest fruit that could result from all seminaries and religious scholars—the establishment of the Islamic system—was realized. No seminary in the history of Shia or non-Shia Islamic environments had ever provided such a blessing to the Islamic world as the Qom seminary did. The seminary was established in 1340 AH, and in 1400 AH, the Islamic system emerged and flourished from it. Throughout this period, Qom and its people, like loyal companions, warmly and kindly embraced this seminary, preserved it, and protected it. From that day until now, nearly twelve years have passed, and you, the people of Qom, have been at the forefront in the battlefield, in political arenas, and in various revolutionary scenes, demonstrating sacrifice and proving the spirituality and sanctity of the revolution everywhere. Today, too, the youth, women, men, and the Qom seminary are exemplary. We hope that God will assist and you will strive to always keep Qom and the seminary at the forefront and pioneering in the line of Islam and the revolution.

In the events of the nineteenth of Dey and the subsequent increasing and successive events, the essential point is that the devout and self-sacrificing people triumphed over a regime that lacked nothing in terms of material power, in such a way that both the regime and all political analysts and global policy designers were bewildered; like a storm, they swept through a system that the devout and self-sacrificing people confronted. If someone wants to call it a miracle, let them; but this is not a miracle that cannot be repeated; it is a miracle with a clear analysis and can be repeated everywhere in the world and at all times.

If a great assembly of people has faith in God and their hearts are illuminated with the light of faith and ready for sacrifice, they can overcome any power that is not greater than them. This is a principle. The Iranian nation has experienced this principle. During the revolution, you experienced and saw how the Iranian nation, with a movement that started from Qom, under the shadow of faith and readiness for sacrifice, was able to overthrow a regime supported by the world's top powers and establish an Islamic system opposed by all the world's powers. This is an experience.

Another experience was in the war. You saw, and the world observed, that the Iranian nation, under the same faith and readiness for sacrifice, was able to end a war that both the East and West had invested in against it, to its advantage, neutralizing all the enemy's objectives and achieving its own goals. This is not a small experience.

Brothers and sisters! We must draw two conclusions from these great experiences:

One conclusion is that since the factor of Islam's and the Iranian nation's victory has been the gathering of devout and self-sacrificing people, the enemies of Islam and the Iranian nation will try to eliminate this factor. People cannot be eliminated; they will try to weaken and eliminate the spirit of faith and sacrifice among the people. How do they intend to weaken the spirit of sacrifice, faith, and hope among the people? Through malicious propaganda, spreading lies, attributing false and malicious accusations to the Islamic Republic, the Iranian nation, officials, the government, and the devout, by discouraging people and magnifying problems, by ignoring progress and successes. The enemies do this.

Today, any speech that causes despair among the people regarding the Islamic Republic, regardless of who utters it or whose throat it comes from, is the speech of the enemies of Islam. Colonialism, America, Zionism, and the arrogant powers spend money to make the Iranian nation despair of continuing this path and to make them lose hope in the Islamic Republic, Islam, and the Quran. They work hard and plan for this. Therefore, anyone who discourages people, anyone who belittles the services, progress, and successful efforts of the Islamic Republic at the national level and among Muslims worldwide, has spoken the language of the enemy, even if they do not understand or know it.

When a country and a nation pursue a great goal and all the world's bullies oppose this movement, it is natural that for a while, problems, delays, and obstacles will arise in this group's work. If the extent to which the Iranian nation and the country's officials have been able to address the problems caused by the previous regime and the war is considered—given the enemy's obstructions and malice—it becomes clear that it is a very significant amount.

So, know that the effort of global arrogance, colonialism, and the enemies of Islam and this revolution, from America and its propaganda arms to Zionism and counter-revolutionaries and factions, is to take away the main factor of victory—faith and hope—from these people; because they fear it.

The second conclusion is that what has led to the progress and victory of the Iranian nation so far can also lead to the victory and progress of the Iranian nation in all great goals in the future. We are still at the beginning of the path. We have much work ahead of us to implement Islam. We have many duties and responsibilities to counter the plots of global arrogance against this country, this region, and all oppressed nations, which we must fulfill. We have many tasks and responsibilities to create welfare and a worthy human life for this great and self-sacrificing nation. We have many tasks to repair the damage done over decades by the agents of colonialism and arrogance in this country, and we must take many steps. All these are great tasks.

Let no one imagine that these tasks are impossible or that the Iranian nation cannot accomplish them. This is ingratitude for God's blessings. We have no task before us that is greater than the original victory of the revolution or more difficult than establishing the Islamic Republic system. This nation was able to accomplish the most difficult tasks; that is, to create an Islamic system and a divine safe haven in the midst of this turbulent ocean of materialism, disbelief, and rebellion. You, the nation, you, the youth, you, the believers, you, the self-sacrificing fathers and mothers who gave your lives for God, were able to accomplish this great task. Preserve it, nurture it, and protect it from dangers.

What great task is there that is greater and more difficult than this, for someone to think that the Iranian nation is incapable of accomplishing it? If we say that we are fighting against the domination of American arrogance in this region, we are not speaking in vain. We speak with the support of this great and inexhaustible force of devout and self-sacrificing people. Do we allow an arrogant, aggressive power to want to be present in our Islamic region and the Persian Gulf—today the world needs the Persian Gulf, and the Persian Gulf belongs to Muslims—to interfere in the security arrangements here, to interfere and oversee the pricing and trade of oil and the transactions of this region? Are the Iranian nation and the nations of the region dead?! Do these nations allow America to establish a security system in this region and want to oversee and interfere in the movement of oil tankers and other activities that the people of this region have?

The world's powers should know that the center of the same great Islamic force that today shakes the throne of arrogance and arrogant power everywhere in the world is in this Islamic region and in Islamic Iran. This center will not allow them to rule and display power in this region and take control of the region's politics. This region is Islamic and belongs to Muslims.

We strongly reject the naive belief that the system of arrogance has reconciled with Islam and the Islamic revolution. We know that arrogance and the Great Satan will not reconcile with Islam, especially revolutionary Islam; but we believe and have firm faith that this Satan will not be able to harm this Muslim nation and the Islamic movement in this region.

Thanks be to God, the Islamic system is a formed system. The revolution has been embodied and shaped in the form of a system and its laws and regulations, and it will become more complete day by day. This Islamic Consultative Assembly, which is an Islamic assembly composed of representatives from the people themselves, this honorable Guardian Council, which safeguards and oversees the correct orientation of the laws, will make this system more complete and Islamic day by day. The competent and serving government that God Almighty has favored this nation with and today holds the reins of this country's administration will, God willing, lead the country towards greater welfare, prosperity, and stability; which is precisely the aim and purpose of Islamic goals. Islamic laws are for the people and must ensure their worldly and otherworldly well-being. We are moving in this direction.

What can the enemy do against a nation that has firm faith, hope for the future, is ready for sacrifice, and preserves unity among itself like a precious gem? Strive to maintain this unity—which, thanks be to God, is strong among the Iranian nation today. Reject the whispers of division from anyone, do not allow individuals, out of ignorance or, God forbid, malice, to create division among the ranks of the nation. This nation, which achieved its goals through unity and solidarity, must, God willing, preserve this unity and solidarity under the banner of Islam and the Quran.

We hope that the sacred heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and the pure soul of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) are pleased and satisfied with you, and may God grant all of you success.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings