Sermons of Friday Prayer in Tehran + Translation of Arabic Sermon

First Sermon

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, seek His help, ask for His forgiveness, and put our trust in Him. We send blessings and peace upon His beloved, His chosen one, the best of His creation, the guardian of His secrets, and the messenger of His revelations, the herald of His mercy and the warning of His wrath, our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One of God among the inhabitants of the earth. We send blessings and peace upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

I advise you, O servants of God, to be conscious of God.

I recommend all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and myself to observe divine piety. Today is the day of the martyrdom of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him). In the past days, our people commemorated the departure of the great and revered Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him), and the painful martyrdom of his elder grandson, Hazrat al-Mujtaba. I extend my condolences to you, the faithful worshippers, and to all the people of Iran, all the Shiites, and all the Muslims of the world for these great calamities, these unfortunate and painful events in history. The Almighty God says to His Prophet: "O Prophet, be conscious of God." (1) The necessity of piety, the observance of piety, is addressed even to the sacred existence of the Prophet. Let us keep God in mind; let us be vigilant about our actions, our behavior, our speech, and even our thoughts and imaginations; this is the meaning of piety. If this is achieved, all closed paths will be opened, and the Almighty God will assist a nation that possesses piety at every stage.

The decade of Fajr and the 22nd of Bahman this year has a different spirit and atmosphere; because after years of struggle, the people see that the echo of their voices, their powerful and oppressed cries, is now being heard with strength and power in other regions of the Islamic world.

The events today in North Africa, in Egypt, in Tunisia, and in some other countries have a different meaning for us, the Iranian nation; they have a special significance; this is what has always been referred to as the emergence of Islamic awakening, coinciding with the victory of the great Islamic revolution of the Iranian nation; today it is manifesting itself; hence, this decade is important.

Today, in the first sermon, I will present a matter regarding our revolution, and in the second sermon, I will briefly address the issues of Egypt and Tunisia, and then, with your permission, I will address the Arabic-speaking Muslims in the region; God willing.

What I am going to say about our revolution, about this great event of the Iranian nation - which is instructive for us, a lesson - is, firstly, a depiction of the realities of the world, so that we can see what the arrogant powers, the colonizers, and the bullies of the world wanted and what happened; what they were pursuing, but what actually occurred; then I will present two characteristics of the revolution that pertain to our current period.

In that first part, which relates to the depiction of the current situation and the comparison of it with what the bullies and tyrants of the world were pursuing, I say: The victors of the First and Second World Wars, who were mainly several European countries and America, had a consolidated policy for this important region of the Middle East; because this region is significant both in terms of its geographical location, being the junction of Asia, Europe, and Africa, and as one of the largest oil reserves in the world - oil being the vital artery of all industrial powers that dominate the world - and in terms of its peoples, it is home to ancient, rooted nations with historical backgrounds; thus, they adopted a policy for this region. That policy was that there should be countries, political units in this region that possess these characteristics: Firstly, they should be weak; secondly, they should be enemies with one another, opposed to each other, unable to unite - hence, you saw the policy of strengthening Arab nationalism, Turkish nationalism, and Iranian nationalism pursued over many years - thirdly, their rulers should be politically dependent, obedient, submissive to Western powers, and compliant; fourthly, they should be economically consumers; meaning that the oil, which they almost extract for free, should be spent on imports, consumed so that Western factories thrive; fifthly, they should be scientifically backward, not allowed to advance scientifically. What I am saying is a summary. Each of these points truly has a book of explanation and detail. How in our Iran, in some other countries, they prevented the development of science, the deepening of knowledge. The peoples of this region, culturally, should be mere imitators of Europeans; militarily, they should be humiliated, vulnerable, and weak; morally, they should be corrupt, suffering from various moral declines; religiously, they should be completely superficial and content with individual religion and occasionally ceremonial religion. This was the image they had created for this region for their policymaking; perhaps Western strategists spent thousands of hours studying these issues, thinking, planning, and appointing their agents in these countries in the region and carried out their tasks through them. With this analysis, one can understand the behavior of Reza Khan, the behavior of Mohammad Reza, the behavior of Mustafa Kemal in Turkey, and others. This was their program.

They succeeded. Until the victory of the Islamic revolution, except for brief periods of time, they succeeded in many of these matters. Only in brief periods, now in Egypt for example, a national government came to power for a few years, in Iran in a different way, in other places in a different way; but generally, when we look at it absolutely, in all these areas they made progress until the revolution. But suddenly, a great event, a massive explosion occurred that disrupted all their conditions. A learned, prominent, wise, jurist, fighter, brave, risk-taking, and influential man named Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) emerged in the Iranian nation, and the emergence of this man, the presence of this man, the upbringing of this great human being was the work of God. This was divine destiny that such an event would occur. The Iranian people were also ready, welcomed it, accepted it, faced dangers, entered the field, sacrificed their lives, sacrificed their wealth, and passed a good test; thus, the Islamic revolution came into being. All these calculations were disrupted, these calculations were ruined, they became disordered. The Islamic revolution in Iran appeared strong and continued strongly. It was not the case that in the first, second, and third years, a fervor would arise, and then the issues would be resolved; no, it continued; I will later have remarks about this continuation and persistence.

The Imam stood like a mountain, and the nation stood behind the Imam like a mountain of steadfastness; the enemy front - there was not just one enemy, there were many - did everything they could, tried everything they could; from street wars, to ethnic wars, to military coups, to the imposition of an eight-year war, to economic sanctions, to launching a massive psychological war over thirty-two years. For thirty-two years, there has been a psychological war against the Iranian nation, against the revolution, and against the Imam: they lied, slandered, spread rumors, tried to create divisions, tried to divert paths internally.

The goals they pursued were, first of all, the downfall of the revolution and the downfall of the Islamic Republic system. The primary goal was overthrow. The next goal was that if the overthrow of the Islamic Republic system did not materialize, they would distort the revolution; meaning that the appearance of the revolution would remain, but the essence of the revolution, the spirit of the revolution would be destroyed. They made a lot of efforts in this regard; the last play they staged was the sedition of 88. In fact, it was an effort. A number of individuals inside, due to love of self, love of position - from these dangerous psychological diseases - fell victim to this conspiracy. I have said many times; the designer and planner and stage manager were outside these borders. They collaborated with some inside; some knowingly, some unknowingly. This was the second goal.

The third goal was also to create a situation where if the Islamic system remained, they would use weak-minded elements that could be influenced, and make them the main parties in the country’s issues. Ultimately, a system would emerge and continue that would not have sufficient power, would be weak, obedient - the main thing is that it should be submissive, obedient - not stand against America, not rise against it. These are their goals.

These actions and various stages have failed until today; they have not been able to. Of course, they have made many efforts, pursued various actions - which I will refer to some of them during my remarks - they did not spare any effort in their endeavors, but they did not succeed; because the people were awake. We have good elites in society; we have a good nation; we have good officials. Thanks be to God, until today the enemy has not been able to achieve its goals. The revolution has continued its path and progressed.

Now, what happened in the revolution? See, these are important. This revolution that occurred in Iran brought about changes that are significant in terms of depth and profundity, fundamental changes. Based on these changes, a society can be advanced and extensive changes can be made. These main foundations were firmly established.

I will mention a few of these changes that occurred. Of course, you all know these, we all know them, they are before our eyes; but just as the Almighty God in the Quran draws our attention to the sun - "By the sun and its brightness"; (2) the sun is before our eyes, but He swears to make us realize that this phenomenon, this event, this being is so magnificent - we too must pay attention to these great phenomena around us; thus, stating these is necessary for us to realize.

Firstly, before the revolution, the ruling system in the country was a deeply anti-Islamic system. They did not care much about the appearances, but in depth, they were truly seeking to uproot the Islamic faith of the people. In this regard, I have many examples, evidence, and memories in my mind, but there is no time to mention them. The revolution came and placed Islam at the center of governance; it established Islam as the axis of management; Islamic laws and regulations became the criteria for the acceptance and rejection of the laws of the country and the criterion for the actions of the executors of the country.

Before the revolution, the country was politically dependent; meaning that the government, whether Mohammad Reza himself or various institutions, were obedient to America; they awaited America’s signal. There are many evidences. A person would rise from here and go to America - Dr. Aminy - to convince the Americans to become Prime Minister in Iran. He came, became Prime Minister! After a year or two, the Shah, who opposed him, went to America, convinced the Americans to dismiss him from the premiership. He came and dismissed him from the premiership! This was the state of our country. For the selection of a Prime Minister, the Shah of the country, the head of the nation, was dependent on the agreement and consent of America! In many matters, the Shah would invite the American and British ambassadors to his palace to discuss a decision he wanted to make! If they opposed, the decision would not be implemented. Political dependency means this. They were obedient to America; before America, they were obedient to England. The British brought Reza Khan to power; when they saw he was no longer useful, they themselves dismissed him from power, expelled him from the country, and brought his son to power. This was before the revolution.

The revolution brought complete political independence to the country. Today, in this vast world, among these great powers, there is no power that can claim that its will, its desire has any influence on the will of the officials of the country or the Iranian nation. This particular point - that is, steadfastness, independence, political dignity - has the greatest appeal for nations. The reason you see nations respect the great Iranian nation is largely related to this aspect: political independence.

Before the revolution, the government was monarchical. The opposite of that is popular governance. In a monarchical government, the people are nothing; in a popular governance, the people are everything. Before the revolution, the government was hereditary; one would die, and one would appoint someone in his place; meaning the people had no role; whether they wanted or not, they had to accept. In the Islamic Republic, thanks to the revolution, the government is elected; the people choose; the taste of the people, the will of the people is decisive. Before the revolution, the government was a security dictatorship; a hard and dark dictatorship. I remember; one of our friends from Pakistan came to me - he had come to Mashhad illegally - he narrated, he spoke; he said yes, we were reading a certain announcement in the park with friends. I was surprised; in the park? An announcement? Is such a thing possible? It never crossed our minds that someone could have an announcement in his pocket that criticized the regime and could walk in the street. This was the state of the security dictatorship of that day. The revolution opened the space for freedom, for criticism, for reform, for admonition, even for opposition and protest for the people. For thirty-two years, it has been like this; even in the early years of the revolution.

Before the revolution, the reliance of the country on science and technology was completely on the West. I have said many times; some of the parts of our military aircraft that had broken down, were worn out, were supposed to be repaired, they would not allow the domestic engineers of the Air Force to open that part, to see what it was, let alone think of fixing it. They would put the part in the aircraft, take it to America, and someone would bring a replacement; or if they were to repair it, they would repair it. The industry that existed was merely assembly without any innovation. After the revolution, scientific self-confidence and national self-esteem emerged; the presence of so many prominent and great scholars in various fields was observed. Today, we have scholars in the country who can be counted among the best in the world; there are only a few. Our scholars have advanced; most of them are also young.

Before the revolution, Iran had no influence in global matters, even in regional matters; it was a humiliated country; it could not exert any influence on issues. After the revolution, the dignity and greatness of this nation in the eyes of the world, its influence in regional affairs, has astonished the enemies; the enemies have been forced to confess and admit. Today, you look; in these sites that bring foreign news, they constantly mention Iran's influence, Iran's dominance, Iran's presence in regional affairs; even with malicious motives, but they confess.

Before the revolution, in cultural matters, we were mere imitators; but after the revolution, cultural invasion was recognized as a danger. There are many such headings. These are fundamental issues.

When these foundations are laid in a country, then this nation can hope to establish a new and great civilization on these foundations. Well, each of these characteristics attracts the attention of nations in some way. Other nations look, see, become fascinated, admire; which of course, most importantly, is the issue of political independence and standing against the arrogance of enemies.

I will quote a sentence from a Western official. It is not my habit to quote these politicians and Western figures; but this is an interesting sentence. He says: There are two things that if they circulate among Muslims and different Muslim nations become aware of these two things, all the taboos of the West - that is, the rigid principles of the West - will be shattered and nullified. What are these two things? This Western thinker says: One is the Constitution of the Islamic Republic; that this Constitution makes a modern, advanced, and at the same time religious government possible in the eyes of the Muslim world. This Constitution shows that it is possible to have a government that is both modern, advanced, and completely religious. The Constitution depicts this. He says such a thing is possible. This is one. The second is the record of the successes of the Islamic Republic in scientific, economic, political, and military fields; that if this reaches the Muslims, they will see that that possible matter has occurred, has materialized. He says if Muslim nations become aware of this possibility and relative occurrence that is both possible and has relatively occurred in today’s Islamic Iran, and have this system-building before their eyes, they will not be able to stop the series of revolutions.

Today, this has happened. Of course, this event did not happen today; it has been thirty years. A matter gradually and slowly settles in the minds of nations, grows, matures, and then manifests itself in the form you see today in North Africa and other regions.

Of course, the Westerners made political mistakes; these political mistakes also helped the Islamic Republic. See, in this nuclear issue, the Westerners made mistakes. To confront the nuclear issue of Iran, they exaggerated it, created a fuss, and pressured that the Islamic Republic must retreat from the nuclear issue. Well, over these seven years - it has been seven years that they have been trying - two things have become clear to the world: one is that Iran has been able to achieve unexpected advancements in the nuclear issue. The second is that Iran, despite all these pressures, stands firm and does not retreat. Well, this was to the benefit of the Iranian nation. Now the whole world knows that America and Europe and their assistants and followers, despite all the pressure they exerted, could not overcome the Islamic Republic and force it to retreat. This was recognized by the enemies of the Iranian nation themselves; that is, it helped in introducing the Iranian nation.

In other matters, it is the same. They made a fuss that they wanted to sanction gasoline so that gasoline would not be imported. Well, we were and are gasoline importers. They said they wanted to prevent the import of gasoline. They created a fuss and uproar. Their analysts predicted, saying the country would become chaotic, the people would react. Well, this led the officials of the country to think about producing more gasoline. Today, according to the report I have - of course, thanks be to God until the 22nd of Bahman - the country will become completely independent of gasoline imports. According to the report given to me, after that, we can even export gasoline; the order has also been given. Well, this uproar of theirs turned out to be beneficial for the Iranian nation. International observers also saw this. It has been the same in all matters; in the arms embargo during the war, it has been the same, in creating a parallel and extremist Islamic current, it has been the same. They created an extremist Islamic current in our neighborhood to undermine the Islamic Republic. Now it has become a plague that has afflicted them, and they cannot control it, they do not know how to remedy it. It was the same in creating religious differences. It was the same in the sedition of 88. They made a fuss, created uproar, said the Islamic Republic was finished, divisions occurred, this happened, that happened; then they looked and saw the Iranian nation prevailed. The 9th of Dey and the 22nd of Bahman last year were among the days of God - in the true sense of the word. Hearts are in the hands of God. The Almighty God brought these hearts to the scene, and the Iranian nation showed its greatness. Whatever they do, it turns out to be against their interests. After this, it will be the same. Well, this is a reality that exists in the world today. What did they want, and what happened!

And as for the second part that I said I would mention. In every phenomenon, if we want to determine its importance and also determine the success of this action, we must look to see how much this phenomenon has been able to create a model and become a paradigm and how much it has shown resilience, stability, and stood firm on its word. Revolutions are the same. If a revolution wants to influence the minds and actions of others and become a model, it must have certain characteristics. The most important of these characteristics is this very stability and resilience and standing firm on principles. If this happens, the revolution will become a model for others; otherwise, the sparks that ignite somewhere and extinguish cannot create models, cannot encourage others to follow them. Our revolution has been like this. Our revolution has been able to be inspiring, to be a model; and this is due to the stability and resilience and standing firm on the fundamental principles that this revolution announced through the Imam.

This revolution stood firm. I will mention a few examples in this regard. One example is its Islamic nature. The Imam said from the beginning that our revolution is Islamic, based on Islam. There was a lot of uproar and fuss in the world; they said that being Islamic does not align with democracy, being Islamic is retrogression, being Islamic is regression, the laws of Islam cannot be implemented, and so on. Some individuals also reflected their voices inside the country; they wrote books, wrote articles, spread rumors to force the Islamic Republic to retreat from its adherence to Islam. The Islamic Republic stood firm and did not succumb to the uproar. Yes, we are Islamic; we take pride in this and prove that the path to human salvation is this. The Islamic Republic loudly announced this to the whole world.

Today, after thirty-two years, you look at our society; behaviors are at least as Islamic as they were on the first day of the victory of this revolution, if not more Islamic. The youth who did not see the Imam, did not see the war, do not remember anything from the revolution, but their adherence and commitment to the principles of Islam is better than some of us old men; they are stronger. The officials of the country take pride in being Islamic. Of course, over these thirty-two years, a lot of effort has been made; even within the government structures, there were those who tried to zigzag the paths and gradually divert them; but they could not. The Islamic Republic stood firm on its Islamic foundations. This is one example.

Another example is the issue of popular governance. The Imam announced from the beginning that the people must have a say; whether in the establishment of the Islamic Republic, in drafting the Islamic law, in accepting the law that was approved by the Assembly of Experts, in electing the President, or in electing the Parliament. The Imam stood firm. See, thirty-two years have passed since the revolution, with the calculation of the referendums that have taken place, we have had thirty-two instances of public participation - meaning on average one per year - the people went and voted, elected. The election of the people is very important. During the war, Tehran was under bombardment, but elections were not suspended. During the war, in cities that were being bombarded by Saddam's missiles, elections were not suspended. In one of the parliamentary terms, they pressured to delay the elections for their political reasons, but they did not succeed. Until today, in the elections of the Islamic Republic and the presence of the people, there has not been a single day of delay; this is popular governance. From the very beginning, the Imam said, and the Islamic Republic stood firm on this popular governance; it did not accept to bypass popular governance. Today, the officials of the country, from the Assembly of Experts that appoints and dismisses the leader, to the presidency, to the parliament, to the councils, are all elected by the people. Various currents have also come to power. It has not been the case that we say there is only one current; no, from the beginning until today, the various presidents who have come to power have each had a different orientation and political inclination; but all have come to power through the election of the people.

The next example is the example of social justice. The Imam announced justice from the beginning. Well, social justice is harder than all these tasks; I tell you. Establishing social justice is harder than preserving popular governance and the other tasks that have been done in the Islamic Republic; it is a very difficult task. I do not say that we have been able to establish social justice completely until today; no, we still have a long way to go. The justice that Islam has asked of us is far from what exists in our society today; but the movement towards social justice has not stopped and has continued and has intensified day by day. Today, the movement towards social justice is more than in previous years, more than in previous periods. One of the important examples of social justice is the distribution and allocation of opportunities in the country. In systems that are oblivious to the truth of social justice, reliance is placed on a specific class, on specific regions of the country; but in the Islamic Republic, as we progress - until today, thirty-two years have passed - we see this meaning more strongly. Villages are taken into consideration, remote cities are taken into consideration. All this housing construction in villages, all this road construction towards distant cities and villages, communication routes, electricity, suitable water, telephone, living facilities, these have been distributed throughout the country.

These trips that the officials of the country make to various provinces, to various cities, some of these distant cities never imagined they would even see a second-rate official; now they see that high-ranking officials of the country go to them. These are very important, very valuable. When a person goes, observes the problems, motivation arises to solve the problems; and this is the establishment of social justice. We are moving towards social justice.

What one observes in the world from the lives of officials is lives of luxury; when someone reaches the government, becomes president or attains a high position, his life seems to turn upside down; in our country, no. Of course, people like me must align our lives with the weakest segments of society. We have not been able to achieve this, we have not had this success; this has not happened; but the lives of the officials of the society, the officials of the country, thanks be to God, are like the average lives of the people, sometimes even lower than the average lives of the people; these are very valuable.

This issue of justice shares, this rural housing, this targeted subsidy is a great work. If God willing, the officials of the country can implement this well and act upon it, this is very important. This subsidy that the government was giving for electricity to all the people, well, the one who lights up forty lamps and chandeliers and consumes more electricity, where is that, and the one who has one or two bulbs in his house, where is that? The one who is wealthier benefited more from this subsidy; this was injustice. They want to prevent this injustice. Similarly in the case of bread, similarly in the case of gasoline, and so on. We stood firm. The system stood firm on the slogan of social justice.

The next point is the resistance against global arrogance; not submitting to pressures. In this regard, we stood firm. This was hard; but the Islamic Republic was able to successfully accomplish this hard task. Many were there from the very beginning of the revolution, saying now that the revolution has succeeded, that is enough; let us resolve issues with the Americans! This meant that the slogan of opposing oppression of the revolution would be discredited. They encouraged this. Over time, there were those who sought to say let us align with America; the one who is our main enemy, let us go under its wing; let us seek refuge in its lap. The meaning of this statement is selling the Palestinian issue. The meaning of this statement is overlooking the crimes of America in Iraq and Afghanistan and the like. The meaning of this statement is to not protest against all this oppression that America is committing against nations in the world. The meaning of this statement is that the Iranian nation and its officials cannot openly protest and voice their opinions; and one step further, they will gradually be forced to accept their words. Well, this stability and resilience was hard work; but it was blessed, it attracted divine mercy, it attracted the attention of nations. Your steadfastness, O Iranian nation, over these thirty-two years on the main slogans of the revolution has had this great blessing that today the Islamic world looks at you with awe. When your country’s officials travel to various countries, they receive such a reception. When pollsters want to calculate the popularity of political figures, your country’s officials rank among the top. The work of the Iranian nation has become a model; today you are witnessing signs of this. This great blessing and this characteristic is one that could not have been realized without the passage of time.

Today, in Egypt, the voice of you is being echoed. That American president who was in office during our revolution recently gave an interview, saying these voices being heard in Egypt are familiar to me! Meaning what is being heard today in Cairo was heard in Tehran during his presidency. The world is judging these matters. Therefore, this year’s decade of Fajr is important, sensitive, and full of spirit. God willing, the march on the 22nd of Bahman will add to all these honors.

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

Indeed, We have given you al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.

Second Sermon

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

And thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and the pure and chaste lady, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, and Hasan and Husayn, the two grandsons of mercy and the Imams of guidance, and Ali ibn Husayn and Muhammad ibn Ali and Ja'far ibn Muhammad and Musa ibn Ja'far and Ali ibn Musa and Muhammad ibn Ali and Ali ibn Muhammad and Hasan ibn Ali and the Awaited Proof, the proofs of Your servants and Your trusted ones in Your lands. And send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers, and ask God for forgiveness for me and for you.

I advise you, O servants of God, to be conscious of God.

Once again, I recommend all of you dear brothers and sisters and myself to observe piety. I will briefly mention a few points regarding the events occurring in Egypt and Tunisia. These events are very important; they are a real earthquake. If the people of Egypt, with divine help and divine success, can advance this matter, what will arise for the policies of America in the region will be an irreparable defeat. Today, perhaps more than the fleeing officials of Tunisia and Egypt, the Israelis are worried about these events. The Israelis and the Zionist enemies are the most worried. They know that if Egypt withdraws from its alliance with them and takes its rightful place, what a great event will occur in this region; the same predictions that our great Imam made will come true. Therefore, these events are extraordinarily important. In global analyses, they try to overlook the main factor of these uprisings. They refer to economic and non-economic issues - which are certainly effective - but the main factor of this great movement of the people, first in Tunisia and then peaking in Egypt, is the feeling of humiliation that arose in the people from the situation of their leaders. The people were humiliated, they felt insulted. This unfortunate Egypt has humiliated the Egyptian nation.

I will first mention a sentence regarding Tunisia. This fleeing president of Tunisia, Ben Ali, was completely dependent on America; we even have reports that he was dependent on the CIA - the American intelligence agency! See how hard it is for a nation when the leader of a nation, especially one with such arrogance and pride - who was a very arrogant person - is a formal servant of American agencies. For years, he ruled over the people with intensity and severity; against the interests of the people, including against religion. In Tunisia, which is a Muslim country with a long Islamic history and has produced prominent figures in Islamic culture, during the time of Ben Ali, people had to have a special card to go to the mosque; a card for entry to the mosque that the government issued, and not everyone received it! Permission to go to the mosque was not granted. Permission for congregational prayer was out of the question; individual prayer in mosques was also prohibited; it was openly forbidden. Hijab was officially banned. Well, one of the important motivations of these people is their desire for Islam. Thus, you saw that as soon as this traitor fled his country and the situation became chaotic, the female students went to university wearing hijab. This indicates a deep Islamic motivation; this is what Western analysts want to conceal and keep hidden. The next motivation is dependence on America, which is very important. The Americans do not want it to be said that the cause of the uprising of the people of Tunisia at first and then peaking in Egypt is dependence; this is the truth of the matter. Of course, in Tunisia, a superficial change occurred. Ben Ali fled, but his apparatus remains in power. God willing, the people in Tunisia will correctly recognize their position. May God forbid that the enemy can deceive them.

And as for Egypt. Egypt is a very important country. I will briefly mention a few points. Egypt was the first Islamic country to become acquainted with Western culture. The late 18th century marked the beginning of Egypt's acquaintance with Western culture, before all other countries. Egypt was the first country among Islamic countries to become acquainted with European culture and was the first Islamic country to recognize the dangers of this culture and to resist it. It was the first Arab country to form an independent government after World War II and defended its national interests in nationalizing the Suez Canal; it was the first country that went to the aid of Palestine with all its might and was recognized as the refuge of Palestinians in the Islamic world. Seyyed Jamal al-Din was not Egyptian, but he could not have hoped for understanding his great concerns from a Muslim nation anywhere other than Egypt. The Egyptian nation has proven its worth in the arena of religious and political struggles and has recorded it in history. Muhammad Abduh and his students and Saad Zaghloul and his supporters were not retrogressive and worldly-wise people. They were great, brave, and awakening geniuses, and every nation can take pride in nurturing a person like them. Egypt, with this cultural, religious, and political depth, rightfully occupies the leadership position in the Arab world.

The greatest crime of the current regime in Egypt is that it has reduced this country from that lofty position to the rank of a mere pawn in its political games in the region. The explosion of the great Egyptian nation today is a response to this great betrayal that the dependent dictator committed against his nation.

Today, all over the world, there is a heated market of various analyses regarding the uprising of the Egyptian nation, and everyone is saying something, but anyone who knows Egypt will clearly understand that Egypt is defending its dignity and honor. The Egyptian nation has seized the collars of the traitors who have squandered its dignity and trampled upon a nation that was at the height of its honor under the arrogance and pride of its enemies. A prominent example is Egypt's position in the Palestinian issue. Palestine has been the central issue of this region for decades, and the interconnection of the issues in this region is such that no country and no nation can imagine its destiny separate from the Palestinian issue. There are only two fronts: either support for Palestine and its just struggles, or standing in the opposing front.

The nations of the region have clarified their positions from the beginning; thus, when a government supports Palestine, it receives the support of its own nation and the Arab and Muslim nations. Egypt has experienced this in the years of the 60s and 70s, but when it defines itself in another front, the nation turns away from it. In Egypt, the infamous Camp David Accords created this rift between the government and the Egyptian nation. The Egyptian nation, which had gone to aid Palestine with its life and wealth in 67 and 73, gradually saw that the rulers had become so extreme in their subservience and obedience to America that Egypt had turned into a loyal ally of the Zionist and usurping enemy. The dominance of America over the rulers of Egypt has squandered all their past efforts in supporting Palestine, and Egypt has become the greatest enemy of Palestine and the greatest supporter of the Zionists.

And this was while Syria, which was Egypt's partner in the wars of 67 and 73, managed to maintain its independent positions despite severe American pressures. The situation of the subservient regime in Egypt reached a point where the Egyptian people saw for the first time in history that their government was on the side of Israel in the war against their brothers in Gaza and not only did not help but was actively involved on the side of the enemy. History will never forget that Hosni Mubarak was the one who, during the horrific siege of the people of Gaza and in the 22 days of slaughtering men, women, and children in Gaza, was a collaborator, confidant, and partner of Israel and America. What did the Egyptian people endure during those days? Television showed scenes of the intense emotions of the Egyptian people, who cried over their situation and over the fact that they were not allowed to assist their Palestinian brothers. The Muslim nation of Egypt could no longer endure. What we see today in Cairo and other Egyptian cities is an explosion of sacred anger and the eruption of grievances that have accumulated in the hearts of free men and women in Egypt due to the behavior of the un-Islamic, treacherous, and puppet regime over the years.

The uprising of the Muslim nation of Egypt is an Islamic and freedom-seeking movement. I send greetings to you, the Egyptian nation, and the Tunisian nation on behalf of the nation and revolutionary government of Iran, and I ask God for your complete victory. I am proud of you and your uprising. There is no doubt that the uprisings of nations, depending on geographical, historical, political, and cultural circumstances, have unique characteristics in each country, and one cannot expect what occurred in the great Islamic revolution thirty years ago in Iran to happen exactly in Egypt or Tunisia or any other Islamic country; however, there are also commonalities that can be beneficial for other nations. The experiences that can be useful today are these:

1. In every popular uprising, there is a real war between wills. Whichever side is more determined and endures hardships will be the definite victor. The Quran teaches us: "Indeed, those who said, 'Our Lord is Allah,' and then remained steadfast, the angels will descend upon them, [saying], 'Do not fear and do not grieve, but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.'" (3) And He says to His Prophet: "So invoke [Allah] and remain steadfast as you have been commanded, and do not follow their desires." (4) The enemy seeks to weaken your will with force and deception. Be careful that your will does not weaken.

2. Your enemy tries to discourage you from achieving your goals. While the divine promise says: "And We want to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors." (5) Trust in the assured and unequivocal promise of God, which says: "And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." (6)

3. Your enemy sends its security mercenaries against you to confront you, to exhaust the people with insecurity and chaos. Do not fear them. You are stronger than the mercenaries. You are now in a stage where God said to the Prophet and his companions: "O Prophet, urge the believers to fight. If there are among you twenty steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you a hundred, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve because they are a people who do not understand." (7) You can overcome any insecurity and chaos by relying on God and trusting in your motivated youth.

4. The important weapon of nations in confronting superpowers and puppet rulers is their unity and solidarity. Your enemy tries to undermine your unity with various tricks. Highlighting points of divergence, presenting misleading slogans, and introducing unreliable figures as successors to the treacherous president are among the motivations for division. Maintain your unity around the axis of religion and the liberation of the country from the evil of the enemy's mercenaries: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided." (8)

5. Do not trust the political and deceitful maneuvers of America and the West. Those who supported the corrupt regime until a few days ago now speak of supporting the rights of nations because they have lost hope in maintaining it. With this cover, they seek to replace the pawns and re-establish their affiliates over you with face-lifting. This is an insult to the intelligence of nations; do not tolerate it and do not settle for anything less than establishing a completely independent, popular, and faithful to Islam system.

6. The scholars of religion and the esteemed Al-Azhar, which has a brilliant history, must play their role prominently. The people who begin their uprising from the mosque and Friday prayers and shout Allahu Akbar have higher expectations from the scholars of religion, and this expectation is justified.

7. The Egyptian army, which has the honor of participating in at least two wars against the Zionist enemy, is now facing a great and historic test. The enemy wants to use it to suppress the people. If, God forbid, this happens, the damage that will occur will be irreparable for the army; it is the Zionists who should fear the Egyptian army, not the Egyptian people. Of course, the military elements who are from the people and their children will ultimately join the people, and this sweet experience will be repeated once again in Egypt.

8. And finally, America, which has supported the puppet rulers against the Egyptian nation for thirty years, is now in no position to intervene as a mediator in the Egyptian issue. View any American recommendations and actions in these matters with skepticism and do not trust them.

Dear brothers and sisters! These are our experiences; I share them with you as your Muslim brother and out of religious commitment. The enemy's propaganda trumpets will, as always, shout that Iran wants to interfere, wants to make Egypt Shiite, wants to export the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist to Egypt, and wants this and that... These lies have been told for thirty years to separate our nations from each other and deprive them of helping one another, and their mercenaries repeat them. "They inspire one another with rhetoric of falsehood out of delusion. And if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it. So leave them and what they invent." (9) With these tricks, we will never abandon the duties that Islam has placed upon us. And God is behind the intention.