Supreme Leader’s Speech to Government Officials on Mab’ath

Supreme Leader’s Speech to Government Officials on Mab’ath
08/07/2011

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 30, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution. The speech was delivered in a meeting with Iran's government officials on the occasion of Mab'ath.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I would like to congratulate the honorable audience, our esteemed government officials, the honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries, all dear Iranian people, the great Islamic Ummah and the entire humanity on this great Eid and this holy day.

If the importance of a particular day depends on whether or not Allah the Exalted has bestowed a blessing on humanity on that day, then Mab'ath is definitely the greatest and the most important day of the year. This is because sending down the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) for humanity was greater than all divine blessings throughout history. Therefore, one can say with certainty that Mab'ath is the best, the greatest and the most auspicious day of the year. We should commemorate the event that happened on Mab'ath, and we should visualize the greatness of that event.

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said, "God sent the Prophet when the mission of other Prophets had stopped and the peoples were in slumber for a long time." Be'that happened at a time when humanity had been deprived of the presence of divine prophets for a long time. It was about 600 years after Jesus Christ. Humanity had not seen a divine messenger for hundreds of years. What was the result? "The minarets of guidance had disappeared and signs of destruction had appeared." The world was a dark place. Spirituality had left the world. Humanity was living in ignorance, deviation and arrogance. Allah the Exalted sent the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) in such a situation.

The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) was the person who had been prepared by Allah the Exalted for such a great mission in the entire history of mankind. Therefore, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) managed to start a movement in 23 years, and this movement has pushed human history forward in spite of all the problems. Twenty three years is a short time, and 13 years of it were spent in unfair battles. It started in Mecca with 5, 10, 50 people. Only a small number of people managed to resist under the unbearable pressure of prejudiced, blind and ignorant enemies of Islam. Firm foundations were built so that Islamic society and Islamic civilization could be based on them. Later on Allah the Exalted prepared the way for the immigration of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) to Medina, and he managed to establish this Islamic system and this civilization in Medina. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) organized, built and managed this system in only ten years. It was a short time. Such events usually disappear in the flood of other important events, and they are usually forgotten. Ten years is a very short time. But the Holy Prophet managed to plant, water and nurture this sapling in that period of time. He managed to start a movement that led to a civilization, and this civilization stood at the peak of human civilization during a certain period. That is to say, during the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Hijri calendar, Islamic civilization was greater than all earlier civilizations. This is one of the miracles of Islam.

This was while different bitter events happened to the Islamic Ummah after the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) passed away. Problems, disagreements and internal conflicts emerged. In spite of all these things, in spite of the deviations that emerged over time, in spite of the impurities that appeared and grew, the Holy Prophet of Islam and the message of Be'that managed to give rise to that greatness in 3, 4 centuries, and the modern world and all civilizations of the modern world are indebted to Islamic civilization of the 3rd and 4th Hijri centuries.

If humanity considered the issue in a fair way, it would acknowledge that human beings' salvation and their movement towards perfection will be possible only through Islam. We Muslims were ungrateful. We were unappreciative. We failed to appreciate Islam. We failed to preserve the foundations that had been developed by the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) for prominent and advanced human societies. We were ungrateful, and we paid the price. Islam has the capacity to help humanity achieve prosperity and perfection. It has the capacity to help humanity achieve material and spiritual growth. The foundations that were established by the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) - faith, rationality, struggle and dignity - are the main foundations of an Islamic community.

We should strengthen our faith in our hearts and in our actions. We should utilize human wisdom, which is the great gift of God to humanity. We should engage in jihad in the way of God - in military, political, economic or other arenas. We should appreciate our Islamic and human sense of dignity.

When these things are revived in a society, that society will definitely follow the path of Islam and the path of the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.). Thanks to the message of Islam and thanks to the call of our magnanimous Imam, we Iranian people managed to practice part of these things in our life, and we can see the positive results.

Today the world of Islam has awakened. The movements that we see today in certain North African and Middle Eastern countries are the result of using the light of Islam and following the guidance of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). Therefore, by Allah's grace, the future of this region and these countries is bright.

The obstinacy of the westerners is futile. Their insistence on their wrong positions is futile. What we see today in Egypt, Tunisia and certain other countries tell us that a new chapter has begun in the history of this region. The wrong and oppressive balance that western arrogant and colonial powers established in this region 100-150 years ago and imposed it on the destiny of this great and strategic region, has been upset. A new chapter has begun.

Of course today western arrogant powers are resisting. They do not want to accept the great and undeniable fact that the regional nations have awakened. They do not want to accept that the regional nations have turned back to Islam. But this is a fact. The Islamic spirit has been revived in Muslim countries. The puppets of America and the west did something that these nations had no option but to rise up, start an impressive popular movement and carry out a revolution. Therefore, they started following this path. These movements will definitely achieve the desired outcome.

Of course westerners are making a lot of efforts. Today all propaganda, political and economic organizations of America and some of its mercenaries in the region are trying to derail these popular revolutions and these great uprisings. They are trying to hide and deny the Islamic aspect of these movements. They are trying to deceive the people and install individuals who would help them change all the equations in favor of the west again. They are trying to do these things, but their efforts are futile. Nations have awakened. When a nation awakens, when a nation enters the arena in a courageous way, it is not possible to dissuade or deceive it. We hope that the path of the Muslim nations that have revolted - and those nations that have the potential to revolt - will be continued and that this path will become as short as possible. The end result is certain although the path might be long or short.

Today the Americans are trying to derail these revolutions with the help of the Zionists and some of their allies and mercenaries in the region. They are trying to ride the waves of these revolutions, but their efforts are futile. Of course they create problems for nations. These problems are natural. They foment discord. We have experienced all these things. They fomented discord in our Revolution as well. They infiltrated our country. They pitched ethnic minorities against one another. They created domestic conflicts. They provoked a foreign enemy to deploy his military against us. All of these things happened, but the Iranian nation resisted. The Iranian nation continued its path in a powerful way. It overcame all these problems, and it will do so in the future as well. Therefore, these problems exist.

Today you see that they create internal disputes in Egypt and other places. They create conflicts. They will definitely arrange a chain of assassinations and seditions. The solution is to awaken the people and prominent figures - scientific and political figures and empathetic government officials who care about the destiny of their country. They should be vigilant. They should be careful, and by Allah's favor, the work will be continued in the best possible way. This is the manifestation of the continuation of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) be'that and the prophetic movement.

Oppressed nations are after their dignity, the same dignity that was one of the pillars of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) call to Islam. Enemies, arrogant powers, occupiers and interferers exploited Muslim nations for many years. They also humiliated Muslim nations. When a nation enjoys the blessing of Islam, it will be after dignity. This is the Islamic movement. This is what the Islamic movement means.

We Muslim nations should be vigilant. Prominent figures of Islamic countries should be vigilant. They should not keep themselves busy with pointless and unimportant disputes. They should not get involved in sectarian and ethnic disputes, differences of taste and side issues.

We Iranian people are happy to see that Muslim nations are after their freedom and dignity. Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the positions of the Revolution have been clear on regional issues, regional movements and regional uprisings. Wherever a movement is opposed to the arrogant powers, Zionism and the usurping Zionist regime, we support that movement. Wherever a movement is against America, against America's international dictatorship - against domestic dictators, wherever a movement seeks to claim national rights, we support that movement.

Everybody should be vigilant. We should be vigilant, and other nations should also be vigilant. They should know that the plots of the enemies are diverse and complex. We should consider insight as the criterion for our work. Nations should pay attention to the fact that the Americans, the Zionists and their allies and mercenaries are trying to derail the revolutions. They focus their attention on the countries that have awakened. They do whatever they can to derail the movement of these nations.

The oppressed Bahraini nation is like the Egyptian nation, the Tunisian nation and the Yemeni nation. They are all in the same situation. It is meaningless to distinguish between the movements of these nations. Unfortunately we see that instead of paying attention to what nations want, some people follow the path and make the move that the enemies of these nations want. Today in order to simulate what was done in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and other such countries, America has realized that it should create problems for Syria - which is moving on the path of resistance. The nature of the issue in Syria is different from the nature of the issue in these countries. In these countries, the movements were anti-America and anti-Zionism, but America is clearly involved in Syria. The Zionists are following up the issue. We should not make a mistake. We should not forget our standard. Wherever a movement is anti-America and anti-Zionism, that movement is a genuine and popular movement. Wherever the slogans are in favor of America and Zionism, the movement is misguided. We will preserve this logic and this insight.

Of course we know that the enemies of the Islamic Republic will get angry and will increase their machinations against us. We have resisted in the face of these machinations. Our nation has become experienced. The Iranian nation has resisted in the face of different kinds of machinations over the past 30 years. It has resisted and become experienced. They pin their hopes on certain events that happen in the country.

Fortunately different organizations are doing their duty with hope and enthusiasm today. You see how much work has been done in the country during the recent years. We used to import oil products, but we turned into a country that exports these products. Thankfully the country is active in different areas. The mutual attempt by the administration and the Majlis to downsize the government is a very important and great measure. These things should be followed up, and by Allah's favor, they will be.

By Allah's favor, the Iranian nation and government officials will manage to turn the hope of the enemies of the Iranian nation into despair through their resistance, unity, inexhaustible faith in divine assistance and cooperation.

I pray to Allah the Exalted to increase His blessings on this nation. By the blessedness of this holy day, this auspicious Eid and the soul of the Last Prophet (s.w.a.), I hope God will bestow His blessings and assistance on the Iranian nation and other Muslim nations. I hope He will make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) satisfied with us.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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