Statements on the Meeting with System Officials on the Day of Eid al-Mobath

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

I congratulate this great Eid and this noble day to the esteemed attendees of this assembly, the respected officials of the country, the esteemed ambassadors of Islamic countries, and to the entire dear nation of Iran and the great Islamic Ummah and to all of humanity.

If the greatness and importance of days is determined by the fact that the Almighty God has bestowed a blessing upon humanity on a certain day, undoubtedly, the day of Mobath is the greatest and most important of all days of the year; because the blessing of the prophethood and the raising of the greatest prophet for humanity is greater than all divine blessings throughout history. Therefore, it can be confidently said that the day of Mobath is the best, greatest, and most blessed of all days of the year. We must cherish the memory of that day and visualize the greatness of that event.

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: "He was sent at a time when there was a long period of absence of prophets and a long slumber of nations"; the prophethood occurred at a time when humanity had been deprived of the presence of divine prophets for a long time. It had been about six hundred years since the appearance of Jesus Christ. For hundreds of years, humanity had not seen a divine envoy among themselves. What was the result? "And the world was darkened, manifesting vanity"; the world was dark, it was gloomy, spirituality had vanished, and humanity was in ignorance, misguidance, and arrogance. In such conditions, the Almighty God sent the prophet.

The noble prophet was the worthy element that God had prepared for such a great movement, for the long history of humanity. Thus, he was able to initiate a movement over twenty-three years that has advanced history to this day despite all obstacles and problems. Twenty-three years is a short time. Thirteen years of this period were spent in difficult struggles. In Mecca, it began with five people, then ten, and then fifty, and a small number were able to resist under the unbearable pressures of the blind and ignorant enemies. Strong pillars were established so that the Islamic community and Islamic civilization could be built upon these pillars. Then, God Almighty brought about conditions that allowed the prophet to migrate to Medina and establish this system and this community and lay the foundation for this civilization. The entire time that the noble prophet spent developing, constructing, preparing, and advancing this fledgling system was ten years; that is, a very short period. Such events usually get lost in the storm of worldly events, they disappear, they are forgotten. Ten years is a very short time; however, in this period, the noble prophet was able to plant this sapling, water it, and provide the means for its growth and development; he created a movement that gave rise to a civilization, and this civilization reached the pinnacle of human civilization in its appropriate era. That is, in the third and fourth centuries after Hijra, in the entire world of that day, with the history of civilizations, with powerful governments, with various historical legacies, no civilization has been observed to be as great and prosperous as Islamic civilization; this is the art of Islam.

And this is while after the time of the noble prophet of Islam, after that ten-year period, various bitter events occurred for the Islamic Ummah; obstacles arose, differences emerged, and internal conflicts arose. Despite all this, the deviations that occurred over time, the impurities that developed in the course of Islam, the message of the noble prophet and the message of Mobath were able to create that greatness over three to four centuries, for which all the world and all the civilizations today owe to the civilization of the Muslims in the third and fourth centuries after Hijra. This is an experience.

If humanity thinks and observes fairness, it will acknowledge that the salvation of humanity and the movement of humanity towards perfection is possible only through Islam. We Muslims have been ungrateful; we have eaten salt and broken the saltshaker; we did not appreciate Islam; we did not maintain the foundations that the noble prophet laid for the construction of prominent and complete human societies among ourselves; we were ungrateful and have suffered the consequences. Islam had and has the ability to lead humanity to happiness, to perfection, and to grow it materially and spiritually. These foundations that the prophet established - the foundation of faith, the foundation of rationality, the foundation of struggle, the foundation of dignity - are the main pillars of the Islamic community.

Let us strengthen our faith in our hearts and in our actions; let us utilize human reason, which is a great divine gift to humanity; let us pursue jihad in the way of God, whether in military battlefields when necessary; or in other fields, in the field of politics, in the field of economics, and other fields - and consider the sense of dignity and human and Islamic honor as valuable for ourselves.

When these elements are revived in a society, that society will undoubtedly follow the same Islamic movement, the same path of the noble prophet of Islam. By the blessing of the message of Islam, by the blessing of the call of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), we, the Iranian nation, have been able to realize part of that in our lives; we are witnessing its effects and fruits.

Today, the Islamic world has become aware. The movements that we see today in some countries of North Africa and the Middle East are the same utilization and reliance on the light of Islam and the use of the direction of the noble prophet's blessed hand. Therefore, the future of this region, the future of these countries, with God's grace, with God's power, is a bright future.

The Westerners stubbornly insist, they stubbornly cling to their wrong positions. What is happening today in Egypt, Tunisia, and some other countries signifies that the history of this region has turned a page and a new chapter has begun. The unjust and erroneous balance that the Western arrogant powers and colonizers established in this region over a hundred years ago, a hundred and fifty years ago, and wanted to impose it on the destiny of this vast and sensitive region has been disrupted; a new chapter has begun.

Of course, today the arrogant Western powers are putting up a fierce resistance; they do not want to submit to this great and undeniable reality that the nations of the region have awakened, that the nations of the region have returned to Islam; but the truth is just that. The Islamic spirit has been breathed into the Muslim countries. The dependents and puppet rulers of America and the West have done such things to these nations that they felt that there was no way forward except for uprising, except for a great public movement, except for revolution; thus, they have stepped onto this path and are moving forward. These movements will certainly yield results.

Of course, the Westerners are making great efforts. Today, all the propaganda, political, and economic apparatus of America and some of their mercenaries in this region are at work to divert these popular revolutions, these great uprisings from their original path; to conceal their Islamic aspect, to deny it; to find individuals who can come to power by deceiving the people and turn all equations back in favor of the West. They are making these efforts, but they are of no use; the nations have awakened. When a nation awakens, when a nation enters the arena, putting their life on the line, they cannot be turned back, they cannot be deceived. We hope that this difficult path of the Muslim nations who have risen and those who have the potential will, God willing, continue and that this path will be shortened. The outcome is certain; the path may be long, it may be short.

Today, the Americans, with the help of the Zionists, with the help of some of their allies and mercenaries in the region, are trying to divert these revolutions, to dominate them, to ride on their waves; but it is of no use. Of course, they create troubles for the nations - these troubles are natural - they create divisions; we have experienced all these things. In our revolution, they also created divisions, infiltrated, incited ethnic groups against each other, created internal conflicts, provoked an external enemy to attack us militarily, to invade; all these things happened, but the nation stood firm, continued the path with strength, overcame all these, and will continue to overcome after this. Therefore, these problems exist.

Today, you see in Egypt, in other places, they create internal conflicts, they create clashes; they will certainly initiate a series of assassinations and instigations. The remedy is the awakening of the people, the awakening of the elites; the scientific elites, the political elites, the responsible individuals who care about the fate of the country. They must be vigilant, they must be careful, and God willing, work will continue in the best way. This is the continuation of the prophethood of the prophet and the prophetic movement that is manifesting itself today in this form.

The oppressed nations are seeking their dignity; the same dignity and honor that was one of the foundations of the prophet's call. Over the years, enemies, arrogant powers, occupiers, and interveners have exploited our nations; at the same time, they have humiliated them, degraded them. When nations benefit from Islam, they seek dignity, they seek honor. This is the Islamic movement. The Islamic movement means this.

We Muslim nations must be vigilant. The elites of Islamic countries must be awake; they should not occupy themselves with trivial and unimportant disputes; they should not introduce religious differences, ethnic differences, and marginal discussions. What is happening in this region is greater than these discussions.

We, the Iranian nation, are also happy and pleased to see that the Muslim nations are moving and gaining their freedom and dignity. Since the inception and victory of this revolution in Iran, the positions of the revolution regarding regional issues, regional movements, and uprisings have been clear. Wherever there is a movement against global arrogance, against Zionism, against the usurping Zionist government in the dear land of Palestine, this movement is acceptable and supported by us. Wherever there is a movement against America, against this international dictatorship - which today America has established an international dictatorship - wherever there is a movement against internal dictatorships, for the realization of the rights of nations, we agree with them.

Everyone must be vigilant; we must be vigilant, and the nations must be vigilant; they must know that the plots and tricks of the enemies are diverse and complex. Let insight be the criterion of our work. Nations should be aware; the Americans and the Zionists and their mercenaries and allies are trying to divert the revolutions; they focus on the countries where awakening has occurred; they try as much as they can to divert the movement of these nations.

The oppressed nation of Bahrain is like the nation of Egypt, like the nation of Tunisia, like the nation of Yemen; the issue there is the same; there is no distinction between them. Unfortunately, we see that some, instead of paying attention to the hearts of the nations, are following a path, taking actions that the enemies of these nations are pursuing. Today, America is trying to simulate what has happened in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, and similar countries, and has focused on creating problems for Syria - which is in the line of resistance. The essence of the issue in Syria is different from the essence of the issue in these countries. In these countries, the movement was against America and against Zionism, but in Syria, America's hand is clear and evident; the Zionists are pursuing the issue. We must not make mistakes. We must not forget the criterion. Wherever the movement is against America and against Zionism, that movement is authentic and popular; wherever the slogans are in favor of America and Zionism, that is a deviant movement. We will maintain this logic, this statement, this clarification.

Of course, we know that the enemies of the Islamic Republic will become angry, they will become furious, and they will increase their plots against us. We have stood against these plots. The nation has become hardened. The Iranian nation has stood against various plots over these thirty years; it has persevered; it has become hardened. They console themselves with some internal events, they find joy in them.

Fortunately, today various apparatus of the country are working with hope and enthusiasm. In recent times, in this past year, you can see how much work has been done in the country. We have transformed from a country that was an importer of oil products to a country that exports these products. In various fields, thanks be to God, the country is busy. This issue of reducing the government - an action that the government and the parliament have jointly undertaken - is a very important and significant task; these must be pursued and, God willing, will be pursued.

The Iranian nation, with its steadfastness, with its resistance, with its unity, with its endless hope in divine assistance, and the officials of the country with their unity of word, with their cooperation, God willing, will be able to turn the hopes of the enemies of the Iranian nation into despair and hopelessness once again.

We ask the Almighty God to increase His abundant blessings upon this nation; and by the blessing of this noble day and this blessed Eid, and in respect of the sacred existence of the Seal of the Prophets, God willing, may He include the Iranian nation and the Muslim nations in His favors and assistance and make the sacred heart of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him) pleased and satisfied with all of us.

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