Statements at the Meeting with the Organizers of the Second National Congress Commemorating the Martyrs of Hamadan

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

Thanks be to God, 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 progeny, especially the remainder of God on earth. Welcome. I am sincerely pleased to once again meet with a group of the dear people of Hamadan province, in whom one observes various aspects of "value." I especially welcome the esteemed families of the martyrs who are present here. I thank the honorable remarks of the esteemed Friday prayer leader and the respected commander, as well as the beautiful recitation of the Quran that was performed here and the beautiful anthem that all of you sang together. Let me say a word about Hamadan: in the great events of the Revolution and the Sacred Defense, Hamadan added to its honors. The examination of groups, cities, and provinces, like the examination of individuals, takes place in critical moments: "In the fluctuations of circumstances, the jewels of men are known." The essence of Hamadan province — whether the city of Hamadan or the other cities — has shone in history, and during the events of the Revolution and the Sacred Defense, this brilliance was further enhanced. When we look at history, Hamadan is the center of the first civilization of our country and is historically ahead of all the various flourishing regions of the country. I discussed these matters in more detail in a talk in Hamadan a few years ago; I do not wish to repeat them now; however, when we delve into the flow of history, we see that Hamadan is considered a center of knowledge, a center of religion, a center of jihad, a center of art, a center of all the civilizational values of a country; that is, throughout history, we observe these characteristics in Hamadan; all of these are distinctions. Then comes the period of the Revolution; this is a place for a new examination. Many have a good past, but when they reach critical and dangerous points, they falter. When we reached this critical point — the point of the Revolution — many cities and centers of the country truly showed themselves, and Hamadan was the same. It was mentioned that during the funeral of the late Ayatollah Molla Ali Masoumi, a real revolution took place in Hamadan; that is, the people seized the field under the pretext of the funeral of a great and respected scholar. Then, when we look at the various events of the Revolution, Hamadan stands out, the Noujeh Air Base stands out, and the pioneering of the youth of Hamadan in the fight against the counter-revolution and the separatists at the beginning of the Revolution stands out. The first people who moved to confront the separatists in the west of the country were from Hamadan and Kermanshah, who entered the field. Now, when I mention the Noujeh base, I mean the wartime; however, even before the war, this base played a role in exposing a very dangerous coup that they wanted to launch from that base and played the most important role in destroying that great conspiracy. Then, the Sacred Defense began. In the Sacred Defense, once again, Hamadan shone brightly, truly shone brightly! The proud brigade of Ansar al-Hussein, the renowned martyrs of Hamadan — whom I have often expressed my respect for and mentioned their names — great religious martyrs at the level of Martyr Motahhari, Martyr Quddusi, Martyr Haidari from Nahavand; these prominent religious martyrs are at this level. All of these are distinctions, all of these are important works. This gathering was truly missing. Of course, a few years ago, you held a gathering in honor and reverence for the martyrs of Hamadan. I have noted that between that previous gathering and your current gathering, other great men from the city of Hamadan and Hamadan province have joined the ranks of those shining stars: Martyr General Hossein Hamadani; Martyr Ali Khush-Lafz; Martyr Mirza Mohammad Salgi; the martyrs of the defenders of the shrine who went from this province; the martyr of security last year, Martyr Ali Nazari; that is, the door to martyrdom in this province remains open, personalities are revealing themselves one after another and becoming prominent. Well, we must keep their names alive. Of course, the name of the martyrs requires survival and life; that is, the characteristic of sacrifice in the way of God is that it remains in this world: "As for the foam, it goes away as scum, but what benefits people remains on the earth." The characteristic of martyrdom, the characteristic of sacrifice in the way of God is that it is naturally enduring; this is the case, but this does not mean that if opposing factors enter the field, they will not have an impact; yes, like many other great values that anti-values entered the field, the supporters of values did not defend as necessary, and falsehood prevailed over truth; this is how it is. Look at this throughout history; there were prophets, saints, and great figures over whom falsehood prevailed because the people of truth did not perform the duty that was upon them. This means that martyrs are naturally enduring and there is a requirement for endurance in martyrs, but we also have a duty; we must keep the names of the martyrs alive, we must use the concept of martyrdom, the message of the martyrs to properly adorn our lives; we need to organize our collective life, in our society and in the global community; with the help of the martyrs and the works of the martyrs, this work can be accomplished. I would like to refer to the name of the active and combatant lady, the late Mrs. Marzieh Dabbagh. Well, the issue of women is one of the important issues of the world. In the matter of women, we are not in a defensive position; I have repeatedly said that we are in an offensive position against the West, not in a defensive position; they are the ones who must answer; they are the ones who have trampled the dignity of women for their own whims; we have no problem in this regard, but in the face of the enemy's lineup, we must assert our existence, we must show the truth. This lady is one of those who can represent the truth of women's orientation in Islamic society, not just in our Islamic Republic; in the view of Islam, in the logic of Islam, in the culture of Islam. Now, the struggles before the Revolution of this lady, the beatings and torture and imprisonment, and the effects she had on her cellmates and fellow prisoners, these are one side, then going to the combat zones and acting like an active guerrilla and then going to Paris in the service of the Imam and then coming into the real and tangible arena of the Revolution and having an active presence in a vast array of activities. When I came to Hamadan at the beginning of the Revolution, Mrs. Dabbagh was the commander of the Hamadan Corps; in the areas I went to, she would come to guide and we would visit; that is, a woman can be the commander of a corps in a male-dominated area! Hamadan did not lack men, but the value of this woman is like this. From commanding the Hamadan Corps to carrying a message for Gorbachev from the Imam; that is, Mrs. Dabbagh was a member of the three-person delegation that took the Imam's message from Tehran to Gorbachev in Moscow. Do you see this vast array of activities? In these last years, she was also active for Palestine and for Lebanon and for struggles and similar matters; she had become old and disabled, but she was still working. This is an Islamic woman. I have always emphasized artistic works for the martyrs. She apparently passed away from natural causes, but she remains like the martyrs. This one case can be the subject and content of several active artistic works; that is, the image of women in the Islamic system. The accusation of "misogyny" against the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic — which is an accusation that they have made since the beginning of the Revolution, despite all these prominent women who emerged in the Revolution and did not exist before the Revolution — has always existed; well, in response to this accusation, one example of artistic work centered on prominent revolutionary women in revolutionary activities is the late Mrs. Dabbagh. The saying attributed to the Imam that martyrs are the reserves of the Revolution means this; that is, from the life of a martyr, from the message of a martyr, one can always use it as a reserve for the life of the Revolution, for the advancement of the Revolution, for the elevation and ascension of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic country. The same issue is raised regarding the matter of nationality and Islamism. From the beginning of the Revolution, a group tried to place the inclination towards nationality and the name of Iran and the glorification of Iran in opposition to the Islamic and revolutionary inclination and to separate the issue of nationality from the issue of Islamism. The war, the Sacred Defense, and our dear martyrs clearly and practically refuted this false temptation. The great test of the war arose, the borders of the country were attacked, Iran was subjected to aggression, not just the aggression of one government and one neighbor, but a truly international aggression in the real sense of the word, which we have repeatedly stated; those who claimed to be supporters of Iran hid in fear in their homes and did not take a step to defend the borders of the country, some of them even left the country; the same people who claimed to be supporters of Iran and Iranian identity! Who defended the borders? The Muslim children, those who prayed at night, the Chit-Sazians, the Salgis, the Ansar al-Hussein Brigade; these defended, Islam defended the borders of Iran. Islamism and Iranian identity are not opposing poles; they are one truth. Anyone who becomes a supporter of Islam, anyone who becomes a soldier of Islam, naturally defends every value — including the value of the homeland and the country. "Love of the homeland is part of faith." All of these are the materials for an artistic work. You see, I mention these so that you, the organizers of the works related to the martyrs, multiply your attention to this artistic perspective. All of these are the materials for artistic work; an artist expresses creativity in writing in one way, in performance in another, in visual arts in another. And thanks be to God, Hamadan province is rich in this regard; you have good artists and can carry out great and valuable works. In any case, honoring the zealous believers who defend Islam, defend Iran, defend values, and defend the value of women is one of the important works and one of the good deeds that the good servants of God, including you, have undertaken; we hope, God willing, that God grants you success and helps you to carry out this work in the best way. I have heard that you are also separately organizing commemorations for various groups of martyrs such as student martyrs, clerical martyrs, and engineer martyrs; this is a very good work, and with complete diligence and thorough follow-up, God willing, carry out this work. May God assist and influence you so that you can convey the message of the martyrs to the hearts. Do not be satisfied with mere formalities; set the goal that this message reaches the hearts of your audience, including the youth and teenagers who exist today. May God, God willing, assist you, may the Master of the Age be pleased with you, and may the pure souls of the martyrs and the pure spirit of the Imam of Martyrs, God willing, be pleased and satisfied with you. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.