Statements at the Gathering of the People of Esfarayin

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen family, the guided, the Mahdi, the infallible, and the honored, especially the Remaining of God on the earth.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with you, the dear people of the ancient city of Esfarayin, during this visit. The main issue is the meeting with you and expressing my devotion and sincerity to you, as well as appreciating and thanking you for your warm and enthusiastic presence throughout the years of the revolution. Of course, these visits should, with the help and power of God, be able to resolve some of the major problems of these regions through the efforts of the officials. Problems exist; with God's grace, there is also the will and determination for reform; and, thanks be to God, there is capacity for progress and reform.

What is good to keep in mind, especially for the dear youth of this city, is that throughout history, this city has been the birthplace of many scientific, cultural, and political greats. Throughout history, poets, scholars, jurists, and thinkers have emerged from this city, and the name "Esfarayini" is frequently mentioned among the greats of our history. Today, Esfarayin, with its natural and human talents, can also be the birthplace of greats and thinkers that the country can be proud of, and the future of the country can be in the hands of their management and thought. You dear youth of this city—both boys and girls—who are engaged in work or study in various fields, should look towards this future, hope for it; and with this human resource and this ancient heritage, this future is a possible future for this city.

The people of Esfarayin County are known for their nobility and bravery. Today, it is another honor that this city is considered a cradle of Quranic education. Quran sessions, Quran education, and the expansion of Quranic thought, thanks to the Quran sessions in this city, have led the people of this city to call it "Dar al-Quran"; this is also a great honor.

Of course, today's Esfarayin is not comparable to Esfarayin before the revolution. I had a brief stop in your city before the revolution. In 1968, there was an earthquake in the "Dahneh-ye Ojaq" area. We came from Mashhad to Dahneh-ye Ojaq to provide aid to the people due to the earthquake; alongside that, we came to Esfarayin. Esfarayin at that time was a large village; in many respects, it was not comparable to today; although the natural potential in this county was present then, just as it is today. This agriculturally fertile region, with its abundant water, this fertile plain at the foot of the high "Shah Jahan" mountains, and the extensive livestock farming that is well-known in this region—was not only in Esfarayin itself but also in the surrounding areas from Bojnourd to Sabzevar—was at that time in the hands of a few individuals connected to the royal court and the royal apparatus; the people, both in the villages and in the city, were in a deplorable situation.

Today, we do not want to say that the region has progressed to the extent of its deserving—though the deserving of this region is more than this—but it has made significant progress. In addition to agricultural and livestock facilities, industry has entered this region; two major factories from the important factories of the country are here, and there are other factories in the surrounding areas; this heralds the progress of the province and the progress of this region and this county, and God willing, it will have a better future in material terms.

There are problems; there are problems in agriculture, and there are problems in factories; which, God willing, should be resolved with the efforts of the officials, with the attention that this visit brings among the officials at various levels of the country. Certainly, the necessary efforts will exist in this regard.

In this region, the hope that there would be university facilities and centers of higher education was even unimaginable. Today, thanks be to God, there are university centers here; and I must tell you that this is not specific to Esfarayin; in many parts of the country where it was not thought that a center of higher education would be established, fortunately, numerous universities have emerged with a variety of fields; and I will refer to this in my remarks that I will make.

What is important is attention to the fundamental issues of the country, which can determine the direction of the people and the officials at various levels; it tells us which direction we are moving in, what our tomorrow looks like, and what we must do today to achieve a better tomorrow.

I discussed two points in my speech in Bojnourd with our dear people, which I will elaborate on a bit and clarify for you, the dear people of this region.

One point was that we have recognized North Khorasan Province by the characteristic of enthusiasm and vitality. Historically, we have known this characteristic about this region, and the people of this region, who today are called "North Khorasan," have been known as people with enthusiasm, vitality, and readiness, both spiritually and physically. Well, this is a very great asset. The lethargy of a nation is the greatest factor in their backwardness. Enthusiasm, vitality, and liveliness in a nation are the main grounds for their progress in all areas. This is the main condition here.

We must mention two or three points regarding the issue of general enthusiasm among the youth. The first point is that this enthusiasm and vitality must be preserved; we must not allow various factors and influences to weaken or eliminate this collective enthusiasm. Certainly, one of the targets of the enemies of this country's progress is to instill lethargy in our nation; that is, to extinguish this enthusiasm and vitality, to dampen this flame. We must not succumb to this malicious and hostile desire of the enemies. The fact that you see hundreds of radio and television centers, in addition to hundreds of various cyber centers and virtual environments in different parts of the world, working to instill despair and hopelessness in the minds of our nation is precisely because of this. When hopelessness arises, when despair exists, enthusiasm disappears, and liveliness is extinguished. One of the main factors of various advertisements of the global news empire is precisely this: to prevent our youth from striving and moving forward—which arises from their enthusiasm and idealism. We must strive to maintain this enthusiasm. My belief is that commemorating and keeping alive the names of commanders, martyrs, and warriors, and those youths who entered the field before the current generation—who are you youths—who participated with enthusiasm and vitality in the most difficult arenas, can enhance the enthusiasm and vitality of our youth.

One of the fundamental issues that can act against this movement today, and unfortunately is being promoted by mysterious gangs, is drugs. I believe that the youth themselves must fight against drugs with the same enthusiasm and vitality that we mentioned. They want to ensnare our youth; they want to impose a state of numbness, indifference, and downfall on our youth. The first line of defense against this conspiracy must be the youth themselves. Of course, government officials have responsibilities, relevant agencies have responsibilities, but no factor can stand against such deviations and resist as much as the internal factor of the people. This is one point. Certainly, the resistance of our youth in this province can neutralize what the harmful and lethal gangs are pursuing. This is one point regarding this enthusiasm. First, it must be preserved, and we must pay attention that the enemy is trying to take this flame of enthusiasm and movement and liveliness away from our youth. The other point is that this spirit must be used to confront that important issue—namely, the great danger of drugs—and to fight against that phenomenon.

The second point I mentioned in my meeting with the people of Bojnourd, which has reached your ears, is the issue of progress. We stated that the goal is progress. Progress means constant movement. If we pay attention, progress is both a path and a goal. We say the goal is progress; while progress means moving forward. How can moving forward be set as a goal? The explanation is that human progress never stops. God Almighty has created humans in such a way that their movement forward in various fields never reaches a limit. At every stage you reach—whether in material or spiritual stages—certainly, stopping at that stage does not make sense for a person interested in progress. Therefore, progress is both a path and a goal. We must continue to move and advance.

The Iranian nation has the potential to progress so much that it can present itself as a model in various directions in the world. Why should we be pessimistic about ourselves? Why should we look at ourselves, our nation, and our future with a contemptuous view? The enemy wants to instill this in our nation and has done so for many years. They have made us believe that the Western element is the pioneer and that we must follow it; no, one day our history will show us that the opposite is true. We were pioneers in the world; we were pioneers in science, pioneers in industry, pioneers in civilization-building, pioneers in culture; others learned from us. Why can’t it be the same today? The efforts of our youth and their perspective on the issue of progress should be such that we envision that future.

Some time ago, I told the youth and elite that your ambition should be to reach a point in the world where if someone wants to access the latest scientific advancements, they must learn Persian. Our youth should consider this future as a certain and inevitable future, strive for it, and work towards it. Our elites, our political elites, our scientific and cultural elites, should move with this perspective towards the future, plan, and not be satisfied with any limit. This is the issue of progress.

Well, progress has indicators. One of the indicators of a nation's progress is national dignity and self-confidence. My claim is that considering this indicator, our nation has made significant progress. Today, our nation has self-confidence in the realm of international politics. The fact that you observe the officials of the country speaking with complete self-confidence in the face of global issues is due to the fact that our nation feels dignity and self-confidence. Islam has given us this self-confidence. The more we become familiar with Islam and the teachings of the Quran, the more this national self-confidence will increase. The issue of national dignity and national self-confidence is generally palpable. In global arenas—whether in global scientific competitions or in global political competitions—today, the Iranian nation has something to say. The officials of the country stand firm in the international arenas and scenes, relying on the self-confidence of the nation, and carry out their work and express their views. This is one indicator.

Another indicator of progress is justice. If a country progresses in science and technology and various manifestations of material civilization, but there is no social justice in it, this, in our view and according to the logic of Islam, is not progress. Today, in many countries, science has progressed, industry has progressed, various ways of life have progressed, but the class gap has deepened, and the class divide has increased; this is not progress; this is superficial and apparent progress, a bubble. When in a country, a small population takes the most material benefits from that country, and in the same country, people die from heat and cold in the streets, justice is so vague and impractical in that country. In global news, we read that in the summer in various states of America, people die from heat! Well, why should someone die from heat? Isn’t it because they have no shelter, no home, no place? America is the same country where the wealthiest people in the world and the most powerful companies and trusts exist; the highest profits from arms trade are in that country; yet in a country where those legendary wealth exist, some people die from heat in summer and from cold in winter! This signifies the absence of justice. Now, in movies and in fictional and legendary claims, they may display forms of justice; well, this is very far from reality. In countries that are governed by capitalist economic methods and have labeled themselves with the name of liberalism, such miseries exist; there, the reality of life is like this.

If we want to progress, one of the important indicators is justice. My claim is that we have made progress in this area; of course, not to the extent we desire. If we compare ourselves with the situation before the revolution, we have progressed; if we compare ourselves with many other countries that live under various systems, yes, we have progressed; but if we compare ourselves with what Islam has told us and what it has asked of us, no, we are still far behind and must strive. Whose responsibility is this effort? This effort is the responsibility of the officials and the people—together.

Yes, we have made progress in the distribution of public resources to all regions of the country. There was a time when the majority of the resources of this country were spent in specific areas that had a special attachment to the powerful of that day and to the royal court; many provinces and cities had no share or benefit from the public resources of the country. Before the revolution, one of the large provinces of this country—though I do not want to name it; I mentioned it once before—had five private airports in five points of the province, which belonged to the affiliates of the royal court; yet there was no public airport in that province! This means that the people had no opportunity to use the airport and air travel; while in that same province, there were five airports for specific individuals; this was injustice. Today, when we look, we see that in terms of services, road construction, building highways and expressways, and comfortable roads, the entire country is benefiting. In terms of expanding education, the opportunity for education exists throughout the country. As I mentioned, many regions of the country at that time, even cities, were in a shortage of high schools. I was in exile in Sistan and Baluchestan; I saw the situation there. In terms of high schools, many cities in that province were in a shortage. There was a weak, third or fourth-rate university center in the entire province. Today, when you look in that province and other provinces, you see that there are universities in all cities; this means the opportunity for education. Well, this is justice. This means that the opportunity for education has been distributed among various regions of the country; the material resources of the country, financial resources, and knowledge have been distributed; this is a very good thing. In the past, the elites of remote cities and those with talent had no opportunity to emerge; today, they do. In Esfarayin and any other point, when a talented person is present and can demonstrate their excellence, various agencies of the country welcome them, honor them, and utilize their potential. It was not like this in the past. Therefore, compared to the past, certainly, this indicator of progress—which is the indicator of justice—is prominent; but compared to what we have understood and recognized from Islam, no, we are still behind; we must strive and work.

What I want to conclude from all these remarks for you dear people, especially the dear youth—both women and men, girls and boys—is that our country, our nation is in a great confrontation with obstacles, and in this confrontation, the country does not feel weak. We do not feel powerless; we feel powerful and capable; we know that with effort, we can eliminate all these obstacles. Some obstacles are natural; we must deal with these natural obstacles in a certain way and confront them. Some obstacles are imposed, political obstacles, problems that the enemies of this country's progress create as barriers against the path of these people; we must confront these in a different way.

In this arena of confrontation and human struggle and the war of wills, what can be decisive is the decision, will, insight, and awareness of you dear people. The unity of the Iranian nation, the unity of the officials of the country, the cooperation of various agencies, and the sense of duty and responsibility of all people can lead us to greater progress; it can create the image that is appropriate for this country and this dear and talented nation.

Our enemies plan; they think they want to create obstacles and deterrents against this great and determined nation so that this progress does not happen; but they should be assured and know that just as we have experienced from the first day of the revolution until today, in the future, our enemies will fail in all their plots, schemes, and conspiracies. Various politicians in our opposing countries have come and gone—in America, in England, and in some other countries—each of whom came with a heart full of hatred and animosity towards the Islamic movement, the Islamic revolution, and the Islamic Republic system; they designed, they planned; they did everything they could; thinking that they would bring the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation to their knees. They left, some even their names are forgotten; but the Iranian nation, with pride and dignity, thanks be to God, is present on the scene and continues its path with a stronger will and more resolute determination than from the first day. This indicates the strength of the future of the Islamic Republic system and this great nation that has desired this system and supported it.

Of course, we must not become arrogant. Alongside mentioning these epic tales, I must also say that becoming arrogant and neglecting the plots and schemes of the enemy carries great dangers. We must not become arrogant. I always advise the officials, I say be strong, but do not underestimate the enemy. We must not be negligent of the enemy. The enemy enters through various means; one day it is about sanctions, one day it is about military aggression, one day it is about soft warfare, one day it is about cultural invasion and cultural NATO. The enemy enters through various paths; we must be vigilant.

This progress that we have mentioned, this bright future that we have outlined, this beautiful, clear, and attractive horizon that is before us, is only achievable if we are vigilant, awake, aware, do not fall into negligence, and do not think that everything is now in order; that we can comfortably engage only in our personal affairs and neglect the future of the country.

One of the characteristics that caught my attention regarding Esfarayin is the high participation of these dear people in various elections; this is very important. North Khorasan Province has one of the highest rates of participation in elections; and in North Khorasan Province, Esfarayin is the first city in this region. Participation in elections is awareness; it is insight. Being present at the ballot box is not an act done out of idleness; it is an action; it is a righteous act. Now, regarding elections, God willing, in this trip, in other meetings I will have with the people, I will express some remarks—I will not delve into that issue now—but the very fact that a people, a group in a city, in a province, and in the entire country feels a sense of duty towards the future, feels a sense of duty towards the management of the country, and wants to intervene and enter the scene is a valuable thing; this is against the negligence that the enemy wants to impose on us. This spirit must be preserved; the spirit of presence, the spirit of participation, the spirit of cooperation and collaboration regarding economic issues, the spirit of domestic consumption; which is also one of the important issues that I will not delve into now.

But let me say one sentence. We have emphasized domestic production; both at the beginning of this year and in the slogan of the year, and in the discussions that have taken place throughout these months since the beginning of the year. Well, domestic production requires domestic consumption; this is the responsibility of the people. We must choose our consumption from our own productions. It is wrong for some to always seek foreign brands and names; it is the suppression of a personal desire, but it is a blow to a public and fundamental task. Domestic consumption increases domestic production; when domestic production increases, the problems that the honorable Imam Jom'e mentioned will be resolved; unemployment will be resolved. When production flourishes, it means inflation decreases, prices decrease, and employment increases; all these are interconnected. One end of this matter is in our hands, which is how we choose our consumption.

In any case, there are many responsibilities, but there are also many divine successes. God Almighty, God willing, will continue the divine favors and blessings that He has bestowed upon the Iranian nation. God willing, may you be among those who receive the divine graces and the prayers of the pure soul of the Remaining of God (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

Once again, I thank you, the dear people of Esfarayin, for your warm, sincere, and enthusiastic presence; I appreciate your warm presence in all the ceremonies of the revolution and important issues related to the country, and I express my devotion and sincerity towards your dear martyrs, your elders, and your predecessors, and I hope that God Almighty will bestow His mercy and grace upon all of you.

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