Supreme Leader’s Speech to People of Gilan

Supreme Leader’s Speech to People of Gilan
29/12/2010

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on December 29, 2010 by Ayatollah Khamenei to thousands of people from Gilan province.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Dear brothers and sisters, welcome. Dear friendly people of Gilan, I would like to welcome all of you, especially the honorable families of martyrs and war veterans and the good-natured youth.

Thank you all for your determination to travel from Rasht and Gilan to attend this meeting. We have noticed determination among the people of Gilan - both in their ancient history and their contemporary history. I believe the biggest achievement of the people of Gilan is that in spite of the propaganda and schemes of the satanic Pahlavi regime to ideologically corrupt the people of Gilan over many years, the people of that region had so much faith, sincerity and vigilance and made so many selfless efforts that they are considered among the prominent provinces of the country. This is very important. The malevolent, corrupting and corrupt organizations of the satanic Pahlavi regime used all their resources to attract the people towards corruption, yet the people preserved their religion, faith, beliefs and determination and demonstrated them when necessary. There were the organizations of the satanic Pahlavi regime on the one hand, and the anti-religion grouplets on the other.

I made a trip to Rasht during the early years after the victory of the Revolution. Shahid Azodi took me to the big square in the city of Rasht. Different grouplets had filled everywhere with their placards and slogans. They had taken full control of the university, and they thought that Gilan belonged to them. The faithful people of Gilan - the faithful and revolutionary youth of that province - entered the scene without the help of any organization and raised the flag of Islam, monotheism and the Revolution, forcing all those people off the scene. This shows how faithful the people of Gilan are.

It is true that Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali is the symbol of the bravery and jihad of the people of Gilan - the man who rose up against foreigners and aggressors for the sake of Islam and the Quran, and his memory should never be forgotten. But after the Islamic Revolution, there has been no shortage of the people who have managed to make Gilan a symbol in different arenas. The Quds Army of Gilan, the basijis of Gilan, the faithful youth of Gilan, the students and intellectuals of Gilan, the academics of Gilan and the honorable religious scholars of Gilan played a prominent role in different eras, which was manifested in different ways. And one would end up with a long list if one was determined to list all the ways in which the people of Gilan manifested their prominent role - whether during the Sacred Defense Era, or during the fight against the anti-revolutionaries, or after the imposed war had ended. But one clear instance of this was manifested on the 9th of Dey last year, when the Iranian nation decided to step onto the scene in a unified manner. Rasht was among the first few cities that entered the arena one day before the rest of the country. On the 8th of Dey - which coincides with today - the people of Gilan manifested this insight, this determination and this perceived need to enter the scene one day before the rest of the country. These qualities should be preserved. The essential assets of a nation are the same things that are indicative of insight, determination, vigilance and awareness. It is necessary to preserve these things.

Dear brothers and sisters, our nation was pressured for many years by the corrupt leaders who ruled this country and by the arrogant powers that were seeking to spread their domination over the world. They kept us backward. In terms of scientific and historical legacy, our people are not a nation that would rank one of the last nations if all scientists, scholars, luminaries and global scientific innovations were listed. We would be listed at the top. This is our record. These are our talents. Those who kept our great country, our civilized country, our Islamic country backward over many years in the arena of science and in the arena of material and spiritual progress - these people betrayed the Iranian nation and committed a crime against it. The Revolution put an end to their influence.

We must pursue this path. We need to be determined. We need to change the wrong orders that have brought about backwardness for nations, especially our nation. We need to make up for the backwardness we have suffered so far. All these things require determination and hope. If a nation loses hope in the future or its determination to open up new paths and move towards the goals is undermined, it will lose its dignity. The Iranian nation needs to preserve this determination all the time and increase this hope on a daily basis. Our country has this attitude. Thankfully, our people have been demonstrating this attitude. Therefore, we have made far more progress during the past 30 years than an ordinary nation could. Even our enemies admit this fact. But our slogan is a global one. Our slogans are about the entire humanity. Our slogans are about putting an end to the interference of the arrogant powers in the affairs of our country and our nation. The arrogant powers cannot tolerate this. Therefore, they design plots.

Last year's fitna was a manifestation of the plots designed by the enemies. What happened was a fitna, which means that some people used righteous slogans to convey purely wrong messages with the purpose of deceiving the people. But they failed. The purpose of a fitna is to mislead the people. Notice that it was our people themselves who stood up against the fitna. The 9th of Dey gave the elements of the fitna a powerful punch in the mouth. And it was the people who did this. As analysts, luminaries and others have repeatedly pointed out, the movement was one that was started by the people themselves. This is a very significant point. It shows that our people are vigilant. Our enemies should try to understand this message. Those who think that they can separate the people from the Islamic system should try to understand that this Islamic system is one that belongs to the people. The advantage that our Islamic system enjoys is that it belongs to the people. Primarily, it is the people themselves who are making every effort to preserve Islam and the Islamic system and to keep this flag flying in the country. Our enemies should try to understand this. The leaders of the arrogant governments - headed by America - speak against our nation. Sometimes they design plots. Other times they shout slogans. Sometimes they make hypocritical comments. Other times they explicitly oppose us. Yet other times they disguise their enmity. These are all due to the fact that they do not have an appropriate understanding of Iran and the Iranian nation. Our nation is vigilant.

I would like to emphatically advise our people to preserve this determination and this intensified effort. I named this year "The Year of Intensified Effort and Labor". Fortunately, the signs of intensified effort are visible in different matters across the country. Our government officials, our luminaries and our high-ranking managers in charge of different sectors are adopting good measures. This intensified effort is something necessary, but it is not limited to this year. It is necessary to continue making intensified effort in the future. Our dear nation should continue moving forward and conquer such peaks that the enemies are completely disappointed at taking control of the destiny of this nation. You should make the enemy disappointed. When the enemy of a nation is disappointed, the nation will get rid of it.

The big sin that some seditionists commit in the country is to make the enemy hopeful. They make the enemy feel hopeful that it can create a hole among the people, among different elements, among the government officials. Their actions made the enemy hopeful last year. This was while that impressive election, that great public presence and that impressive voter turnout could go a long way and make the Iranian nation successful in many political arenas. They caused a fitna. Therefore, the enemy that should have been disappointed by the great public movement became hopeful that it can harm the Revolution.

It was a great challenge. On the one hand, the enemy was supporting them, providing political help and mentioning their names. The enemy was mentioning the names of the seditionists. On the other hand, the Iranian nation was standing firm and was present on the scene. Just as the Iranian nation demonstrated innovation, bravery, selflessness and presence in different arenas for eight years during the Sacred Defense Era, so it truly demonstrated skill for eight months during the soft war. When one takes a look at the issues and tries to consider things from a higher perspective, one gets astonished at how the hand of divine power guides hearts and souls towards His goals. It was an act of God. God is with you. It is God who guides you. It is God who makes our hearts pay attention to the right path.

We need to preserve and strengthen our relationship with God. Willpower of the people, their actions, their determination and their presence accompanied by attention to God and hearts that are prepared for supplication - these are the characteristics of a divine movement. These are very important. We should strengthen our relationship with God. We should not let our hearts go in a direction that would make us drift away from God. "Our Lord, make not our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant mercy on us." [The Holy Quran, 3: 8] This is the dua that the Holy Quran teaches us.

Fortunately, our youth attract divine mercy with their pure and enlightened hearts and their presence in different religious ceremonies. And one of the instances of attracting divine mercy was the 9th of Dey. By the blessedness of the memory of Hussein ibn Ali, the Lord of the Martyrs (a.s.), the people stepped onto the scene and put an end to the activities of the seditionists.

Today we should be vigilant. We should not let our determination be undermined in any area in the slightest way. Our government officials are responsible in this regard. The vigilant groups of people who are aware of the issues of our society have a heavier responsibility to shoulder. Our youth have a responsibility to fulfill. People from different social backgrounds are responsible. Rely on divine grace. Be confident about divine guidance. You should know that Allah the Exalted has determined a good destiny for our honorable nation. We should make efforts to reach that destiny.

Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household, bestow Your blessings on this nation. Dear God, associate the pure souls of our dear martyrs and the holy soul of our magnanimous Imam - who opened up this path in front of us - with Your saints in the hereafter. Dear God, reward those who render services to the people, and convey our greetings to the Imam of the Age (Allah's greetings be upon him).

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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