Speech on the Occasion of Imam Reza's (peace be upon him) Birthday with Various People of Khorasan

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

It is my duty to sincerely thank and welcome the faithful, devoted, and sincere gathering of brothers and sisters, and the caravan that brings the fragrance of the sacred shrine of the Eighth Imam (peace be upon him), especially the esteemed families of the martyrs and dear veterans, the distinguished scholars, and the prominent figures of Khorasan. I express my gratitude for your presence, which brings the blessings of that sacred shrine.

These days, a renewed attention from the keen observers of the world has been directed towards this tumultuous and eventful revolution. From the very first day of the revolution's victory, alongside the malicious objectives that the enemies had towards the revolution, the Iranian nation, and its great leader, they prioritized one goal: to prevent this revolution from strengthening the spirit of Muslims worldwide. This is of great importance and poses a significant threat to America, reactionaries, and the leaders of malicious colonial policies. A nation and a population are defeated when they lose their spirit. The warriors in the battlefield have well experienced this. The impact of spirit on victory and defeat is greater than other factors.

The Islamic nation has more than a billion people worldwide. There are countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa with Islamic titles. Prominent personalities, scholars, thinkers, and philosophers are among Muslims everywhere. This population of over a billion, which constitutes more than one-fifth of the world's population, if they wish to influence world events proportionate to their numbers, it means that one-fifth of all global events would be carried out by the will of Muslims. This is very significant and grand. Unlike some other religions, Islam encourages people to make decisions, be present in the arena, engage in politics, governance, and administration. This religion is one of life, governance, and politics. It is not like other religions that consider distancing from politics and the scene of life and various activities as part of their principles.

Pay close attention. A population of this magnitude and with this religious belief that they must intervene in worldly and life affairs, if they are united and energetic, if they believe in their rights, if they enter the scene, how burdensome it will be for the superpowers; how damaging it will be for the colonial forces that have plundered the oil, natural wealth, money, and markets of these Muslim countries. Is it not so? To prevent such a day from coming and to ensure that Muslims are never considered a nuisance to the world's plunderers, colonialism has been working, planning, spending money, and engaging in military, political, and cultural activities for at least one hundred and fifty years, if not more, to prevent the massive presence of Muslims on the world stage.

The reason you see that in our oppressed Iran, corrupt kings and obedient servants of Britain and America were endorsed by the powers and ruled this country for many years is because of this. Someone like Reza Khan was readily willing to implement this goal and program in Iran. The reason you see that colonialism—meaning Britain and France—after the First World War, attacked these Arab countries, measured and divided them, and said: this is for you, this is for him, and in every place, they installed a submissive puppet of their own and handed over the control of these nations to corrupt and wicked individuals, is because of this. They were pursuing this goal.

The great duty of people like Reza Khan in Iran, Ibn Saud in Arabia, Farouk in Egypt, and others elsewhere was to prevent Muslims from uniting and becoming an active force, gaining spirit, and entering the global political arena. Colonialism's plan was based on this. Now think about it, you can understand the magnitude from here. Think about how the British Empire, for decades, alongside other colonial states, and finally America, with abundant money and weapons and the tools of science and knowledge at their disposal, all despite their differences, collaborated to achieve this goal! What goal? Preventing the collective presence of Muslims in the global political arena and making Muslims feel that they too have rights, they too have power, they too can speak.

During the world war, Iran was called the 'crossroads of the Middle East'; because for a long period, it was the only communication route between East Asia and Europe. Another advantage of this country is that it is located next to the Persian Gulf, on the shores of the Oman Sea, and in the most sensitive areas. Amid the colonial efforts—America and others—and at the height of the arrogance's victory, suddenly, in a very sensitive point, a great revolution with extraordinary and unparalleled leadership emerged among the feelings, emotions, awareness, and sincere and honest forces of a heroic nation—whom Islam had completely transformed and removed fear from their existence. All their plans were disrupted. At first, they did not believe and could not understand what happened. You, the people of Mashhad, can precisely determine when the peak and pride of the revolution and the internal change of the people of Mashhad or the people of Khorasan was? No one can specify. Suddenly, the grace of 'those who turn dust into gold', divine attention, hidden favors, the effusions of the Guardian of the Order and the remaining of God (may our souls be sacrificed for his sacred presence) transformed the nation. The revolution, behind that leadership which was the greatest divine gift for Muslims, moved swiftly, and every step this nation took, it grew by ten steps.

Are we the same people as fifteen years ago? What was happening in Iran fifteen years ago? What was happening in our Mashhad? How were the youth? How was the university? How was the seminary? How is it now? Is this change achievable within fifteen years? This is nothing but a divine miracle and spiritual attention and a spark from the unseen world.

This revolution emerged and grew. The first effect of this revolution was that it leveled the one hundred and fifty-year-old colonial structure worldwide. Which structure? Colonialism had worked for one hundred and fifty years to crush the spirit of Muslims. Muslims in the world did not feel any personality from being Muslim before. Which of you saw or heard that during the tyrant's era, someone in a point of the world—in Europe, in America, in distant places—would raise their head and proudly say: 'I am a Muslim'? Even then, being a Muslim was an honor, but no one felt it. They had crushed the spirits. The revolution came and changed this reality. Muslims everywhere in the world felt Islamic identity and gained spirit. That is why we say this revolutionary movement has struck the superpowers and they cannot do anything.

What do the superpowers want to do? Why do America and its allies, from time to time, with truly ridiculous and laughable threats, try to remove this steadfast mountain—the Iranian nation—from the field, and why does it not work? Because any threat against the Islamic Republic and its officials will no longer benefit the arrogance. How can they take back the spirit that has returned to Muslims through our revolution? They need another one hundred and fifty years of work. When did the Muslims of England give themselves the power and courage to come out in thousands to the streets and loudly express their rightful words? When did a young Muslim girl dare to claim her Muslim identity and hijab in the heart of the world of disbelief and corruption?

This is the spirit that you and your revolution and your Imam and this blessed war have given to all the Muslims of the world. Your resistance, uprising, steel spirit, rightful speech, and clenched fist have revived the Muslims of the world. The arrogance cannot remedy this. We have inflicted a blow and defeat on America and the arrogance. Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) sowed this seed. What can they do? That is why the arrogance is flustered in front of the Iranian nation.

The day the arrogance raised the issue of Salman Rushdie, it was because they thought they might be able to harm the spirit of Muslims—at least in part of the world—through that wretched, dark-hearted individual and his satanic book. With insults and slander in this book, they thought they might weaken Muslims a bit. This very act became a burden on them. The Imam's reaction to this conspiracy was so decisive and crushing that it caught them all off guard. They wanted to weaken the spirit of Muslims by publishing and magnifying that book.

Perhaps you do not know, but I had seen it; because they bring the magazines to me. For one or two months, this book was being promoted in the Western world's press—especially American magazines—in such a way that anyone who looked could understand it was a conspiracy. There was no need to magnify a book—no matter how good it is—so much, write about it in magazines, report on it, talk about its sales, its publisher, its contents, summarize it, take pictures and films, distribute them here and there, and laugh at Muslims! Anyone could understand that this was not normal. They threw this book into the middle with a clamor, hoping they could weaken and break the spirit of Muslims with it.

The Imam's counteraction and blow were so strong that it completely turned the tables. The death sentence of Salman Rushdie, which was met with the acceptance and eager approval of Islamic nations everywhere, changed the situation. Now it was their spirit that was weakened. Now their supporters had to defend themselves throughout this period. Therefore, from that day until now, the leaders of the West and the arrogance, in their confrontations with the Islamic Republic, one of their first words is to come and solve this Salman Rushdie issue somehow! Whenever one of these global arrogance chain's pawns found someone who understood that he might convey his words to the officials of the Islamic Republic, the first thing he said—or among the first things—was to do something to solve this issue!

They exerted pressure, made noise and clamor, accused, went up and down, wrote, spoke, condemned, gathered puppet writers and artists, signed petitions, hoping they could make a slight dent in this firm divine decree; but they could not, and they will not be able to in the future; because the death sentence of Salman Rushdie is based on divine verses and, like divine verses, is firm and unassailable.

They ask: what is the solution? The solution is very simple. He is a criminal who has committed a crime and must, like all other criminals in the world, have the divine decree executed upon him. Let the Muslims of England execute it—not that we say give him to us—to execute the divine decree upon him. With such an action, this issue will be resolved and will be over. There is no knot that cannot be untied. This is the knot. This is how this knot is untied. The divine decree must be executed upon this being who, according to divine verses and definitive Islamic rulings, has been condemned to punishment.

Now, what is our duty? Let the zealous and faithful hearts, filled with sincerity, pay attention to this point. You must not allow this strong spirit that the Muslims of the world have gained because of your revolution to be weakened even slightly. This is the greatest duty of the Iranian nation. Our Imam, with your help, defeated the conspiracy to weaken the spirit of the world's Muslims—which we said had been worked on for one hundred and fifty years or more—and raised the spirit of the world's Muslims. You and I, who are moving in continuation of that path today, must be careful not to do anything that would, God forbid, cause the spirit that was elevated by our revolution to decline and fall due to our actions and mistakes.

The enemy propagates that with the departure of the Imam, the Imam's era is over! The enemy is wrong. We also said, issued statements, spoke, and all the people proved that no, the Imam's era did not end with his physical and apparent departure and will not end. This was proven; but it is the enemy who says this. Beware that a group of ignorant friends inside the country, under the guise of sympathy, do not show something in a corner with their incomplete intellect that they think does not align with the Imam's line and revolution and lament that the Imam's era is over. If such a statement—even by implication—is issued from someone's mouth, the enemy will be pleased; be careful.

Today, thanks be to God, at the head of the country's executive apparatus, there is someone whom the Imam had the utmost trust and confidence in throughout the entire revolution and even more so after the revolution until his passing; our President. He is someone who was so trusted by the Imam, so close to the Imam, heard the Imam's words more than others, heard the Imam's concerns more than others, and is informed. Now some people speak without knowing what the Imam's heart was!

The muezzin raised an untimely call

He does not know how much of the night has passed

Such a person is now at the head of our affairs. I am also aware of the affairs and see what is being done in the country. I am not an uninformed person. I have experienced and touched all the executive situations of the country closely for eight years. Before that, I was in the Revolutionary Council and other places from the beginning of the revolution. Is it possible today for anyone to even think—let alone act—that they can deviate from the direction and framework outlined by the revolution, while now a group of people, more caring than a mother, constantly sit here and there and corrupt the minds of the people?!

Yesterday, beside the Imam's holy grave, I said, and now I say that today more than anything, two elements are important:

First, unity. Wherever you are, if you see a speaker, a lecturer, a newspaper, or a writer, with their words, with their insinuations, and with their explicit statements, trying to worry the people and disrupt the unity of the people, know that they are making a mistake and going astray. Just know this, it is enough; there is no need to do anything. Know that those who act that way are making a mistake and going astray.

Second, follow the important principle of construction behind this government. The officials of the departments, government employees, farmers, workers, those who have the power and financial capability to carry out the tasks related to the construction and development services of the country, everyone who can do anything, help in the construction of the country behind the government, with the observance of the centrality of this government. You saw how much the Imam cared for, supported, and backed the governments? I can confidently say that from the beginning of the revolution until now, we have never had a head of government like today's head of government. Of course, the heads and members of past governments were outstanding, sincere, excellent, and good; but now it is even better and more excellent than before. This movement, effort, power, perseverance, unity, and adherence to the principles of the revolution make the sacred spirit of the Imam happy.

From the same things that he suffered from in his worldly life, today his pure spirit is naturally distressed by those things; see what he suffered from. The Imam was a supporter of unity, a supporter of the poor and the weak, social justice, and confrontation and struggle with the arrogant powers of the world and their dependents, a supporter of the increasing and high-quality activity of the clergy and committed, aware, and conscientious scholars, a supporter of sincere and enthusiastic youth, a supporter of interested officials. Today, the same words are there. Today, the same line, the same boundaries and borders, the same goals, and the same paths are there. Be careful that this path is correctly followed.

Today is the fifteenth of Khordad; keep this day in the memory of the nation. The fifteenth of Khordad was a great day in our history, and the first foundation of our popular resistance on a large scale, due to the love for the Imam, was laid that day.

Today is the blessed birthday of the master of religion, the Eighth Imam of the noble ones (peace be upon him). I hope that Almighty God will bestow and spread His blessings and mercy on this day and in all days and nights upon you, the sincere, faithful, and revolutionary people of Mashhad and the entire great nation of Iran and all the Muslims of the world, and God willing, place us on the path of His saints and make our death in His path and with martyrdom in His path, and make the sacred heart of the Guardian of the Era pleased and satisfied with us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings