Statements at the Meeting with the Organizers of the National Congress of Martyrs of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 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, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters who are present. First of all, I sincerely thank all of you for paying attention to this great duty and significant obligation; that is, keeping the memory of the martyrs alive. "Martyrdom" is a treasure; the sacrifices of the youth of a nation are a tremendous spiritual and material support for the advancement of that nation. This must be preserved; it must not be allowed to be lost, forgotten, or distorted. The importance of your work lies in the fact that you are preserving this treasure.

The statements made by the esteemed Friday Prayer Leader and also the very good writing that our Revolutionary Guard brother read, both contain correct and good points. Regarding the recommendations to the officials, God willing, I will recommend to the esteemed officials; Mr. Aref is present here, and I will also speak to the President, God willing. We hope that these people will be given the attention they deserve, in accordance with their spiritual and national value for the country.

Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province — that collection; now in the form of a province or in any other form it has been previously — has a long history of sacrifice and struggle, as has been pointed out. Now, in previous periods, that is one thing, but in our time, what I remember, from the very beginning of the struggles in 1963, the grandfather of Mr. Malek-Hosseini, who was a great scholar in that region, issued a statement that was among the rare statements; it was strong and courageous, and the regime also counted on it, knowing that if he called for jihad, the tribal people of the region would respond, as indeed actions were taken. At that time, the regime had asked another tribe, which is also a dear tribe, to go and fight with the tribal people of Boyer-Ahmad, but a Sunni scholar there prevented this from happening. We should keep in mind how our religious, national, and ethnic connections in this country have a history. A Sunni cleric did not allow the regime's plan to create a war between the Baluch tribe and the tribes of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad to take place; he prevented it, did not allow it, and issued a contrary fatwa. These are the historical backgrounds of this region.

During the Sacred Defense and the imposed war, they also entered very well; both after the formation of the Fath Brigade and before it was formed — when its elements were scattered in various organizations — the fighters of this region made many efforts and did good work. There are memories from that time that are now recorded in the historical accounts of the Sacred Defense. For example, a battalion of the Fath Brigade stood for two or three days against a large Iraqi Ba'athist army in the Majnoon Islands, resisted, and did not retreat. Of course, they suffered martyrs, but they were able to maintain the area; this is also recorded in the history and historical memory of the Sacred Defense.

Let me say one thing: one of the foundations of the psychological warfare of the enemies of every nation, and especially in our time, our dear nation and our Islamic Iran, is that the enemies exaggerate this nation; this has existed since the beginning of the revolution. Constantly, through various means, it has been conveyed, implanted, and injected into our nation that you should be afraid; be afraid of America, be afraid of the Zionists, be afraid of England, and be afraid of such entities; this has been the case all along. One of the great arts of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) was that he removed this fear from the hearts of the nation, instilled a sense of confidence in the nation, and gave them a sense of self-belief; the nation felt that they had an inner strength that they could rely on to accomplish great tasks, and the enemy could not, and their hands are not as full as they pretend.

This psychological warfare of the enemy, when it enters the military arena, results in fear, retreat, which the Holy Quran has described and clarified as causing divine wrath; وَ مَن یُوَلِّهِم یَومَئِذٍ دُبُرَهُ اِلّا مُتَحَرِّفاً لِقِتالٍ اَو مُتَحَیِّزاً اِلیٰ‌ فِئَةٍ فَقَد باءَ بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ الله; if you retreat non-tactically against an enemy that is attacking you — there are various types of attackers, sometimes the attacker is face-to-face with a sword in the field, sometimes the attacker is propagandistic, sometimes the attacker is economic, and sometimes the military attacker uses new tools — if you retreat non-tactically, sometimes retreat is a tactic like advance, which is not a flaw: اِلّا مُتَحَرِّفاً لِقِتالٍ اَو مُتَحَیِّزاً اِلیٰ‌ فِئَة; this is tactic — if you retreat outside of these cases, فَقَد باءَ بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ الله. In the military field, it is like this; in the political arena, it is exactly the same [it causes divine wrath].

In the political arena, the enemy's exaggeration causes a person to feel isolated, to feel weak, to feel incapable; the result is that they submit to their demands; [they say] do this, yes; do not do that, yes; just as there are now various governments with large and small nations that are like this; whatever they are told, they say, "yes"; they have no will of their own. Now, at the diplomatic table and in diplomatic negotiations, of course, there are etiquettes and conditions. That "yes" can be expressed in various forms; however, in reality, it is still that "yes" that you see. While if they relied on their own nations, if they relied on their internal capabilities, if they recognized the true existence of that enemy and knew that their hands are not as full as they pretend, they could say no; however, they do not pay attention to this, they say yes. This is in the political arena.

In the cultural field, this exaggeration manifests itself differently; it creates a feeling of passivity, attraction to the culture of the other side, contempt for one's own culture, and pride in adherence to foreign culture. There are some who, when they speak or when they write, take pride in using a foreign word; they take pride in not using its Iranian equivalent, but using the foreign expression. Now, sometimes there is no Iranian equivalent, for example, television is television; we do not have an Iranian word for it; although it could have been named when it first came, but now we have to say television. However, regarding many commonly used words in some people's language that are foreign, we are not obliged; one of the results of that exaggeration is that we accept their culture, their customs, their way of life, and their lifestyle; see, this is the psychological warfare of the enemy.

Who stood against this psychological warfare with all their being? It is those very youths for whom you are now holding this commemoration, you are honoring them, and they truly are great. That young person from a certain point in the country, from a certain city, from a certain tribe, from a certain province who stands against the enemy, does not feel fear in the military field, is not influenced by his political words, and does not accept his culture; he is the one who should be appreciated and acknowledged; he is the one who stands against this psychological warfare with all his being; bring this to life. In these commemorations, embody and show this truth. This is my message.

All of the things you mentioned: manuscripts, books, films, commemorations, naming streets, and sports venues, are good; all of these are necessary. Some of these become outdated. For example, when you name a street after a martyr, it is very good, but after three or four years, people say "Martyr Beheshti Street," and they do not even remember the dear martyr Beheshti. Now, for example, you want to go to Martyr Beheshti Street, they ask, where are you going, sir? You say, Martyr Beheshti Street; a person does not even remember the martyr Beheshti. Some of these are like this; it does not matter, let it be. Some of them are enduring, like films, more than anything books — these, of course, are enduring — you must ensure that they have an output. That is, you print the book, very well, how many people read this book? How many people, when they read it, take notes? How many people, when they sit with their friends in friendly circles, use these notes and exchange them? Keep these in mind. See what the way is; what can you do so that this book — which is more enduring than all, more enduring than films and the like — can create a transformation in the one who reads it.

Well, we have several tens of millions of youths in the country; the print run of this book, for example, suppose it is printed ten times, ten times two thousand — which is the maximum [number for each print] — becomes twenty thousand copies; twenty thousand copies compared to twenty million is a very small number. Make it so that first twenty thousand people read it, and those same twenty thousand who read this book, in the true sense of the word, this personality, this person you described, portrayed, impacts their lifestyle, their existence, their thoughts, their culture; your endeavor should be this. I always recommend to these groups that come to commemorate the martyrs and meet with us — like you — to consider the outputs; mere work is not enough. These works are tools; tools [also] for a result. Otherwise, if you have a wrench, and you do not use it at all or it does not help you open a bolt and nut, it is of no use. There must be something, a tool that can have an effect.

God willing, may God grant you success, may He support you; may He have mercy on the dear martyrs of that region, that province, may He elevate their ranks, may He grant us their intercession, and may He also unite us with them through His grace and kindness.

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