Statements in Meeting with Thousands of Basijis from Qom Province

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen family, especially the remaining of God on earth. Peace be upon you, O my lady, O my mistress, O Fatimah al-Masumah, daughter of Musa ibn Ja'far. May God's peace and the peace of His angels and chosen servants be upon you and your pure ancestors.

Dear Basijis, with warm hearts, knowledge, steadfast wills, and resolute determination in this sacred center, in the presence of the pure spirit of the great and infallible lady - daughter of Musa ibn Ja'far - you are a symbol, a sign, and a flag demonstrating the greatness and progress of the Islamic system.

If we had no other reason for the vitality, activity, determination, and forward movement of this system except for the presence of millions of passionate, faithful, sincere, and insightful youth across the country under the banner of Basij, it would be sufficient to show that this system and this great movement of the Iranian nation are impervious to the most complex plots and the most dangerous movements of the enemy. Of course, this is not a slogan; it is a statement based on logical reasoning.

The Basij is one of the signs of divine power that the Almighty God granted to that righteous servant, that great man, that unparalleled figure in the history of Islam after the Imams (peace be upon them). The idea of the public Basij, the Basij of the oppressed, which Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) introduced and acted upon, and stood firmly behind with all his strength, watered this sapling until it became a good tree that "bears its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord". This was one of the divine graces towards that great man and that humble servant of the Lord. Imam's insightful gaze saw these signs of divine power and assistance. Our flaw is that sometimes we feel the divine help, but we do not see it correctly; we do not recognize what a great assistance God is providing us; but he saw it.

In a matter that I have repeatedly mentioned, he told me that from the beginning of the revolution until today - that day was around the year 1365 (1986) - we observe a hand of power everywhere that is helping us and moving us forward. He saw this hand of power. Imam's view of the Iranian nation was different from that of others. On that day, if we wanted to judge many of the religious and non-religious, scientific and political elites about the Iranian nation, we would see that the judgments were strange and bizarre. Some did not consider this nation to be faithful, some did not consider them to be sincere, some doubted their strength and loyalty - which we have heard from many - but Imam in the year 1341 (1962) in this very city of Qom, when there was still no news of these great gatherings, said in this very Grand Mosque that if we call upon the people, they will fill this desert of Qom with crowds; they will respond. His view of the people was such; he recognized them. He discovered that valuable element that turns copper into gold within the hearts and souls of the people and utilized it. Thus, despite the great obstacles in the way, the revolution succeeded. No analyst believed that this would happen here. He relied on God, placed his trust in God, took action, established contact with the hearts of the people, and the people came to the scene, and this great movement occurred; then he also introduced the issue of Basij.

You are the sweet and fulfilling fruits of that pure and good tree that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) planted with his own hands in this land. This fruit-bearing will continue; just as he said: "Have you not seen how God has struck a parable of a good word like a good tree, whose root is firm and its branches are in the sky? It bears its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord." When the land is prepared and ready, the seed is pure, that plant and growth is not finite; that is, no factor can harm it. The Basij is such a good and pure tree.

The Basij has also passed many tests. During the imposed war, the youth of your generation did great things on the battlefield. We witnessed the blossoming of fragrant talents within these youths. A twenty-two or twenty-three-year-old youth would gather groups like an experienced and skilled commander, guide them, lead them, utilize them in their place, and achieve victory; these are not ordinary. During the war, the Basij played its role. Both the army and the IRGC acknowledged and admitted that the presence of the Basij in all different sectors of this long and arduous front was a decisive presence.

The imposed war ended; superficial thinkers thought that the Basij also ended; but the Basij remained, because the struggle remained, because the field of struggle continued. Wherever there is struggle, there is the presence of the Basij; struggle in the field of science, struggle in the field of politics, struggle in the field of social activities, struggle in the vast and great international arena. These struggles continue and will continue.

The meaning of Basij is the combination of faith and action; a struggle-filled action, not merely personal action. From the Islamic perspective, faith without action is a minimum. Complete and true faith is that faith which is accompanied by jihad in the field of action. "And those who believed and emigrated and struggled in the way of God, and those who sheltered and supported them, they are the true believers." The true believer is the one who accompanies faith with struggle, emigration, and support. This is the identity of a Basij member. This erroneous and deviant thought that we consider faith without action and without jihad sufficient for drawing closer to God is rejected by this verse and many other verses. The Basij is based on this principle that faith must accompany action, and that action must be a struggle-filled one. Thus, jihad has various arenas as mentioned.

To this day, the Basij has grown. The progress of the Basij in various dimensions is the same progress that is expected by anyone who knows the Basij; it has experienced both quantitative and qualitative and spiritual growth, as well as steadfastness against the obstacles and effective adversaries in the hearts of people and those that shake the hearts of people; that is, temptations. The Basij has proven itself in these areas.

What should be a standard for all of us, for all dear Basijis, for the youth in any part of this vast arena where they are working, is these three elements: insight, sincerity, and timely and adequate action. Always combine these three elements together and keep them in mind. These three elements should be a standard for us; insight, sincerity, timely and adequate action.

What determines the path is insight. This respected and esteemed commander said very correctly that Basijis have been able to create complexity in their minds, thoughts, and personalities in the face of the complexities of the situation; the events of 1388 (2009) demonstrated this. Many could have made mistakes, and many did make mistakes; although most of those who made mistakes corrected their errors shortly thereafter; however, the great movement of the Basij preserved this standard of insight and this flag of insight for itself; it did not err; just as Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "The truth is not recognized by men"; one cannot identify the truth by faces. A respectable face is respected, accepted, and honored; but it cannot be a standard of truth. Sometimes a respectable face, like some of the companions of the Prophet, goes astray and makes mistakes. The truth must be recognized; the path must be identified to understand whether this person is right or wrong. Whoever follows this path is right; whoever does not follow the path of truth is rejected. The truth must be recognized. The gathering of faithful youth gathered under the roof of the Basij and the flag of the Basij demonstrated this insight; they showed that they are insightful. Insight is the first element. In the future, it must remain this way. One must develop analytical power and the ability to discern. Imam - the one who was the father of this entire movement, who had a right to life over the community and this great movement - said that if I separate from Islam, the people will turn away from me. The standard is Islam; the standard is not individuals; this is the statement of Imam (may God’s peace be upon him). He taught us to recognize the path, to identify the correct movement, to understand and read the enemy's plans so that we can discern which actions are in line with the enemy and which actions are against him. Thus, insight is the first element. Insight must not be forgotten.

The second element is sincerity. He said that if someone in the field of jihad in the way of God seeks a personal desire, seeks spoils, and is killed, he is not a martyr in the way of God. The condition for martyrdom and being a struggler in the way of God is that his movement must be for God; that is, he must have sincerity. Personal motives, group motives, familial motives, and social obligations, if they influence our movement, will taint this sincerity and create problems. Insincerity will show itself at some point.

The third element is timely and adequate action. One must recognize the moments. If a person is not timely, does not know which action to perform where, significant mistakes may occur. Well, our Basij youth - both boys and girls - are engaged in various efforts; intellectual efforts, scientific efforts, political efforts, social efforts; all of these, when done for God and to fulfill duty, are struggles and jihad in the way of God. A Basij member is one who performs these actions. In all of these, the clear and correct line must be kept in mind; that is, the line of the revolution, the line of preserving the system, the line of reviving religion. If we want to secure these three elements, we must struggle within ourselves; that is, the greater jihad. The jihad against the self is an effort that we all need today.

What is necessary for a correct understanding of matters includes seeing what line the enemy is pursuing. Today, one of the main lines of the enemy's work - which is considered one of the important elements of soft warfare - is to distort realities, to misrepresent various events. The very propaganda that the enemy conducts in this regard is a sign of his weakness. Wherever the enemy faces problems and falls short in the field of reality, he increases the volume of propaganda. Today, if someone observes the enemy's actions in the vast arena of propaganda methods; from internet tools to audio and visual media, to loudspeakers in various places - they have them inside too - they see that a major part of this is to misrepresent the events of the country; to depict the country's situation as despairing, hopeless, declining, and at an impasse. Their extensive efforts in this regard are a sign of their weakness in the field of reality.

The enemy has made this effort throughout the thirty years; of course, today it is more pronounced. Today, because the officials of the country and the government in power are presenting the slogans of the revolution more prominently and seriously; the line of Imam, the line of the revolution, the line of working for the people is now completely highlighted and pronounced; the officials feel that they are with the people, they are of the people, and the people feel this, therefore the propaganda is more. Today, if you look at the enemy's propaganda, you will see that if they comment on economic issues, all their statements are that there is a deadlock, an unsolvable knot, numerous problems, tomorrow will be like this. Some people also believe these issues and repeat them inside. Before the elections and the events of the sedition, some of those who later proved themselves in the sedition came to us saying that next year, the year will be difficult - meaning the year 1388 (2009) - economically it is like this, like that; they depicted the atmosphere as tight, dark, problematic, and impassable; they wanted to discourage the officials in a certain way, and the people in a certain way. This propaganda is a sign that they have fallen behind this great and rapid movement of the officials and the people. Therefore, if this orientation of the enemy is understood, a person's view of reality will be correct; it will be a penetrating view.

Or in the field of foreign policy, international politics, in some of our own publications, you have seen; in the statements of some of the seditionists last year, they repeatedly said that we have been humiliated in the world, the Islamic Republic has lost its reputation in the world, has become worthless, what has happened, what has happened. Today, when we look at reality, we see that day by day the reputation of the Islamic Republic among various nations of the world - both Muslim and non-Muslim - is increasing. The enemies of the Iranian nation know this, understand it, feel it; of course, they conceal it.

Why should we underestimate the issue of the President's trip to Lebanon? It was an important event. For any country, especially for the leaders of global arrogance, if such a thing occurred, it would open a very broad chapter in propaganda and political deductions for them. A nation that is not even neighboring us, and not all of them are Muslims; a combination of Muslims and Christians, and among the Muslims, a mix of Shia and Sunni; this nation, with this diverse and varied composition, comes together to welcome the President of the Iranian nation, expressing affection; this is a rare thing, an unprecedented thing; such an event does not happen for any country in the world. Which country's president, when he goes to another country, experiences such events? It is not limited to Lebanon. Today, if our prominent officials go to Egypt, if they are allowed, it is the same; if they go to Sudan, if they are allowed, it is the same; in any Islamic country they go to, if the field is opened, it is the same. This demonstrates the greatness of the Iranian nation. You have done this. This honor belongs to you. If there were a government that was disconnected from the people, if there were a government that millions of motivated youth did not support, such an event would not have occurred; this belongs to you youth. However, observe the enemy's propaganda; it is exactly the opposite. Where they are forced to speak, they misinterpret the reality; where they are not forced, they conceal it and cover up the essence of reality.

The same issue applies to the Basij. The enemy, at one point - which today still has its remnants to some extent - focused on various global propaganda against the Basij. They said everything they could. They bombarded the Basij with propaganda to discredit it in the eyes of the people, but they could not; "God establishes the truth with His words." God Almighty does not allow this clear truth to remain hidden; thus, the Basij, thanks be to God, has gained more and more reputation in our country day by day. Across the country, youth in various sectors view the Basij as a shining identity of great determination and will; you Basijis must strengthen this; strengthen it with attention to the three elements mentioned - the element of insight, the element of sincerity, the element of timely and adequate action. There should be no extremism, nor should there be negligence. Be aware that extremism is as harmful as negligence. Not acting is certainly harmful, and acting excessively is equally harmful; be cautious. The revolutionary fervor should not be diminished at all. The revolutionary motivation must increase day by day in the hearts of you and me. These various mountains of problems that stand in the way of the oppressed of the world will not be removed except by the powerful determination and iron will of the faithful. The goal is not just to organize the situation of the country. The Islamic world, indeed the community of humanity, needs help from them through Islam and the Islamic community.

There are many problems in the way; determination and will are necessary, a long-term vision is necessary. This determination and will must remain, this revolutionary fervor must increase day by day. Seeking refuge and attention to the Lord, clinging to the divine saints, the path of worship, the path of humility, the path of contemplation must always be open to us; we must strengthen ourselves through this path. This revolutionary fervor must remain, but be careful that this valuable revolutionary enthusiasm is consumed in its proper place - not misused - this requires contemplation, thought, awareness, and insight.

Do not doubt that the future of the Iranian nation and the Islamic community will be much better than today. Just as the distance between thirty years ago for the Iranian nation and today is - that is, from the beginning of the revolution until today - see how much the Iranian nation has progressed in all political, scientific, social, and other arenas; know that the distance between the progress of future years and today will be even greater than this. The nation will progress day by day. The movement of the Iranian nation in all arenas is an unstoppable movement, and God willing, it will proceed along the correct path and the straight path of divine and Islamic guidance and the Quran. The future of the Iranian nation is a bright future; and this will have an impact on the Islamic world and the Islamic community, and God willing, it will awaken the Muslim nations day by day.

We hope that God Almighty hastens the reappearance of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him); may He make us among his supporters in his presence and in his absence and may He make the sacred heart of that great one pleased with us. O Lord! Include the prayer of that great one for all the Iranian nation and especially for the dear Basijis.

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