Statements at the Meeting with Officials of the System and Guests of the Islamic Unity Conference

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family.

I congratulate you, esteemed attendees, officials of the country, guests of the Islamic Unity Assembly, and honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries present at this session, on the blessed birth of the noble Prophet of Islam and his honorable son, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). I also extend my congratulations to the entire nation of Iran, all the Islamic Ummah, and all the freedom-seekers of the world who value virtue, ethics, effort, and jihad in the path of virtue and ethics.

The birth of the noble Prophet (peace be upon him) and his mission was a spirit breathed into the lifeless body of the world of that day. That world appeared to be alive; governments, monarchies, efforts, and activities were ongoing, but in that world, humanity was dead, virtue was dead. What existed was cruelty, oppression, discrimination, and harshness; virtues were dead, and the noble Messenger, himself and his call, breathed a spirit into that world. When we say his call and himself, it is because the Prophet himself was the embodiment of Islam. It has been narrated from the honorable wife of the Prophet of Islam that she said, "His character was the Quran"; the Quran was embodied. The Prophet and his religion breathed a spirit into that dead world. Respond to God and the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; what he brought was life for those people and for that dark, dead, and afflicted world.

Today, we honor this ceremony. Well, honoring with words and sitting together is a commendable act, but this is not what is expected from us, the claimants of following Islam and the Prophet; this is not enough. We must also strive to breathe a spirit into today’s dead world and today’s afflicted world. Today, the world is afflicted by oppression, cruelty, and discrimination. Today, the death of virtue is a great mourning for humanity. Virtues are suppressed by the tools of material powers; justice is suppressed; humanity and ethics are suppressed; the blood of humans is shed by the ruthless powerful; nations, due to being plundered by powers, die of hunger. This is the state of the world today. This is similar to the ignorance of the pre-Islamic era; this is also ignorance.

Today, the duty of the Islamic Ummah is not merely to celebrate the birth of the Prophet or his mission; this is a small and limited task compared to what its duty is. The Islamic world today has the duty to, like Islam itself and like the Prophet, breathe a spirit into this world, create a new atmosphere, and open a new path. We call this phenomenon that we are waiting for "a new Islamic civilization." We must pursue a new Islamic civilization for humanity; this fundamentally differs from what the powers think and do regarding humanity; this does not mean the appropriation of lands; this does not mean the violation of the rights of nations; this does not mean imposing our ethics and culture on other nations; this means offering the divine gift to nations, so that nations, by their own choice, with their own selection, and with their own discernment, choose the right path. The path that today the powers of the world have led nations to is the wrong path and a path of misguidance. This is our duty today.

Once, the people of Europe, using the knowledge and philosophy of Muslims, were able to utilize this knowledge and philosophy and lay the foundations of a civilization for themselves. This civilization, of course, was materialistic. From the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans began to lay the foundations of a new civilization, and since it was materialistic, they recklessly used various tools; on one hand, they moved towards colonization, towards subjugating nations, towards plundering the wealth of nations; on the other hand, they strengthened themselves internally with knowledge, technology, and experience, and imposed this civilization on the world of humanity. This is what Europeans have done over the course of four or five centuries. The civilization they presented to the world provided beautiful manifestations of technology, speed, ease, and tools of life to people, but it did not secure the happiness of humans, nor did it establish justice; on the contrary, it struck at the heart of justice, enslaved nations, impoverished nations, and humiliated nations; internally, it also suffered from contradictions, became morally corrupt, and spiritually hollow. Today, the Westerners themselves testify to this meaning. A prominent Western politician told me that our world is a hollow and empty world, and we feel this. He is right; this civilization had a dazzling appearance but a dangerous essence for humanity. Today, the contradictions of Western civilization are showing themselves; in America one way, in Europe another way, and in the regions under their domination around the world, it is the same.

Today, it is our turn; today, it is the turn of Islam. And those days, We alternate them among the people; today, it is the turn of Muslims to, with their own efforts, lay the foundations of a new Islamic civilization. Just as Europeans of that day used the knowledge of Muslims, the experience of Muslims, and the philosophy of Muslims, we too today use the knowledge of the world, the existing global tools to establish an Islamic civilization, but with an Islamic spirit and with a spirit of spirituality. This is our duty today.

This is primarily addressed to the scholars of religion and true intellectuals. I no longer have much hope in politicians. It was once imagined that the politicians of the Islamic world could assist in this path, but unfortunately, this hope has weakened. Today, our hope is in the scholars of religion throughout the Islamic world and in true intellectuals who do not consider the West as their qibla; our hope is in them, and this is possible. They should not say this work is impossible; this work is possible, this work is practical. The Islamic world has many tools: we have a good population, we have good lands, we have a prominent geographical position, we have many natural resources in the Islamic world. We have talented and distinguished human forces in the Islamic world that if we raise them with independent Islamic teachings, they can showcase their artistic creations in the fields of science, politics, technology, and various social arenas.

The Islamic Republic is an example, a testing ground, and a trial for the Islamic world. Before Islam ruled this country, we were a nation that was completely backward, dependent; scientifically backward, politically backward, socially backward, isolated in the world of politics. Today, the advancements of the Islamic Republic have compelled even our enemies to confess; today, almost 35 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, we are ranked scientifically, technologically, and in many modern sciences among the advanced countries. Reports that have proven their reality and truthfulness tell us that we are ranked seventh in one area, sixth in another, and fifth in another. The Iranian nation, thanks to Islam, was able to show its identity and personality; this can be generalized; the condition is that the heavy and ominous shadow of superpowers does not loom over the countries; this is the first condition; of course, it has a cost, and no great work is without cost. In this important and significant assembly where important and great personalities are present, I want to say that the Islamic Ummah, with a diligent and earnest effort, can design, lay the foundations of, and bring to fruition the Islamic civilization of this era and present it to humanity.

We do not invite anyone to Islam by force; we do not impose any country under the domination of the Islamic world by force; we do not act like Europeans; we do not act like America. The Europeans set out from an island next to the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, forcibly appropriating a vast country like India and several surrounding countries, plundering them and enriching themselves while bringing them to ruin; this is how they proceeded. Today, they are doing the same with different methods, with different techniques in the world; with the money of others, with the capital of others, with the wealth of others, with the product of others’ labor, they create progress for themselves and adorn their appearance; of course, their essence is decaying; their essence is rotting; as we mentioned, they are becoming more and more hollow. What you Muslims achieve will displease your enemies; what calamity befalls you will please and delight them; if good befalls you, it grieves them, and if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it; this is how they are, this is the word of the Quran. We must not look to them and not look to their hands, their smiles, or their frowns; we must find our path and move forward; this is our duty and the duty of all in the Islamic world.

One of the tools of the enemies is to create division among us; I insist on emphasizing this issue. Brothers, sisters, Muslims of the Islamic world, if this voice reaches your ears! The day the words Sunni and Shia appeared in the literature of Americans, we became worried; all those with insight became worried. What does Sunni and Shia have to do with America? What does a certain Zionist Jewish politician in America, who can only bring harm to Islam and Muslims, have to do with judging between Sunni and Shia in the Islamic world, saying something about Sunni, saying something about Shia? Since the literature of Sunni and Shia emerged in the words of Americans, those who were insightful and attentive became worried; they understood that a new plot was in the making, and it came to fruition. Creating war between Shia and Sunni has a history; the English are skilled in this work. We have many records and abundant information from the past about creating disputes and enmity between Sunni and Shia, which were instigated by English agents—whether here, in the former Ottoman government, or in Arab countries—to pit them against each other; however, the plan that the Americans have today in this regard is a more dangerous one; does supporting one sect against another within the Islamic world make us happy? If they support us, should we be pleased? No, we should be saddened, seeing what weakness they have identified in us that they want to exploit and express support for us.

These people oppose the essence of Islam; the reality of the matter is that in the events of September 11 in America and the incident of the tower explosions, the then-President of America said it is a crusade; he was right; he was a bad person, but this statement was a truthful one: it is a conflict between Islam and global arrogance. Of course, he said Christianity and crusade, but he was lying; Christians lived securely within the Islamic world, and today it is the same in our country and in some other countries; his intention was a conflict between the arrogant power and the dominant powers of the world with Islam; this was correct; that statement was an honest one. These current rulers of America who say we agree with Islam, but we oppose this or that Islamic sect, are lying; they are hypocritical and deceitful; they too oppose the essence of Islam; and they have found a way to create disputes and wars among Muslims.

Once, this division was raised under the banner of Pan-Iranism, Pan-Turkism, and Pan-Arabism, which had little application; today, they want to create division in the name of religion and pit the youth against each other. The result of this is that terrorist factions like ISIS and others are born with the money of those affiliated with America, with the political assistance of America, and with the cooperation of America’s allies, and they create these atrocities in the Islamic world; this is the outcome.

They lie if they say we oppose Shia and agree with Sunni; no. Are Palestinians Shia or Sunni? Why are they so cruel to the Palestinians? Why do they completely ignore the crimes against the Palestinians? How much has Gaza been bombarded? How much pressure is being exerted on the West Bank territories, and is currently being exerted? Those who are not Shia, they are Sunni. For Americans, the issue is not Shia and Sunni; any Muslim who wants to live according to Islam, Islamic laws, and Islamic regulations and strives for it, they consider an enemy.

An American politician was interviewed; the interviewer asked him, who is America’s enemy? He replied that America’s enemy is not terrorism, nor are Muslims, America’s enemy is "Islamism"; Islamism. That is, a Muslim, as long as he walks his path indifferently and has no motivation regarding Islam, they do not feel animosity towards him; but when Islamism comes into play, adherence and commitment to Islam and the establishment of Islam come into play, the foundation of the same Islamic civilization comes into play, hostilities begin; he spoke the truth, his enemy is Islamism. Therefore, when Islamic awakening occurs in the Islamic world, you see how flustered they become, they strive, they work to undermine it, to destroy it; in some places, they succeed. Of course, I must tell you that Islamic awakening is not something that can be destroyed; Islamic awakening, God willing, by the grace of God, will reach its goals.

Their goal is to create internal wars among Muslims, and unfortunately, they have succeeded to some extent. They are destroying Islamic countries one after another—destroying Syria, destroying Yemen, destroying Libya—destroying their infrastructures; why? Why should we submit to this conspiracy? Why should what their goal is remain unknown to us? We must gain insight; if we want to succeed in this path, we must gain insight. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "Beware that only those with insight and patience carry this banner"; we must gain insight, we must be patient in this path. And if you are patient and God-conscious, their plots will not harm you at all; if we move with insight and are patient and steadfast, it will have no effect; but when we speak like them, act like them, then the result will be this.

Why are Muslims in Bahrain being so oppressed? Why are they committing such atrocities against that reformist Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky in Nigeria, killing around a thousand people around him and martyring six of his children in two years? Why does the Islamic world remain silent in the face of these atrocities? Why does the Islamic world tolerate the nearly year-long bombardment in Yemen? It has been nearly a year—ten months and a bit—that the homes of the people of Yemen, their hospitals, their schools, their roads, their innocent individuals, men and women, are under bombs; why? Is this in the interest of the Islamic world? Syria is one way, Iraq is another. Their goals are dangerous, their goals are designed in think tanks—so they say; we must be awake.

I mentioned that hope, duty, and responsibility are directed towards the scholars of Islam and true intellectuals in the Islamic world; they must speak with their people, they must also speak with their politicians—some politicians in the Islamic world have awakened consciences; we have experienced this up close—they can play a role. My message in this session is: let us take from the commemoration of the Prophet’s birth the benefit that the work that Islam did on its first day, which was the revival of the dead world of that time, should become our aim; and this requires wisdom, prudence, reflection, insight, and knowledge of the enemy; we must know the enemy, recognize the enemy’s plots, and not fall for the enemy’s deceptions. May God Almighty assist us, place us on His straight path, and keep us steadfast. The Arab poet has rightly said: Time is awake, and events do not sleep; So, what is your slumber, O best of nations?

When the world of power, the world of wealth and force, with all its resources is focused on you, you have no right to doze off, you have no right to fall asleep.

O Lord! Place us on the straight path as is pleasing to Islam and the world.