Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Members of the World Assembly of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)

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

I extend a warm welcome to all dear and esteemed brothers and sisters, especially the guests who have come from distant places and abroad, entering their home and homeland.

One of the divine blessings is that Muslim brothers gather around their accepted and common axes. If this purpose is achieved for a group, it should be considered a blessing from God and gratitude should be expressed for it. Based on this, we have a serious belief regarding the great Islamic Ummah and Muslim brothers and sisters and followers of different Islamic sects, as a way of thinking, that they should not let differences interfere in their interactions and should regard commonalities as important and gather around them.

The Islamic Revolution, even before its victory, carried this message for all Muslims; after the victory, it has continuously emphasized and requested all Muslim brothers around the world to unite the Islamic Ummah as a cohesive and united entity, beyond doctrinal, sectarian, theological, and jurisprudential differences, against a world that is seriously opposed to Islam, and to use this unity and greatness that arises for the benefit of Islam and Muslims. The gathering of brothers following the Ahl al-Bayt school and the Shia of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) is also based on this.

The gathering of believers and followers of the Ahl al-Bayt school is not for fighting and opposing other Muslims; it is not for creating division and discord; it is not for distinguishing among Muslim brothers and separating followers of different jurisprudences and sects; it is for protecting the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt.

Followers of the Ahl al-Bayt are oppressed in most parts of the world. The great nation of Iran, whose overwhelming majority are followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, is an oppressed nation. The oppression of the Shia is not limited to places where, for example, a thousand Shia families live in a large country; even in Iran, the Shia are oppressed! Oppression does not contradict power. A person or a nation may be in complete power and yet be oppressed.

The Commander of the Faithful, our master and leader (peace be upon him), was in ultimate power and ultimate oppression. The three wars imposed on him during his short caliphate, his subsequent martyrdom, and the concealment of his pure shrine for over a century signify his oppression.

The Iranian nation is also oppressed. Shia in many parts of the world are similarly oppressed. The reason is that the Ahl al-Bayt school has always moved against distortion and the inclination of the Islamic current towards the desires of ruling powers. Anyone who studies the lives of the Imams (peace be upon them) will clearly find this. During the reigns of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) were like flags and banners showing people the path of pure, undistorted Islam; an Islam that powers could not add to or subtract from to preserve their rule or to secure their indulgences and pleasures. This is not something that only Shia narrate; in all Islamic histories, examples can be found of those who fabricated hadiths and interpreted Quranic verses for the sake of a ruler or a powerful person. The Imams stood against this. Anyone who stands against distortion and the manipulation of religion according to the whims of power holders is subjected to oppression. This school and belief inherently possess this characteristic; there is no alternative. Despite these hostilities, the struggle cannot be abandoned.

Of course, today it is not the case that wherever a Shia lives, they are engaged in struggle; no. Shia, wherever they are, are living their lives within the great Islamic Ummah; however, the school of thought that emerged from the Islamic Revolution of Iran; the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its independence, political stability, and Islamic dignity, cannot be pleasing to the global arrogant powers; naturally, they oppose it. This opposition manifests in various forms; they distort its words.

The establishment of this system, inspired by the movement of the Imams and utilizing the love of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and the movement of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), was accomplished, and those who were and are present know and see and have seen. From the day this revolution emerged in this form and this grand and elevated structure was founded on the basis of pure Islamic teachings, see how many books and pamphlets and materials have been written and published against the Shia; countless. These books are brought to me. I see them and know what criminal and sinful hands do to present the thought of the Ahl al-Bayt and the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) as a thought deviating from Islam to the people and the youth. They attribute various things: they attribute lies, they attribute falsehoods, they attribute distortion of the Quran. Why do they do this? Because this movement, this thought, this revolution, this great system, this Islamic dignity, this nation's resistance against the desires of global arrogance, and at its head, the Great Satan, America, has an attraction for the youth and lively hearts in the Islamic world. They fear this. This is a serious matter.

Global arrogance knows that today in many Islamic countries, the hearts of the people are with the Islamic Republic; it knows that the political and strategic depth of the Islamic Republic system is within Islamic countries; from North Africa to East Asia. For this reason, they present Shia thought as deviant, they slander it, they present it poorly, they attribute false things to it, they attack the Islamic Republic, and the Shia are oppressed in this.

You dear brothers and sisters participating in this great and divine assembly, truly consider this movement a jihad. You must be able to defend the thought of the Ahl al-Bayt school and the Shia of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them); introduce this school as it is and as it shines; prevent oppression against any members of this great assembly around the world; prevent any of them—referred to as the orphans of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them)—from being exposed to intellectual or physical sedition. These are heavy responsibilities.

We, as the Islamic Republic, feel this duty. We feel responsible for the supporters of the Ahl al-Bayt school around the world and in Islamic countries and other parts of the world. We feel responsible; both for their thoughts, for the upbringing of their children, for their connections with each other; and for ensuring that they are not pursued and pressured because of their beliefs and sect, which unfortunately in some places is the case, where they are pursued just because they believe in this sect. This is a very great injustice. This is among the duties of this assembly to feel responsible.

If, God willing, you can manage this path with the high and noble determination that, thanks be to God, you have, and with the great potential that this gathering around each other and the determination to undertake this work provides to any assembly, this is a great jihad and a great movement; this is pleasing to the Ahl al-Bayt and the great Imams (peace be upon them) and is pleasing to His Holiness the Remaining Proof (may our souls be sacrificed for him). It is a very great task. This is a duty.

Today we thank God that the banner of struggle against the enemies of Islam is in the hands of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt school; in the hands of this great and courageous nation that fears no power except God. Today the Iranian nation is like this. Today these major factors of global arrogance and powers that are like a frightening monster for nations, for governments, for systems, for personalities, for intellectual and cultural figures, hold no value or importance for the Iranian nation.

The Iranian nation only follows its duty and responsibility and continues its luminous path and fights against the devils and stands against the desires of the devils. The greatest struggle against arrogance and the devils of arrogance is not to submit to their desires and impositions. Today the Iranian nation is engaged in this great struggle, and this is the path that our great Imam opened before us, and the Iranian nation advanced and moved along this path and, thanks be to God, achieved dignity; today it continues the same path with strength and intensity. We have given great martyrs, precious and dear lives have been sacrificed on this path; but the Iranian nation sees its pride in continuing this path and, God willing, will continue it, and victory and help, according to the divine promise, are with those who advance in the path of God and strive and struggle.

We ask the Almighty God to grant success and support to all you dear ones and brothers and sisters; to illuminate your hearts with the light of His guidance and faith; to grant you all an open heart so that, God willing, you can advance this great movement and this great action and this valuable service and reach its desired points and high goals.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings