Speech in Meeting with Clergy and Friday Prayer Leaders of Mazandaran Province

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, Abul-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate, and infallible family, especially the remaining proof of God on earth.

First, I must express my gratitude to all of you gentlemen, the esteemed Friday prayer leaders and respected scholars of the cities of this province, for accepting the trouble and coming here so that we may have a friendly and scholarly gathering together. I express my pleasure at being present in this meeting.

Mazandaran has been one of the main centers of support and assistance to the revolution—both at its inception and in its continuation—and God willing, it will continue to be so. I have repeatedly stated that in evaluating the people of any region, we must consider the investment the enemy has made in those people and see, despite those investments, what condition these people are in. It is evident that some provinces and cities, during the time of the tyrants' domination, were more focused on and became centers of their intellectual and practical investment, and Mazandaran, especially some of its cities, is among them. Nevertheless, from the time the call of the Islamic Revolution resonated throughout this country, one of the places that responded quickly, well, decisively, and universally is here. Then we observe that both the reactionary apparatus of the tyrant and the corrupt, vile, and corrupting Pahlavi regime, as well as leftist currents and organizations, hoping to exploit this province, began efforts from east to west of the province, which all of you witnessed, were present, or heard closely. The firm fist of the faithful people in this province strikes those who think they can underestimate the faith of these people. This is significant. I mention this point to convey my affection and devotion to the people of Mazandaran through you esteemed gentlemen. Secondly, for the esteemed gentlemen in this province, it should serve as a reminder to pay attention to these people, appreciate them, preserve their spiritual and religious aspirations, strengthen these aspirations, and confront any movement that is contrary to the spiritual and heartfelt requests of these faithful, sincere, healthy, and dear people.

As for the matter I intended to discuss here, it is that we are in a very sensitive time. Times are not the same. Our time is a strange time. At least two centuries ago, a movement called the industrial civilization began in the world. This term encompasses many meanings of culture, knowledge, science, peaks, and troughs, and everything. A movement with this name and characteristics began at least two centuries ago—although its preliminaries started much earlier in the world—and had several characteristics: one was the inclination towards industry and science, another was the inclination towards new methods in life, and one of the most important was the inclination towards philosophies with materialistic foundations. That is, over these two centuries, most of the intellectual and philosophical banners raised were in opposition to spiritual and religious thought. Marxism is one of them, which made more noise. The rest of the philosophical and social schools that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have a purely or predominantly materialistic, non-religious, and anti-religious orientation. This non-spiritual and anti-spiritual inclination, like a stream that starts small and gradually gains momentum and becomes widespread, entered the lives, thoughts, families, and social interactions of people.

Alongside this intellectual movement, policies independently began a movement towards opposition to religion and spirituality. Some of these policies, apparently, had nothing to do with these philosophies. Of course, there are those—I do not want to present this thought now, but know, and perhaps you know—that believe materialistic thoughts—even the most leftist ones—are the creation and product of politicians' thinking, not philosophers. They say: all these setups and uproars were a true political work; an economic work aimed at advancing wealth and capital and the capitalist system in the world, which was increasingly rising. In any case, policies also fell into opposition to spirituality, and this contradiction increased day by day.

Of course, any point where spirituality was more, was more attacked; like Islam. Islamic thoughts were attacked everywhere in the world. From the east of the Islamic world—meaning India—to the west of the Islamic world—meaning Algeria—this attack took place. In Algeria, the French entered and fought against Islam. In India, the British entered and fought against Islam. Despite being rival countries in the colonial scene, Britain and France had the same opponents and targets and bombing points. Day by day, they weakened the flow of religion and spirituality in the world and emptied human life of spiritual ethics. The Christian world was like this, and the Islamic world was the same. They crushed or diluted faiths in the heavy wheel and gear of materialism. This is the course of world life over at least two centuries. This is not a small thing.

This material flow, thus, began its rapid and harsh movement towards the peak and became more widespread over two centuries. Along with this peak of material thought, policy, and behavior in human life, the wealth, science, invention, and new advancements of those centers pursuing these policies also increased day by day. That is, scientifically, today's America is not comparable to America fifty years ago. Europe is the same. These are the same people who, with money, science, invention, and using their various capabilities, strengthened this material flow.

When this rising flow reached an unimaginable peak, the next step was nothing but the complete removal of religion, spirituality, and morality from societies; even leaving no memory. This is not my statement. One of the things common in the current literary writings and in scientific, fictional novels is predicting the future world. For example, what will the world look like fifty years from now? What they have written shows a world where there is no longer even any spiritual feeling. I have seen and read some of these novels myself. The world depicted is the next step of the atomic, electronic, computer, and astonishing space advancements century. What is the next step? Completely emptying the world of spiritual and religious thoughts or—as they say—illusions. Nothing else is imagined as the next step.

At this very juncture, when all material calculations showed that the future of humanity was that, suddenly an event occurred. This event, at first, did not attract much attention from the world; but contrary to the interpreters' and viewers' expectations, its volume, meaning, and environment of dominance and influence expanded day by day and suddenly led to an explosion in a part of the world. Then, the global power holders felt that they had been mistaken in evaluating this phenomenon until now. They thought of a remedy, but they could not anymore. What is that event? The event of the clerical and religious movement in Iran in 1962.

The day this event occurred, no one in the world gave it much importance. Even when the fifteenth of Khordad happened and that massacre and those issues occurred, it did not reflect much in the world. It neither gave much hope to anyone nor frightened anyone much. It was a flame, then they saw it seemed to subside. Like the flame of shavings and twigs and cardboard and paper, it suddenly ignites and after a few moments subsides, and everyone thinks it is over; unaware that those very thick and fiery logs were under these flames. They caught fire, and no one was quite aware, and moment by moment, it produced lasting and enduring fire. These fires were produced until it reached the twenty-second of Bahman and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, and suddenly a country was created based on religion and spirituality, and it was too late. That is, as soon as this system was established, for the enemies of religion and spirituality, it was too late, and whatever blows they struck and oppressed it, its spiritual influence and the attention of Muslims' hearts in the world to it increased. Fires ignited here and there, and perhaps some do not even know where it originated from.

You saw and heard in the news what events occurred in Africa and the French-speaking region of its north—where unfortunately Europeans have invested and penetrated a lot culturally. I have closely seen the situation of the people and the Islam of the people—as far as it has been imposed on them—how it is. In the east of the Islamic world (India, Kashmir, and East Turkestan), you also see the feelings of Muslims. It is too late; that is, the rising flow was cut off. You and I are at the moment of this cut. "Then We made you successors in the land." You and I are the ones who, if we move correctly, our action, decision, determination, and will can delineate this path and ensure its permanence and health.

Know that the world's situation will change, and spirituality will regain its right from global power in the world. There is no doubt about this. It is no longer possible for great powers like America and others to assume that they will eliminate this accelerating movement of spirituality in the world. Whatever they do to the Islamic Republic system, the reflection of this system's oppression and its steadfastness and resistance will have a more inspiring and revitalizing effect on the Islamic world and will arouse people; just as every incident has been like this until today.

They imposed war on us. We suffered many material and spiritual blows from the war, but we did not lose; because despite these blows, Islam became dear, and everyone in the world understood that if a nation becomes faithful and believes in God, the Quran, and the Day of Judgment, and its youth fight in the battlefield with such oppression, to the extent that they frustrated the enemy, they are proud and victorious. All the world's powers joined hands to separate a part of this country with the intention of overthrowing the Islamic system and destroying Iran's territorial integrity; but they could not. Isn't this the defeat of the great powers? Isn't this the victory and honor and capability of our nation?

Today, both Europeans and Americans and Russians and many other countries—which we knew were helping Iraq and many countries we did not know—admit themselves how much they helped Iraq during the war. That is, NATO, America, and Warsaw—the three main axes of military power—joined hands and helped one side to defeat the other side, push it back, overthrow its government, and disintegrate its territory; but they could not. This is truly a great magnitude; the greatness of Islam. Thus, Islam became dear in this war, and Muslims understood what Islam does with a nation.

We are the same nation of Shahrivar 1320. The wind of war hit this country and took everything from us. We could not resist for two hours! The north, east, and south of the country were occupied by the enemy. Which martyr do we have as a memento from that day? Which group of the nation can say we were the ones who defended? Today—meaning in the era of Islam—how is it? In this country, where is the place that does not have the honor of a brave and commendable defense? In each of your Mazandaran villages that one enters, there are pictures of several martyrs. The whole country is like this. Thus, with this movement, Islam became dear.

The point I want to make is that wherever Islam is, the traces of the global system of domination are also there. Wherever Islam is established, opposition to oppression, aggression, colonialism, exploitation, and the humiliation of people, and opposition to the rest of the features and signs of today's global system of domination are also there. For this reason, the Islamic Republic opposes the current system of dominance and power in the world.

We do not oppose the existing formalities of the world. Naturally, wherever there are customary interactions. We accept the usual customs of the various nations of the world; but the idea that in the field of life and politics, a few big and wealthy countries have the right to take the destiny of other countries into their hands, we do not accept. The idea that the culture of corruption and decadence should flow from European and American societies to other societies that each have their own culture, we do not accept. The idea that whatever Europeans consider good must be considered good by all nations, even if it is not considered good by the culture of these nations, and whatever Europeans consider bad must be considered bad by all nations, even if it is not considered bad by the culture of these countries—this is the situation in the world today—we do not accept this.

Today in the world, there is sensitivity to specific things. Today in the world, there is no sensitivity to a woman being beaten by her husband. Men in Europe and America—not all of them—very comfortably beat their wives. There is not much sensitivity in the world to a man oppressing a woman in the family. The statistics they provide show that fathers and husbands in American and European families very comfortably oppress their children and wives. There is not much uproar in the world about this issue; but there is sensitivity to a woman's covering! If someone, a personality, a philosopher, a system, a policy, opposes a woman's nudity, they are booed in the world! There is no sensitivity to many corruptions and methods and habits. If a country, as a policy, opposes alcoholic beverages, they are booed in the world, laughed at mockingly, and called reactionary! Whose culture is this? This nudity of women as a tradition, this spread of intoxicants as a common custom, belongs to where? This belongs to Europe and has originated from the old culture of these countries. Now these customs have gained validity in other parts of the world, and if someone opposes them, it is as if they have committed a major sin!

There are countries where there is absolutely no political freedom and democracy; there is not even a legislative assembly—I do not want to specify names now, there is no sensitivity to these—but if a country does not allow people to get drunk, to be rowdy, to shout, to stop them, there is sensitivity, and they say you have taken away people's freedom! There is no sensitivity to that prohibition of freedom; there is sensitivity to this issue! Of course, some of this sensitivity is due to hostility towards the Islamic Republic; but a lot of it is because the dominant and prevailing culture from the Europeans' perspective is their culture. That culture must be accepted, and whatever they consider good, the people of the world must consider good. We have fought and will fight against this claim, and wherever Islam is, it fights against this claim. This is domination; therefore, they oppose Islam.

Gentlemen scholars! If we want to defend the Islam that has appeared with this power on the world political scene today, each group has a share and duty. What is our duty as clerics and what is necessary is that we must guarantee this society or this movement that is moving towards spirituality with the logical, reasoned, and sincere spirituality that emanates from us. This is our duty today. In the standard-bearers of religion, nothing should be observed that emits the scent of distance from spirituality; otherwise, the movement towards spirituality will be harmed. Anything that emits the scent of worldly attachment and its adornments and self-worship and selfishness and conflict over worldly matters will harm both practically and scientifically and in deepening the religious and Islamic thought in people.

Europe is also moving towards spirituality and religion; you see it. Churches, priests, religious rituals in countries where there was no news of these, appear after thirty or forty or fifty years, and people are inclined towards them. But what is expected to logically fulfill the spiritual desire is this Islamic thought. In this regard, God willing, we must strive more.

Of course, unity and solidarity and unity of word are the main conditions; both in terms of nationality—meaning removing these nationalisms and ethnicities, Arab and non-Arab, Turk and Persian, and the rest of these ethnicities and nationalities at the level of the Islamic world—and in terms of religion, where Shia and Sunni and various sects of Sunnis and Shia must set aside differences and with coordination and relying on common points, fulfill that spiritual desire. Of course, there is no problem if there are different points. Every duality and difference does not mean a fight. One follows one jurisprudence and another follows another jurisprudence, one follows one theological taste and another follows another theological taste. Today is no longer the day for theological tastes, like the wars of the Ash'arites and Mu'tazilites during the Abbasid caliphate or the rest of the sectarian and doctrinal wars in Islam, or Shia and Sunni and various theological tastes, to fall upon each other. They must be united both in larger and smaller scopes—within the country, within provinces, within cities.

Unity of word is very important, which, thanks be to God, exists today to the enemy's dismay. Whenever we recommend unity of word, these foreign propagandists immediately say there is a dispute and conflict, and that is why so-and-so recommended unity of word! They cannot understand and comprehend what our situation is; the differences that exist, what kind of differences they are. They interpret it based on what exists among themselves—meaning the differences and power struggles and conflicts they have with each other. They do not know that, thanks be to God, those things are not here. Coordination, kindness, and understanding must increase more and more. We hope that God, God willing, grants this success to all of us.

Today was also a good day for us to collectively visit the esteemed gentlemen here. I again convey my greetings to the good, sincere, and faithful people of Mazandaran through the esteemed gentlemen, especially the esteemed Friday prayer leaders and scholars of the lands, and I hope that, God willing, the same sincerity and strong and reliable connection that exists between you and your people will always remain. I sincerely thank the gentlemen who arranged this meeting—whether the military gentlemen who organized this place, or the scholars of this city and the esteemed Friday prayer leader and the rest of the gentlemen who arranged this meeting and gathering—and I ask God Almighty for His grace, mercy, and abundant kindness for all of you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings