Statements in Meeting with Families of Martyrs and Veterans of Kurdistan

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

The fragrance of martyrdom, which is truly a heavenly scent in our material lives, is felt in this sincere and affectionate gathering filled with spirituality. First, I thank each and every one of the dear brothers and sisters and the families of the martyrs who today, by their presence in this assembly, have given me the opportunity to be among the beloved families of our martyrs and to gain spiritual and moral benefit from the sacred breath of our dear martyrs, of whom you are the survivors. I especially thank those dear ones who performed the program; both the children of martyrs who beautifully recited their words in poetry and prose here, and the dear youths who performed their song, from which we benefited.

In all my travels to visit the families of martyrs, I feel honored and meet with them, and I sense the spirit of spirituality in all the provinces and cities where similar gatherings like this one are held. However, I want to say that the martyrs of Kurdistan and the families of these martyrs possess characteristics that are less seen in other provinces and are often not seen at all. One of these characteristics is that the martyrs of this region fell victim to martyrdom in a more oppressed and lonely manner, and their families endured a more difficult patience. Why? Because the enemies of the revolution and the enemies of the country created a situation in this province, especially in the early years, for the families of the martyrs that made life in that atmosphere more difficult for fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters than the very essence of martyrdom. The counter-revolution and those wicked fingers that intended to turn Kurdistan into a center of civil war and fratricide in the country did not stop at killing the best youth of this province and this people; rather, they also put pressure on their families for a relatively long period. These families in other provinces of the country only suffered the loss of their loved ones. In a warm and lively atmosphere, people would carry the names of their dear martyrs on their shoulders and take pride in them; however, in Kurdistan, many incidents occurred, and we were aware that the enemies of this province, the enemies of this country, also exerted pressure on the families of the martyrs; psychological pressure, physical pressure, and security pressure. Of course, these pressures had no results and did not make them white in the eyes of these people; rather, they made them blacker. The people of Kurdistan, although known for their kindness, hospitality, and a spirit full of love and affection - and it is indeed so - are also known for their bravery, courage, and valor, and the enemies of this nation could not bend the backs of the families of the martyrs.

In my previous trip to Sanandaj, I visited the father of a family whose six children had been martyred. I have seen this in very few places in the country. Six children! Three of these children were martyred in the battlefields, and three during a march under enemy bombardment. For six parts of his body to be martyred, this father was so steadfast and strong that I felt small in the face of the greatness of that spirit. I saw this in Kurdistan. Today, I met two of the other children of that great man - truly, these are greatness - here, and when I asked about their father, they said that he had passed away to the mercy of God.

Families of three martyrs, families of two martyrs. Women who lost both their husbands and their children and did not succumb to the psychological and political pressures of the enemy after losing their beloved ones, did not bend under the pressure of the enemy. This is very great. I saw this in Kurdistan.

Dear youths, you fought on the front against the counter-revolution, as well as on the front against the Ba'athist regime of Saddam; in both fronts, you stood against these two categories of enemies, whose roots were, of course, close to each other. The Kurdish youths, the youths from Marivan, Saqqez, Baneh, Qorveh, and Bijar fought alongside their fellow compatriots and brothers in the Fao operation, stood firm, and gave martyrs. Here too, they fought against the counter-revolution and also against the Ba'athist enemy. I will never forget the struggle I saw in Marivan and Dezli, where these youths stood like molten fires against the enemy. My dear ones! What strengthens a nation from within is precisely these struggles. We do not reach anywhere from weakness. We do not gain any rank from surrendering to oppression in the competition among nations. What is stated in Nahj al-Balagha: "Indeed, jihad is a door among the doors of paradise that God has opened for His special friends," what does this mean? Jihad, striving in the way of God and in the way of truth, is a door to paradise that the Almighty God has opened only for His special friends. This means that your youths, your martyrs, your dear ones were among the special friends of God who were able to pass through this door. Why does the Almighty God consider them His special friends? Because if these struggles do not exist, a nation will always remain oppressed, always backward, always weak, always subjugated. Our nation, the great nation of Iran, has shown this greatness in various assemblies, and you have performed well here; you have achieved a good rank in this great test.

Two points are noteworthy that neither I should forget, nor should you forget, nor especially should these dear youths and adolescents ever forget. One point is that we should preserve that feeling of pride that the name of the martyr and the memory of the martyr gives us. Just as we take pride in the bravery of the great men of the early Islam, we should take pride in the bravery of these great men of our own time. The enemy does not want this. The enemy wants the memory of the martyrs to be forgotten. The enemy wants the memory of these struggles and great manhood to not remain in the memory of this nation. In direct opposition to this, everyone must move. Highlight the memory of the martyrs, revive it, preserve their memory. This is the first point.

The second point is that our nation, our youths, our men and women should not feel that the era of struggle has come to an end, that we are not threatened by danger. It may be that military danger does not threaten us, and it is indeed so. Today, the nation of Iran has reached a level of power that has greatly raised the risk of its enemies; they do not dare to launch a military attack against this nation; they know they will be suppressed; they know that this nation is resilient. Therefore, the risk of military attack is very low; however, attack is not only military attack. The enemy targets those points that are the backbone of our national resilience. The enemy targets national unity and deep religious faith. The enemy targets the spirit of patience and resilience of our men and women; this attack is more dangerous than military attack.

In a military attack, you know your opponent; you see your enemy; however, in spiritual attack, cultural attack, soft attack, you do not see the enemy in front of your eyes. Vigilance is necessary. I ask all the people of Iran, especially the families of the martyrs and all of you dear ones, especially the youths, to guard the intellectual and spiritual borders with complete vigilance. Do not let the enemy, like a termite, attack the foundations of the intellectual, belief, and faith of the people and cause them to suffer from infiltration; this is important. We all have a duty to preserve our faith and spiritual borders.

Today, unfortunately, the enemies of the nation of Iran have even managed to reach behind our borders. In the past and at the beginning of the revolution, the designs were by the enemies; powerful enemies, global arrogance, Zionism; but today, the same ones, with the changes that have occurred in the region, have established bases and centers alongside your geographical borders and are using them for soft and very hostile activities. Everyone must be vigilant. And I especially say to the youths:

Dear youths! Your homeland today needs awareness, needs awakening. Monitor the movements of those who want to distance hearts from unity and intimacy. Today, in the city square, I told everyone, and I tell you too: some want to create discord and division among the people by any means, for any excuse. Anyone you see working in this area, judge that they are the fingers of the enemy; whether they know it or not. They may not know, but they are the fingers of the enemy; they are working for the enemy. The result is the same. The one who knowingly strikes you is no different from the one who unknowingly inflicts the same blow; there is no difference in the result. We must be vigilant; we must be awake.

Fortunately, the nation is awake. In this long experience of the past years, our nation has become seasoned. Our people have been able to recognize and confront various plots. Today, the same will happen. We must strengthen ourselves from within; strengthen scientifically, strengthen economically, strengthen innovation and technology, and above all, strengthen our faith. I tell you: the day when our youths can, by divine grace, take the reins of the country's affairs into their hands is not far off, and undoubtedly our country and nation will reach that stage and period in the not-so-distant future when no enemy will dare to think of attacking this country; neither military attack nor political and economic attack. What we have today is thanks to the struggles of many long years - which our dear youths have shown - and thanks to the blood of our dear martyrs. We hope that the Almighty God grants us the success to safeguard this great trust and to add to the great treasure of the nation of Iran as much as we can.

O Lord! Unite the pure souls of our dear martyrs with the pure spirit of the Greatest Prophet. O Lord! Make us true followers of the martyrs.

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