Statements on the Meeting with Officials of the System and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries on the Occasion of Eid al-Fitr

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

I congratulate this great Eid to all of you esteemed attendees, dear guests, and ambassadors of Islamic countries, and to the great and faithful nation of Iran and to the entire Islamic Ummah in all Muslim countries and throughout the world.

What is important is that we recognize the value of these opportunities. The Almighty God has made Eid al-Fitr a source of dignity, honor, and grace for the Islamic Ummah and for the great Prophet; "and for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is a source of honor, dignity, and grace"; it is a means of increasing the dignity and honor of the Islamic Ummah and the great Prophet. This depends on how we Muslims behave with these opportunities and occasions. Muslim nations can use the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr as a means for dignity; they can set a ladder towards spiritual and material elevation and the dignity of this world and the Hereafter. We must be vigilant; we must take advantage of these opportunities.

For decades, Muslim nations have been under the domination and oppression of the arrogant powers of the world. The international wars that occurred among the arrogant powers began in Europe; the colonizers of the world turned against each other, but they involved the Muslim nations, the nations of this region, in the consequences and problems of these wars. It was the aftermath of these wars that led to the emergence of the dangerous and lethal Zionist entity in our sensitive region, among Islamic countries and in the heart of the Islamic world. Following these wars, the flawed foundation and defective geometry of the United Nations and the Security Council and the veto-holding states were established. That is, the same bloody hands that instigated those lethal wars sought to take control of the world and bring this sensitive and important region, rich in blessings and a center of potential unity for the Islamic world, under their domination; and they succeeded in doing so. We were heedless; the Muslim nations were asleep; they were attacked; their fate became intertwined with the complex and immense problems they are still grappling with. We were negligent. The leaders of Islamic countries were negligent at one time and fell for the games of the powers.

Today, it is felt, it is seen that this veil of negligence is being lifted from the minds of the countries in the region and the Muslim nations; this should be valued. Our sensitive region, North Africa and the West Asia region - which the Europeans have arbitrarily named "the Middle East" and is the sensitive center of the heart of the world - today, thanks to Islamic awakening, is determining the future of this region. We must recognize this opportunity, value it; we must not let this important and sensitive opportunity slip away. The issue of the noble Quds and the oppressed Palestine is at the heart of these matters and at the center of the events in the Middle East.

Our sensitive region has many of its issues and problems due to the existence of this cancerous Zionist tumor, which the blood-stained hands of the great powers are trying to preserve with all their might. The Americans explicitly state, and other dominant powers of the world also explicitly express that they have tied their fate to the fate of the Zionist regime. This is detrimental to them.

Today, the issue of Palestine, thanks to Islamic awakening, has once again become a central issue for the Islamic world; we must not allow this prominence and this advantage to be lost and hidden under the plots and schemes of the enemies of Muslims and the enemies of the Islamic Ummah. The issue of Palestine is a central issue. Over time, nations have judged their governments based on their positions regarding the Palestine issue. Of course, the pressure of tyranny, arrogance, oppression, and force has prevented the demands of the nations from being revealed. This year, in the events of Quds Day and the marches of the nations in the region, in the face of the blindness of the Zionists, the nations were able to express their heartfelt desires in this matter, and God willing, it will become more and more intense and warm.

Of course, the enemy does not remain idle and has not remained idle; the enemy's plots have become more complicated. The officials of Islamic countries, the governments of Muslim countries, the elites - whether political elites, cultural elites, intellectuals, or religious scholars - have the duty to clarify the truth for the nations. Today, they have once again employed an old tool that has always been in the hands of the arrogant and tyrannical powers as a means to dominate nations, and that is the issue of division; division among the leaders of countries, among governments, among nations, under various pretexts. The eternal and lasting plan of arrogance is to sow discord; or to revive ethnicities and nationalism among nations; to emphasize the natural differences that exist in languages, races, skin colors, and religions. This is the work of arrogance; it has always done this. It has been said since ancient times: "Divide and rule." Today, they are pursuing the same plan. We must awaken; we must be vigilant; both governments and nations.

Contrary to reality, they conceal what is the main danger and the primary threat to this region, indeed to humanity - namely, Zionism. Zionism is a danger to all humanity. Today, Western governments are also subject to the encroachments of the Zionists; they too are suffering from the consequences of these centers of wealth and power; the nations of the region, as is evident, have suffered greatly at the hands of the Zionists. These assassinations are their doing, these divisions among nations are their doing, through various tools of theirs; we must be alert. They conceal this danger, which is the main danger of the region, and fabricate realities; they falsely emphasize dangers that do not exist and sow discord among Muslims. We must be vigilant. Arabs and non-Arabs, Shia and Sunni, different sects, skin colors should not create divisions among us; "and We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another." This division into tribes, this separation into clans, this racial division is not a cause for discord; "Indeed, the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most pious of you." The axis is something else; the criterion is something else. There should be a competition among Muslim nations in adhering to Islam, in fostering brotherhood, in striving for the nations, in resisting the will of the great powers, with the United States at the forefront. Muslim nations must see that wherever American policy and Zionist policy create discord, they should know that this discord is harmful; they should not be deceived.

The issues of our region are important; the nations have awakened. Several Muslim countries, several Muslim nations have been able to overcome the situation that was favorable to arrogance due to this awakening. The nations have nullified decades of investment and efforts by America in Egypt, Tunisia, and some other areas, burning and destroying them. This is awakening; this must be preserved. The criterion should be to see where the open enemy of Islam and Muslims stands; that is where falsehood lies; the opposite point is the point of truth; this is the criterion; we must keep this criterion in mind. And in our view, the clearest example of this is the issue of unity and agreement among the nations. They want to sow discord among Muslim nations; we must know that this discord is false; in the verses of the Quran, this is prohibited; division, discord, and fighting among Muslim nations is a lethal poison; we must avoid this.

Let us seek help from the Almighty God. This opportunity of the month of Ramadan was a very important opportunity that, God willing, the Muslim nations have taken advantage of. The opportunity of Eid al-Fitr is a great opportunity. Opportunities slip away - "They pass like clouds" - we must take advantage of them at every moment.

O Lord! Grant success to the Muslim nations in utilizing the opportunities You provide them. O Lord! Bestow unity and solidarity upon this oppressed nation. Help us in fulfilling our duties on this path.

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