Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Officials of the Prayer Establishment Headquarters

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

Dear brothers! Honorable gentlemen! Welcome. I truly feel it is my duty to express my gratitude to Mr. Qaraati and the others who collaborated with him on the important issue of prayer: the esteemed scholars, the respected Friday prayer leaders, the officials of important sectors of the country, some ministers, and some managers.

I want to say that whatever time you invest and effort you make, and whatever material and spiritual resources you utilize in promoting prayer, is not enough; there is much more to be done. When we are told "Prayer is the pillar of religion," we must take this seriously. The tent of religion is upheld by prayer; both in the faith and piety of an individual, and in establishing a religious community, as well as in the piety of a country and a society. If we cannot accurately discern the quality of prayer's impact in this vast expanse, it is due to our limited vision. Otherwise, those who have stated: "Prayer is the pillar of religion" and the noble verses of the Quran that articulate the importance of prayer, know well how this mechanism works and what its role is.

Once, during the era of tyranny and in some of the dreadful and horrifying cells of that regime's prisons, where various prisoners were held; from Muslim prisoners with Islamic thoughts to some with various party and ideological inclinations, who nonetheless identified as Islamic, we had heard - perhaps I had heard it directly, if others had also heard it being conveyed - that some of them would say: how much do you say "Hasten to prayer," say "Hasten to jihad." The atmosphere of struggle had created this thought and perspective towards issues, that you are constantly clinging to prayer and repeatedly saying "Hasten to prayer, hasten to prayer," rather say "Hasten to jihad" and call people to jihad. However, the experiences of time have shown that neglecting prayer brings ruin to both an individual and to jihad; it both suspends jihad and diverts the direction of struggle from being jihad to a struggle for power and for carnal desires. What gives color and meaning to an individual's struggle and a nation's challenge is the attention to God, which is anchored in prayer. Therefore, the first obligation that was made obligatory upon the Prophet was prayer; the first preaching that God Almighty designated for the Prophet was "And command your family to pray"; the description that God Almighty first gives for the community of monotheists is "Those whom We have established in the land, they establish prayer." This is the importance of prayer.

For movement in this field, what is most necessary are two things: one is motivation, that inner force that drives and guides a person; the other is the compass that ensures one does not forget the guiding star and does not stray from the direction. If there is no motivation, a person will remain stuck in the middle of the path; the problems are many. Establishing a monotheistic community, establishing justice among humanity, erecting the tent of truth amidst all these storms of false desires is not an easy task; motivation is necessary. This motivation is the attention to God; "Remembrance of God"; seeking help from the Lord, conducting work with God's account; and that compass is the attention to the goal of the work and that our aim is not power, not wealth, not carnal worship, not personal desires, not various political considerations; rather our aim is God. These two characteristics, these two important factors, namely motivation and orientation, are summarized in prayer.

This is necessary for those who bear a significant portion of this responsibility, for the average people, and for all members of society. Of course, those with heavier responsibilities need it more; their need for both is greater; both for motivation and for orientation and precision in direction. Thus, when God commands the Prophet: "Stand in prayer at night except for a little, half of it or a little less, or add to it and recite the Quran in a measured tone"; spend a significant part of the night in remembrance of God, pray, connect with God. Why? Because: "Indeed, We will cast upon you a weighty word"; a heavy address is directed at you, prepare yourself for this. Therefore, we need it more, and others also need prayer to varying degrees. This is the importance of prayer.

And in prayer, what is important and should be emphasized after promoting the essence of prayer - that everyone should become a prayerful person - is the attention in prayer. This is what is referred to as "presence of heart."

Presence of heart and attention is something that requires practice. Those who have done this work and know how to do it teach us that a person should feel themselves in prayer in the presence of a high-ranking and exalted audience, the Creator of existence and the Owner of all human existence. The more one can maintain this state in prayer, as the narrations express, this prayer is an accepted prayer and will yield its properties and effects. And the other effects of prayer - which cannot be summarized in a few sentences or short phrases - are contingent upon this.

Of course, the first and necessary prerequisite is that we familiarize all our youth and all our people with prayer and explain its importance to them. This work requires a responsible entity, and thanks be to God, you have taken this upon yourselves and have become responsible for this work. Truly, various institutions must work and strive in this area. This is important; it is not just that we bring a heedless or non-praying person to prayer; it means we are establishing the foundations of a great global movement, of which the Islamic Republic is the solid pillar, among people. When people's hearts become accustomed to prayer and they become familiar with God Almighty through prayer, sins naturally distance themselves from them; their hearts become sensitive to sin, and that state of piety which is the essence of faith gradually develops within a person. This is the matter of prayer. Therefore, we first sincerely thank all friends, especially Mr. Qaraati, who has truly made diligent and sincere efforts in this path, and those who have collaborated with him. Secondly, we emphasize that you should not leave this work unfinished; do not become weary midway. This is for eternity; this is a task that must be continuously pursued; it is like prayer itself, which does not accept interruption; it does not tolerate pause; because human negligence brings about many consequences and many things make a person heedless. To combat this negligence, prayer is necessary; morning, prayer; noon, prayer; night, prayer; supererogatory, obligatory. People must be made aware of the importance of prayer, the impact of prayer, and the spiritual conditions of prayer, and all useful means of propagation must be utilized in this path.

One sentence regarding the statement attributed to the Pope; let us say that the Islamic world rightly reacted to this statement. This remark made by a Christian religious figure about Islam, with one and a half billion believers in Islam and millions of books written about Islam, is noteworthy from two aspects:

The first aspect, which has received more attention in the Islamic world today and in these past few days, is the accusation directed at Islam, and this accusation and slander is an injustice to Islam and an unfairness towards Islam. Accusing Islam of being detached from rationality and indifferent to reason is as unjust as denying an obvious matter; denying the benefits of the sun or denying the light of the sun. In which heavenly book have all the audiences been commanded to think, to reason; "Perhaps you will reflect," "Perhaps you will understand"; to ponder the divine signs? In which heavenly book has the first address been made to knowledge, to the pen, to education, with attention and importance? And today, if the Western world has success in science and scientific advancement, which historian or informed person of integrity would not acknowledge that this was taken from the Islamic world? The Middle Ages, which were the dark ages of the West and Europe, were the periods of flourishing science, reasoning, thought, philosophy, and figures like Avicenna and Al-Farabi in the Islamic world.

Misunderstanding and misrepresenting the issue of jihad in Islam is another injustice. The jihad of Islam is not for imposing belief; it is for fighting against those who enslave people. The jihad of Islam is not a war against nations; rather it is a war against oppressive and tyrannical powers. This is the history of Islam; this is the performance of the leaders of Islam; this is the recommendation of the leaders of Islam. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in his address and command to Malik al-Ashtar has this immortal and unforgettable phrase: those whom you encounter there, either share the same belief as you, or "And as for those who share with you in creation"; they are your equals in humanity. Even those who do not share your belief, but are human, must be treated with respect. "God does not forbid you from those who do not fight you in religion and do not expel you from your homes, from being righteous to them and acting justly towards them; indeed, God loves those who act justly" - this is the command of the Quran - with the disbelievers, with those who do not share your beliefs, but have not transgressed against you; have not attacked you; do not treat you unjustly, act justly towards them; be good to them. This is the command of Islam. How can someone not understand this and misinterpret Islamic jihad, which is the liberating struggle of nations; the struggle to free nations from the clutches of oppressive powers, in such a way that unfortunately has been interpreted in these statements and is certainly not related to today; for centuries, European clergy have made these statements about Islam, and in recent times we thought these statements had ended and the enlightenment of truth had done its work; but unfortunately, one still sees these statements being uttered by tongues that should not utter them.

The second aspect of the matter, in my opinion, is more important than the first aspect, and that is the behind-the-scenes policies of such statements, which clarify the issue for us. The issue of creating religious crises in the world, placing followers of different religions and sects against each other, preventing cooperation among nations with different beliefs, creating wars, creating conflicts, and creating crises, which is the desire of the powers whose survival depends on creating crises; they must create crises to pursue their wicked objectives within the international community. I am concerned that behind these statements, there is a growing animosity between Muslims and Christians, hostility between Christian and Muslim nations, tarnishing the image of Muslims - especially in countries where they are in the minority; like European countries and America - creating pretexts for suppressing Muslim communities in these countries with the false accusation of terrorism and similar claims. What lies behind this issue are such policies; this must be noted. And I believe that the Pope himself has been deceived in this regard and has not realized what lies behind this statement and what objectives those who compel and prepare the ground for these statements have.

A few years ago, one of the European leaders came to Tehran and in a meeting with me, made a reference to a Christian-Muslim war with a certain expression. I expressed my astonishment in response and said, is there to be a war between Muslims and Christians! I said Muslims have no motivation to fight Christians. In the past hundred years - perhaps even more - every major war that has occurred in the world has been among Christians; World War I, World War II, the wars between France and Germany; I named them and told him that these wars were between Christian states and not between Christians and Muslims. At that time, I was astonished as to why this statement was made. After a while, the incident of the New York towers occurred and the statement of the President of the United States that: the crusade has begun! This person we are discussing - who was speaking with me - was one of the main individuals who, after George Bush's statements in the American-Zionist project of attacking Iraq, was directly involved. There I realized that this statement made to me had been preceded by a negotiation, a discussion, an agreement among the leaders of global arrogance. Those who formed the conspiracy ring of the American-Zionist plan regarding the Middle East, whose first step was the attack on Iraq. There, the meaning of that statement became clear to me; crusade! A war between Muslims and Christians! Of course, they did not succeed.

Since that day until today, they have made many efforts. The issue of the insulting cartoons is part of this series. The insulting remarks of some politicians and journalists regarding Islam and Muslims in America and Europe are from this same category. This is the last link in this chain until today, which unfortunately this time comes from the mouth of the Pope, from a Christian religious figure. We do not expect anything contrary from Bush; because Bush is just like that. The President of the United States is an element that works for the global powers, cartels, and trusts that plunder the world and is elected by them and is involved in their affairs. One does not expect astonishment from him; but it is very surprising that a senior religious figure in Christianity becomes a tool for what is the main policy of the arrogant and powerful and the merchants of wealth and power in the world! A tool for the main policy of those who plunder national wealth and create crises and for what their goals are. Muslims must pay attention to this.

Those who take a stand against this unfair statement must consider who should be the target of their attack and movement. The one who initiates this movement in the world, has motivation, and benefits from this movement, is not the Pope and his ilk; they are the global powers and the Zionists and America. In this matter, the Great Satan is the one who plays a role behind the scenes.

God willing, we hope that God supports all of us; guides us; assists us and that we can act with insight, awareness, and diligence in what is our duty, God willing; and may God return the plots of the enemies of Islam and Muslims upon themselves.

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