Statements in Meeting with Thousands of First-Time Voters and Families of Martyrs

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 progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

Welcome, dear youth, dear brothers and sisters, and especially the esteemed families of martyrs present here; I extend my greetings to all of you. This gathering is, in fact, a youth gathering, a place for the presence of the pure and clear hearts of the youth.

My first point, my initial message, is that you young people should take advantage of the opportunity of the purity of your youthful spirit and, during these blessed days of the month of Sha'ban and after that, the month of Ramadan, draw closer to God the Exalted, become acquainted with God, ask from Him, and rely on Him. There are only a few days left in the month of Sha'ban; most of the month has passed. It is the month of supplication, the month of communion, the month of seeking forgiveness; Sha'ban is such a month. In these remaining days, my serious recommendation to you dear youth — both boys and girls — is not to neglect supplication and seeking forgiveness and sending blessings. "Supplication" increases your closeness to the Creator of existence, strengthens your connection with God the Exalted; supplication and communion are like this. When we seek forgiveness, in fact, seeking forgiveness means choosing the path of return from error. We all have mistakes, errors, and sins; seeking forgiveness means choosing the path of return from these errors and sins, which is emphasized in the month of Sha'ban. You say, "Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh"; "Atubu ilayh" means I return to God; I have distanced myself from God due to my errors and sins, now I return to God the Exalted, and God accepts this return. In sending blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, we actually revive the memory of the best human models in our minds. These great individuals were the best of mankind and the most exalted of God's creation. Their lives, their teachings, their words, and their deeds serve as a model for us; they are exemplary. When we send blessings, we revive their memory in our hearts. Therefore, these are precious.

The supplications that have been transmitted to us — which we call "ma'thur supplications" — are not merely about asking; they are not just about seeking and connecting with God; they are more than that; these supplications contain knowledge. They encompass lofty themes, high Islamic teachings. There are insights in these supplications that you cannot find anywhere else; in the supplication of Imam Hussein on the Day of Arafah, in the supplications of Sahifa Sajjadiyya, in the Sha'ban supplications, there are themes and insights that you cannot find elsewhere. Familiarity with these supplications elevates the knowledge of Muslims and believers; it is very precious. Therefore, my first message to you is to cherish this luminous opportunity of your hearts — which are luminous and pure — and to value the opportunity of the month of Sha'ban and the upcoming month of Ramadan, as well as all other opportunities for supplication, seeking forgiveness, and turning to the Lord and His saints.

The next matter, which I would like to present to you attendees and to the entire nation of Iran, is the issue of elections. Of course, we have spoken about elections before, and others have spoken as well, and thanks be to God, I see that young people in various centers, in universities, and in the streets are discussing and debating; however, I will say a few words on this matter today.

Well, thanks be to God, signs of electoral enthusiasm are visible throughout the country, in various places. The desire for elections and electoral excitement is palpable; we must thank God for this. It is desirable that elections — not just this election in two days (1), but all elections in the country — be held strongly and enthusiastically; why? Well, you young people are rational; I am truly pleased to see that after the revolution, our youth have advanced significantly in their desire for reasoning, research, and precision. I was familiar with young people before the revolution; all our gatherings were with young people; I knew them well. After the revolution, the spirit of questioning, inquiry, investigation, and verification among the youth has increased several times, and this is very good; that is, the youth, while being enthusiastic and spirited in various fields, are also rational and logical. Our martyrs, who were mostly young like you — that is, most of our martyrs during the Sacred Defense and also during the defense of the shrine were in their late teens and early twenties, at most thirty — went to the battlefields with enthusiasm, with feelings, with passionate hearts, but their minds were working, their thoughts were active, they had logic, they had reasoning; if you read their biographies, you will feel this; they acted with reasoning. Today, our youth are like this. I will present a few points in this regard.

First of all, if we want to express the importance of strong and enthusiastic elections in one word, we must say that strong and enthusiastic elections are one of the pillars of proper governance in the country — which I will briefly explain later — one of the main pillars of the country's progress, one of the most important means of removing obstacles to progress; strong elections have these characteristics.

Since you have not seen that era, I want to tell you young people that this ballot box, this election, did not come easily to our country and our nation; it was not like that, there was no such news. For a while, there was absolute despotism, and even when elections appeared, they were only superficial; they had no substance; that is, the lists were prepared in the court and sometimes even in foreign embassies, those lists were given and said these must be representatives! These are statements made by them, not something we say. Of course, we knew at that time; we were aware before the revolution about what voting and elections meant, but after the revolution, they themselves admitted it and wrote it in their books. The fact that people go to the ballot box with motivation, awareness, faith, expectation, and hope is not easily achieved; a lot of struggle has been made for this. Of course, the beginning of the struggles goes back to after the Constitutional Revolution, but the main movement of struggles and protests was in the movement of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the Islamic movement, where the people rallied behind Imam and traversed this path. From 1961, when the struggle began, until the 22nd of Bahman 1979, when the revolution triumphed, a lot of effort was made in this country; many works were done; people went to prisons, were tortured, and engaged in explanatory struggles, verbal struggles to prepare the ground; from 1976, the public movement of the people began, and Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) led this movement step by step, guided it, taught it where to move, what to do, what to ask; the "Leader" in the true sense of the word.

The work of the revolutionary leader, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), and anyone who claims this role is a heartfelt, intellectual, and mental endeavor; it affects the hearts and minds of the people, and Imam had an impact, and the people came to the scene until the revolution triumphed. Now, if you have read or will read the history of revolutions — which unfortunately, young people read fewer books; you should read more books — you will see that when a revolution occurs, for a long time, a revolutionary dictatorship is in power; that is, there is no news of the people and their votes. For example, consider the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century; well, the people revolted, came to the streets, and fought, but after the revolution, a small group takes control of affairs, they are in power for three or four years, then another group comes and eliminates them, they take their place, they are in power for four or five years, then another group comes and eliminates them, this situation continues for about ten to twelve years, and then a Napoleonic figure emerges, disrupting all of this, establishing an independent dictatorial government; there is no discussion of elections. Worse than that is the Soviet Revolution. Now, these two revolutions are significant in the recent history.

[But in Iran] on the 22nd of Bahman, the revolution occurred, and on the 12th of Farvardin, that is, about fifty days later, Imam announced a public referendum for the people to determine the type of system; and they determined it; that is, [immediately] the people were brought to the ballot box — trusting the people means this; the importance of the ballot box means this — there was no gap. About a year after this event, the elections for the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution were held; elections took place. Then the law that emerged from the Assembly was put to a vote, which became the next election; then the presidential election took place; then the parliamentary election; several elections within a year. These are the blessings of the revolution; these were not mere words. The people went to the ballot boxes, voted; some were in favor, some were against. In some elections, there was a lot of enthusiasm and participation, in others a little less, but the people went to the ballot box. Know, my dear ones! This election, the existence of the ballot box, your election, your voting, your participation is a privilege that has not come easily; it has been achieved with effort, struggle, and great sacrifices, with the public movement of the nation.

Well, now why do we emphasize people's participation? Well, there were some, and perhaps there still are, who say, "Sir! Let an election be held, a group of people participate, and then a government comes to power, or a state or a parliament, and does its own work;" we believe no, elections must be enthusiastic, they must be populous; why? Because the presence of the people in the scene, at the ballot box, is a sign of the nation's presence in the important scenes of governance; this is a great wealth for the country.

If we can show the world — now I say "world" means what — that the nation is present in the important and decisive scenes of the country, we have saved the country, we have advanced the country. When I said "we can show the world," to whom should we show? Well, many people and nations in the world have no connection with us; it does not matter to them; however, there are governments, policies in the world that are closely monitoring the issues of Iran — the issues of Islamic Iran, the Islamic Republic, and this dear country — to see what is happening. The United States, the dominant policies in Europe, the policies of the Zionists, the policies of the capitalists and large corporations in the world, for various reasons — which is not the place to elaborate here; you know much of it, we have said much of it — are attentive to the internal issues of Iran, they want to see what is happening here. These political observers of the world, as I mentioned, fear the presence of the people the most, they are afraid of popular power and they observe; why? Because they have seen popular power. They have seen that if this nation is present in the scene, it will certainly overcome problems; just as in the Islamic Revolution, the nation was present and was able to bring down and destroy a regime that the United States, England, Europe, and all supported; this nation is like this. They have seen that when this nation is present in the scene, in the scene of the Sacred Defense and the imposed war, it overcomes Saddam, who was supported by the United States, the Soviet Union of that day, NATO, and the reactionary Arab states, and drives him out of its land, humiliates him; they have seen this. The miracle of the presence of the Iranian nation in the scene has been witnessed by the enemies of the Iranian nation, so they are cautious about the presence of the people, and now they want to see whether the people are present or not; when you show up at the ballot box, they understand that yes, the Iranian nation has maintained its presence in the scene.

Therefore, the presence of the people in the elections signifies national power, and this is something that the enemy observes; this is the backing of our national security. National power is the backing of national security; if the enemy feels that you are incapable, that the Iranian nation has no power, it will threaten your security in every way; of every kind; this national power is the backing and guarantee of national security. National security is everything; if there is no security, there is nothing. The enemy opposes our national power; therefore, you will notice that this year, which was the year 1402, since there were elections in Esfand this year, from Farvardin this year, the hostile propaganda of the enemies began in their radios, televisions, and social media against the elections, to discourage the people, saying what is the benefit, what effect does it have, elections have no effect, and so on. They do not want; they cannot tolerate the national power of the Iranian nation. Therefore, they oppose anything that signifies national power, including elections.

Well, now inside, some also show indifference towards the elections. Of course, I do not accuse anyone, but I remind everyone that we must look at elections from the perspective of national interests, not from factional and group perspectives; consider national interests. If elections are weak, everyone suffers, not just a few; no one benefits from a weak election, everyone suffers; it is not that a few suffer and a few benefit; no. Well, this is regarding the display of national power that we mentioned; elections are a manifestation of showing and flaunting the national power of the country.

In addition to this, elections have other achievements. One of the achievements is that if the elections are strong, the elected representatives will also be strong. If we, for example, have strong participation in the parliamentary elections — which the upcoming elections are parliamentary — we will have a strong parliament. A strong parliament can accomplish great tasks, can take significant steps; it has strong backing. In the presidential elections, if the elections are enthusiastic, strong, and populous, the hands of the president, the hands of the government are free for great actions, for significant initiatives. This is it. Therefore, strong elections result in the progress of the country, result in the benefit of the country, and the removal of the country's problems; this is the result. Hence, we said that strong elections are one of the pillars of progress.

Another achievement is the political growth of the participants in the elections, especially the youth. This is a very precious opportunity for us that our youth, during elections, in discussions, in comparisons, in the reasoning of supporters of a candidate, and opponents, in these exchanges gain political growth. This political growth, this analytical power that our youth gain is not insignificant; it is very valuable, especially for our country. When our youth's analytical power increases, the temptations of the enemy are neutralized, become ineffective. When they gain analytical power, they recognize the enemy, understand the enemy's methods, know the enemy's actions, and identify ways to confront the enemy. This analytical power, in my opinion, is one of these very important achievements. Therefore, all segments of the nation, all those who are the audience of these words regarding elections, should know that casting a vote in the ballot box is an easy task with significant results. Participating in elections is not a difficult task; it is an easy task, it requires no resources, but its results are significant, some of which I have mentioned.

Now you are young, and many of you are first-time voters; I have great faith in our young generation, the youth of our country. Young people are the driving force in all fields, they are progressive, they inspire enthusiasm, and in this field, they can also be pioneers, driving forces, and sources of enthusiasm; both the youth should participate and encourage others to participate. One of your tasks is just this; you can encourage fathers, mothers, classmates, relatives, neighbors, and all those connected to you with reasoning; this is a possible task. Of course, some may genuinely be unable to participate; that is, while we encourage everyone to participate in the elections, there are some who, for any reason, are truly unable to participate; we have no issue with them, we have no words for them; but those who express indifference towards the elections — unfortunately, there are such individuals; they express indifference themselves and also encourage others not to participate — these individuals should think a bit more about these matters; not voting has no benefit. You say voting may be useless; well, it may also be useful; that is, there is a possibility of benefit in voting, but there is no possibility of any benefit in not voting. Not voting yields no achievements, but voting [has a chance of achievement]; now I say it certainly has achievements, [but] that person who is doubtful should say it probably has achievements. Therefore, there is no reasoning behind not voting that we can say they should not vote. In summary, not voting does not solve any problems; the non-participation of some does not solve any problems for the country, rather it harms them; because ultimately, if you do not vote, someone else will vote, and the person you do not want to be elected may be elected; if you vote, you may prevent them with one vote or a collection of votes. Ultimately, my message is this: anyone who loves Iran, anyone who loves the Islamic Republic, anyone who loves the revolution, anyone who loves national power, anyone who loves progress must be active in the elections, must participate enthusiastically in the elections.

Elections are an opportunity; this opportunity must be utilized; it is beneficial for the country, it also discourages the enemies of the country; it discourages the likes of American politicians, the CIA, and the wicked oppressive Zionists and others who are sitting and monitoring our issues closely; participation in elections discourages the enemies. This is our main point.

A question arises regarding "the most qualified." Because those who enter the election field as candidates are all qualified; that is, the Guardian Council and other supervisory bodies have studied them and determined that they are qualified; therefore, they are qualified; but you want to choose the most qualified. Who is the most qualified? Who has more qualifications? I have mentioned two or three criteria here: Anyone who is more committed to religion, more committed to religious practice and adherence; anyone who insists more on the independence of the country and does not want the country to be dependent on this or that power in the world; anyone who seriously believes in fighting corruption and that corruption must be fought; anyone who is more serious about national interests; that is, they are willing to sacrifice their personal interests for national interests; they prioritize national interests over [personal interests]; anyone who has these characteristics is the most qualified; the issue of religion, the issue of independence, the issue of fighting corruption, the issue of national interests. They should set aside factional biases; in various matters, they should see what is suitable for national interests and what brings honor and comfort to the country and progress to the country, and they should prioritize that in the case of conflicts between personal interests, factional interests, and national interests; in my opinion, this is the most qualified, and this should also be determined through study, careful listening to knowledgeable individuals, and you can achieve this; it is not a difficult task. Now, for example, if I want to vote, well, for example, the list of Tehran is brought, there are various lists, not everyone is known; some are known, some are asked about, some are trusted based on the individuals who introduced them; for example, one writes down a collection of names as their preferred candidates and puts them in the ballot box. Every effort should be made in this regard.

The issue of Gaza today is a fundamental issue for the Islamic world, as we have repeatedly stated. A few days ago, in a discussion, I said (2) that the issue of Gaza, the incident in Gaza, introduced Islam to the world; it became clear that "Islamic faith" is the factor that creates such power and resistance that people stood firm under bombardment, did not surrender, did not raise their hands against the enemy, despite all the atrocities they caused — it introduced Islam; this is Islam, this is Islamic faith — and it also introduced Western culture and civilization; Western culture and civilization are those that compel the policies arising from this culture to witness these atrocities and not be willing to acknowledge that this is genocide, and they are not willing to stop it in the true sense of the word. Yes, they say something verbally, but when it comes to stopping this crime in the United Nations Security Council, they veto it! This is Western civilization. The disgraceful actions of the inhumane policies of America and the West have reached a point where you heard that this American Air Force officer set himself on fire; (3) that is, even for that young person raised in that culture, it is heavy, even his conscience is disturbed. Of course, instead of one person, a thousand should have set themselves on fire, but being immersed in corruption does not allow it; now one person, by chance, whose conscience has awakened, has set himself on fire. Western culture introduced itself, exposed itself, and revealed how corrupt, deviant, and oppressive it is.

We hope that God the Exalted grants complete victory to Islam and Muslims, to Palestine, and especially to Gaza, and we hope that God the Exalted will decree a desirable, suitable, and worthy election for the nation of Iran.

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