Meeting with Various Segments of People on the Occasion of the Decade of Fajr

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

At the outset, I extend my gratitude to all of you, brothers and sisters, especially the esteemed families of our noble martyrs, the distinguished scholars, and the Mojahedin in the path of God, who have come from distant places and in cold weather. We thank God that once again our great nation, with a sense of power, well-being, and dignity, stands on the threshold of the Decade of Fajr and the luminous and memorable days of the victory of the revolution.

Although this year we commemorate the arrival of our great Imam to the country and the great transformation of the revolution by that great man while he is not among us, and this absence is a profound and heavy grief for all of us, if the Imam is not present, his God, his path, his guidance, and his luminous pointing finger that always guided us to the right path, remain. What is important is that we recognize and appreciate the great work of the Imam.

Let us pass over the centuries of domination by tyrants over this country, where our nation, except for very brief and insignificant periods in history, was constantly afflicted by the rule of tyrants and selfish and bloodthirsty rulers. We will not speak now of what happened to our nation during the long period of tyranny, where the Iranian nation was constantly humiliated by tyrannical despots; but for two hundred years until the emergence and peak of the Islamic movement, the Iranian nation was constantly humiliated and oppressed by the unjust impositions of dominant foreign enemies.

From the day foreign powers, as the dominant powers of the world at that time, entered this country, foreign political interference in our country began. First, the British came, then in competition with them, the Tsarist Russians intervened. For many years in our country, there was competition between these two for greater influence until with the rise of the infamous Pahlavi dynasty, British dominance was fully established in Iran, and after two or three decades, the Americans entered the scene and continued their demonic, evil, deceitful, and malicious power over our country and nation for years.

During these two hundred years, the Iranian nation had no autonomy. It was not in control of its wealth and was deprived of scientific and industrial progress in the world, and had no real hope for the future. If in the past—before the era of colonialism and foreign interference in our country—Iranian and domestic rulers oppressed and wronged the people, during the period of colonial powers entering Iran, there was both the domination of tyrants, widespread executions without trial, limitless oppression, and immense pressures and suffocations imposed on our nation, and the tyrants were supported by foreign powers, doubling their power, and the wealth of our country was plundered by both the domestic tyrannical rulers and the oppressive foreigners.

What befell the Iranian nation over nearly two centuries? When we read the books of orientalists who came to Iran during this period to benefit from the vast table spread by the rulers, every honorable person feels a sense of distress and pressure within themselves and is ashamed that such foreigners were made dominant over the lives, wealth, and political destiny of the people, and that such a great, talented, and powerful nation—like the Iranian nation—was chained and oppressed.

It is true that colonialism did not enter our country openly and explicitly and did not establish a government like in India and Algeria, but the rulers through whom colonialism exerted influence in Iran acted like their own agents and proxies for colonialism. From within, they consumed and destroyed the nation, and the grievances of these two hundred years—especially in recent years when the Islamic culture and the political aspirations and talents of the people were completely ridiculed by the colonialists and interfering powers—accumulated among our people.

Our nation was ready to make a move. A great leader and correct thinking were needed to guide them. This correct thinking was the Islamic thought that had deep roots of faith and belief in the hearts of the people, and that great leader and man was the great man whom God chose for the salvation of this nation, and indeed for the salvation of all the oppressed—especially Muslims in our time and century—and this great revolution took place.

For nearly eleven years, the insidious mercenary pens of the Zionists, Americans, and other enemies of Islam in the world have been writing: What has been the achievement of this revolution in Iran so far?! They magnify the shortcomings and present them to the people. They do not understand that when a movement takes place in a country and brings the nation onto the scene, gives the nation character, raises the government and state management from within the nation itself, and makes the beliefs and faith of the people govern their lives, and this nation becomes alive and feels its character, the path is open before this nation.

Our fundamental problem was that we were bound by dozens of chains by colonialism. These chains were political, economic, and cultural chains, the tyranny of a puppet government, and the disbelief of this nation in itself. Colonialism had taken away the belief and faith of the nation in itself; but the revolution restored life, vitality, and faith to the people.

Today, we are a living nation, and it is for this reason that in these eleven years, so much work, effort, and useful service have been accomplished in our country that it was impossible for such work to be done in several times this period during those oppressive governments; because the people themselves are on the scene, their wealth is in the hands of their own trustees, and the country's officials are interested in the nation's destiny and are from among the people themselves, and Islamic faith and commitments govern the behavior of the country's managers. Before this revolution, where were all these? All of these are thanks to Islam, the revolution, and that great man, that rightful Imam, who is truly the heir of the prophets and the outstanding personality of our time. The greatness and character of the Imam and the uprising of the nation were also thanks to Islam.

I want to tell our dear nation to appreciate the Decade of Fajr and the twenty-second of Bahman. This memory is the greatest memory of our nation after the arrival of Islam to our land and borders. Of course, the enemies of Islam and the revolution are hostile to the memory of the victory of the revolution; but despite their wishes, consider the memory of the revolution great. Throughout these ten years, our enemies have always wanted to damage this revolution and tarnish the luminous image of the Imam. By honoring the Decade of Fajr, you thwart the enemy's desire.

Those who claim to support human rights and trample on the rights of a nation in the blink of an eye; the Americans who claim to support human rights and have the closest friendships with regimes where the first foundations of democracy, freedom, and human rights do not exist in their countries and do not criticize them; countries that do not even have a parliament and where there is no political presence of the people, and such a phenomenon is not considered a flaw by the leaders of America; they are opposed to Islam, and in truth, what they are confronting is Islam.

They constantly want to find fault with Islam and criticize it. No matter how our nation lives and whatever progress it achieves, in all aspects of life, the enemy will not cease from speaking ill of the revolution, the country, and the Islamic system. What the enemy can do is propaganda against Islam and the revolution. Despite this enemy action, appreciate the great achievement of your revolution and preserve Islam, the Islamic system, and the revolutionary path that the Imam outlined for our nation. The Imam showed us the path of living freely, completing ourselves, building a life in a way that pleases God and follows the commands of Islam, true construction of life, and non-compromise with anti-Islamic powers. These are the lessons of the twenty-second of Bahman for us.

The twenty-second of Bahman is a true celebration for our nation. The twenty-second of Bahman is like the Eid al-Fitr for our nation, where the nation emerged from a period of severe fasting; a period where deprivation of spiritual and material nourishment was imposed on our nation. The twenty-second of Bahman is like the Eid al-Adha; because on that day and on that occasion, our nation sacrificed its Ismaels. The twenty-second of Bahman is like the Eid al-Ghadir; because on that day, the blessing of Guardianship, the completion of the blessing, and the fulfillment of God's blessing for the Iranian nation took practical and external form.

The officials organizing the Decade of Fajr should, as much as they can, with good, diverse, and meaningful programs, familiarize the people with the truth of this decade. Also, the brothers responsible for the prisons—whom we hope, God willing, will treat the prisoners exactly according to Islamic behavior—should identify those who can be eligible for pardon. The pardon committee, which was appointed by Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), God willing, should pursue their great responsibility with the same interest and diligence and be able to identify those who deserve Islamic mercy.

God willing, may God shower His grace and mercy upon all the members of our nation and include them in His material and spiritual blessings.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings