Statements in Meeting with the Chairman and Members of the Assembly of Experts

After the seventeenth meeting of the Assembly of Experts

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited Savior on earth.

I extend my welcome to the esteemed gentlemen. In addition to the advantages mentioned by Mr. Yazdi, the respected Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, there is another advantage that is specific to me, which is that in these meetings, I have the opportunity to visit my dear brothers and esteemed gentlemen up close; this is also an opportunity for us, and we ask the Almighty God to grant you all success so that the heavy responsibilities that lie upon all of us can, God willing, be fulfilled in the best manner.

First of all, I congratulate Mr. Yazdi on assuming the responsibility of chairing this session. His character, his background, and his qualifications all indicate that this selection is appropriate and well-placed. God willing, may He assist him in terms of temperament and various preparations so that he can fulfill his duties. We also honor the memory of the late Mr. Mahdavi (may God be pleased with him). He was a distinguished personality and truly, the presence of the late Mr. Mahdavi during the long period after the victory of the revolution—besides his struggles before the victory—was impactful and a manifestation of an active and knowledgeable cleric. We hope that the Almighty God grants him the best reward and bestows upon him His mercy and forgiveness.

Thanks be to God, this session of the gentlemen's assembly, in which internal elections were held—as I have been informed—was very dignified and, in fact, a model for the institutions that conduct such elections; you accomplished a great task with complete dignity and without the usual discussions and issues that typically arise in electoral sessions.

Given the conditions prevailing in our region and indeed the conditions prevailing in the world, and the challenge between the Islamic Republic and several arrogant and domineering governments over various issues—whether the nuclear issue or other matters—and also considering the economic discussions taking place within the country and the efforts of various officials, each in their own way, to achieve Islamic objectives and the interests of the people, and finally, considering the issue of Islamophobia, which today is one of the prevalent phenomena in the world of global arrogance and the West—taking all these matters into account, it seemed appropriate to raise the topic that what we derive from the totality of Quranic teachings is that Islam's demand from Muslims is to establish an Islamic system in its entirety; Islam's demand is the complete realization of the religion of Islam. This is what one feels overall.

A minimalistic religion and contentment with minimal standards is not acceptable from the perspective of Islam; we do not have anything in our teachings that can be termed a minimalistic religion. Rather, in the Holy Quran, in several instances, contentment with some religious teachings below certain standards has been condemned; "Those who have divided the Quran" or the noble verse "And they say, 'We believe in some and disbelieve in others'" which pertains to the hypocrites, refers to this very issue. Even some of the prominent aspects of religion—such as establishing justice—are not sufficient for one to feel content that we are now pursuing justice and that justice has been established; no, this is not the case. Yes, certainly, establishing justice in society is an important aspect. From this noble verse in Surah Al-Hadid, "Indeed, We sent Our messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the balance so that people may maintain justice"—it seems at first glance that the goal of sending messengers and revealing books and divine teachings is to establish justice, and now this phrase "so that people may maintain justice" can be interpreted in various ways—whether we take it to mean that it is the duty of the people to establish justice in their environment; or, on the other hand, that it is through justice that we should interact with people; either of these interpretations or other possible meanings clarify the importance of establishing justice in society. However, this does not mean that the sacred law accepts that we, for example, content ourselves with establishing justice and put all our efforts into ensuring that justice is established, even if some other Islamic rulings—such as, for example—are neglected; no, the noble verse states that "Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish prayer, pay zakat, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong." This means that the expectation that the Almighty God has from those who are empowered in the land is that the first thing is "establish prayer," then "pay zakat," and "enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and to God belongs the end of all matters." It is not the case that if we pay attention to justice, we have the right to neglect the establishment of prayer and the importance of prayer or zakat or enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; rather, "Worship God and avoid the tyrant"—which has been repeated several times in the Quran—indicates that the Almighty God sent the prophets for monotheism, to avoid tyranny, and for the worship of God; this is the foundation of the work. Or the advice that the Almighty God gave in the noble verse of Surah Ash-Shura to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others: "Establish the religion"; what is intended is the establishment of the religion; that is, all of the religion must be established; "And do not be divided in it; it is great for the polytheists what you invite them to." The entirety of the religion—all its components and all its pillars—must be taken into account, and the main opposition to this movement and this approach—namely, the complete establishment of the religion, with all its components—are the tyrants of the world, the arrogant powers; "It is great for the polytheists what you invite them to"; or in the noble verse at the beginning of Surah Al-Ahzab; "O Prophet, fear God and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; indeed, God is All-Knowing and Wise"; this means that the Almighty God is knowledgeable, having knowledge of all components and particles of the world and the mechanisms of life of particles, and He is Wise; with wisdom, He has defined your path in this collection, and you must follow it. "And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; indeed, God is All-Aware of what you do; and put your trust in God, and sufficient is God as a Guardian"; in confronting this movement, there will be enmity. Therefore, this is the matter.

The Islamic system that we claim and pursue—now the Islamic system means the collection of capacities in the country that shapes the public movement of the people and officials; we call this system; all the capacities that lead to the public movement of the people and officials, all of these, constitute the Islamic system—when this system is truly Islamic, it is when all components of Islam are preserved and the form and essence of Islam are maintained. The form of Islam is the words we say and the statements we make and the actions we take; this is the outward aspect; the essence of Islam is that we define a goal, an ideal, a destination, and for reaching that destination, we must plan comprehensively and act, move, and strive with all our being; then, in that case, the essence of Islam will also be preserved and will progress toward perfection; that is, it will not remain stagnant at any level; well, this is the program we need to achieve those goals.

What we observe today in the language of the arrogant and opponents of the Islamic system, specifically the Islamic Republic, when they refer to "changing behavior"—sometimes they say we do not want a change of system, we want a change of behavior—[is precisely this]. Changing behavior and changing the system are no different; they are exactly the same; that is, changing that Islamic essence; this is the meaning of changing behavior. Changing behavior means you abandon those things that are essential and necessary for moving toward that destination; you give up on them and lose your commitment to them; this is the meaning of changing behavior; that is, the very thing that is sometimes referred to in some statements and writings as minimalistic religion; that is, reducing the ideals, which means the destruction of the essence of the religion. This minimalistic religion means, in fact, eliminating the religion.

Now, in such a situation, our goal is this, and our definitive line of action must be to pursue the complete and full Islam; that is, we must strive to the best of our ability—now, the Almighty God does not expect more from us than what is within our power—but our effort must be this, and our goal-setting must be that all of Islam—the complete Islam—be realized in our society. When this becomes the goal, immediately an issue arises, and that issue is "Islamophobia," which is prevalent in the world today. In my opinion, we must not be passive in the face of the phenomenon of Islamophobia; yes, Islamophobia exists; some are frightening people, communities, and youth from Islam; who are these? When we analyze the issue and examine it closely, we see that they are the same minority of tyrants and greedy individuals who fear the establishment of Islam; they fear political Islam; they fear the presence of Islam in the lives of communities; their fear stems from the fact that their interests will be harmed. Islamophobia is, in fact, a translation of the fear and panic of powers in the face of Islam; this is the reality. That is, you have worked hard here, the Iranian nation has strived, struggled, established the Islamic system, solidified it, secured it against various events, and strengthened it day by day; this frightens the tyrants of the world. The Islamophobia that exists today is, in fact, a reflection and echo of their concerns, their panic; it shows that you have advanced; it shows that Islam has been able to successfully carry its movement this far.

And of course, despite them, their movement against Islam and their efforts for Islamophobia will backfire; meaning that it will place Islam at the center of inquiry for the youth; that is, if ordinary people in the world are given a nudge, a little attention, they suddenly begin to think about why Islam is so attacked in these Zionist media, in these television networks affiliated with powerful circles that have wealth and power. This itself creates a question, and this question, in our opinion, has blessings and can turn this threat into an opportunity.

We must strive; that is, in the Islamic Republic, the great and important task is that we all—everyone in any position who has the ability in this area—must strive to present pure Islam, the Islam that supports the oppressed and is against the oppressors, to the world. The same youth who are in Europe, or in America, or in very distant regions, are delighted by this characteristic, they become excited to know that Islam is a force, a motivation, an idea that moves against the oppressors and tyrants and in favor of the oppressed, has a program, and considers this its duty. The Islam that supports rationality, the Islam of deep philosophies, the Islam of thought, which in the Quran has emphasized so much on reason and thought and intellect and the like, we must introduce it; the Islam that supports rationality and is against extremism, against stagnation, against becoming captive to illusions and fantasies—those who, in the name of Islam, promote these things—we must show pure Islam, say this is Islam; the Islam that is committed in the face of carelessness. Yes, today, numerous institutions are leading the youth toward carelessness, toward irresponsibility, toward indifference in various matters. Well, the Islam that considers a person committed, wants and demands commitment from them; the Islam present in the fabric of life, in contrast to secular Islam! Secular Islam is like secular Christianity, which goes into the corner of the church, confines itself, and has no presence in the real life environment; secular Islam is the same; there are those today who invite to isolated Islam; an Islam that has nothing to do with the lives of people; it calls people to some worship, to something in the corner of the mosque or the corners of their homes. We must introduce the Islam that is present in the fabric of life; the Islam of mercy to the weak; the Islam of jihad and struggle against the arrogant. In my opinion, this is a duty that falls upon everyone; our propaganda institutions, our scientific institutions, our seminaries must pursue this goal. The reason that today Islam has become the target of their attacks is [because of this]; it is clear who those who have targeted it are, what institutions and what movements they are; it is clear; they are affiliated with a powerful political and economic entity, often Zionist Jewish, and if they are not Zionist Jewish, they are non-Jewish Zionists—who today we have non-Jewish Zionists in the world. In the face of these, we must take advantage of this opportunity and pose this question in the minds of the people of the world and in the minds of the youth: think, see why they attack Islam so much; then we can present the true Islam to them.

In my opinion, if we, the clergy and scholars and those who work in religious matters, set this as our goal in all our issues, that is, the realization of complete Islam and confronting enmities in this manner, we will achieve great successes.

We also have global challenges; in my opinion, we must avoid superficiality in global challenges. Today, we have challenges with America, we have challenges with some European countries; now today, the challenge is clearly and manifestly the nuclear issue; there are various other issues that are sources of challenge between us and them; let us look and see what this challenge stems from; that is, let us understand the roots and avoid superficiality.

And we must analyze the problems that confront us correctly. For example, let us assume we have suffered from sanctions and that sanctions have caused damage to our economy and various issues; what are these damages due to? If one analyzes correctly, they see that these damages are more due to our dependency on oil, for example; or more due to the lack of people's presence in the economic field, meaning the government-controlled economy; these are more due to these factors. If we look and identify the main factor and remedy that main factor, the sanctions will either become ineffective or less effective. The fact that the enemy can sanction us and, for example, target our oil and this bothers us is because we have made oil a major factor in our lives and in our economy; the fact that when it confronts the government, various government institutions are sanctioned is because these institutions belong to the government. We could have involved various people's hands in the economic arena. The mistakes we made in the early days of the revolution, insisting that everything must belong to and be under the control of the government, and even entrusted small, minor aspects of life to the government, well, the result is these things; these must be remedied.

In our view, if we think this way and move in this manner, the problems will be solved; that is, we will not be dependent on the goodwill of the other side in our problems; we can truly influence the challenging atmosphere that exists between us and our enemies and the arrogant powers; including the negotiations that are currently ongoing. Currently, the negotiations that overshadow our diplomatic activities and our foreign policy are related to the nuclear issues. This statement, this criterion, this logic, in these negotiations as well, in our opinion, is completely applicable.

Of course, I must say this here: the team and delegation that the respected President has appointed for the nuclear negotiations are trustworthy and good people. Some of them I know closely and they are truly acceptable; some I know from their words and actions from a distance; they are both trustworthy and caring; they are striving and working; we need to express this fairly. Of course, although these friends and brothers are good brothers, trustworthy brothers, and we know they are striving for the country's interests, at the same time, I am worried; because the other side is cunning. Among the things that often remain hidden from view are the cunning of individuals or entities that have a large and robust appearance; one does not think that they can also be cunning. Well, today America has a robust appearance; financial power, economic power, political power, military power, security power, and one becomes oblivious to the fact that this powerful apparatus can also engage in the deceitful tactics of weak individuals; but it does; it is cunning, it deceives, it stabs from behind; this is how it is. We must not imagine that now, because they have nuclear bombs or powerful military equipment, they therefore do not need to resort to cunning and deceit; no, on the contrary, their need is great, and they do act and truly engage in deceit; this worries us. We must be vigilant against the enemy's tactics. Whenever a specific time has been set for the end of negotiations and we approach this time, the tone of the other side—especially the Americans—becomes harsher, tougher, and more severe; this is because it is part of their tactics, part of their tricks and deceptions.

And you see the statements they make are truly ridiculous, disgusting statements. American officials, in these days, on the occasion that a Zionist clown has gone there and made some remarks, to distance themselves, have made statements, but they also accused Iran of being supportive of terrorism. Well, this statement is laughable; today, everyone in the world observes that the power and the government that has supported the most wicked terrorists—namely, ISIS and the like—and has created them and still, despite claiming to be against them, does not cease its support for them, is America and its allies. Those who are hand in hand with America in the region and support, assist, and cooperate with them are the ones who are supporters of terrorism and the wicked terrorists. America supports a government that officially admits to being a terrorist—namely, the fake Zionist government; they support it openly; supporting terrorism is precisely this. This is the ugliest form of support for terrorism that they engage in, and then at the same time, they accuse the Islamic Republic of being supportive of terrorism; these matters must be taken into account.

This very letter that these senators wrote—where one sees various statements in this letter—is a sign of the collapse of political ethics in the American system; it is clear that they are truly in a state of collapse; because all the governments of the world adhere to the recognized and accepted international regulations. Ultimately, a government comes to power in a country, makes a commitment, then that government goes, another government comes, that commitment remains; they do not violate commitments. These gentlemen senators explicitly stated that if this government in America is removed from power, the agreement it makes with you and the commitment it makes is as if it never existed! This is the ultimate collapse of political ethics and indicates that this system is a system that is truly unsustainable; that is, this system is a disintegrating system in which one observes such things. Then they say we want to teach the Iranians, give them lessons on what our laws are! Well, we do not need their lessons; if we reach an agreement, we know how to act so that they cannot keep the Islamic Republic at the door. The officials of the Islamic Republic know how to act; they do not need their lessons, but they act this way; this truly indicates a collapse.

In any case, in all the efforts we are making, in all the decisions we make regarding economic issues, and in cultural matters—if I am alive and we reach the beginning of the year, there are matters to discuss that, God willing, I will present—we must not forget this principle that our duty is to realize complete Islam; we must pursue complete Islam. It should not be that we reduce the ideals of Islam for the sake of achieving success in a certain matter; no, our success, our progress depends on the fact that, God willing, we can realize complete Islam. If this happens, the Almighty God will assist, and divine support will certainly and undoubtedly depend on our support for God's religion. "If you support God, He will support you"; there is no clearer or more explicit statement than this; "If you support God, He will support you and strengthen your steps"; "And certainly, God will support whoever supports Him"; these are definitive promises from God; we must not be inattentive to these divine promises; "Those who think ill of God"; that is, truly, for a person to consider God's promise as unachievable is the worst suspicion against the Almighty God, which the Almighty God has condemned in Surah Al-Fath, regarding those who act this way.

We hope that the Almighty God grants you and us the success to fulfill our duties in this regard and that the divine blessings resulting from such actions, God willing, will encompass ourselves, our country, and our nation; and we hope that the Almighty God brings joy to the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), and the pure souls of the martyrs, God willing, who showed us this path and opened it for us and set us in motion on this path.

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