Statements in Meeting with Executive Officials

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 progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

This meeting, which is held with the officials and executive managers at various levels from across the province in this cordial gathering, has a characteristic that was not present in our previous meetings; and that is that the dear people of Kermanshah, through their struggles over the past years, through the kindness they have shown during this trip towards me, and through their loyalty to the revolution, have demonstrated that the responsibility of the officials towards these people is a heavy one. Those officials who bear this heavy burden of commitment are mainly among those present in this gathering. Therefore, each one of us sitting here must feel a sense of responsibility towards these dear, loyal, and service-oriented people and each of us must fulfill our role in the best possible manner. Thus, the heavy burden rests on you, dear brothers and sisters.

I must first express my gratitude to the collection of officials of the province - from the high-ranking officials to all the managers and service groups in various sectors - for their efforts, for their services, and especially at this juncture, for the kindness they have shown during this trip and the efforts made in collaboration with the people. Our language fails to express our gratitude to the people; because the people have shown that they are ahead of us at every stage of this revolution. The readiness of the people to participate in various arenas of the revolution is astonishing. Although the people of Kermanshah certainly have rightful and legitimate expectations and there are unmet demands that, for various reasons, have not been realized, and God willing will be realized in the future, the people do not turn away from the fact that there are shortages, deficiencies, or problems; wherever the need of the revolution and the need for presence arises, they enter the field without hesitation, as you have observed. Of course, it is true and fair that the officials of various sectors of the province, whether in Kermanshah itself, in the cities we visited, or in the cities I personally did not visit, but our friends and representative groups were present there - on the roads, in the paths, in the routes - have endured great hardships.

I have a small complaint as well; I have been waiting for an opportunity for a few days to express this complaint. That complaint is that when I went into the streets of Kermanshah, I saw unusually large pictures of my face installed along the way - excessively, extravagantly - even I noticed that on the way to Paveh, in some places on the road, they have installed pictures; why? So many pictures! This work has several problems: one is that these are costly, they incur expenses - I am aware, I know - and it is completely unnecessary work, with a heavy cost; well, this has no justification. Secondly, this manner of working and putting up pictures and such advertisements is not suitable for our status and the dignity of the Islamic Republic system and our clerical status; such works belong to others. Our work should proceed with simplicity and modesty. Such flashy works are not appropriate for our situation; and of course, from a technical standpoint, if someone looks at it, these are counterproductive advertisements. Now, if someone really wants to show kindness, these are actions that have little impact; they also have the effects of pictures. In any case, I have become complaint-ridden, but I did not know to whom I should express this complaint; which of the various agencies were involved in this matter and they thought of, acted upon, and executed this action; I saw that the best place is right here; in these past few days, no other opportunity arose. In any case, such works are not good. All friends, officials, and colleagues should know this; this style of working and such advertisements is not in line with the revolution and the Islamic system. However, it is true and fair that both the people and the officials, in these few days that we were guests of you, the dear people of Kermanshah, have shown their utmost kindness and warmth.

In your presence, dear brothers and sisters, I will only mention two or three points: one is that serving in the Islamic Republic truly has honor; because it is a service in the direction of God's pleasure and in helping the people and in strengthening the Islamic system. The more we serve, the better we work, the more the Islamic Republic system gains strength. We can give prestige to the Islamic Republic through the quality of our work; God forbid, the opposite is also possible. Therefore, our work, since it is not merely a conventional administrative task, but relates to the Islamic system, to the face of pure Islam and what we claim, has great importance. Thus, serving in this system is an honor. Above all feelings and perceptions, it is most important that when one is serving, they feel they are serving the faith, serving Islam. It does not matter; in various sectors, wherever you are engaged, feel that you are serving Islam. This pure intention that arises from this feeling in our hearts multiplies the value of our work and, God willing, preserves our reward before God the Almighty. Therefore, we must appreciate serving in this system and consider it a blessing for ourselves and a grace from the Lord towards ourselves.

The second point is that this province - as the gentlemen have pointed out and I also made a reference on the first day - has very great capacities for progress, for development, and for reaching an excellent level in terms of public living standards, public welfare, and the prosperity and construction of the province. The officials of the province and those who plan for the province are fully aware of this meaning. Based on these capacities, the esteemed government has passed good resolutions; which the governor has briefly mentioned, and I must truly thank. These are comprehensive resolutions, good resolutions, important resolutions, which can truly shake and advance the province; however, there is a fundamental condition, and that is that the various agencies must properly fulfill their obligations regarding these resolutions; because a resolution is a plan, a roadmap; this roadmap must be implemented step by step. The obligations that these resolutions create must be realized in various sectors, in different managements, with complete follow-up; this is your responsibility; it is the responsibility of the provincial managements in various sectors; and of course, the central managements in the government also have duties.

Last night, we spoke with the esteemed gentlemen who had come from Tehran; they promised that they would seriously pursue these matters and not allow the momentum of this public movement intended for the province to be lost; it must have momentum so that the works are properly and in their place carried out.

Budgets have also been considered. Of course, in the matter of budgets and allocations that are considered for works, there are two sides: one side is the side of providing the budget, the allocation of the budget; the other side is the side of attracting the budget; attracting it correctly, logically, rationally, fairly, and using the budget appropriately. These are fundamental and important works; these are what advance the province.

The issue of employment, which the gentlemen have also pointed out and emphasized to the esteemed officials, is truly a fundamental issue. Families that have young people, many of whom are educated, throughout this province, in Kermanshah itself, in various counties, young people who are knowledgeable, are unemployed; well, this is very difficult. Employment must be created for them; this is the basis of the work. When there is employment, the evils resulting from unemployment will naturally diminish; because unemployment brings with it various evils - moral evils, social evils, security evils; all kinds of evils - when employment is created, all of these will naturally diminish; costs will be lifted from the shoulders of the government. Well, if we want this employment to be realized in the same manner that the esteemed officials have decided, it requires work; work in Tehran - those who have come from Tehran here, their responsibilities are heavy - work at the high level of the province, and then work within the management apparatus of the province. Therefore, if we want Kermanshah, God willing, to gain momentum towards progress, this requires collective effort and extensive work from all officials.

And know that God the Almighty pays attention to your smallest efforts and rewards and writes for them; these works are not hidden from God the Almighty. Sometimes you are responsible for a section, a task is in your hands in a certain office; you show compassion, you show interest, you stay half an hour longer, you pay more attention, you show better ethics with the applicants, you exercise more patience; no one thanks you; that is, no one understands that you have made this effort, your superior does not understand, your colleague does not notice; you endure hardship without anyone understanding or thanking you; the people did not understand, but God understood; the responsible and supervising agencies did not record it, but the noble scribes recorded it, the divine agents record these. Therefore, not a moment of your effort and toil will go to waste. The divine reward is much greater than these worldly rewards, that we express our thanks to you or suppose that a bonus is given for a certain task; these are nothing, divine reward is important, divine acceptance is important. There is no work of yours, no effort of yours that is done for God, except that divine acceptance, divine grace, divine reward, and divine recompense immediately follow it; even if others do not understand. With this perspective, we must work and strive.

I must also mention that today, despite all the enmities, all the malice, all the military, political, security, economic, and other campaigns that are being carried out against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, and in fact, the enmity is with Islam and they want to take revenge on Islam, we are progressing with divine grace; and that too at a speed greater than the expected and conventional speed. We are moving forward very well. If there were no other reason for this, this reason alone is sufficient for the attentive and watchful enemy to react; the very actions you see in advertisements and otherwise, and the economic pressures and various pretexts raised in the world. When the front of global arrogance - which is a strong material enemy - enters the field like this, this itself is evidence that you are succeeding; otherwise, if you were ineffective, without value, lagging behind, without progress, the enemy would not insist on engaging with you like this; the enemy sees that you are moving forward.

Fortunately, today in the region, the discourse of Islam, the discourse of following Islamic teachings and laws, has become the dominant discourse. In countries where revolutions occurred, movements arose, and people shouted slogans; in other countries, although this manifestation does not exist, in essence, the people are like this; one can observe the signs; this is your discourse, this is your movement. And the Islamic Republic and our dear country is now presented as a model and an example; they look, they measure; just as we mentioned in our previous talk. Everything that happens in our country and the summarized events of all these incidents are now presented to the nations, they are of their concern. The enemy's effort is to disrupt this summary; we must strive to present this summary as beautifully, more organized, and more harmoniously to the world as possible.

We thank God that, thanks be to God, the blessing of attention to spirituality in this province is abundant; the youth of the province are good youth; the parents are good parents; the general atmosphere of the province is one of human and Islamic emotions; these are very important. God willing, various agencies should strive to strengthen this spiritual and religious aspect among the people and in the general atmosphere of the people.

One of the things that must be given attention and that the esteemed officials should focus on is the attention to mosques. We have a significant shortage of mosques throughout the province - both in villages and even in cities - these shortages must be compensated. There are centers that provide spirituality to the people. The shrine of Ahmad ibn Ishaq, which has been given attention, must receive increasing attention day by day. This prominent and great personality is one of the best companions of the Imams, from Imam Jawad onwards; one of the most distinguished narrators and companions of these great figures. This is the fortune of this region and this land that this great figure is buried here. His shrine is in Sarpol-e Zahab. Attention to this shrine, visiting it, creates a center of spirituality. Attention should be given to mosques; attention should be given to this noble shrine; to other shrines in various places in the province, God willing, attention should be given. As much as possible, centers of religious knowledge for the youth should be warmed up; this is a support; this is what can, God willing, accelerate the movement of the system forward and towards progress.

We beseech God the Almighty that, God willing, He bestows His mercy, grace, and blessings upon this province and the people of this province. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, bestow Your grace and favor upon these people. O Lord! Include the youth of this land, the youth of this region in Your mercy and favor. O Lord! Increase the material and spiritual successes of these people day by day. Unite the pure souls of the martyrs of this land with the Prophet.

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