Statements in Meeting with Scientific and Political Officials

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

God willing, the arrival of the new year be blessed for all of you dear brothers and sisters. Ultimately, the passage of seasons and years should teach us experiences and lessons throughout our lives. He said: "O Turner of the year"; He turns the year. The turning of the year is not just from winter to spring; all seasons are indeed turned. At one time it is spring, at another time it is summer, then autumn begins and the leaves fall. Winter and cold, which appear harsh and severe, are in fact the source of life for spring. The turning of the year means this; the seasons transform into one another.

The various states of nature come and change successively; all of these are divine signs. We have become accustomed to them, and we do not understand their importance; otherwise, if a person has not become accustomed to this change and transformation in nature, and it is the first time they see these, they will realize that these are very astonishing events. The very sprouting of plants, the renewal of nature, the fruitfulness of trees, all of these are signs of divine power that we pass by easily with our accustomed eyes. It is the same with our own selves; our existence is the same.

Often, a person does not feel changes. Changes occur, and we do not understand. Many of these inattentions ultimately lead to great losses. Suppose a runner is moving along a path, becomes negligent, and a five-degree or ten-degree angle is created. A person is not aware at all. A five-degree angle is not something that makes a person pay attention to themselves. Then, as they continue to move in this direction, the distance between them and this five-degree angle—if it does not reach ten degrees or fifty degrees, if it remains five degrees—grows larger. At one point, a person comes to themselves and sees, "Oh my, what a deep distance has been created." This is why they say piety (taqwa); it is for this reason. Piety means watching over oneself moment by moment, being careful; a person should be attentive to what they are doing. This prayer that has been prescribed for us five times a day is truly one of God's greatest blessings. If it were not for this prayer, we would be deeply immersed in negligence. This prayer brings us back to ourselves. Then it necessitates that we perform the prayer correctly and with attention. If the prayer is performed with attention, it helps a person to be aware of themselves.

So, consider the transition from the year 88 to 89, for which we designate an hour—this hour is like the other hours of life; from a natural perspective, from various measurements, this last hour of the year 88 has no difference from the first hour of the year 89; a specific limit has been set—if we become negligent, we do not pay attention to the passage of nature and the transformation of nature; if we pay attention to this change and displacement, we will naturally understand and feel it. This feeling should accompany a person in all transformations of life. In fact, this can be added to the contents and capacities of Nowruz (the Persian New Year).

Nowruz, which is ostensibly a non-religious holiday, is a national holiday, and does not have a religious aspect or reminder; although now in some narrations it is stated that "Nowruz is one of our days"—we do not know how much these narrations have credibility and documentary strength—but the religious content exists in all events of human life; including in this holiday. Fortunately, our people pay attention, recite prayers, mention God, and participate in holy shrines; even those who go to cities and centers that ostensibly do not have famous holy shrines, if they find a shrine, they certainly spend the transition hour there; for example, if they go to Shiraz, they go to Shah Cheragh to spend the transition hour; this is a very commendable habit among our people. The more we can increase the religious contents in all events and phenomena of life, the better it is for us.

Religion, religious faith, and religious attention are the guarantees of human happiness. Humanity finds itself in a bad state without religion. All eras have been like this, and it is the same now. Even now, those who want to manage the world without religion and by emptying it of religion are facing strange and difficult problems. These problems are not like physical and daily problems that show themselves immediately; no, at one point, they show themselves in a way that is no longer treatable. When the plan is set to unleash sexual desires, when politics becomes this way, when culture becomes this way, it leads to a point where today you see an official, a minister, holding a same-sex marriage ceremony and they are not ashamed of the world! This will ultimately lead to the point where they can satisfy their sexual desires with their own relatives! Today this is a disgrace, today they do not accept this; but undoubtedly it will reach this point; that is, this trend will lead to this. Today this disgrace exists in the Western world. The result of a godless world is this. The result of a godless world is the disintegration of families; the alienation of human beings from one another, and the numerous problems that exist in human life.

Humanity must return to religion, and it is returning and has begun to return; whether they want it or not, this will happen. And in this great movement, Islam is that shining point; the main gem in the sphere and system of spiritual attention to religions. Islam shines. They want to stop Islam, but they cannot.

The enmity with the Islamic Republic is also largely related to this; because they know this religious movement, this religious faith has set the people in motion, kept them in the scenes; guided them through difficulties, through dangerous obstacles, through dangerous turns; they see and understand this. Of course, many of these politicians are not the real policymakers; they are executors of policies, they see the appearances; but those who are the designers of international policies, who are truly guiding this material world, they inevitably understand that this is the case; they have no other choice.

Of course, they try to keep the Islamic world occupied. Today, the issues of Palestine are happening under the shadow of keeping the Islamic world occupied with secondary matters. Truly today there is a catastrophe in Palestine, there is a catastrophe in Gaza, there is a catastrophe in the West Bank as well. The issues of the Ibrahimic shrine should not be underestimated; these are very important. To expel Muslims from their bases and homes for the sake of establishing prayer and not allowing them to enter! The Islamization of Islamic artifacts is one of the very dangerous things that is happening before the eyes of the world's Muslims. Because everyone is occupied, busy with secondary and trivial matters, they do not understand what is happening in the Islamic world. The conspiracy against the Islamic world is this.

Today, the Organization of Islamic Conference, whose duty and fundamental philosophy of existence has been to defend Palestine and the issue of Palestine, truly has a duty to stand firm; to mobilize the Islamic world against this insidious movement of the Zionists and their supporters—who are mostly the arrogant Western governments, despite the differences they have, are complicit and partners in this support.

The Islamic world must stand firm, and it can. The capacities of the Islamic world for standing against the wickedness and greed of the Zionists are very high. All attention immediately turns to oil; it is not about oil. This is the center of the world, the largest markets for Western products are in this region, their reputation is dependent on this place, the most important global passages are in the hands of this collection of Muslim countries; these things are the veins of the world's life, they are in the hands of Muslims; Muslims should use these, they can.

Leaving all of this aside, political logic and political discourse in today's world is effective. They can want, without even using these tools. The very desire of governments and nations is a huge weight in global events. Unfortunately, this is not utilized, there is negligence.

In any case, let us learn a lesson ourselves. Let us divide our issues into main and secondary issues; let us focus on the main ones. The main issues in our country are many; part of it relates to the officials, part of it relates to cultural creators, part of it relates to the large and extensive institutions that fortunately exist in the country; each has a duty, a task. Let us think and focus on guiding these people and guiding the system and advancing the system.

God willing, may God awaken us from the sleep of negligence, may we be able to correctly identify our duties, recognize them, and act according to them, God willing. God willing, may this year be blessed for all of you and may you be included in the prayers of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

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