Supreme Leader’s Speech to People of East Azerbaijan Province

Supreme Leader’s Speech to People of East Azerbaijan Province
16/02/2011

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I would like to welcome and thank each and every one of you dear brothers and sisters who have traveled a long distance and brightened up this Hussayniyyah with your sincerity, your statements, your slogans and your faith.

What I can tell the people of [East] Azerbaijan province and Tabriz on the eve of the historical and unforgettable day - the 29th of Bahman - is that I have always felt proud when looking at this land of brave of men, this land of faith, this land of purity. Whenever one considers [East] Azerbaijan province and its people at a particular historical stage, one feels proud.

The people of [East] Azerbaijan province have been pioneers in Iran during the events of the past 150 years. Sometimes they were a pioneer, and sometimes they were alone and there was nobody to support them. When Mirza Reza Shirazi issued a hukm from Samarra against the use of tobacco, the great religious scholars of Azerbaijan - the late Haj Mirza Javad Mojtahed and others - were the first to respond, and the people of Tabriz were the first to step into the arena. This broke the back of colonialism at a certain historical stage. The same was true of the Constitutional movement, the issues following the era of the Lesser Tyranny and the events that happened until the victory of the Islamic Revolution. The 29th of Bahman became a flag. It gave rise to role models, and this is the important point. The important point is that a nation - a people, a community, an individual - should be able to set a model so that this model produces other models. This was what the people of Tabriz did on the 29th of Bahman, otherwise the uprising of the people of Qom on the 19th of Dey might have been forgotten. The people of Tabriz did not allow that important and violent event in Qom to be erased from the memory of the people through the use of propaganda. They did not let ulterior motives or lack of vigilance erase this memory. That is to say, they did what Hazrat Zeinab (s.a.) did. If it had not been for Zeinab (s.a.), there would have been no memory of the events of Karbala. If it had not been for Zeinab (s.a.), the memory of the events of Karbala might not have been propagated like that, and it might not have enjoyed this permanence in history. This was true of the movement started by our people. Then the movement became a model. It was the people of Tabriz who gave rise to an uprising forty days after the killing of the people of Qom. Other such arbaeens [arbaeen is a ceremony to mark the 40th day after the death of a person] were arranged to commemorate previous killings, which finally led to this great movement.

The same is true of the essence of the Revolution. The efforts of the people of Iran have helped this Revolution give rise to models. Dear people, maybe the main reason behind the pressure that they have exerted on Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic throughout the past 33 years is that they wanted to prevent the formation of a model for the Muslim population of the region. This is because it is difficult to start a movement without having a role model. It is easy to start a movement when there is a model. When a nation becomes a model, when a movement becomes a model, it encourages others and helps realize potentialities. They wanted to prevent this from happening.

They impose sanctions in order to make the country economically weak, hoping that others will look at our country and think that Islam brings about economic backwardness. They assassinate our scientists in order to thwart the scientific movement and prevent the Iranian nation from showing its impressive and advanced scientific movement to the world and the Islamic Ummah. And this scientific movement was inspired by Islam and the Islamic Revolution. They level allegations of political suppression, violation of human rights and other such things in order to mislead global public opinion. However, the Revolution has been shining brightly in spite of all these efforts, all this propaganda and all these spiteful actions.

The more they attacked the Islamic Republic, the more powerful it became. The eight-year imposed war made us more powerful. If it had not been for the eight-year war, these brave soldiers and these prominent men would not have been revealed among the people and this great and sincere public movement would not have been given the opportunity to emerge. If it had not been for the economic and scientific sanctions, our youth would not have found the opportunity to reveal their talents. That is to say, everything was in place, but they would not have taken action and achieved anything [if it had not been for the sanctions]. After they imposed sanctions, talents were utilized, the nation started to grow and this flag was raised higher. "They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths but Allah will perfect His light though the unbelievers may be averse." [The Holy Quran, 61: 8] They want to put out the light, but God has pre-ordained that this light should become perfect, and it will become perfect.

My judgment about the faithful people of Tabriz and [East] Azerbaijan province is that they have always enjoyed enthusiasm, wisdom and strong determination accompanied by insight. Try to preserve this. I would say that I have noticed unique enthusiasm among the people of Tabriz and [East] Azerbaijan province during my trips to Tabriz and during my meetings with the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan. It has always been like this over the past years. And they have not just been enthusiastic. Their enthusiasm has been accompanied by insight, critical thinking and accurate understanding. This is why the people [of East Azerbaijan] do not stray away from the path. This is why they are present on the scene everywhere.

Our youth did not experience the war. There are many youth in today's meeting. You dear youth did not see Shahid Bakeri. You did not see people like Shahid Bakeri. You did not go through that period of great hardship. You did not see the Imam (r.a.). But you have the same spirit. You have the same thought. You follow the same path. You enjoy the same judgment. This is a very important point. This movement should be continued. This movement is like a river that quenches the thirst of [people of] the region. This is what insight is. As the poet from Tabriz says, "If it were not for the river, Baghdad would not have existed." [Speaking in Azeri] The existence of a developed city is because of a river that flows past it. This faith and this faith-based insight is analogous to the vital flow of water, and it has exerted its effect on the world.

Today it is felt that the world of Islam is going through a kind of awakening. Today this is not just what I say. Over the past years I have been saying that Islamic Awakening has started, that the Islamic movement has started. Many people - who were just looking at the surface of things - used to say that there was nothing. They used to say, "What are they talking about?" But today eyes can see this and ears can hear the shouts. Everything is clearly visible on the scene. For example, the Egyptian uprising is a very important issue. A bunch of mercenary traitors had made Egypt - a nation that enjoys an ancient civilization, a deep understanding and a good young population - dependent on America. They had attached Egypt to the Zionist enemy. The people were suffering, and there was nothing they could do about it because the pressure was too much. The great movement that happened in Egypt was not a sudden movement. Great social movements do not happen in a moment. They only manifest their existence in a moment. Different causes - different kinds of understanding, insight, sufferings and suppressed emotions - accumulate over time and suddenly give rise to an event at an appropriate time. And this was what happened in Egypt.

Egyptian intellectuals were in contact with us. Some of them used to travel to our country. We knew how they felt and how they looked at the issues. Today when I take a look at the statements of the Egyptian youth and people - the ones that are published and are made available to us - I can infer what characteristics they enjoy. The main cause of their movement was their frustration at the humiliation that the dependent rulers used to impose on the Egyptian nation. When one surrenders to America and gives in to the domination of a superpower, such things will follow. Nations should stand up against the bullying of domineering powers so that they are not forced to suffer from the consequences. When a government is politically or spiritually weak, or when it is treacherous - which is the result of spiritual weakness - it surrenders to superpowers and suffers from the consequences. Such a government would want the fake Israeli government to gain power, and the people would have to obey it. The characteristic of an independent nation is that it considers the situation and sees what is appropriate. It considers the situation to see which path is the right path and which path is in line with its judgment and religious faith. Then it decides to follow that path. This would be impossible in the absence of independence. Dependence brings about humiliation for a country. This is what frustrated the Egyptian youth, and the movement suddenly revealed this.

Today I look at them, and I see their strong determination. I see their faith. One can see the effective presence of the youth in Egypt. You dear youth should really appreciate your value. You are a model for the youth of the world. The youth play a determining role. They are agents of change. They are the driving force behind the progress of the country. They are a solution for dead ends. This is what youthful energy is. It is the youth who are doing many of the things we see happening in Egypt - those who felt with their body and soul the hardships and sufferings imposed by that taghut [government not sanctioned by God]. The movement is started from mosques and Friday prayer venues. It is conducted in the name of God. It is a public movement. These things are very valuable.

What I can say with certainty is that when the people step into the arena, all tools of the superpowers lose their effectiveness. America can bully a country only as long as the people of that country do not stand up against it. It is easy to bully governments. Governments that do not rely on their own people have to let America install and remove them. Sometimes America appoints a person to a position and supports him, and once it stops supporting him, he has to leave. And when he leaves, they totally snub him. You can see this going on. They treated Mohammad Reza Pahlavi the way they treated him [Hosni Mubarak]. They also treated Ben Ali of Tunisia in the same way. This happens when governments do not rely on their own people. When the people step into the arena, when they make up their mind, then global powers cannot do anything. This has already happened in Egypt. As long as the people are present on the scene, they cannot do anything.

Of course the Americans are seeking to deceive the people of Egypt. They are trying to dissuade them and make them feel satisfied with trivial achievements. They are trying to make them return to their homes and prevent them from remaining present on the scene. It is unlikely for such a plot to work. Once the people are awakened, once they feel what power they have and what change they can bring about, such plots are useless. The people step into the arena, pursue their lofty goals and achieve those goals by Allah's favor.

We can see the result and the agreeable outcome of the resistance of our great nation. This agreeable outcome is the charismatic face of Islamic Iran, the glory of Islamic Iran, the influence of Islamic Iran on different events happening in the region or outside of it. We feel that faith and Islam gave us glory and progress. Faith and Islam helped us move closer to our ideals. The more we strengthen our faith and the more we practice Islam in society and promote Islamic values among our people, the more this glory and this progress will increase and the more our material and spiritual life will be reformed. And this depends on the faith and determination of the youth and the people. Fortunately one can see this. One can see that this determination exists among our men and women, young and old, in different sectors of the country and among different ethnic groups. By Allah's favor, this determination will be preserved, and you dear youth will see the day when Iran will be able to shine at the peak of glory thanks to Islam and the Holy Quran.

I hope Allah the Exalted will bestow His mercy, grace and blessings on you dear people of [East] Azerbaijan and Tabriz. I hope Allah the Exalted will help the Iranian nation tread this path of dignity and glory in a fast and perfectly steadfast manner. I hope Allah the Exalted will bestow His mercy on our dear martyrs.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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