Statements of His Eminence on the Fourteenth Anniversary of the Passing of the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)

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, the guided, the Mahdi, the infallible, especially the Awaited One on earth. Every year, the fourteenth of Khordad is an opportunity for the Iranian nation to once again express its loyalty to the principles and ideals of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Although the expression of sincerity and the bond of the people's hearts with that prominent and unforgettable figure of our history manifests itself in many ceremonies throughout the year, the fourteenth of Khordad has a particular significance; it is accompanied by the sorrowful memory of the loss of this great divine blessing from among us. Therefore, on such a day, the aware hearts feel more than ever that they must renew and express their bond and loyalty to the solid foundation that that great architect of the revolution established in this land. I would like to begin my remarks with a verse from the Quran that our great Imam exemplified. In Surah As-Sajda, the Almighty God, while describing the conditions of nations and peoples and the struggling and diligent believers, states: "And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and were certain of Our signs"; those who developed two characteristics and two distinctions within themselves were honored with this great blessing that the Almighty God entrusted the guidance of human collectives to them. Those two characteristics are patience and certainty; "when they were patient and were certain of Our signs." Certainty is the same as informed and insightful faith that temptations cannot undermine in the heart of a person. Patience is a quality that enables a great person to not lose themselves and their path when faced with difficulties in the pursuit of the ideals they have consciously and insightfully chosen; to not forget the goal and not be diverted. All prophets, all guides, and all those who have been able to leave a lasting and admirable impact on the course of human history must have possessed these two characteristics. Our late Imam, the renewer of the life of Islam among our nation and the Islamic Ummah, possessed these two characteristics. Today, after forty years since the event of the fifteenth of Khordad, you observe that the oppressed movement of the Imam has enveloped the Islamic world. One day, in this very city of Tehran and in Qom, just like today and tomorrow, people were martyred in a most oppressed manner; because they shouted the name of Islam in following the great Imam; because they opposed the foreign domination over this country and the exploitation of its vital resources by foreigners. On that day, anyone who looked at this scene might have thought that this voice and this cry had come to an end. The Imam was arrested with utmost cruelty and taken from his home; the people were suppressed with increasing savagery; but this thought, inspired by this great divine principle - that is, the combination of patience and certainty - continued its path. The Imam struggled for fifteen years and, thanks to that informed faith, was able to unite the Iranian nation to confront internal despotism and international arrogance. When the nation stepped into the battlefield, victory in that confrontation is certain. The difference between our great Imam and other reformers in the history of Islam in the last one or two centuries was precisely this. The Imam entered the scene, came to the forefront, was among the people, spoke with the people, explained his principles to the people, and brought them to an informed and insightful faith like his own; then the faith and motivation of the people and the teachings of Islam turned the battle in favor of truth and reality. Others could not and did not manage to advance this difficult stage; but the Imam could. The Iranian nation came to believe in these principles, had faith, and struggled for them. The result was that, firstly, the Islamic system, despite all the sabotage and enmities, achieved victory and has become more rooted day by day until today, and secondly, the idea of realizing and reviving Islam and saving the Islamic Ummah from the oppression and arrogance of the arrogant powers did not remain confined within the borders of this country. Today, if you go to any Islamic country in the East and West of the Islamic world - whether in the Middle East, in Arab countries, in North Africa, or in East Asia; in areas where Muslims have formed collectives - you will see that the Islamic motivation, the desire for the governance of Islam, and the hatred of the exploiters, colonizers, and oppressors is surging among the people, especially among the youth, adolescents, elites, and intellectuals. Such news did not exist in the Islamic world. What were the principles of the Imam that could bring about this great success? The core of all the principles and rules of our great Imam can be summarized in two things: Islam and the people. The belief in the people was also derived by our great Imam from Islam. It is Islam that emphasizes the rights of nations, the importance of the people's vote, and the impact of their jihad and presence; thus, the great Imam placed Islam and the people at the center of his work; the greatness of Islam, the greatness of the people; the power of Islam, the power of the people; the invincibility of Islam, the invincibility of the people. The most important work that our great Imam did on the level of the Islamic world was to revive the political and social dimensions of Islam. From the day colonialism entered Islamic countries, all the efforts of the colonizers and dominators were to eliminate the political and social dimensions of Islam, the quest for justice, the quest for freedom, and the quest for independence from Islam. The dominators, in order to expand their control over nations and the resources of Islamic countries, felt compelled to separate the political dimensions of Islam from Islam and to interpret Islam as submission to events, submission to the occupier, and submission to the oppressive and powerful enemy. The Imam revived the forgotten truths of Islam; he raised the quest for justice in Islam high; he made the opposition of Islam to discrimination and class differences public. From the first day until the last days of his life, the great Imam relied on the oppressed classes, the barefooted, and the deprived. Time and again, at the beginning of the formation of the Islamic system and throughout his blessed ten years in the leadership of the Islamic system, he emphasized to the officials and to all of us that we must take care of the weak; you owe it to the barefooted class of this country. My dear ones; the great nation of Iran! Wherever and in any case we paid attention to this advice of the Imam and acted upon this advice in our planning, legislation, execution, and appointments, victory was granted to us. Islam seeks the happiness of the people. Islam opposes corruption, oppression, and discrimination. Islam has come to the field for the welfare of the people alongside the spirituality of the people. The Imam repeatedly stated this from the beginning of the struggles until the formation of the Islamic system and until the end of his life. Our great Imam demonstrated in the Islamic world that Islamic jurisprudence - that is, the regulations for managing the lives of people - alongside the philosophy of Islam - that is, the informed and profound and reasoned thought - and the mysticism of Islam - that is, asceticism and detachment to God and refraining from carnal desires - can create a great miracle. The Imam practically showed that political Islam is the same as spiritual Islam. Throughout the colonial period, the enemies of Islam and the enemies of the awakening of Islamic nations propagated that spiritual Islam and ethical Islam are separate from political Islam. Today, they propagate the same. Today, the propaganda apparatus of the enemy and the enemy front of the Islamic system, with various means of propaganda, tries to introduce political Islam and justice-seeking Islam and social Islam as a harsh face in the world and to lead people towards an isolated Islam, a submissive Islam, and an Islam that shows no reaction against the aggressor and the oppressor. The Imam defeated this and invalidated this false notion of Islam and presented pure Islam. The pure Islam that the Imam presented is against the stagnant and superstitious Islam and also against the faded Islam in the face of foreign schools and eclecticism. Both then, and throughout the years of struggle for the formation of the Islamic system, and even until today, this is one of the points that the enemy front of Islam emphasizes: separating politics from spirituality; meaning that if someone wants to be a Muslim, they must keep to themselves and sit in a corner and not care about what the enemy does, what the aggressor does, what the occupier does. Today, they propagate this as well. The Imam presented the opposite of this in the Islamic world, and today the Islamic world has this great wave within itself. If you go to any of the Islamic countries, you will see that the living Islam, in the eyes of the elites, youth, academics, scholars, and the free people there, is the Islam that can protect and support its nation against the bullies, tyrants, power seekers, and aggressors of the world and grant it immunity and not allow the enemy's interference and domination over the people. They want this Islam, and the pure Muhammadan Islam is precisely this. Regarding the people, the most important work that the Imam did was to completely distance the concept of democracy from what the designers of Western democracy and their agents wanted to show in practical scenes. Their effort was to convey that democracy is incompatible with religious governance and piety. The Imam eliminated this false concept and introduced religious democracy - that is, the Islamic Republic - to the world. He did not limit himself to words; he did not merely engage in intellectual reasoning; he practically demonstrated this. Today, the Islamic Republic system - which is a religious system and whose rules, principles, and value foundations stem from religion - is a fully democratic system, and in none of the Islamic countries is democracy present in the extensive form that it is in the Islamic Republic. Of course, this truth is bitter for the enemy front. They are unwilling to see the banner of religion and democracy being raised on a single pole before their eyes. Their effort is to create a distance between democracy and religion; thus, the reality of the Islamic Republic pains them. In order to divert world public opinion from this brilliant truth, with their propaganda tools and agents, they invite the Iranian nation to democracy! This is one of the great ironies of our time and this point in history. The same people who accepted the tyrannical regime of the Shah, the despotic regime of the Pahlavi era, military coups, and regimes that understood nothing of democracy, now invite the Islamic Republic, which has held over twenty elections in its twenty-four years of existence, and where from leadership to presidency to parliamentary representatives and the pillars of the system come to power through the people's choice, and the people know and like them and elect them, to democracy and popular sovereignty! This is while popular sovereignty and the people's desire to participate in the election of officials, like in our country, does not exist in the United States - which the American enemies and their boastful powers address us from behind their loudspeakers. The current president of the United States has come to power against the rules of democracy of his own country; everyone knows this. They get along with despotic regimes because they are submissive; they get along with regimes that have come to power through coups because they are obedient; but they criticize the Islamic system because it believes in independence and relies on its own values and is unwilling to accept their domination, and they accuse it of despotism and dictatorship, which suits them. Today, all the efforts of the enemy front of Islam are focused on eliminating the Islamic awakening movement in the world. They concentrate more on the Iranian nation and country than anywhere else; because the Iranian nation has given the world a model and with its thoughts and new concepts that it has introduced to the world for Muslims and with the valiant jihad it has undertaken and with the courage that Iranian men, women, youth, and elders have shown during the twenty-four years of the revolution, has been able to draw the attention of Muslim nations to itself and create a wave of Islamic awakening in Islamic countries. Therefore, they are more hostile to this central hub of Islamic awakening than ever before. This enmity is shown through malice, the exercise of wickedness, false propaganda, and furious outbursts; the goal is to intimidate the Iranian nation and its officials and scare everyone; to use their unsuccessful experiences that have made them arrogant to force a nation of such greatness and a revolution and system of such solidity to retreat before them. They slander the Islamic Iran in their global propaganda and say it supports terrorism or shelters terrorists. This is a shameless and very brazen lie. If by terrorist they mean someone who targets innocent lives for their own purposes, then today the greatest terrorists operate under the auspices of America. Today, the Zionist regime is the complete embodiment of terrorism. You observe; every day that passes, the terrorist elements of the Zionist regime attack people who live in their homes, on their soil, and in their land. Our public opinion has not forgotten that a few years ago, in our neighborhood, American dollars and American affiliates created a number of fanatic terrorists to strike at the Islamic Republic; but they could not utilize their treacherous plan, and today that very morsel has stuck in their throats. By creating intense and severe anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic sentiments, they have pushed some to engage in terrorist activities; but today they have become captives of them. They accuse Iran of terrorism! Iran does not support terrorists, nor has it ever sheltered any terrorist; but the Islamic Republic believes that throughout the Islamic world, millions of young and free people are filled with hatred and resentment towards the oppressors and occupiers of America. You cannot label them as terrorists. You cannot call millions of people in Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan terrorists. Today, there are millions of people who see the oppression of American forces - whether in yesterday's Afghanistan or today's oppressed Iraq - are they terrorists?! The Palestinian fighters who defend their land are terrorists?! The oppressed people of Palestine who face tanks and overwhelming fire from the Zionist soldiers every day and defend themselves are terrorists?! The faithful Lebanese youth who stood against the relentless aggression of Israel and, by sacrificing their lives, were able to drive the Zionists out of Lebanon, and today their presence has made Israel afraid to attack Lebanon, are they terrorists?! If it were not for the faithful and fighting Lebanese youth, Israel would not have seen any obstacle to coming to Beirut; just as it did. Southern Lebanon was under their occupation for years; until they came to Beirut and caused all that devastation, which cannot be forgotten. The faithful Lebanese youth took their hands out of their sleeves; they responded to the awakening that our great Imam gave to the Islamic world and stood firm. Today, because of the presence of these youths, Israel dares not attack Lebanon. Are they terrorists?! The terrorists are those who confront and fight against nations in their own homes. Today, the Islamic world is filled with resentment over the military occupation of Iraq. Why did you occupy Iraq militarily? Why do you not allow the Iraqi nation to determine its own fate and government? What is the difference between you and Saddam? Saddam was also a tyrant and dictator; you are also tyrants and dictators. Saddam ruled in one way, you rule in another way; but you cannot achieve anything. The American officials - these neoconservatives who think they can conquer the Islamic world with war - should open their ears and listen: you cannot confront Islam and the Islamic Ummah; you have become arrogant over what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq; this is due to your weak analysis; it shows that you cannot correctly recognize events. You were not facing the Afghan nation in Afghanistan; nor were you facing the Iraqi nation in Iraq. The Iraqi nation did not want to defend the Saddam regime and did not do so; just as in Afghanistan, the Afghan nation did not want to support the Taliban regime and did not do so; but by forcefully entering Iraq, you are bringing the Iraqi nation closer step by step to a hard confrontation with yourselves. They pressure and insult the noble and proud Iraqi nation; the Iraqi nation, with its elites and wise people, with its deep culture, and with its proud tribes. There are so many proud tribes in Iraq; there are so many knowledgeable and culturally rich people in Iraq. Then they say a group of Iraqis should gather and work as advisors to the American ruler! What is the American ruler in Iraq?! This is the voice of the Iraqi people. Your enemy in Iraq is the Iraqi nation; why do you accuse the Islamic Republic? They come and stand and with utmost exaggeration say we are worried about Iran's influence in Iraq! In reality, we are worried about your presence in Iraq. By what right do America and Britain have a military presence in Iraq? By what right do they appoint a military ruler in the cities of Iraq? The scene in Iraq and the scene in Afghanistan have proven the falsehood of the claims of democracy and support for human rights that the Americans consider themselves the champions of. It has become clear that they have no belief in the people, no belief in nations, no belief in votes, and no belief in human rights. The only thing they believe in is filling the pockets of the influential companies behind the scenes of the American government; that is, oil companies, arms companies, and the vast financial and monetary apparatus that manage the American government and some other governments behind the scenes. I tell you, the Iranian nation: the American threats are not new; they are not something new. From the very beginning of the revolution, they have threatened us. The enmity of the American front and its allies with the Islamic system is not new. They themselves know that a military attack on Iran, on this great nation, on a nation that has so many fighting and vibrant youth in the scene, is suicide for the aggressor. The Iranian nation knows; it is good for the enemies of the Iranian nation to know as well: the officials of the Islamic Republic will not lead the country into the abyss of war with anyone. We do not place our nation and country at the risk of war and do not welcome war; but both the nation, the officials, the government, and all individuals who possess honor and chivalry in this country, while they do not seek war, if someone chooses war with them, they will confront him very powerfully and resolutely. Of course, they know that war with Iran has a very heavy cost; they know that war with Iran is not a war with a regime, it is not a war with a coup government, it is not a war with a military government, it is a war with a nation; hence, they themselves do not welcome war; but they want to intimidate the nation and, first and foremost, the officials with the mention of war and the threat of war, to make them submit to them; to secure their interests and betray their own nation. They should know that among the officials of the country and in the three branches, no one can have even the slightest motivation to surrender the Iranian nation and its interests to the foreign enemy. If anyone moves towards surrendering the national interests and the Iranian nation to the enemy, the nation will ruthlessly remove him from the scene. Serving the Iranian nation is an honor. The officials of the country are united and aligned in defending the rights and preserving the dignity and honor of this nation and defending the independence of this country. Everyone should know this, and of course, they know. The propaganda apparatus of the enemy - which unfortunately sometimes finds branches within the country - propagates that there is a dispute and disagreement among the officials. They comfort themselves and their friends with this that this disagreement will make them oblivious to the enemy. I tell you, the nation: the officials of the country in the three branches are united in confronting the enemies of Islam and in defending the principles of Islam; they are of one mind and one direction. The enemies of Islam will bury this wish of theirs to see individuals in the pillars of the Islamic system who want to fight against the principles of the Imam and the clear path of this revolution and the Islamic system and can be effective in the institutions and pillars of the Islamic Republic. Of course, I said three or four years ago on such a day: the enemy's intention is to infiltrate foreign elements into the bodies of the government. The enemy may be able to or may have been able to infiltrate some elements into the body of the officials, or attract weak and feeble-minded elements towards itself; but this will in no way benefit the enemy; because the principles of the Imam, the principles of the revolution, and its solid foundations are accepted by the officials of the system and the three branches and all the main actors of this country, and its strong backing is this great nation. Anyone who deviates from this path is contributing to their own downfall. Thanks be to God that He has kept the name and memory of the Imam alive and vibrant among our nation. With each passing day, the value of the principles of our great Imam for preserving the dignity and honor of this country has become clearer and more evident for the aware and vigilant people. We thank God that the officials of the country are the devotees of the Imam and followers of his path. We thank God that our nation is alive. Of course, I have repeatedly told all the officials of the country, and I reiterate today in this public gathering: the greatest struggle against America is to serve this people. Whoever wants to engage in fundamental struggle with America must serve this people. Whoever wants to engage in effective practical struggle against the enemies of this nation must fight against corruption. The tools of the enemy within our country and system are corruption, discrimination, and class disparity. We must fight against these. This is the duty of the government, the parliament, the judiciary, and all the pillars of the system. They should serve the people, not tolerate corruption, and never accept or endure corruption in the bodies of the government; this is the greatest service. In this long path, if we feel deviation, we must correct it; we must reform ourselves and our programs; reform based on the same solid principles of the revolution that the great Imam derived from Islam and taught us and our nation. Using these, real reform means that poverty and discrimination must be fought; the quest for justice must be a universal motivation for the officials; serving the people must be a duty and a sense of religious obligation deep within the hearts of the officials; this is the correct path of the Imam. We hope that the pure souls of the prophets and saints, the pure souls of the martyrs, and the pure soul of the great Imam will seek the success of our officials and nation in continuing this path before the Lord, and that the pure supplications of the Awaited One, may our souls be sacrificed for him, will include the Iranian nation and its officials. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.