Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Members of the Committee for the Commemoration of Imam Khomeini's Passing

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

We thank God for granting us another year and the opportunity to meet with you, dear brothers and servants of this great and important program. I would like to sincerely thank each one of you at the beginning of my remarks; especially Mr. Ansari, who truly works hard and understands the significance of honoring our great Imam and keeping this very important and sorrowful memory alive. From the manner of his work and your efforts, one can understand this commitment and this correct understanding.

Truly, our great Imam was an exception in our history and a high peak in the movement of the Iranian nation. We express this not out of the love and affection that still warms our hearts towards him, but rather because a fair assessment by anyone confirms this. The Imam was indeed an exceptional figure. We know the historical figures of our country. I am somewhat familiar with history. This comprehensive personality has no parallel among our great scholars, nor among the rulers of this country, nor among the reformers and advocates of change in this country. Great figures like the late Seyyed Jamal and the reformists who were in our country or even in the Islamic world, where are they compared to this deeply multi-dimensional and truly indescribable man? We had great scholars and jurists whose words and writings are available to us; the great Imam ranks among the first of such personalities. I have read the biographies of many philosophers, mystics, scholars of rational sciences, politicians, wise old men, and prudent individuals in books or encountered them in my life; the distance between them and the great Imam is indeed vast. Each of the various dimensions of this personality is ahead of its counterparts.

The piety and asceticism of this man and his indifference to the world and its adornments is another matter. At one time, a person may be inside the four walls of their home, having no dealings with the world, no dealings with people, and not being tested; yet they are pious. At another time, however, like the Imam, who stands at the peak of global fame, all of this revolution has emerged from his will and determination, and the people are so devoted to him that they are willing to interpret all of the Imam's actions positively; yet he practices such piety and asceticism. His decisiveness, his firm will, and his steely resolve in great matters are likewise. That is, whenever one looks at this vast ocean in various dimensions, they see that it is truly indescribable. When a person sees the ocean up close, it is one way; but in the depths of the ocean, other worlds are observed. A person sees a certain amount of water on the shore of the ocean and initially does not feel much difference between this amount of water and a large pool; but when they need to go into the depths of the ocean, other worlds become apparent, and the closer one gets and the more they contemplate, the more new things are discovered. The same is true regarding the Imam.

This exceptional personality is not only for history. The descriptions we have provided can have historical applications. In the history of Iran, we had a personality who accomplished a great task; he mobilized the people; he established the Islamic Republic with all its grandeur and strangeness, and he created a foundation in this magnificent and solid form. Very well; should we place this great personality like precious objects in the showcase of history, for us and others to admire and praise? Is our great Imam like that? In this regard, if we want to liken the Imam, we must liken him to the prophets. The existence and identity of the prophets are not limited to their lifetime; their identity extends through history; that is, after themselves, their existence must continue in their teachings, religion, and path; this is what makes a prophet of great resolve; otherwise, the lives of the prophets would be like those of other human beings; they lived for fifty, sixty, or a hundred years in this world and created greatness, and then they left. Therefore, the matter does not end here. If it were so, today there would be no trace of the religion and teachings of the prophets in the world; whereas the opposite is true; today all the lofty human teachings are born from the thoughts of the prophets, even if indirectly. They were the ones who proclaimed justice, ethics, attention to God, transcending oneself, and self-sacrifice for humanity, and other virtues that are now accepted by all people in the world - even by non-believers and non-followers of religions, all agree that these are good - they raised the banner of these values; otherwise, the world would be in the hands of the arrogant powers and tyrants. Why should the name of justice, free thought, brotherhood, self-sacrifice, and altruism remain and always be considered a living value? This is due to the blessings of the teachings of the prophets. They created these teachings and left. Their life is not limited to those fifty or sixty years; their life consists of the flow of these teachings throughout history, guiding humanity. Our Imam is likewise.

Here, when one reflects, they understand the reason why so much focus has been placed on this great personality and why even after his passing, until today, the enemies have sought to tarnish his image. The goal of tarnishing him is to erase his path and destroy the line he has drawn. If the devotees and followers of the Imam speak of him, it is not merely to express gratitude or appreciation or to praise a beautiful and prominent truth; the matter is that they want this path to remain and this flag to continue guiding those who seek the way. All of us should think of the Imam in this manner. All those who opposed the foundations of the Imam and the path of Islam that the Imam took in this country have tried to make the Imam forgotten; so that this path would be lost. Today, the happiness of our country lies in continuing the path of the Imam. Today, all the legitimate aspirations that this nation has are fulfilled through the line of the Imam and the path of the Imam; I state this with calculation and precision and with tangible and concrete evidence. If this nation wants to stand against the established arrogant powers - who are not satisfied with anything less than swallowing nations - and preserve its identity and independence and be able to choose its way of life with its own vote and opinion, it has no other way but to cling to the line of the Imam and the path of the Imam; to place his thoughts in the course of life and action and thought, and to adopt his method. His method was not to submit to the form and model of the foreigner. It was not that the enemy determined and outlined the playing field, and since every player plays in a certain way, the Imam would also engage in that field; no, he would choose and outline the field himself; thus, he would surprise the enemy. The Imam disrupted the global arrogant machinery of today. The reason that some from the other side of the world rose up and came here, despite having no territorial dispute with us, nor any disagreement in daily governmental interests, and opposed the Imam - both during his lifetime and after - is that the Imam struck at the heart of the target. Today, if you refer to the second-tier countries of the world - for now, we are not concerned with the first-tier countries, that is, the powers in some parts of Asia and Europe; they act in a different way - you see that they outline and determine their programs according to the wishes of the arrogant powers; and if you ask why, they say, what can we do; these are the capable ones, these are the dominant ones today. That is, everyone moves based on their model; however, each person does so with an innovation regarding their own specific interests. Therefore, in the field they have outlined, everyone is playing; but the Imam disrupted this rule; he went for his own true goals and worked for them and brought forth the name of Islam.

I may have mentioned before in your presence that I wanted to participate in one of the international forums. I had prepared some materials and presented them to him. Usually, if I wanted to give a speech somewhere, I would let him take a look. He reviewed my speech materials and after two or three days returned them to me with a few notes in the margin; one of them was to also speak about the inseparability of religion from politics there. I was initially surprised. Nevertheless, I wrote several pages about this very point and added it to the speech text. In that international gathering, about a hundred countries participated. I read this text there and realized that the fundamental and essential point of the speech, which was new and important for all of them, was this part; while I thought that the other parts, since their wording and meaning were carefully chosen, were more beautiful; but later I saw that this part was more important. The fact that one focuses on the inseparability of religion from politics in the first-tier platforms of the world means that they have gone right to the heart of the matter. There are those who speak from the mouth of the enemy; "and if the speaker speaks from the tongue of Satan." Some in our country write extensively about the separation of religion from politics. For centuries, the separation of religion from politics has been a reality in our country; the Imam came and turned this page and proclaimed this thought to the world.

What we have today defined as the goals of this revolution must be pursued in the same way as the Imam; with clarity, with complete elucidation, and with the necessary courage and audacity; we must bravely enter this field. We must understand that what keeps us standing against the enemies and preserves our independence, freedom, and identity is this. If this nation wants to achieve the prosperity of the country and progress in science, and if it wants to advance in the various material challenges of the world - in trade, agriculture, and other issues - the way is to follow the line of the Imam; because this line is the line of independence, returning to our identity, extracting the hidden treasures within the hearts of people, and actualizing these potentials.

I have said many times, and I repeat it now; wherever we have had significant progress, it has been thanks to the faithful, devoted forces who believe in this path; otherwise, those who do not believe in this line and this path - both due to weak faith and weak national pride - do not do what they should; they retreat in the face of ordinary pressures of life and then succumb to the temptations and attractive appearances presented by the enemy; but someone who is faithful does not yield or tire. This is the path of the great Imam. If we want to build and free the country, the way is to follow the line of the Imam. This is the meaning of reviving the name of the Imam and keeping this glorious flag alive; not that we want to keep his name and memory alive merely for history and in appreciation of that great man.

You send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in all your prayers and constantly repeat the names of the noble Prophet and the Imams; why? It is so that their presence in our personal lives, in our spirits, in our bodies, and in our social environment has a tangible effect. The Imam is the same; his presence must have a tangible effect; that is, we must implement his path, line, and thought in society in the true sense of the word.

Of course, this does not mean rigidity; I am not in favor of rigidity; I am in favor of modernity. Modernity is in methods. Methods may change; however, the principles do not change, and they reveal themselves. A method that emerges as modernity and one sees that the principles are lost, must understand that this method is wrong. A tactic that distances us from strategy is evidently wrong.

During my presidency, I went to one of the Muslim countries claiming to fight against Israel and spoke with the president of that country. He had previously said that we are willing to meet and engage with the rulers of Israel! I told him, what is this statement attributed to you? He looked at his deputy, and they burst into laughter! I thought to myself, they must have an important answer. They said, yes, these statements were tactics! I said, how interesting; a tactic that distances a person from the fundamental goals! Your basis of work was to boycott Israel; you wanted Israel not to become a common currency in the Islamic and Arab environment; but as a tactic, you are acting exactly the opposite. Sometimes, some people, under the pretext of changing their tactics and methods, alter the fundamental strategy! We must be careful that this does not happen. Those who act in this way are acting wrongly and contrary to this.

In any case, we must ask God Almighty to grant us success.

Regarding the elections, as Mr. Ansari pointed out, it is indeed the case; that is, elections are an important matter and a manifestation of the freedom of our nation; freedom of thought, freedom of choice, and indeed the independence of every human being. Sometimes you see in a household there are two or three people; one believes in this candidate, goes and votes for him; another believes in that candidate, goes and votes for him; this phenomenon is very interesting. Where is this, and where are the various party elections? When you are a member of a certain party, a name is given to you, and you are told to put that name in the ballot box. Do you know him? No; do you know his future? No; will you benefit from his coming? No; will he fulfill your aspirations? You do not know, because you are a party member, you must go vote for him! The people do not look at the fact that we are members of a certain party; we are members of a certain group and faction. The people must look and choose; that is the right thing, and we want this. What I insist on in the elections is that first, the people feel responsible; secondly, they feel the right to choose and do not forfeit their rights; thirdly, they should investigate to choose the best individual. Of course, everyone has their own way of investigation.

Some may say that so-and-so is our supporter or opponent; it is not like that. Ultimately, I too will choose one of these gentlemen on the day of voting, write his name, and put it in the box; but no one will know this until that day. The people themselves must choose and determine.

We hope that God Almighty will always keep His hand of help and guidance over this nation; just as the Imam once told me in 1986: I see that in all the affairs of this country, a power is advancing the work.

God willing, we may be worthy and capable that this hand of power does not abandon us; for it is not the case that we think we are already under God's grace and whatever we do, God's hand will be with us; no, this hand of power sometimes becomes a fist and strikes the head of a person! If we do not observe, do not take care, do not consider our limits, and do our duties poorly or do not do them, the hand of power will not help us; it may - God forbid - act against us. Therefore, if we are on His path, God willing, God Almighty will help us.

May God Almighty unite the pure soul of our great Imam with the prophets and saints. May God Almighty elevate the ranks of his dear children, especially the late Mr. Haj Seyyed Ahmad, and unite our dear martyrs - who are neighbors of the Imam - with the martyrs of early Islam.

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