Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the Fifteenth Anniversary of Imam Khomeini's Passing

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 virtuous progeny, especially the Awaited One among the people of the earth. God, the Exalted, has said: "And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and were certain of Our signs."

Twenty-five years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, and fifteen years after the passing of the great leader of the revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic, the main focus of the furious propaganda of the enemies of the revolution and our country remains their enmity towards our great Imam. Their primary goal - even after twenty-five years of the formation of the Islamic system - is to undermine the charismatic personality and brilliant face of the great Imam through thousands of hours of planning and programming each month for hundreds of radio and television stations established around the world by Zionist and arrogant circles. We must acknowledge that the enemies of the Islamic system have no other option to confront and combat the Islamic Republic and the movement of the Iranian nation; because the key factor in the unwavering resistance and steadfastness of the Iranian nation in its glorious path is the political philosophy and political school of the Imam, which our nation believes in wholeheartedly. The enemies of the revolution have no choice but to oppose the philosophy of the Imam, the school of the Imam, and the personality of the Imam - which remains alive and enduring - in order to force this nation, in their delusion, into retreat and submission before themselves. It was with his political school that the great Imam was able to break the long-standing spell of despotism in this country. It was with his political school that he was able to cut off the hands of plunderers from this country; plunderers who, in collusion with dictators, had turned Iran into their safe haven; those who hoped to keep Iran as a producer of raw materials and an endless warehouse of oil for themselves. I want to emphasize the political school of the Imam. The political school of the Imam cannot be separated from the charismatic personality of the Imam. The secret of the Imam's success lies in the school he presented and was able to manifest in the form of a system before the eyes of the world. Of course, our great Islamic revolution was achieved by the people, and the Iranian nation demonstrated its vast capabilities and capacities; however, this nation could not have accomplished such a great task without the Imam and his political school. The political school of the Imam opens a field that is even broader than the establishment of the Islamic system itself. The political school that the Imam proposed and struggled for, and which he embodied, offers new insights and a new path for humanity and the world. There are elements in this school that humanity is thirsty for; thus, it does not become outdated. Those who attempt to portray our great Imam as a historical figure belonging to the past will not succeed in their efforts. The Imam is alive in his political school, and as long as this political school is alive, the presence and existence of the Imam among the Islamic community, indeed among humanity, will be a source of great and lasting effects.

The political school of the Imam has its indicators. Today, I will outline a few prominent lines of this school here. One of these lines is that in the political school of the Imam, spirituality is intertwined with politics. In the political school of the Imam, spirituality is not separate from politics; politics and mysticism, politics and ethics. The Imam, who embodied his political school, had both politics and spirituality and pursued this; even in political struggles, the central focus of the Imam's behavior was his spirituality. All of the Imam's actions and positions revolved around God and spirituality. The Imam believed in the legislative will of the Lord and trusted in His existential will, knowing that whoever moves towards the realization of divine law is aided by the laws and traditions of creation. He believed that: "Indeed, to God belongs the armies of the heavens and the earth, and God is Exalted in Might and Wise." The Imam regarded the laws of Sharia as the foundation of his movement and considered them as guiding signs for his path. The Imam's movement for the happiness of the country and the nation was based on the guidance of Islamic Sharia; thus, "divine duty" was for the Imam the key to happiness and led him to his lofty ideal goals. The well-known saying attributed to the Imam, which we all know, that he said, "We act for duty, not for victory," does not mean he was indifferent to victory. Undoubtedly, victory in all great goals was the Imam's aspiration. Victory is among God's blessings, and the Imam was interested in victory - not that he was uninterested or indifferent - but what drove him towards those goals was duty and acting upon divine responsibility; it was moving for God. Because his motivation was this, he did not fear; he did not doubt; he did not despair; he did not become arrogant; he did not become unstable or fatigued. These are the characteristics of acting upon duty and acting for God. Whoever acts for duty does not fall into doubt and instability; does not become frightened or fatigued; does not turn back from the path, and personal considerations do not determine his direction and orientation. Whoever combines politics with mysticism and places spirituality alongside political movement in their life plan does not fear death; does not fear defeat. This is the exact opposite of the outdated and obsolete politics of the West, which falsely claims to be modern politics; that is, the separation of religion from politics, and the separation of government from spirituality. Western civilization was built on the conflict with spirituality and the rejection of spirituality; this was the great error of those who initiated civilization and scientific and industrial movement in Europe. They valued science - this was good - but they waged war against spirituality; this was bad and a deviation. Therefore, this material civilization, distant from spirituality, will become more deviant as it progresses; it will embitter both themselves and all of humanity with its poisonous fruits, just as it has done until today. The phenomenon of colonialism - which plunged dozens of countries and millions of people into the most severe and harshest hardships for many years - is one of the results of the separation of science from spirituality, politics from spirituality, and government from ethics in Europe. The two World Wars were also among those bitter fruits. Communism and Marxist totalitarian regimes are also among the results and bitter fruits of the separation of scientific and industrial movement from spirituality. The destruction of the family unit, the flood of sexual corruption, and the eruption of extreme capitalism are all results of that separation. Today, we see the peak of this distance from spirituality in Abu Ghraib prison and other prisons in Iraq. Those who manage these prisons claim to be the most advanced in human civilization! The world has seen the results of such advancement through photographs and films from the prisons in Iraq or has become aware of them. The atrocities that have occurred for the Iraqi nation - and before that for the Afghan nation - are not limited to these things. A wedding caravan in Afghanistan was bombed two or three years ago, and last month a wedding ceremony in Iraq was turned into mourning by British aircraft. The humiliation of Iraqi youth, the torture of Iraqi men, the assault on Iraqi women and families, the establishment of a puppet government for the Iraqi nation, all are the overflow of the same movement that, when it began, these results inevitably followed. Spirituality has been removed from the political apparatus. In the past, tyrants and despots in the East and West of the world did such things; however, when beautiful names and slogans like human rights, human dignity, and the voice of humanity became known to Europeans, and when they embarked on the path of science, the distance from spirituality prevented these slogans from bringing the expected good to humanity; rather, they became a source of evil and corruption for humanity. The new message of our great Imam's political school to the world is that in all aspects of the planning of a political power, politics must be accompanied by spirituality, and power must be accompanied by ethics, and ethical principles must be observed. The first indicator of the fundamental principles of the political school of the Imam is this.

The second indicator is a firm and sincere belief in the role of the people; both the dignity of humanity and the determinative nature of human will. In the political school of the Imam, human identity is both valuable and dignified, and it is also powerful and effective. The result of being valuable and dignified is that in managing the fate of humanity and a society, the opinions of the people must play a fundamental role. Therefore, popular sovereignty in the political school of our great Imam - which is derived from the essence of Islam - is true popular sovereignty; unlike American-style popular sovereignty and similar ones, it is not a slogan or a deception to mislead people's minds. The people choose the path with their vote, their will, their desire, and their faith; they also choose their representatives. Thus, two months after the victory of the revolution, the Imam put the principle of the system arising from the revolution to a public vote. You can compare this with the behavior of military coup plotters in the world, the behavior of communist governments, and the behavior of the United States today. Today, after fifteen months of military occupation, the Americans still do not allow the people of this country to express what they want for their government. The UN representative interviewed yesterday and said that because the Americans are present militarily in Iraq, the American ruling opinion must be respected in the selection of government elements! This is their democracy. The name democracy is a deception. Even in their own countries, democracy is not true popular sovereignty; it is a facade created through colorful propaganda and unlimited amounts of money spent in this regard; thus, the opinions of the people are lost. In the political school of the Imam, the people's vote truly influences and is determinative. This is the dignity and value of the people's vote. On the other hand, the Imam, relying on the power of the people's vote, believed that with the iron will of the people, it is possible to stand against all the global aggressive powers; and stand firm. In the political school of the Imam, popular sovereignty has arisen from the essence of religion; it has arisen from "Their affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves"; it has arisen from "He it is who supported you with His help and with the believers." We have not borrowed this from anyone. Some want to pretend that the role of the people in governing should be taught to us by the West! The Westerners themselves are still caught in the bend of a street! These same Americans and these self-proclaimed advocates of democracy embraced and supported dictators like Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - who had absolute dictatorship in this country for thirty-five years, and before him, his father ruled for about twenty years - and supported them. Are they advocates of democracy?! They lie. Anyone who wants to see their democracy should go to Iraq. They should observe their behavior with the oppressed people of Afghanistan. They should see American democracy from the unwavering support of the U.S. for the criminal Sharon. This is their democracy; should we learn democracy from them?! Do they value and regard humanity? Just look at what atrocities are happening today in Palestine. Are the Palestinians not human? Do they not own their land? Do they not have the right to have opinions and beliefs? Today, the ugliest and most horrific behaviors are taking place in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan - and before this in many other regions - and yet those who commit these ugly acts do not feel ashamed and claim to advocate democracy! The President of the United States shamelessly claims that the mission of spreading democracy in the world and the Middle East rests on his shoulders! Their democracy is seen in prisons like Abu Ghraib - which are not few in Iraq and Guantanamo - and the world is witnessing this. It is very naive for anyone within our societies and among the Islamic community to think that the Westerners should come and teach our nations about democracy and popular sovereignty! We expect that speakers and writers who are fair do not speak and write in a way that suggests they are delivering a message of popular sovereignty to our people today. Popular sovereignty was brought by the Imam; popular sovereignty was brought by the revolution. In a country that for centuries, except for very brief periods - which are like a moment in the past - did not know the meaning of the vote and the will of the people (we had never seen a ballot box in our lifetime! For the Iranian people's vote, no one valued it, and dictators throughout their rule showed the greatest disregard for our people), the Imam and the revolution and our Islamic system brought popular sovereignty. Some speak as if we are just entering the field of popular sovereignty! Is this not unfair? Is this not turning a blind eye to the truth?

The third indicator of the political school of the Imam is its international and global perspective. The audience of the Imam in his political speech and ideas is humanity; not just the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation heard this message with its heart, stood firm for it, fought for it, and was able to achieve its dignity and independence; however, the audience of this message is all of humanity. The political school of the Imam seeks this goodness, independence, dignity, and faith for all the Islamic community and all of humanity; this is a mission upon the shoulders of a Muslim individual. Of course, the difference between the Imam and those who consider themselves to have a global mission is that the political school of the Imam does not seek to convince a nation of its thoughts and path through cannons, tanks, weapons, and torture. The Americans also claim that they have a mission to promote human rights and democracy in the world. Is the way to spread democracy through the use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima?! Is it through cannons, tanks, and fomenting wars and coups in Latin America and Africa?! Today, we see so much deception, trickery, and oppression in the Middle East. With these means, they want to spread their human rights and global mission! The political school of Islam releases its correct thoughts and new words into the minds of humanity and spreads like the spring breeze and the fragrance of flowers everywhere. Those who have a keen sense can smell it and benefit from it; just as many countries around the world have benefited from it today. The Palestinians say we have taken our revival and awakening from the message of the Imam; the Lebanese say we have learned our victory over the army of the Zionist regime and the expulsion of the Zionists from the school of the Imam; Muslims everywhere - young Muslims, Muslim intellectuals, Muslim elites - consider their intellectual victories in political arenas to be derived from the thought of the Imam; the masses of the Islamic community feel dignity with the name of Islam; this is the international perspective of the Imam's school towards human issues; it is not limited to the Islamic world; thus, today the issue of Palestine is a primary issue for us; the sufferings of the Islamic community are painful for us. What happens in the Islamic world is a fundamental issue for the Iranian nation and those who are attached to the name and memory of the great Imam; they cannot remain indifferent to these issues. This is why the world of arrogance wants to commit the greatest crimes against Muslim nations; while other Muslim nations do not see, do not understand, and do not decide; they do not even protest. The Iranian nation sees, understands, protests, takes a stand, and does not remain indifferent to the issues of the Islamic world.

Another important indicator of our great Imam's political school is the safeguarding of values, which the Imam clarified in explaining the issue of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Wilayat-e Faqih). Since the beginning of the Islamic revolution and the victory of the revolution and the establishment of the Islamic system, many have tried to misrepresent the issue of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist as incorrect, bad, and contrary to reality; false interpretations and lies and demands that do not conform to the essence of the political system of Islam and the political thought of the great Imam. Sometimes you hear that the propagandists enchanted by the enemies spread these words; this is not a new phenomenon; from the beginning, these currents and their puppets and the propaganda of others have raised these issues. Some try to introduce the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist as the absolute rule of an individual; this is a lie. The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist - according to our constitution - does not negate the responsibilities of the various branches of the government. The responsibilities of the various institutions and branches of the country are inalienable. The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is the position of engineering the system and preserving the line and direction of the system and preventing deviation to the left and right; this is the most fundamental and central concept and meaning of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist. Therefore, the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is neither a purely symbolic and ceremonial matter nor merely a counselor; as some wanted and promoted from the beginning of the revolution - nor does it have an executive governing role in the branches of government; because the country has executive, judicial, and legislative officials, and all must carry out their duties based on their responsibilities and be accountable for their responsibilities. The role of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is that in this complex and intertwined system of various efforts, the movement of the system should not deviate from its goals and values; it should not deviate to the left or right. Safeguarding and monitoring the overall movement of the system towards its lofty and ideal goals is the most important and fundamental role of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist. The great Imam understood and inferred this role from the essence of Islamic political jurisprudence and from the essence of religion; just as throughout the history of Shi'ism and the history of Shi'ite jurisprudence in all eras, our jurists understood and recognized this from religion and acknowledged it. Of course, the jurists did not have the opportunity to realize it, but they recognized it as one of the certainties of Islamic jurisprudence; and so it is. This very sensitive and important responsibility, in turn, draws from both religious criteria and the will and desire of the people; that is, the criteria of leadership and the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, according to our great Imam's political school, are religious criteria; unlike the criteria of capitalist countries, which depend on a certain powerful and wealthy faction. They also have criteria and choose within the framework of their criteria, but their criteria are this; being part of a certain powerful and wealthy clique, so that if they are outside that clique, they do not have the criteria. In the political school of Islam, the criteria are not these; the criteria are spiritual. The criteria are knowledge, piety, and insight. Knowledge brings awareness; piety brings courage; insight secures the interests of the country and the nation; these are the main criteria according to the political school of Islam. Whoever occupies that sensitive position, if any of these criteria are taken from him and he lacks any of these criteria, even if all the people of the country support him, he will lose his eligibility. The people's vote has an impact, but within the framework of these criteria. Whoever takes on the role of leadership and the role of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, if the criteria of knowledge or the criteria of piety or the criteria of insight are taken from him, even if the people want him and chant his name, he will lose his qualification and cannot continue this responsibility. On the other hand, whoever possesses these criteria and is elected with the people's vote, which is realized through the Assembly of Experts - that is, connected to the votes and desires of the people - cannot say that I possess these criteria; therefore, the people must accept me. There is no "must". It is the people who choose. See how eloquently and beautifully the religious criteria and the will of the people have combined; even in the most sensitive center of the management of the system. The Imam brought this. It is evident that the enemies of Imam Khomeini and the enemies of his political school do not like this role; thus, they target him with attacks. At the forefront of these are those whose hands have been cut off from plundering the material and spiritual resources of this country thanks to our great Imam and his political school. They lead the charge, and some follow them. Some understand what they are doing, while others do not.

The last point I will mention as an indicator of the political school of the Imam is the issue of social justice. Social justice is one of the most important and fundamental lines in the political school of our great Imam. In all government programs - in legislation, in execution, in judiciary - social justice and filling the class gaps must be considered and aimed for. To say that we will make the country wealthy - meaning we will raise the gross national product - but the wealth is hoarded in one corner to the benefit of a few while a large number of people remain empty-handed does not align with the political school of the Imam. Filling the economic gaps among the people and eliminating discrimination in the use of various national resources among the classes of people is our most important and challenging responsibility. All planners, legislators, executors, and all those working in various institutions must pay attention to this and consider it one of the most important indicators of their movement.

This school established the Islamic system. Twenty-five years have passed since that time. The most attacks have been directed at our country and nation and this political school during these twenty-five years; however, our nation has progressed day by day. Our nation has made progress in science, in construction, in international politics, in enhancing various awareness, in building the country's vast infrastructure, in gaining technological power and reviving the talents of the people, and in many other areas, progress that was unimaginable in the past; this is thanks to Islam. We never claim that we have advanced in the programs of the revolution in a timely and up-to-date manner and that we are where we should be; no, but this is our shortcoming. We officials at various levels, if we work harder and better, undoubtedly, successes will increase. Today, we also have many successes. Today, our nation is strong; our government is strong; the infrastructure of the country is ready, and the scientific progress and extraction of our young people's talents are astonishing. We can accelerate our movement; and this will be done by our nation, and by God's grace and divine assistance, we will progress. Today, the flag of Islam, the flag of faith, the flag of courage, and the flag of innovation in politics is in the hands of our nation. The enemies try to downplay these achievements in their propaganda and overlook what this nation has achieved; but they cannot. They have made various efforts to counter this. Even the enemies of the Islamic revolution, led by America, have reached the point of trying to create a completely flawed replica of the Islamic system in Afghanistan, which became the Taliban government; it turned into a laughable caricature; that too became a scourge for them. Perhaps they thought they would take the flag of Islamic revival and political Islam from this nation and hand it to those who were their own puppets; but they could not and will not be able to. We thank God that our will is strong; our path is clear; our people are faithful, and the political school of the Imam is alive and radiant. Our enemies have also understood the power of the nation and have acknowledged it. In various global and international issues, our positions are independent. We are not influenced by anyone and do not engage in turmoil and tension; but we condemn oppression; we announce our opposition to the oppressor and support the oppressed. We condemn the crimes of the Zionists in Palestine. We consider the barbarity and unprecedented atrocities of the usurping Zionist government in Palestine against the people - destroying homes, killing children, killing sick elderly like Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, displacing thousands of Palestinians from their homes - to be ugly and condemnable, and we curse the perpetrators of these crimes and America - which supports these perpetrators.

In the issues of Iraq - despite what the enemies claim - we do not interfere. We believe that Iraq belongs to the Iraqi nation. The vote of the Iraqi nation must influence the determination of Iraq's fate. In Iraq, there are many religious leaders, political leaders, and cultural and religious elites. We believe that the occupiers should not remain in Iraq for even one day; not a drop of Iraq's oil belongs to them; no one should appoint a responsible person in Iraq; they are of no consequence. We believe that today, America's task in Iraq is much more difficult than a year ago; it will become more difficult day by day, and America has been defeated in Iraq - whether it admits it or not; whether it wants it or not.

O Lord! We are proud of this brave, faithful, motivated, and present nation, and we express our gratitude to You. We are proud of the Imam's school and express our gratitude. O Lord! Bestow Your goodness, mercy, and grace upon this nation. O Lord! Crush the enemies of this nation. O Lord! Lead this dear and faithful nation to all its lofty goals and ideals. O Lord! Send a reward of goodness from this nation to the great Imam - who opened this path of honor for us and placed it before us. O Lord! Unite our great Imam with His saints. O Lord! Bestow Your blessings upon our nation and country.

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