Statements of His Eminence in Meeting and Allegiance of Various People

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

I sincerely thank all the brothers and sisters who have come from various parts of the country and distant paths to be here, and I offer my condolences to you for this great and heartbreaking calamity, which was truly heavy for the Islamic world and all Muslims, especially for the Iranian nation.

Today, the greatest duty of us, the Iranian nation, who were the old disciples and the first companions of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), is to review the lessons of that great Imam. The great personality of the leader of the revolution and the brilliant essence that influenced the whole world is revealed in his lessons, statements, and guidance. Of course, we are far from fully understanding that great personality, and without exaggeration, it must be said that many dimensions of that spiritual soul and great and noble human being are still unknown to us.

We observed the events closely, and all those who are positioned at such a distance from the events do not easily have the power to summarize. Summarizing that personality and analyzing the various dimensions of that great and noble human being requires some contemplation and reflection, which will not be possible for us who were in the era of the Imam and close to him anytime soon; but the statements of that great one are lessons for us, and a lesson is something that is within our reach and at our disposal.

Contemplation on the lessons of that great one will be able to acquaint us with the dimensions of the personality of that great departed one and show us the way. These lessons cannot be summarized in a few sentences. In every period of time and in every incident, one of those lessons can serve as a guiding directive for us.

Considering the conditions that have arisen in the world today for our country and the great position of the Iranian nation in the minds of the world, the great lesson of our dear Imam is to appreciate the unity and cohesion that, by divine will, came to us. Today, the hearts of the Iranian nation are closer than most times during the ten-year revolution; this too was among the blessings of the spiritual soul of our great Imam.

What has intimidated the superpowers in front of the Iranian nation, in the first degree, was the unity of word. When there is unity of word among a nation, their power multiplies. If the enemy sees a powerful nation in front of them, they will be forced to retreat. The reason for the repeated retreats of the enemy during the struggle and after the victory of the revolution was also this.

Let us not think that if we are weak, the enemy will show mercy. What frightens materialistic people, for whom spirituality and values are not important, is power. For the powerful and oppressive governments of the world, no human or moral value is important. What they fear is power. The great material powers of the world also exercise caution.

The reason colonial governments rampaged in the weak third world countries without consideration was that they did not see any power in those countries in front of them and saw no obstacle in their path. Wherever global arrogance sees no obstacle, it will rampage; it knows no bounds; but if it sees power in front of it, it will be forced to stop.

Thanks be to God, our great nation, in the last years of the previous regime and throughout the ten years after the victory of the revolution, showed such power that global arrogance, America, the world's bullies, and their allies felt that they should not deal carelessly with the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation intimidated the great powers, and this is a reality.

Our country should not be compared with a third world country that, for example, has thirty or fifty million people. There are many countries whose population may be as large as ours or even larger; but those countries do not have the power of our nation. The reason is that unfortunately, corrupt governments in many of these countries have removed the people from the scene and do not consider them significant, and power is not reliant on the people and does not engage with them; rather, it is dependent on the statesmen, leaders, and officials of the country!

In our country, the nation is on the scene and recognizes itself as the owner of the country and the defender of the values of the revolution and the country and does not see itself separate from the officials; therefore, here, power does not belong to the officials and statesmen; rather, power has a public aspect and belongs to the people; the officials are also reliant on the support of the people and — most importantly — on faith and reliance on God. Any individual or group that possesses this factor will not feel defeated in any field. We have these assets, and it was these assets that kept our nation in the most difficult stages of struggle for ten years and prevailed over the enemy and advanced.

Everyone must remember two lessons from the Imam in this period: first, unity of word and maintaining cohesion and love for each other and discarding factors of division and discord; second, public presence on the scene; just as today, thanks be to God, the entire Iranian nation is present on the scene.

In the near future, a referendum and presidential elections will be held. The presence of the people in those scenes should be such that it delivers a strong blow to the chest of the enemies. The construction of the country and the movement towards prosperity and economic development, initiative and effort and cooperation with government agencies, participation in the reconstruction of the country with money and thought, will show the presence of the people on the scene. It is these actions that have kept the revolution fresh and vibrant so far and will please the sacred soul of the Imam (may his soul be sanctified).

Global arrogance harbors deep-seated hatred towards Islam and the revolution, and they will not be satisfied until a nation abandons its principles and religion and submits. Almighty God told the Muslims: "And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion." Therefore, the hatred of global arrogance is due to our beliefs and desire for independence and the slogan "Neither East nor West" and the deep commitment of our people to Islam. The hatred of global arrogance is unending; but despite its deep hatred against our nation, by the grace of God, we are hopeful and encouraged that, God willing, the Iranian nation will be able to achieve divine goals in all economic, political, and cultural arenas and force the enemy to retreat.

We hope that God will include His grace, favor, and mercy upon all of you brothers and sisters and grant the Iranian nation the success to continue the path of our dear Imam. Once again, I sincerely thank all of you, especially the scholars, respected Friday prayer leaders, clergy, and the esteemed families of the martyrs. Upon returning to your cities and centers, convey my greetings to the people of those regions.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings