Supreme Leader’s Speech to Assembly of Experts

Supreme Leader’s Speech to Assembly of Experts
10/03/2011

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on March 10, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts.

In Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Honorable gentlemen and esteemed members of the Assembly of Experts, welcome. I would like to thank the dear brothers and the esteemed gentlemen for their efforts - both the efforts which have been made during this meeting and the efforts which have been made in different commissions. I will pray for you. I hope Allah the Exalted will accept your efforts and reward them.

I would like to thank all the gentlemen, especially Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani who acted against the expectation of the spiteful enemies in this meeting. They expected to see discord grow among the members of the Assembly of Experts. They expected the competition for rendering services to turn into the commonplace competition of the material world, a negative competition to occupy centers and positions of power. Thankfully this was not what happened. Well, this was what Mr. Hashemi was expected to do, considering the wisdom and sense of responsibility that I have always noticed in him. Gentlemen, you elected the right person [as head of the Assembly of Experts]. Mr. Mahdavi has been a prominent figure since the beginning of the Revolution up until today as far as the world of the clergy, the world of politics, the current issues of the country and the issues of our Islamic seminaries and universities are concerned. Thanks to the sincerity and wisdom of the gentlemen which can be noticed in their words and actions, what happened will benefit Islam and Muslims, and this is what is expected from the gentlemen.

Considering the issues of the region, the current conditions of the country are extremely important and sensitive. The dimensions of the regional issues are completely out of the ordinary. There are great aspects to what is happening. What the enemies, the international opportunists and arrogant powers want and what they are planning is a different issue. What happened enjoys two crucial characteristics, and these two characteristics have been the wishes of sincere Muslims and those who cherish lofty ideals in the Islamic Republic and other parts of the world. Presence of the people was one characteristic and shouting Islamic slogans was the other characteristic. These two characteristics are very important.

Presence of the people means stepping into the battlefield and facing the dangers, just like what happened in Iran. When this happens, no power can stand up against a nation, let alone powers like America. Even if all powers of the world join hands, they cannot stand up against a nation that has entered the arena with all its power. Of course they wage wars, kill people and shed blood, but they are defeated in the end. As the Imam (r.a.) said at that time, blood will overcome the sword. This has already happened. The people have entered the arena with their body and soul. They have not just sent their representatives. They have not limited themselves to words. This has happened not just in one single country, but in several different countries. And the ground is already prepared for such events in other countries as well. This is one point which is very important. Nothing except the divine hand of power is able to cause such things. When the ground is prepared, the people play their role. There is no doubt about this. But hearts belong to the divine hand of power. It is Allah the Exalted who bestows determination on hearts and deploys them. The divine hand of power is noticeable in such events and because the divine hand of power is involved in these events, victory is ensured.

The second point is the issue of Islamic slogans. In Islamic countries, the people are part of the Islamic Ummah. Islam has set its roots even in countries where the manifestation of Islam was limited and where the people have been pressured. And this is a characteristic of Islam. In the U.S.S.R., where Marxism had done everything in its power to get rid of Islam, the people stepped into the arena as soon as the communist regime was overthrown. The youth who had not even experienced Islamic rule started to shout Islamic slogans. This characteristic is due to the fact that Islam is rooted in hearts.

The same is true of regional countries. Of course there have always been other motives as well: liberal, socialist, ethnic and other such motives. But the majority of the people are Muslims, and the slogans are Islamic, especially in a country like Egypt where Islam is deeply rooted and the Quranic spirit and love for the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household are prevalent.

Therefore, the event that is happening is an extraordinary event, and it is in its early stages. As government officials of the Islamic Republic, we have responsibilities to fulfill. We should pay attention to these responsibilities and not let this historical stage pass us by.

The Islamic Revolution created a role model and a discourse, and this is one of the things that definitely affected these events. The Islamic Revolution became a model for Muslims. The Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic presented a system of government with a complete Constitution. And the Islamic Republic managed to practice this system of government. This system stood firm for 32 years, and nobody could harm it. The system was increasingly strengthened. Today the Islamic Republic is not comparable to 10, 20, 30 years ago in terms of its firmness. The Islamic Republic made different advances - scientific advances, technological advances, industrial advances, social advances. Thoughts matured and new ideas were produced. A great scientific movement started in the country and different activities were carried out. The construction projects which have been carried out in the country have in some cases put the country among the top countries in the world. These are the things which have already taken place. These things are tangible for Muslim nations. They can see these things. The Revolution came and established a system of government, and this system prevailed and achieved increasing power and progress on a daily basis. This is how a role model is formed. Such an effort to create a role model creates a discourse: the discourse of Islamic identity and dignity. Today the sense of Islamic identity among Muslim countries is not comparable to 30 years ago. Today the sense of Islamic dignity and the demand for this Islamic dignity is not comparable to the past. This has already happened.

Naturally, as a consequence, the opposing camp is defeated. Corrupt and dependent autocrats were in power in some countries. Allah the Exalted has promised: "Humiliation from Allah and heavy punishment will smite the guilty for their scheming." [The Holy Quran, 6: 124] Their scheming will not benefit them in any way. Rather, Allah the Exalted will humiliate them for scheming. This has already happened, and it is in front of our eyes.

This is another instance in which we could see the Quranic signs with our own eyes. This is a modern example, and it is very valuable. We can experience and see with our own eyes what Allah the Exalted has promised in the Holy Quran.

This is the direction of an important portion of the propaganda that is broadcast against the Islamic Republic: they want to prevent creation of role models. They want to prevent the Islamic Republic from becoming a successful role model in the eyes of Muslim nations. I believe this is a very important point which deserves our attention. The enemies are trying to prevent the Islamic Republic from presenting itself as a successful role model to other nations. This is because when a role model appears, people move towards it. When the success of this role model is recognized, people are encouraged to follow it.

About fifty or sixty years ago, an Egyptian writer wrote in his book that if Muslims manage to establish an Islamic government in a part of the world, it is more effective in spreading Islam than thousands of books and efforts to promote Islam. He was right. Unfortunately we are far away from practicing Islam in a perfect way. Although the model we have presented does not correspond to Islam as much as we want, our current level of success in infusing Islam into our society has revealed its positive effects. We can see the resulting glory, power, progress and independence. The people can see these effects. Therefore, they want to prevent the presentation of role models. As a result, they try to undermine this role model in the eyes of those who want to follow it. This is one of the things that has been done since the beginning of the Revolution. If there is a weakness, they magnify it. If there is no weakness, they create one and attribute it to us. We should pay attention to this point. This is one of the essential things that the enemy follows in his propaganda, and all their efforts are in this direction.

Two factors play a role in undermining this role model. One is the domestic factor: the shortcomings that we are suffering from. Our negligence, our laziness, our disagreements, different illegal actions that we commit, our materialistic tendencies, our desire for power and our unwise actions: we ourselves are the source of these shortcomings. The domestic factor harms this role model.

The other factor is related to the enemy. They magnify our flaws a hundred times and make others notice them. And they falsely attribute other flaws to us, flaws that we are not suffering from. What should we do? First of all, we should take care of the domestic factor. We should first address the things that we ourselves have caused. If we take care of the domestic factor, Allah the Exalted will take care of the other factor. That is to say, Allah the Exalted will neutralize the enemy's propaganda.

In "Munajat ash-Shakeen" Imam Sajjad's (a.s.) first complaint is about himself. Then he complains about the enemy. We should first criticize ourselves, and then the enemy. You should be cautious in this regard.

Who is responsible for exercising this caution? How should it be practiced? Primarily it is government officials, elites, prominent figures, intellectuals, scholars, ulama and influential people who should watch their behavior. As I said, we should be cautious about the desire for power and materialistic gains. We should be cautious about discord, creating uproar and acting against moral principles. In this meeting, I would like to stress the issue of acting against ethical principles.

The atmosphere of insult and disrespect in society is one of the things that Islam is opposed to. We must not let this happen. The atmosphere of disrespect is against sharia, ethical principles and political common sense. Nothing is wrong with criticism, opposition and courageous expression of one's beliefs, but there should be no insult, disrespect, cursing and other such things. And everybody is responsible in this regard. Such things create uproar and shatter peace in society, and today we need this peace. Such things also bring about divine wrath. I would like to address this message to all those who make public statements or write in newspapers or weblogs. All of them should know that they are not doing the right thing. It is one thing to raise objections, present reasons or condemn a wrong political or religious idea, but it is quite another thing to do something that goes against ethical principles, sharia and political common sense. I reject the latter completely and decisively. It must not be done. Unfortunately some people do these things. I would like to address this advice to our youth in particular. Some of our youth - who are undoubtedly sincere, faithful and good people - believe that what they are doing is a duty. No, I would say what they are doing works against their duty. What they are doing is the opposite of what they should do.

Of course we should not ignore the enemy's attempts at infiltration, evil deception and interference. As the Imam (r.a.) used to say, sometimes the enemy infiltrates enthusiastic and faithful groups and attracts them towards a certain direction or move. It is necessary to be cautious in this regard and not fall into the trap of lack of vigilance resulting from becoming emotional and failing to see the hands of the enemy. Therefore, I ask our youth in particular to put an end to this atmosphere of insult, backbiting, leveling accusations, cursing and disrespect. If this atmosphere prevails, it will spread like a contagious disease. And then you suddenly see such things happening during Friday prayers - which are arranged for dhikr and attention to God. And this is totally wrong. When somebody does not believe in a particular Friday prayer leader, he walks out and refuses to listen to his sermons or pray behind him. Similarly we see such things happening in academic environments. This is wrong and harmful, and it goes against the interests of the Revolution. These things harm the Islamic system, which is moving forward in a firm manner. These things create discord in the impressive structure of the Islamic system.

I would like to offer a piece of advice to our prominent figures as well. My previous advice was addressed to the youth, but elderly people also need advice. They should be cautious as well. Adopting appropriate positions, saying the right thing, refusing to be influenced by false news - these are a duty as well. Thousands of people are making efforts in the Islamic Republic for the sake of God. They spend day and night trying to do something that is in line with the Islamic movement. They try to manage the affairs of the Islamic system and fulfill extremely difficult duties. But it goes against our interests and it is totally wrong to question all these people - including government officials and others - when one hears a lie. All our people should be vigilant in this regard, young and old. We are always in need of advice, both when we are young and when we are old.

I hope Allah the Exalted will help all of us to preserve this successful and impressive role model - namely, the Islamic Republic. By Allah's favor, we will manage to pass on this role model to future generations, and we will be able to hold up our heads before Allah the Exalted.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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