Statements of His Eminence in Meeting with Officials on the Anniversary of the Birth of the Holy Prophet and Imam Jafar Sadiq

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

I reciprocally extend congratulations on this blessed and great day, the birth of the noble being, the great figure of humanity and the revered Prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him and his family), and the birth of his pure descendant, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), to all Muslims of the world, to all seekers of truth and justice, especially to the great nation of Iran, to the families of the martyrs, and to you, the attendees of this gathering.

The birth of the noble Prophet of Islam is a day to reflect on the endless blessings of this revered being, which perhaps can be said to be the greatest blessings of this magnificent birth: the gift of monotheism and justice to human societies. Even today, in this era of scientific advancement and great intellectual progress, humanity remains captive to polytheism in the realm of belief, even in materially advanced countries. Thus, it becomes clear that belief in monotheism, with all its blessings, requires a luminosity that can only be attained through reason guided by divine revelation. This gift was given to humanity by our revered Prophet, just as previous prophets had done. Belief in monotheism, in the soul and heart, and even in the realm of human life, has blessings that must be contemplated, and we must move towards the effects and blessings of monotheism.

Another great divine gift bestowed upon humanity through this revered being was justice; the gift of justice to a humanity plagued by injustice. From the beginning of history until today, the great affliction of humanity has been the affliction of injustice. This religion, which the revered being presented to humanity today, invites humans to such prominent points as monotheism and justice in human life. Therefore, the blessings of this day are blessings that firstly belong to all of humanity, meaning anyone who can benefit from them; secondly, they are not specific to a particular time. Even today, humanity needs to return to pure monotheism and the Islamic command of justice and the prescription that Islam has given to humanity for justice, which states: "Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you." (33) This means an invitation to piety and righteousness; an invitation to discard the motives of division among humans, such as ethnicity, race, blood, and color.

Today, materially advanced countries in the world still suffer from black and white issues. The black person has limits; the white person has limits. There is still racial war; war of blood; war of ethnicities. And how many humans perish because of wars between ethnicities and artificial nationalities; they are killed; their rights are violated, and they become homeless! Therefore, even today, humanity needs the call of unity, monotheism, and justice, of which Islam and Muslims are the standard-bearers. Who opposes this? The powerful who benefit from division; who benefit from polytheism; who benefit from the absence of justice, and whose philosophy of life is based on discrimination. Today, the great material powers of the world, those who in their own countries proclaim democracy and claim equality of rights for individuals in society and oppose the tyranny of governments—of course, in claim and in word—those same powers have destroyed democracy on a global scale. They prefer one nation over another; one region over another; one blood over another! They have imposed tyranny on the world to manage it as they wish. This is the state of humanity today. And we see that today humanity needs the same cry that the Prophet of Islam raised for monotheism and justice among humans. We, the Iranian nation, have designated this week as "Unity Week," and our great Imam (may his soul be sanctified), who was always a herald of unity among Muslims, raised the call of unity to the ears of all Muslims of the world, and indeed all seekers of truth in the world, during this week.

"Unity Week" is an appropriate name. Thanks be to God, unity exists among the people of Iran, among the various segments of the people, in every path and limit they are in and in whatever work they are engaged. The people of our nation, despite conspiracies and seeds of discord, are united and move in one direction: towards Islam; towards the Quran; towards the governance of religion; without any difference between Shia and Sunni and various ethnicities (Persian, Arab, Turk, Turkmen, Baluch, Kurd, and others); one unified nation. Truly, the Iranian nation, by the blessing of Islam, is an example. Among Muslim nations, it is a successful model. May God be pleased with you, the Iranian nation, for sincerely responding to the call of religion and the call of your great Imam. This must be preserved. This valuable unity, by which you have been able to achieve so many victories, has enemies lying in wait. You must be vigilant and not allow differences to arise. In places where there is a pretext for division and the enemy can create a pretext for division, be more careful. In the matter of religion and religious differences, which enemies have exploited for centuries, more caution is needed. Both Shia and Sunni must be vigilant.

In the issue of ethnicities, where enemies are lying in wait; they are bent over, hoping to somehow create division among Iranian ethnicities that have lived side by side throughout history, you must be more vigilant and cautious. These are the points that the enemy wants to exploit. We must stand against these.

The enemy wants Iran not to exist. The enemy wants the unity and territorial integrity of Iran not to exist. The enemy wants the flag of Islam not to be raised over this nation. The enemy wants people like the previous regime—its servants and puppets—to be in power at the head of this government. Of course, the world-devouring enemies are not willing to see an independent nation relying on itself, trusting in God, and relying on the religion of Islam; especially in such a sensitive region of the world and with this sense of greatness that exists in this nation and the sense of empathy they have towards Muslims!

The day you organized that great march in the streets of Tehran and other cities of the country for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, do you think those who are considered the executioners of Bosnia and Herzegovina and those who stand behind those executioners did not see that great gathering?! Were they not affected by the fact that the Iranian nation stands firmly in an international issue with a firm resolve and, based on the principle of "Whoever wakes up and is not concerned with the affairs of Muslims...", is concerned with the affairs of Muslims; with all their being and wherever this is the case, even in Europe! What do our people know about the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the people of Sarajevo, who they are, what kind of people they are, and what feelings they have?! What connection have we had with each other until now, except for Islam, the Islamic feeling, and the feeling that a Muslim nation is being oppressed?!

This feeling moves our people; it compels our people to be concerned with their affairs. If it is necessary to come to the streets, they pour into the streets in millions. If it is necessary to help and give money, they deposit money into the relevant accounts and help. If something else is needed to support Muslim brothers, our nation will stand ready and prepared. This is an example of a nation that believes in Islamic unity, Islamic brotherhood, and Islamic kinship. Now, if all Muslim nations were like this, see what would happen in the world! This is Islamic unity. Higher unity, after unity among the individuals of a country and a nation: the unity of the Islamic Ummah.

If the leaders of countries, in all Islamic countries, give the nations the opportunity and way to express their feelings about international Islamic issues and guide them, and they find the same situation that the Iranian nation has, see what event would occur in the world! Do you think if such unity, harmony, and cooperation existed among Muslim nations, the enemy would dare to encircle a Muslim nation like the poor and oppressed nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in such a way?! Would international organizations dare to dismiss the issue with words and language?! Truly, a strange event would occur in the world! They make so many claims of supporting human rights; but when it comes to a group of Muslim people, all is forgotten! What is this animosity that enemies and global powers have with Islam?! What is this crusade that has been launched against Islam and Muslims today, where one can see its signs everywhere?! What is this oppression that Muslims face in all parts of the world—wherever enemies can act against them?! What is this due to? It is due to the division among Muslims; the division among the Islamic Ummah; the division among Muslim governments, and this division is the work of the enemy.

We Islamic countries do not have conflicting interests with each other. An Islamic community, an Islamic bloc, is good for everyone, not just for a specific group. Large Islamic countries also benefit from an Islamic community; weak, small, and poor countries also benefit. This is to the advantage of all. It is to the advantage of all parties involved. So, who is it against? Who is harmed by the gathering of Muslims? Those powers that want to impose their corrupt purposes on Muslim nations; namely, the great powers, America, colonial policies. From the beginning of the revolution until today, we have invited Muslim countries to unity; we have invited the countries of the Islamic region and smaller communities to unity. We did not say come and unite so that we can benefit from this unity. If we have always tried to maintain our brotherhood and friendship with Islamic governments, it is not because the government or the Iranian nation has a special need for this companionship; no. It is so that the entire Islamic world benefits from this relationship.

The Iranian nation is a strong nation. The Iranian government is a solid government because it relies on its people. You saw us during the imposed war with Iraq! You saw how we behaved! You saw how our nation acted! We are not afraid of enemy aggression! Who can say that when Iraq fought with us for eight years, America and NATO were not behind it?! Today, all the facts are revealed: they gave Iraq weapons, money, war maps, satellite information, they spied for it, and everyone worked in favor of Iraq. The Arab governments of the Persian Gulf helped Iraq out of fear. Who can deny these? Which government among these regional governments can say it did not help Iraq in this eight-year war? What was the result? Did the Iranian nation retreat one step? Did the Iranian nation feel weak? Did the leader of Iran, who stood like a mountain against the whole world, feel fear? Did the nation and the leader and the officials of the country, because of the hostilities, become more intimate day by day? We are not afraid of enemy aggression! We say unity so that you benefit; all governments benefit; the Islamic world benefits. Unity, this is it! Today you hear that in the Persian Gulf, they have created noise again: a pretext in the name of Abu Musa Island and such talk. What are these talks?! Whose work is this?! Who does not see the hands of yesterday's colonialists—the same vile hands—in this matter?! Who does not see the hands of the present powers in the Persian Gulf, the hands of America, the hands of the vile old colonialist, namely the British government, in this matter?! What do they want? Why do they want to create division among neighbors? Why do they want to justify their presence in the Persian Gulf by making brothers enemies? If these countries are united, they will become a fist, and then the enemy will not dare to stand against them and bully these countries. They want this unity to be lost and this fist to open. Why? Who are they? It is clear that it is the hands of foreign powers. This is our perception. We think that in these matters, if the region's sheikhs have any fault, it is their neglect of the facts. They also want unity and agreement.

Our recommendation to the governments of the Persian Gulf and neighbors is to see the enemy; recognize the enemy; recognize the enemy's plot; recognize the enemy's hand and know who wants to create division in this region? This division is more to their detriment. You saw the events of the region two or three years ago? You saw the result of helping Iraq? You saw the result of the powerful presence of America and Britain and others in this region? How much the region and the governments of the southern Persian Gulf were humiliated and still are! How much the nations were humiliated! The solution to all these is unity of word. Otherwise, the Iranian government is not afraid of anything. The Iranian nation is not afraid of anything. We were born in the revolution, we advanced with the revolution, and we grew in the face of hostilities. More than what the world has done to us in terms of hostility until today, it is not possible to do to anyone. With which nation have they been so hostile? Despite this, the Iranian nation remains; the revolution remains; the Islamic Republic remains and will always remain by God's grace. This is the message of Islamic unity, which is a source of honor, dignity, and peace for everyone. This is our wish.

We wish that this one billion Muslims truly be one unit; not that governments and countries do not exist. Such a thing, apparently, will not happen until before the appearance of the Imam Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him). But we say move in one direction. Move with one spirit. Muslim nations and governments, move with one heart. And this is their honor and power. Honor and power are in the shadow of Islam. Honor and power are in the shadow of your Islamic solidarity and unity, the Iranian nation. Honor and power are in the shadow of piety and adherence to the Quran. Honor and power are in the shadow of not fearing anyone but God. If we observe these, whether others are with us or not; whether they are with us or against us, God Almighty will support us. And we will continue this path by God's grace, and we know that God Almighty is with us and the attentions of the Imam Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him), God willing, include you, the nation.

Once again, I extend congratulations to all the attendees, especially the guests of Unity Week who have come from across the country and from other countries, as well as the esteemed ambassadors of Islamic countries. May God be your support and protector.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings