Statements to the People of Kurdistan in Freedom Square, Sanandaj

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 family and his chosen companions, especially the remainder of God on earth.

I am very pleased and grateful to the Almighty God for granting me the opportunity to once again - albeit after a long interval - be present in this proud province and among you, dear and loyal people. Kurdistan is a land of great sacrifices; it is a land of art and culture; it is a land of sincerity and loyalty; it is a land of loyal people who, in the most sensitive years of the life of this system and this country, thwarted great conspiracies with their bravery and valor. It is a land of people who, with their courage and intellectual growth and awareness, recognized the enemy's plots in critical moments and extinguished a great sedition before it could achieve its nefarious goals. This will not be forgotten by the Iranian nation. Kurdistan carries an honorary mark in the history of the Islamic Revolution that is rarely seen in other provinces.

My dear ones! My brothers and sisters! At the dawn of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, there were those who sought to create a civil war in the country and incite fratricide. The global oppressors were terrified that an independent power relying on religious faith would rise in this region, and they were in a state of panic; therefore, they brought all their hard and soft forces to the field to try to destroy this newly born entity in its very first steps. The Kurdish people in this province showed a good test in this great confrontation. I have seen Kurdistan up close, and in times of hardship and difficulty, I have witnessed the greatness of this people's steadfastness with my own eyes. What I say about Kurdistan is largely based on my personal knowledge and information that I have observed closely. Of course, the fame of the resistance of the people of your province - in various periods: whether at the beginning of the revolution or during the imposed war - has reached the ears of the entire Iranian nation.

My dear ones! A malicious policy from the beginning of the revolution tried to separate the Iranian ethnicities from one another and, under various pretexts, to fragment the great body of the Iranian nation. They would instill a devilish notion among each ethnic group of the diverse Iranian people - Persian, Turk, Kurd, Arab, Baluch, Turkmen, Lor - to dirty the hearts from one another. They would say something to the people of Tehran and Isfahan, something to the Baluch of Baluchistan - where I spent some time before the revolution - and something else in Kurdistan. It required great vigilance for the Iranian nation to rise to fulfill its great mission - which was placed upon this nation by the blessing of raising the flag of Islam - and to carry out its mission. The Iranian nation has made great efforts across this vast country, and you, the people of Kurdistan, have well fulfilled your share in this general and great struggle. This is among the things that will be remembered in the history of dear Iran.

Kurdistan is a cultural province. Look at the lush and beautiful nature of this province, look at the kind and sincere spirit of the people of this province, look at the history of this province - where scholars, poets, and those of culture and art are abundant in this recent history; all of these show that this province is a cultural province.

The opponents of Iran and the enemies of Islam tried to turn this province into a security province at the beginning of the revolution. Overcoming this difficulty and this great problem was not easy; however, the powerful Islamic system, along with you people, overcame this problem. They tried to separate the components of the Iranian nation from one another and create distance between the Kurdish people and the Persian and Turkic people; however, they could not succeed. "And they plot, but their plotting returns to themselves, and they do not perceive." You Kurdish brothers and sisters should know that anyone who came here in those early years - from the youth who came from all corners of the country to struggle here - developed a heartfelt attachment to the people of Kurdistan. The passionate and heroic youth who came from Khorasan, Isfahan, Fars, Tehran, and other provinces spent some time in Sanandaj, Saqez, Marivan, and other cities of this province, and when they returned, they carried a message of love; they were attached to the Kurdish people; when we say this is a cultural province, it is due to the reflection of the kind behavior of the Kurdish people. The opposite is also true, and the memory of those brave youths who came from other regions and sacrificed themselves here is still present in the hearts and minds. I know that the memory of martyr Kaveh, martyr Sayyad, martyr Motavaselian, martyr Nasser Kazemi, martyr Ahmad Kazemi, and martyr Boroujerdi - these youths who spent their lives here and put their lives on the line - is alive in the memory of the people of this province. We thank God that the enemy could not achieve its goals.

Of course, I must tell you that the enemy never rests. A wicked policy from the time of the tyrants ruled the country, which was to consider various ethnicities as foreigners; the Kurd was a foreigner, the Baluch was a foreigner, the Turk was a foreigner, the Arab and Turkmen were foreigners; they considered them as outsiders. This meaning was evident in their actions. You see, during the time of the tyrants, in this province, neither proper development work was done, nor proper cultural work was carried out; they did not care and had no interest. In this province, development work during the time of the tyrants was at zero; cultural work was the same. If you see today that there are nearly fifty thousand students in Kurdistan studying in twenty-some higher education centers, this number during the time of the tyrants was only 360! The illiteracy rate in this province during the time of the tyrants was terrifying: only 29 percent of the people in this province were literate! The tyrants did not want the Kurdish people - these talented and intelligent people - to become literate. Only 29 percent of a province with these characteristics and qualities were literate! That was their development work, and this was their cultural work! Their view of this province was a mischievous and erroneous one. The Islamic system came and corrected this view; not only at the level of officials but also at the level of the general public.

My dear ones! Everyone should know this; the Islamic system sees the diversity of ethnicities in our great and proud country as an opportunity. Different traditions, various customs, and diverse talents are an opportunity for the various components of this nation to complement one another: through proper interactions and complete coexistence and unity. For our nation, it is an honor to have such a perspective on the issue of ethnic diversity. The reason is that Islam is the source of inspiration for this system, and in this Islamic perspective, there is no difference between different races and languages - even from different nations - let alone among different ethnicities within a single nation. This is the Islamic view, and this is also the view of the Islamic system. Therefore, we look at the Kurdish region - the province of Kurdistan - and the regions of other ethnicities with an Islamic perspective; the Islamic perspective is one of brotherhood, unity, and camaraderie; anyone who opposes this view and chooses another way has acted contrary to the policy of the Islamic system. Everyone has realized this truth that the Islamic system considers the people of this province as its own people and loyal to the revolution and soldiers of the revolution. Thus, in the same period when some foreign agents were speaking in the name of the Kurdish people - of which the Kurdish people were unaware - at the time when the hands of the enemies were plotting sedition and fratricide in this province and neighboring provinces, the people of this province stood in the front lines; the memory of the proud and honorable Kurdish Muslim Peshmerga will never fade from the memories of those who witnessed their struggles. We send greetings to their souls - as five thousand four hundred martyrs from the people of this province were martyred - and we greet those who remain and their families. We ask the Almighty God for mercy and forgiveness for all of them.

Dear brothers and sisters! Youth! I must say that you young people should be aware of this very instructive history in this region and in other areas. These are things that our young generation has not seen; you must be informed about them. There were those who sought to implement the enemy's plans in this province and among these faithful, kind, and sincere people with the revolution. These were the same people who wanted to speak in the name of the Kurdish people - they harmed the Kurdish people. Today, we also face families whose children have been martyred in this sacred struggle, as well as other families whose children have been deceived by the enemy; they too have suffered loss and deserve our compassion and sympathy. Those families whom the enemy managed to deceive their youth and use their blood for the corrupt purposes of America and Zionism, those families have not committed any sin; they have also experienced the loss of their young ones; many are not remembered. We feel compassion for them. This is also among the losses that the counter-revolution has inflicted on this province.

They also deprived this province of the opportunity for development for a period of time. Your province is very talented in various respects. Here, good investments could have been made; it was supposed that in those early years, major infrastructure projects would be carried out. The first development group sent by the Revolutionary Council - before the formation of the Jihad for Construction - came to Kurdistan. At that time, the late martyr Beheshti (may God be pleased with him), who was the head of the Revolutionary Council, sent a group for the development of the Kurdistan region; the Jihad for Construction had not yet been formed. The system knew what the tyrannical regime had done to these distant provinces, different in language, accent, and ethnicity; it wanted to compensate; however, unfortunately, the counter-revolution deprived the Islamic Republic system of this opportunity for several years. I know and am aware that, thanks be to God, many great services have been rendered in this province over the years that no one could have imagined at that time. In this province, over the years, so much development work has been done that it forms a long list: roads, dams, energy distribution, water distribution, telecommunications, and various development indicators. Right now, about nineteen dams are under construction in this province. No one could have imagined that these works would be accomplished; they have been done. However, at the same time, what could have been done and what should have been done is much more than this. Many works in this province have not been done that the efforts of the officials should be directed towards these points.

The province has problems. As I feel and study, the primary problem of this province is, firstly, the issue of employment, and secondly, the issue of investment. Employment is an important issue. Today, the unemployment rate in this province is relatively high, while there are ready-to-work youth present. Many good works and many efforts have been made, but more work needs to be done. We thank God that today, unlike during the time of the tyrants, governments come to the people themselves. There was a time when people had to toil and strive to reach the presence of governments; today, thanks to Islam, governments are the ones who set out and go to various provinces, cities, and the most remote areas of the country; the president goes, the minister goes, various officials go. People in some of these places where the president visits say, "We have not even seen a director general here in the past!" They are right. This is a blessing of Islam. Islam obliges governments to pay more attention to the most difficult tasks and the weakest people than to the easier tasks; and fortunately, this exists today. We thank God.

I would also like to conclude this section of my remarks by saying: dear youth, the plots of global arrogance have been thwarted, but they are not over. The vigilance of the faithful people and the readiness of the officials of the country have thwarted the plots of the enemies against this province and similar movements until today; however, one should not think that the enemy has given up and is sitting quietly and has abandoned its nefarious goals; no, vigilance must continue. Know that the enemies of Islamic Iran want Iran to not be united and for Islam not to rule this country. Those arrogant powers who have managed to place most countries and governments of the world under the influence of their policies have not been able to subjugate the Islamic Republic system - which relies on this brave and faithful people - to their will and bring it to its knees; they are angry. They change their methods, but their goals remain the same wicked ones they have always had; the youth must be vigilant, families must be vigilant, and officials must be vigilant. We defend the existence and integrity of our country; we defend Islam with all our might; we have not feared the hollow thunder of arrogance until today and have not retreated, and we will not fear or retreat in the future.

I want to present a fundamental and general point on this occasion. Dear brothers and sisters! Islam has outlined characteristics for building a proud and dynamic society and has explained the path to achieving them for the Muslim nation and the Islamic community throughout history. One of these signs and characteristics is national dignity; dignity. Just as an individual wishes not to be humiliated but to be honored, one of the great aspirations of a nation is to be honored and not to be humiliated. What is national dignity? National dignity means that a nation does not feel inferior within itself and from itself. The opposite of the feeling of dignity is the feeling of inferiority; when a nation looks inward - at its resources, its history, its historical legacies, its human and intellectual assets - it should feel dignity and pride, not feelings of inferiority and humiliation. This is one of the things that is necessary for a nation. The Quran refers to this meaning in several instances: "They say, 'If we return to the city, the more honorable will drive out the more humble.' And to God belongs the honor and to His Messenger and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know." The hypocrites were talking among themselves that they were honorable and would expel the Muslims - who were humiliated - from Medina! God sent revelation to the Prophet that they say this, but they do not understand; the ones who are honored are the believers; dignity belongs to God and to His Messenger and to the believers by God. This is a bright banner that should always be before the eyes of the Islamic community; "national dignity." If a nation does not feel dignity, it means it looks at its own assets - its customs, its traditions, its language, its alphabet, its history, its glories, and its great figures - with contempt, considers them small, and feels it has nothing of its own; this nation will easily fall into the clutches of foreign domination.

Colonizers, from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when they entered the lands of the East - including Islamic lands - began to make these nations suspicious of their past, their possessions, their religion, their customs, and their clothing in order to completely bind them in the shackles of captivity. These are instructive lessons; it reached a point that at the beginning of the Constitutional Revolution in this country, an intellectual said: "An Iranian must become European from head to toe!" That is, he must set aside and forget his religion, his morals, his clothing, his script, his past, and his glories, but accept Western culture, Western customs, Western traditions, Western thought, and Western behavior! This is how they proclaimed. This humiliating cry was raised in our country by those who turned their backs on religion. It is clear; when a country loses everything and becomes empty from within, British colonialism can easily dominate everything about it - its oil, its army, its wealth, its political system -; during the Pahlavi era, it had reached a point where the treacherous Shah, in order to appoint someone as prime minister, had to consult with the British ambassador - and later with the American ambassador - and in fact, seek permission from him. This is the painful history of our past. This is against national dignity. The dependent and corrupt dictatorial governments brought the Iranian nation down from the throne of dignity; they neither developed its knowledge nor built its world, but took away its hereafter and clothed it in the garment of captivity. The Islamic Revolution rose against such a situation. In the face of such a great calamity, the Islamic Revolution and Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) stood firm, and the Iranian nation sacrificed its blood in this path and achieved victory.

When such a spirit prevailed among the people, the political apparatus of that country and that nation naturally becomes servile: fierce against its own people like a ravenous dog and bloodthirsty wolf, but gentle against its enemies like a tame lamb; "A lion in battle and a timid ostrich in wars." The same Reza Khan, who especially in the second half of his reign behaved violently towards his own people - so that people did not dare to breathe; in their own homes, a father did not trust his child and a child did not trust his father - in the face of a simple message from the British that said, "You must step down from the throne," he fled like a dead mouse and left the country! The same goes for Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 40s and 50s, inflicted the harshest pressures on this nation and on the fighters and freedom-seekers - brutally; without any consideration for the people - but this same person would bow and submit to the American and British ambassadors and listen to them! He was upset, but he had to. This government is of a nation that is deprived of national dignity.

One of the fundamental gifts that the Islamic Revolution granted us, the Iranian nation, was the feeling of dignity. Our great Imam was the embodiment of dignity. On the day when the Imam openly stated, "America can do nothing," it was the peak of America's political and military power in the world. The Imam restored the feeling of dignity to this people, and the revolution restored the feeling of dignity to the Iranian nation. Today, an Iranian takes pride in being Iranian and in being Muslim. Today, the powerful of the world also admit that against the Iranian nation, their threats, their military power, and their political propaganda have no effect; the Iranian nation will pursue the path and goal it has chosen with all its might and will reach that goal.

What is important is to preserve this national dignity. My brothers and sisters! Dear people of Kurdistan and the great Iranian nation! We must all pay attention to this; we must preserve this national dignity. National dignity cannot be preserved merely by words, claims, and slogans; today, if the Iranian nation is dear and has influence in major global policies, it is due to its faith, its actions and initiatives, and its courageous actions, and its unity and integrity. Any of these factors that we lose will threaten our dignity. If we lose our unity, if we lose our faith, if we lose our spirit of work and effort - which, thanks be to God, is evident today in the vast majority of the nation, especially in the youth - we will lose our dignity. This is a fundamental point for analyzing political events - especially for the youth.

You should look and see who those are that want to disrupt the unity of the Iranian nation? Know that they are the agents of the enemy; either they are speaking from the enemy's perspective, or they are the enemy's fingers; there is no doubt about it. The one who raises the call for division between Shia and Sunni and wants to disrupt national unity under the pretext of religion, whether Shia or Sunni, is an enemy's mercenary; whether they know it or not. Sometimes some of these unfortunate, ignorant Salafi and Wahhabi people, who are fed by oil dollars to go here and there to carry out terrorist acts - in Iraq one way, in Afghanistan another way, in Pakistan another way, and in other places another way - do not realize that they are mercenaries of the enemy. That Shia man who insults the sanctities of the Sunnis and curses them is also an enemy's mercenary, even if he does not know what he is doing. I say: they are the main agents of the enemies. Some of these fingers - both among Sunnis and among Shia - are unaware, do not know, and do not understand what they are doing; they do not realize they are working for the enemy.

A few years ago, in the Kurdish region, a clear-sighted scholar spoke at Friday prayers. I think he swore - this is what comes to my mind, as years have passed - he said, "By God, those who come to the Shia and instill the hatred and animosity of the Sunni in his heart and go to the Sunni and instill the hatred and animosity of the Shia in his heart, these are neither Shia nor Sunni; they do not love Shia, nor do they love Sunni; they are enemies of Islam." Of course, they do not know; many of them do not understand, and it is regrettable that they do not understand. Today, this Wahhabi and Salafi group considers Shia to be infidels; they also consider Sunni lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt to be infidels; they also consider Sunni followers of mystical and Qadiri paths to be infidels! Where does this erroneous thought originate? All Shia people around the world, Sunni Shafi'is in North Africa, or Malikis in Central African countries - who are lovers and admirers of the Ahl al-Bayt; their mystical paths lead to the Ahl al-Bayt - are infidels; why? Because they show respect to the shrine of Hussein ibn Ali in Cairo and sanctify the Mosque of Ras al-Hussein; for this reason, they are infidels! The Shia is infidel; the Sunni from Saqez, Sanandaj, and Marivan, if they have a connection with the Qadiri or Naqshbandi path, they are also infidels! What kind of thought is this? Why should this erroneous and wicked thought create discord among Muslim brothers? To that Shia who, out of ignorance and negligence, or sometimes out of malice - we also know individuals among the Shia who are not only ignorant but have a mission to create discord - insults the sanctities of the Sunnis, I say: the behavior of both groups is religiously forbidden and legally wrong.

My dear ones! All the Iranian nation! Value your unity. This unity for this country is a very glorious and blessed unity. Value unity, value camaraderie, value cooperation, value the government's companionship with the nation, and value the people's affection for the government. The government should also value the faith of the people, the enthusiasm of the people, the fervor and creativity of the youth, and the spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship in the growing generations of this country and utilize these forces, God willing, it will be done.

I will also say a word about the elections. My dear ones! The elections are approaching; today, there is one month left until the election day. Elections are one of the great tests of the Iranian nation in the eyes of the enemies; therefore, they are sensitive about the elections. For about a year, the propaganda apparatus of the enemies of the Iranian nation has gradually begun to speak against this election and take action and create content; their security apparatus has also been busy gathering information and speculating and making suggestions. They are sensitive about this election. Today, when you look at the news from various foreign media - many of which harbor deep-seated malice and enmity towards the Iranian nation - you will see they are not indifferent to our elections and are trying to implement their own agendas. What are these agendas? First and foremost, their goal is to cancel the elections altogether. At one point, they tried to stop the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections through various tricks. God did not will it, and the will of the faithful men did not allow it; they could not succeed. They are now despairing of completely canceling the elections. Secondly, their goal is to hold a light and cold election. They want the Iranian nation not to have an active presence in the elections.

Dear Iranian nation! I tell you, precisely in opposition to the desires of the enemies, we all must have an active presence in the elections. Elections are our national dignity; elections are one of the indicators of our national growth; elections are a means for national dignity. When they see that the Iranian nation goes to the ballot boxes with enthusiasm, awareness, and complete understanding, what does it mean? It means that the nation considers itself entitled and capable of making decisions; it wants to influence the future of the country and choose the main officials and managers of the country. Choosing a president means choosing the head of the executive branch and someone who has most of the country's resources at his disposal. And you see that if a president has enthusiasm, energy, and will, he can accomplish great services for this country; they want this not to happen. I say: everyone must insist on participating in the elections. In my opinion, the primary issue in the elections is not the choice of this person or that person; the primary issue is your presence. Your presence strengthens the system, solidifies the foundations of the system, increases the dignity of the Iranian nation, enhances the resilience of the country against hostilities, and deters the enemy from coveting the country and from thinking of striking and spreading corruption and sedition. This is a very important issue; thus, the primary issue is participation in the elections.

The next issue in the elections is that the people should strive to choose the most qualified. Those who run for the presidency and whose qualifications are scrutinized by the Guardian Council and announced by the Guardian Council, all of them are qualified. However, what is important is that you search among these qualified individuals and find the most qualified. This is not a place where you and I can settle for the minimum; seek the maximum; choose the best.

Who is the best? I do not express any opinion regarding individuals; however, there are criteria. The best is the one who understands the pain of the country, knows the pain of the people, is united and sincere with the people, is free from corruption, and does not pursue his own elitism. Our great affliction is elitism and materialism; if a certain official is inclined towards elitism and materialism, he will lead the people towards elitism and extravagance. What we have said this year, that it is the year of moving towards reforming consumption patterns, means this year is the year that the Iranian nation decides to combat extravagance. We do not say that extravagance should be completely eliminated in one fell swoop within a year; no, we are more realistic than that; we know this is a matter of successive years and must be worked on until we reach this culture; we must start this work.

One of the fundamental tasks to prevent extravagance is that the officials of the country, their families, their close ones, and their affiliates should not be extravagant and elitist. How can we, if we ourselves are extravagant, tell the people not to be extravagant? "Do you command people to righteousness while you forget yourselves?" "O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is the hatred in the sight of God that you say what you do not do." The first task is that we should elect officials who are people-oriented, live simply, understand the pain of the people, and feel the pain of the people themselves. This is also an important criterion. Search wisely; reach out; and act upon what you reach and discern with the intention of seeking God's pleasure; go to the ballot box with the intention of seeking God's pleasure, and the Almighty God will reward you. This is another point.

The last point regarding the elections is that the esteemed candidates who have registered so far and are engaged in campaigning and making statements - although the legal time has not yet arrived, but they are campaigning; that is fine - should strive to act with fairness. Their affirmations and denials should be based on truth and honesty. The things one hears, one does not believe that they have come from the mouths of candidates and those who seek these responsibilities out of truth and sincerity. Sometimes one hears strange words and strange accusations. These words worry the people; they do not endear anyone to the speaker of these words! Esteemed candidates should pay attention: do not damage public opinion. All this slandering against this and that is damaging to the minds of the people; it is not based on reality; it is contrary to reality. I, who know the situation of the country better than all these gentlemen and am more informed, know that many of these things that are said as criticism about the state of the country and the economy are not true; they are mistaken. God willing, they are mistaken. We hope that the Almighty God has decreed complete goodness, righteousness, and prosperity for this nation.

The last thing I want to say is this: my dear ones! Just know that we stand firm for the establishment of Islam in this country - which the establishment of Islam guarantees the prosperity of the world and the hereafter of the people and the reform of their material and spiritual lives - and no pressure and no power can affect our will, which is based on the will of the people.

O Lord! Bestow Your mercy and grace upon this people. O Lord! Grant Your favors to the minds, hearts, and actions of these dear people. I sincerely thank you for your loyalty and affection - in this great gathering that has formed here and in the reception that took place - and I hope that, God willing, the Almighty God will grant us success to take great steps in fulfilling our duties.

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