Statements in Meeting with Friday Prayer Leaders Across the Country

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 infallible progeny, especially the Awaited Savior.

This is a very desirable and attractive session for me; a session in which you, dear brothers, the esteemed Friday prayer leaders, the spiritual and cultural officials of the Revolution across the country, are present. I wish we could sit down and talk with each of you individually. Unfortunately, both time and the capacity to engage are not such that I can have the opportunity to sit with each of you, converse, and hear from you. I would have liked to occasionally hear your Friday prayer sermons. In the past, when we traveled to some cities, I was committed to listening to the Friday sermon of that city broadcasted on the radio; now, our travels have decreased, and this opportunity has become less available to us. In any case, this session is a valuable one for me; we have visited you; we have also heard the report from Mr. Taqavi, which was extensive, detailed, and useful. I will present two points in this meeting; one point is about the issue of Friday prayers, which is a matter of concern for you and me and is a very important issue; the other point is a brief overview regarding the upcoming elections. We will say a few sentences about each of these two issues.

Regarding the issue of Friday prayers, I must say that Friday prayers are a headquarters; a headquarters of faith, a headquarters of piety, a headquarters of insight, a headquarters of ethics. We should not be afraid of the term headquarters, as it is part of the terminology related to war and struggle. Well, this war exists; it has been imposed upon us - we are in a state of war, but it is not a military war; it is a spiritual war, a war of belief and faith, a political war - just as during the eight-year Sacred Defense, war was imposed upon us. We were not seeking to fight with our neighbor; it was imposed upon us; they attacked us. We do not initiate attacks; even in places where defense is not necessary, we do not defend; "If you stretch your hand towards me to kill me, I will not stretch my hand towards you to kill you, for I fear God, the Lord of the worlds". This is how we are. Where defense is necessary, we do enter the realm of defense. And thanks be to God, the Iranian nation, the revolutionary forces, our great and dear leader - may his soul be sanctified - have shown that they are capable in the field of defense. We are in such a battle; we are in such a jihad. They attack the faith of our people, they attack the insight of our people, they attack our piety, they attack our ethics, they spread various dangerous spiritual viruses among us; well, what should we do? We must defend. This requires a headquarters, just like the headquarters in the battlefield; Friday prayers are one of the most important of these headquarters; it is a headquarters of faith, a headquarters of piety. Let us look at Friday prayers with this perspective. You are also the commanders of this headquarters; each battlefield headquarters has its own commander; the commander of the Friday prayer headquarters is the Friday prayer leader.

Well, the main goal in this headquarters is clarification; the issue of clarification. The main goal of the divine prophets was clarification; to express the truth; because what causes people to go astray is that they do not recognize the truth; this is the main issue. There are also those who know the truth but deny it, but the main deviations stem from not knowing the truth, and the divine prophets came to express the truth, to clarify it, to make it manifest, to complete the argument against the people; this is the issue of clarification. "The scholars are the heirs of the prophets"; you are the heirs of the prophets, including in this matter; the issue of clarification.

As the name suggests, Friday prayers are a place of gathering, a place of assembly; this is also a great opportunity for clarification. Sometimes you have to go to this door, that door, or use indirect means. The mass communication tools that exist today are indeed widespread - the internet and social networks and other things are very widespread - but face-to-face interaction, eye-to-eye contact, and the feeling of presence and hearing the breath of the speaker and the audience is something else; gathering together is something else. It may be that several hundred thousand people receive a message on the internet or via text message, but this is very different from having those same several hundred thousand people gather in one place and have someone speak to them. This face-to-face interaction has an extraordinary impact; this is at your disposal. Friday prayers are an opportunity for gathering, a place of assembly; it brings people together; they can exchange ideas; they can make arrangements; they can take action; these are very important. Those who are alien to religion - whether foreigners or some unfortunate elements within our own country who do not have these opportunities - envy how they cannot gather people together, speak with them, and exchange ideas; they want to do these things under various titles; yet, they cannot achieve this.

Now that this is the case, Friday prayers are the cultural heart of every city; the cultural center of every city is Friday prayers; - of course, it has conditions that we will mention some of them now. It is a place where guidance takes place; I emphasize that this guidance is not merely political guidance; it is both political and cultural guidance. We should not think that if we speak eloquently about a particular political issue that is also a matter of concern, the matter is settled; no, we consider cultural guidance to be more fundamental than political guidance; political guidance is very necessary and should not be overlooked, but cultural guidance and the culture of the people is more important.

Suppose the issue of lifestyle that we raised three or four years ago is one of the important issues. Lifestyle has branches; one of the most important goals of the enemies of the Iranian nation and the enemies of Islam is to change the lifestyle of Muslims and make it similar to their own lifestyle. The realities of life affect human thought; daily behavior impacts the heart and soul of a person - both the soul of the person and the soul of their audience and companions - they want to change this.

Islam has brought us a lifestyle. For instance, etiquette is one of the important aspects. Foreigners are not very committed to etiquette in their ordinary interactions; we Iranians have been known for a long time for observing etiquette in our speech and interactions; we maintain respect for the other party. They want to change this, and unfortunately, in some places, they have succeeded. Suppose you disagree with someone and want to talk about them; there are two ways to speak: one way is to speak insultingly and shamelessly; another way is to speak politely. You see that in the Holy Quran, in many instances when speaking of the wicked, the disbelievers, and the evildoers of the world, it says: "But most of them do not know"; it does not say all of them; you notice; after all, there are a few among them who have understanding; the Holy Quran acknowledges their rights and says "most of them".

One issue in this lifestyle and good living habits is, for example, reading books. Of course, in the report that was mentioned, there is a reference to this matter, but it is very important that we encourage people, especially the youth, to read books. Reading books is very important; introduce good books as well. I even think - of course, this should be examined by those responsible - and I believe it would be good for Friday prayer locations to serve as centers for displaying good books, contemporary books, and desirable books; so that they can come and see these books, and if they want, procure them from there or elsewhere. We must encourage people to read books; we must encourage the elites to produce books; these are some of the necessary things. Well, these were some of these issues.

One of the important issues regarding Friday prayers is attracting the youth of the country. Although our youth ratio is slightly lower now than in the 60s and early 70s, our society is, thank God, a youthful society; we have many young people. Attract the youth to Friday prayers; attracting the youth to Friday prayers cannot be achieved by merely saying, "Youth, come, youth, be encouraged"; it must be done through the heart, through understanding. One of the things that attracts youth to Friday prayers is sound and solid discourse. Weak words, whether in political or cultural contexts, do not attract those present - now some have become accustomed to coming as a habit - but the youth who are seeking meaningful discourse from this pulpit will not be attracted; speak new words: "Bring forth new words, for the new has a different sweetness". The meaning of new words is not that we say, "Oh, this is an innovation!" No, new words; think, reflect, ponder, explore, and find attractive new discourses for the youth; then the youth will come. They will participate in these sessions; they will come on their own without you telling them.

Dear brothers! One of the things that attracts youth is the feeling of intimacy. Youth are emotional; with the guidance of emotion and heart, many things can be accomplished. If they feel intimacy, kindness, and sincerity, they will come; if they feel grandeur from you, they will not come; if they feel pride, if they feel ostentation, they will not come. These things must be addressed, and then the youth will come. When the youth come, you are actually nourishing the driving force and engine of the country. The youth are the driving force of the country; you will nourish them then.

One of the things that I find important regarding the Friday prayer leaders - which follows the previous point - is the behavior of a cleric, not administrative behavior. The Friday prayer leadership is a clerical institution; it is a religious institution; it should not be given an administrative form. Managerial presence in Friday prayers does not yield results; clerical and spiritual presence does yield results; the behavior should not be that of a manager, but rather that of a spiritual figure; paternal behavior, brotherly behavior, sincere behavior; this is the behavior of a cleric.

The next issue is to observe the rights. Sometimes I see some individuals who have relatively large public pulpits consider the desires of the audience when delivering their messages; sometimes, if someone wants you to speak in a certain way, you speak in that way; this is wrong. We had this before the Revolution as well. Among the forces of the eloquent and those engaged in new and Islamic intellectual discussions, there were individuals who looked to see what the audience liked; if they liked a particular statement, even if it was wrong, they would say it. Do not do this; this is wrong. Say what is right, even if it does not please the listener; as it can be expressed with reasoning and a warm and gentle tongue, making the statement that may be contrary to their taste sweet for them.

Another issue is the respect for the Friday prayer leader. The Friday prayer leader must respect himself, the people must respect him, and the central office in Tehran must respect him. Respect does not mean ceremonialism; it does not mean rolling out the red carpet; respect means appreciation; that as a Friday prayer leader, you should recognize your own worth and respect yourself; this means keeping your garment free from things that can pollute it. These are important matters that must be considered.

In any case, the opportunity of leading Friday prayers and the success of holding Friday prayers in our country is truly a great blessing. In some Islamic countries, it is common for the administrative bodies to write the Friday sermons on paper and give them to the Friday prayer leader, who then goes and reads that paper at the pulpit. This is not Friday prayers in our view; this is not the sermon of Friday prayers. This is reading a circular from a certain administrative body; a body that is specific to religious matters writes something and says, "You go read this there", and he goes there and reads it. The sermon of Friday prayers is that which flows from the heart and active mind of the Friday prayer leader, comes forth from his tongue, and reflects it to the people according to their needs with eloquent and fluent expression. Whenever there is a gap, whenever there is a need; this need must be recognized. The remedy for this need, the intellectual food that satisfies the other side must also be recognized and expressed well. This is what I believe is necessary regarding the issue of leading Friday prayers.

In any case, we appreciate Friday prayers, and we truly thank God Almighty. Once, we went to see Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) with the Friday prayer leaders; in those early years when it had just been established, and the Imam had honored me with the leadership of Friday prayers in Tehran, we went to see him with the Friday prayer leaders, and I made a statement. The phrase that came from my heart was that just as God Almighty established the Night of Qadr for the people, and in the interpretation of the Surah An-Nahl, it is narrated from the Imams (peace be upon them) that during the rule of Banu Umayyah, a thousand months passed, and the people did not have the Night of Qadr - a thousand months of Banu Umayyah's rule, during which there was no Night of Qadr, and the people were deprived of this Night of Qadr; this is in our narrations - likewise, we were deprived of Friday prayers during the tyrannical regime. In some cities, as per the old method, the rulers appointed someone and placed him there. Of course, in some cities, like Mashhad, there was a respected and esteemed Friday prayer leader - the late Sheikh Gholam Hossein Tabrizi, who was both knowledgeable, pious, and ascetic - who had no connection to the regime; we had some like him, but in many other cities, the Friday prayer leader was appointed by the tyrannical regimes; the people did not go and did not pay attention. The Friday prayer that a tyrannical ruler appoints is not attractive to the people, and they do not go. I said we were deprived of Friday prayers for many years, and you gave Friday prayers to us, to the Iranian nation. It is truly a great blessing. This is regarding the issue of leading Friday prayers.

However, regarding the elections. Of course, there is still time until the elections - for example, we have about forty or fifty days left - we also have the opportunity to present our views to the people. I oppose creating an electoral atmosphere in the country two years before the elections or one year before the elections; I oppose this, but many have done this; this is wrong. When the atmosphere becomes electoral, the necessity of an electoral atmosphere is competition and conflict - even if it is verbal conflict - and the exchange of various inappropriate and ugly remarks with each other. The electoral atmosphere distracts people from the ongoing realities of society and the true needs of society. This is not a good thing; I did not find it appropriate to speak about the elections beforehand; however, now it is almost election season, and we must say some things.

First of all, the essence of elections is very important; this is a great blessing. Just as we said about Friday prayers, I say about elections that elections are truly a great blessing. This is also one of the blessings of the profound and clear vision of our great Imam. There were those at that time who believed that when there is an Islamic government, elections are not necessary; the Imam said no, elections must be held and must have an effect, the people must decide, the people must choose, and what the people want must happen. The result of this policy has been that the people have remained alongside the revolution and have remained in the midst of the field until today, thank God; because it is the people who are making the choices, it is the people who are making the decisions. Elections are a great blessing.

Elections are among the things that, thank God, exist [in the Islamic Republic]. We have had so many elections [but] our enemies have not refrained from saying that there is dictatorship here. [While] the dictators of the region are their allies and share in the plunder and looting of nations, they do not say anything to them - like the governments you observe and know - but they accuse the Islamic Republic. If there were no elections, this would not be a mere accusation [but] a reality; that is, if this right were truly taken from the people, the enemy's words would be true. Thanks be to God, this right has been given to the people, elections exist, and elections are, thank God, free. The existence of elections gives a sense of independence and identity to the people in the internal atmosphere, and they feel that everything belongs to them - the reality is the same; the owners of the country are the people, and they decide for themselves, they act for themselves; both in the executive and legislative branches, and indirectly in matters of leadership and other areas where elections are held - it is also a source of dignity and credibility outside the country; in the global atmosphere, this election is truly a source of credibility and dignity. Therefore, the elections themselves are a very important matter and a great blessing.

Elections should not be undermined. Some people seem to enjoy and have a habit of sounding the alarm about the uncertainty of elections as the elections approach; they have become accustomed to this. This is a very bad habit, a bad disease; why? Elections are healthy elections. There may be some irregularities in any election in some corner; this is possible; such incidents always occur - well, in our own personal and public affairs, there may be irregularities - but organized irregularities that change the results of elections absolutely do not exist; there is absolutely no organized fraud; the negligence of election officials, both governmental and non-governmental, does not exist at all. From the beginning of the revolution until now, this has been the case; the officials have responsibly addressed election matters [and] all the governments that have been in between. The governments that have come and gone, some of them have political orientations that differ by 180 degrees, but the behavior of all of them regarding elections has been correct. [No one] should claim that there was treachery or [fraud] in these elections. Once - perhaps I have mentioned this before - regarding the elections in Tehran during a certain period, there was a lot of uproar; there was noise and insistence that this election should be annulled. I said we must investigate; in Tehran, two or three million people have participated in the elections, should we completely annul their votes? What kind of statement is this! We must investigate to see how it is. We conducted a thorough investigation; I explicitly wrote to the Guardian Council that no, the elections should not be tampered with. That is, the elections are the right of the people, they belong to the people, and we cannot accuse the elections of being, for example, this way or that way; no, the elections are healthy elections, they have been healthy in all periods, and God willing, with divine grace, they will continue to be so, and the framework of laws and regulations and the presence of individuals who are vigilant, attentive, and responsible will not allow the elections to be disrupted. This is one matter.

However, we said elections are a right of the people; this right is very important. Well, it is often repeated in speeches that someone has said elections are a right of the people, and it is a right of the people, and it is repeated constantly; however, we must reach the depth of this right. The meaning of being a right of the people is not that only the person sitting at the ballot box must observe this right, for example, not to miscount or alter the votes; this is one of the instances of observing the right of the people. One matter is the right of the candidates; one of the rights of the people is to observe the right of the candidates who come and enter this arena and nominate themselves for elections; if they are righteous individuals, we should not reject them, we should allow them to come. The opposite is also true; if there is an unrighteous person, we should not let them in; if there is someone in this assembly - whether in the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, or anywhere else where elections are held - who does not have the legal qualifications to enter here, and we overlook this, neglect it, and do not pay attention, and they enter, this also nullifies the rights of the people, it undermines the rights of the people; this is also against the rights of the people.

Another dimension of the right of the people is the preservation of trust; those who have the votes, those who count the votes, those who register and report, those who tally and summarize, and those who manage the ballot boxes must observe the utmost trust; that is, in these areas, even a slight irregularity is a betrayal of trust.

Another dimension of the right of the people is the acceptance of the legal results of the elections; that is, when a result is reached and the legal centers confirm that this is it, accepting this result [is the right of the people]; against what happened in 2009. Well, in 2009, a deniable and objectionable claim was raised that there was fraud, and this election should be annulled; now, how many people participated? Forty million! Forty million people participated in an election and voted for various candidates; these gentlemen claimed fraud [in this]. Of course, I was very lenient with them - now the details of the actions taken are lengthy - we were lenient, we spoke, we said come, let’s see, let them go check the ballot boxes; however many boxes you want. They did not pay attention, did not listen; thus, it was not that they were willing to accept the truth; they did not accept the truth and caused damage to the country. I do not know when the damages incurred in 2009 will be compensated. I truly do not know! They have not yet been compensated. This is one that the results of the elections should be accepted by all.

Another issue is the observance of rights in the proposed lists; these lists that are proposed, the lists for the candidates. Those who provide these lists must truly observe the rights; they should not let favoritism and factionalism interfere and should look to see who is truly deserving; they should place the deserving person and introduce them to the people. This is also a part and dimension of observing the rights of the people.

Another dimension is that the people who want to vote should trust those groups that are truly trustworthy; some are not trustworthy; like the one who was led astray by the devils; sometimes it is not that they come out of sincerity and reality and interest in the revolution - the foundation of the work is the revolution - and out of interest in the revolution, they come to provide a proposed list; no, they propose based on other motives - sometimes corrupt motives - the people should pay attention and see from where these proposed lists have come; from whom they have been proposed; they should choose those who are trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. This is also one of the things. Therefore, the issue of the rights of the people that we mentioned has these dimensions - it has other dimensions that I do not want to elaborate on now - and truly, this is the meaning of the rights of the people.

An important issue regarding the elections is maximum participation, which, God willing, if I have the opportunity and time, I will speak about maximum participation again before the elections. The more people participate in the elections, the stronger the system and the higher the credibility of the country will be; the more people participate, the higher the credibility of the system will rise. Because the system is a popular system, and the reality is that it relies on the emotions and sentiments of the people and the choices of the people and the will of the people. I have held this belief [regarding participation] for a long time and have always insisted on it, and this time I insist on it as well, and God willing, I will speak more about it.

One issue is the issue of infiltration; infiltration. We raised this issue of infiltration in the context of the JCPOA and after the JCPOA; this is a very strange and very important issue. Those who have access to information in various matters know well what traps they have laid for the country or intend to lay for infiltrating the will and thought and decisions of the Iranian nation, with various means of strategies and plots; this is currently in progress; the people must be very aware of this regarding the elections. If we assume that an infiltrator enters the Islamic Consultative Assembly or the Assembly of Experts or infiltrates other pillars of the system, it will erode the foundations like a termite from within and cause them to collapse; this is how it is. The issue of infiltration is very important, which I will discuss later, God willing. Of course, in this regard, enlightenment is necessary; enlightenment without accusations, without slandering, without specifying individuals, but enlightening the minds of the people; this is our duty. You see, one of the things that the Holy Quran addresses the opponents, the Jews of that day, is that it criticizes them for: "Why do you mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?"; one of the great criticisms is that you mix falsehood with truth, you make it ambiguous; "لبس" means confusion, "تَلبِسونَ" means you confuse the truth with falsehood, and you conceal the truth. The truth must be expressed; this is our duty.

Dear brothers! Today is a sensitive day; the times are extraordinarily sensitive. A persistent apparatus and a widespread front are working against the Islamic Revolution; they bring money to the market, weapons to the market, plots, and, as they say, they have think tanks and are constantly working; the reason is that they feel threatened. They are right to feel threatened; they should truly feel threatened; because the Islamic thought has spread beyond the confines of the Islamic Republic. It has spread; I have repeatedly given examples and said it is like fresh air, like a gentle breeze, like the scent of a flower; the scent of a flower cannot be confined in a garden, it comes and spreads around the garden. Revolutionary thought, pure Islamic thought, Islamic thought that has sovereignty and not merely a superficial and seemingly respectful attitude towards it without any action, is the kind of Islam that has an effect on the construction of society and the system of society. This is a thought that has spread today in the Islamic world and has nurtured and trained strong and experienced individuals in some places, hence they feel threatened. They think that the center of this massive and widespread Islamic movement is the Islamic Republic; they must bombard this place with intellectual and political bombardment, and they are doing so; they are doing all kinds of things: they spend money, plot, and come and go at various levels to see what to do with the Islamic Republic, with Islamic Iran. They are doing all the things that are possible for them - we are aware of this; that is, what I am saying is not analysis, it is information - from internal provocations, from the provocations of the wicked, from spending money, from spreading moral traps; they are doing all kinds of things to be able to carry out this infiltration; we must pay attention to this, and this is very important.

The Americans have set their sights on this election; they are looking for transformation in Iran; we are also looking for transformation. I have repeatedly said that society cannot remain stagnant; it must move forward, it must transform, it must change; however, our transformation is towards complete Islamization. Because now our name is Islamic, but we have a long way to go to become fully Islamic; we must continuously move forward and get closer day by day to the goals that the noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has set for the Islamic community; we must strive. We also believe in transformation, but their transformation is against our transformation; they want transformation in Iran to mean that we move away from those goals, to move away from them continuously, to go in the direction they want. They have set their sights on all internal events in our country; in this place, when two prominent individuals have a disagreement, they set their sights; and among them is the election; they have set their sights on the election as well. The Iranian nation must, despite the enemies, carry out its movement - whether in this election or in any other important social matter - in direct opposition to the enemy's wishes and strike back at the enemy.

Well, for now, this much is enough; God willing, if I have life and opportunity and strength, I will have further remarks regarding the elections to share with our dear people. Now it is almost noon, and it is time for the call to prayer and the prayer; we hope that God Almighty counts us among the worshippers.

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