Statements at the International Conference of 'Youth and Islamic Awakening'

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 the Master of the Messengers and the Master of all creation, our Prophet and Messenger, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure family and his chosen companions, and those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

I extend my warm welcome to all of you dear guests, dear youth, bearers of great tidings for the future of the Islamic Ummah. Each of you carries a great message. When a young person awakens in a country, hope for public awakenings in that country increases. Today, our youth across the Islamic world have awakened. All these traps have been laid before the feet of the youth, yet the Muslim, proud, and high-spirited youth have freed themselves from these entanglements. You see what has happened in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya, in Yemen, in Bahrain; what movements have arisen in other Islamic countries. All of these are tidings.

What I want to convey to you dear youth and my children is that you should know today the history of the world, the history of humanity, is at a significant historical turning point. A new era is beginning in the entire world. The great and clear sign of this era is the attention to the Almighty God, seeking help from His infinite power, and reliance on revelation. Humanity has passed beyond materialist schools and ideologies. Today, neither Marxism has attraction, nor does Western liberal democracy have appeal - you see what is happening in the cradle of Western liberal democracy, in America, in Europe; they confess to their failure - nor do secular nationalists have any attraction. Today, among the Islamic Ummah, the greatest attraction belongs to Islam, to the Quran, to the school of revelation; for the Almighty God has promised that the divine school and divine revelation and dear Islam can bring happiness to humanity. This is a very blessed, very important, and meaningful phenomenon.

Today, in Islamic countries, uprisings have occurred against dependent dictatorships; this is a prelude to an uprising against global dictatorship and international dictatorship, which is represented by the corrupt and vile dictatorship of the Zionist network and the arrogant powers. Today, international despotism and international dictatorship are embodied in the dictatorship of America and its followers and the dangerous and devilish Zionist network. Today, they are dictating in various ways and with different tools all over the world. What you have done in Egypt, what you have done in Tunisia, what you are doing in Libya, what you are doing in Yemen, what you are doing in Bahrain, the motivation for this has strongly arisen in other countries, and it is part of the struggle against this dangerous and harmful dictatorship that has been oppressing humanity for two centuries. This historical turning point I mentioned is the transformation from the dominance of such a dictatorship to the freedom of nations and the sovereignty of spiritual and divine values; this will come to pass; do not doubt it.

This is the divine promise: "And Allah will surely aid those who aid Him." God Almighty emphasizes that if you support Him, He will support you. It may seem unlikely from an ordinary perspective based on material calculations; however, many things seemed unlikely and happened. Did you think a year and two or three months ago that the tyrant of Egypt would be humiliated and vanish like this? If it had been said at that time that the corrupt dependent regime of Mubarak would be overthrown, many would have doubted it; but it happened. If someone had claimed two years ago that such strange events would occur in North Africa, most would not have believed it. If someone had said that in a country like Lebanon, a group of young believers would be able to defeat the equipped Zionist regime and army, no one would have believed it; but these things happened. If someone had said that the Islamic Republic would be able to withstand for thirty-two years against all the enmity directed at it from the East and the West and would grow stronger day by day, no one would have believed it; but it happened. "Allah has promised you abundant gains that you will take; so hasten for you this and restrain the hands of the people from you, and let it be a sign for the believers and guide you to a straight path." These victories are signs of divine power that God Almighty is showing us. When the people come to the field, when we bring our existence into the field, divine support is certain. God Almighty also shows us the way; "And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our paths." God guides, helps, and brings to lofty goals; the condition is that we be present in the field.

What has happened until today is very significant. For two hundred years, the West, with the help of their scientific advancements, ruled over the Islamic Ummah; they occupied Islamic countries, some directly, some indirectly with the help of local dictators. England, France, and ultimately America - the Great Satan - dominated the Islamic Ummah. They humiliated the Islamic Ummah as much as they could; they planted the cancerous tumor of Zionism in the heart of the Middle East - this sensitive region - and strengthened it from all sides, confident that their goals and policies in this very important region of the world were secured. However, the faith-driven determination, the Islamic spirit, and the presence of the people have shattered all these false dreams; they have halted all these objectives.

Today, global arrogance feels powerless in the face of Islamic awakening. You are victorious, you are triumphant, the future belongs to you. What has been accomplished is a very great task; but this is not the end - the important thing is - this is the beginning, this is the start. Muslim nations must continue their struggle to remove the enemy from various fields.

The struggle is a struggle of wills and determination. Whichever side has a stronger will prevails. The one whose heart relies on God Almighty is the one who prevails. "If Allah aids you, no one can overcome you"; if you attain divine support, no one will overpower you; you will advance. We want the Muslim nations, which constitute the great Islamic Ummah, to be free, independent, honored, and not humiliated; to organize their lives with the progressive and exalted laws of Islam; and Islam can do this. For many years, they kept us scientifically backward; they trampled our culture, destroyed our independence. Today we have awakened. We will seize the fields of science one after another.

When the Islamic Republic was established thirty years ago, the enemies said the Islamic Revolution succeeded, but it would not be able to manage the fields of life one after another and would retreat. Today, our youth, thanks to Islam, have been able to accomplish great things in the field of science that they never even dreamed of in the past. Today, thanks to reliance on God Almighty, the Iranian youth is achieving great scientific feats: enriching uranium, producing and cultivating stem cells, making significant strides in biotechnology, reaching for space; all thanks to reliance on God Almighty and with the slogan "God is the Greatest".

Let us not underestimate our capabilities. One of the greatest afflictions that Western culture has inflicted on Islamic countries is two erroneous and deviant perceptions: one is the instillation and injection of the powerlessness of Muslim nations; they made us believe that nothing can be done by you; neither in the political field, nor in the economic field, nor in the field of science; they said you are weak. We, the Islamic countries, remained in this false belief for decades and fell behind. The second instillation and belief they injected into us was the infinite and invincible nature of the power of our enemies. They made us understand that America cannot be defeated, that the West cannot be compelled to retreat; we must endure in the face of them.

Today, it has become evident to the Muslim nations that both of these beliefs are false upon false. Muslim nations can advance; they can renew the Islamic glory that once stood at the peak of honor and at the summit of scientific, political, and social brilliance, and the enemy is compelled to retreat in various fields.

This century is the century of Islam. This century is the century of spirituality. Islam gifts nations with rationality, spirituality, and justice together; the Islam of rationality, the Islam of contemplation and thought, the Islam of spirituality, the Islam of attention and reliance on God Almighty, the Islam of jihad, the Islam of work, the Islam of action; these are the teachings of God Almighty and the Islamic teachings to us.

What is important today is that the enemy, in the face of the blows that have been dealt to it in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other countries in the region, is busy designing and plotting. We must be aware of the enemy's plots. We must be vigilant so that the people's revolutions are not stolen from them, that the paths are not diverted. Learn from the experiences of others. The enemy does many things to divert revolutions, to neutralize movements, to thwart the struggles and the spilled blood; we must be vigilant, we must be alert. You youth are the engine of these movements; be vigilant, be aware.

We have many experiences over these thirty-two years. For thirty-two years, we have resisted enmities, stood firm, and overcome hostilities. There has been no plot that the West and America could carry out against the Islamic Republic that they have not done. Whatever they could not do, they did not do. Whatever they could do, they did, and at every stage, they have been met with failure and defeat. After this, it will be the same. After this, they will continue to fail in all their plots against the Islamic Republic; this is God's promise to us, and we have no doubt.

We do not doubt the truth of God's promise. We have no suspicion of God Almighty. God Almighty reproaches those who have suspicion of Him; "And He will punish the hypocrites and hypocritical women and the polytheists and polytheistic women who think ill thoughts of Allah; upon them is a misfortune, and the wrath of Allah is upon them, and He has cursed them and prepared for them Hell, and it is an evil destination." God's promise is true. Since we are in the field, engaged in the struggle - the Iranian nation has brought all its capabilities into the arena - therefore, divine support is certain. The same is true in all other countries. However, we must be vigilant. All of us must be vigilant. We must all be aware of the enemy's schemes. The enemy tries to neutralize movements, to create divisions.

Today, the Islamic movement does not recognize Shiite or Sunni; it does not recognize Shafi'i, Hanafi, Ja'fari, Maliki, Hanbali, or Zaydi; it does not recognize Arabs, Persians, or other ethnicities; in this great field, everyone is present. Let us strive not to let the enemy sow discord among us. Let us all feel brotherhood, let us clarify the goal. The goal is Islam; the goal is a Quranic and Islamic government. Of course, there are commonalities among Islamic countries, and there are distinctions as well. There is no single model for all Islamic countries. In different countries, there are different geographical, historical, and social conditions; but there are common principles: we are all enemies of arrogance, we are all opposed to the wicked and oppressive dominance of the West, we are all against the cancerous tumor of Israel.

Wherever it is felt that something is being done that benefits Israel, that benefits America, we must be vigilant; know that this movement is foreign; it is an alien movement; it is not our own. Where the movement is an Islamic, anti-Zionist, anti-arrogance, anti-despotism, and anti-corruption movement, there the movement is correct; there we are all on the same side; whether we are Shiite or Sunni, from this country or that country, it does not matter. We must all think alike.

Look today - this is a simple and obvious example - all the media outlets in the world are trying to isolate the people of Bahrain and the movement in Bahrain. What is the reason for this? Because the issue is a Shiite and Sunni issue. They want to create discord, they want to create distinctions and lines. There is no difference between those Muslims and believers who lean towards this or that Islamic sect. The commonality of all is Islam. The commonality of all is the Islamic Ummah; the unity of the Islamic Ummah.

The key to victory and the continuation of the movement is reliance on God, good thoughts of God, trust in God Almighty, and maintaining unity and cohesion.

My dear ones! My children! Be careful that the enemy does not stop your movement. God Almighty tells His Prophet in two places in the Quran: "So remain steadfast as you have been commanded," "And remain steadfast as you have been commanded"; steadfastness means to stand firm, to continue, to follow the path, not to stop; this is the key to the work.

We must move forward. This movement is a successful one; because it has bright horizons. The horizon is clear. The future is a very bright one. The day will come when the Islamic Ummah, with the help and power of God, will be at the peak of strength and independence... Muslim nations, while preserving their characteristics, their distinctions, will come under the united banner of calling to God and to Islam; they will all be together. Then the Islamic Ummah will regain its dignity.

We have underground resources in our countries, we have strategic and vital regions, we have abundant natural resources, we have distinguished individuals, we have advanced and talented human forces; we must strive. God Almighty, God willing, will bless this effort.

I tell you youth, the future belongs to you. You youth, with the help and power of God, will see that day, and God willing, you will pass on your honors to the generations after you.

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