Speech [Necessity of rectification of the constitution; election of the President]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

We face certain fundamental issues and we have to think about those fundamental issues. At a time when such fundamental issues are under consideration, it is wrong to bring up other issues. I have repeatedly said that should there be an earthquake and ruins some houses and some people remain under the debris, would you allow yourselves to sit down and talk about medical issues or mathematical issues or study other issues? Or, should you all rush over and take the people out? We now have a country that has some fundamental destruction. We are now entangled with some issues, issues that are the basic foundation of our country. Now it is time to lay the foundation of these fundamental issues and all of us to follow up on these fundamental issues. Once we have corrected and established the foundation of the country, then you can go after traditional medicine, and others can go after imported medicine. Today is not a day to spend all your energy on such matters as to which one to follow: the Islamic medicine, as you put it, the traditional Abou `Ali's «1» medicine, the Razi's «2» medicine, or other medicines.

This should not be brought up now. At the present time you have another situation and that is between the country's existence and its non-existence; between the existence of the religion, i.e., Islam and its non-existence. You are on a crossroad. It is wrong to assume that now that you have pushed back the former regime, all the issues are being solved. At the moment you notice that there are still some mainsprings from that very old regime that are at work. Certain individuals have come from abroad under the disguise of different names and are busy with their own activities. They are trying to prevent this country's new regime be get established. They opposed referendums in the past; then they opposed the (country's) constitution, and finally they oppose any issues that you bring up. They are a part of the foreigners who express their opposition. On a day when we face the opposing parties regarding the foundation of the religion and that of the country, at such a moment, we should direct our attention to this very point. How was it that when you were determined to expel that regime you were not bringing up anything of your own issues and problems. Although you also had your problems then, but since you had noticed that it was not a time for bringing them up. Now, the same condition exists. Now it is not time for bringing up the condition of the universities and how they are or how the traditional medicine or the new medicine is. Or, take the other things that we need to repair and all the ruined conditions that they left behind for us and left themselves. So, now it is not the time for brining up these issues. Those have their own time. Now we have an unstable transitional government. However, it is not stabilized yet. Our government is not stabilized yet. We need a constitution, for the foundation of a country is based upon its laws. Then, we need a president that is not there yet. Next, we need a Majlis that becomes a reality by the votes of the people. After the Majlis becomes a reality and the presidency becomes a reality and a government becomes a reality, that is, an established government, and after their (the foreigners') hands and their greed were curtailed from this country, then it will be the time for me to tell my own version of problems. You have your own problems; the clerics have their own problems. It is not that we are not aware that there exist lots of problems.

It is as if we do not know that the plots caused the sciences that we possessed in the East to be withdrawn and to be replaced with the Western sciences- the sciences that existed in the East and were emulated by Europe. Certain hands appeared and withdrew those sciences but took their content from us. Our present situation is such that makes us imagine that whatever there is, it is in the West and we do not possess anything. They took away our very essence, i.e. they brainwashed us and in lieu of our own brain, they implanted a different brain, one that is nourished by the West. This is an important issue of which this country should gradually get rid off. One of the other issues is the very issue of the traditional medicine. They were treating all the ills that now exist with the help of those very herbal medicines and such treatments were fundamental treatments; Europe was using Avicenna's medicine up to the very recent times. Avicenna's book «3» was, until recently, the focus of their attention and perhaps it is at this very moment as well, although they do not reveal it. It is not that I am not aware of these issues; problems are abundant. But everything is just like that. All the issues are such that they have made us perceive that we are naught and they are everything. They wanted to expel us from the scene of mankind and declare that we do not possess anything. But even right now you see that we do have physicians and therapists. However, the moment someone contracts a disease, they go to England; they go to America. They go there while they can be treated in this very country. After sometime, they realize that they could not treat them there either- sometimes they do. This is due to the fact that they have raised us in such a way that we get the impression that save there, there is nothing existing. Whereas, that is not true and there are things here, too. Anyhow, we are aware of all the existing problems, but those take time. At the moment, you should exert all your efforts on this point and to pass these stages that we have, and they are opposing them.

We now have a need for our constitution to be reviewed and ratified. A number of knowledgeable and informed people should get together and establish the Council of Experts (for the constitution). You should alert the public opinion to the fact that you should decide on the individuals who are truthful, Muslims and committed to Islam; who believe in the fact that it is this school [of Islam] that is able to make us independent. Decide on this kind of people so that they can go to the Majlis and do whatever is needed with the constitution, following which there will be a referendum and for us to go through this stage, God willing. At this very juncture where we are, there are those who oppose us. Now, my guess is that the very words that you speak have been uttered by someone in your ear without you yourself being attentive to. You said:" Listen! Our medicine has been destroyed; let's go there and lay it out." But now it is not a time for laying something like that out. Now it is not a time for us to sit down and say what condition our medicine is in or what condition our universities are in. They all have their problems. Or, to say what condition our [implementation of] justice is in. All of these should undergo reform. But the time for these is when we find a right government; a time when we can say to the world that this is the country of ours, this is the system of ours, this is the law of ours, this is the president of ours, and this is the Majlis of ours. It is only then that other nations and the whole world will recognize us as a bona fide system. After that is accomplished, then we can delve into these sundries and see to it and what has happened; see what backwardness we have and what hardships that sinister regime of the past has created for us; they created a hodge-podge and then just walked away.

May God assist you all and may you become attentive to your duty at hand, God willing. And you the academicians, and those advocates of the traditional medicine and others; all these respected sisters, and you brethren all over Iran, all should in unison pay attention to this very course on which our movement revolves. You should all keep this movement alive until all these issues have ceased to exist. If you act sluggishly and attend to other tasks; if in the midst of the way, one would say," I lack a dwelling house," another would say," My healthcare is such and such," another would say," My university is this and that," I am afraid all of a sudden there will emerge a barrier and all that you said turns to naught! Then it will be the end of everything and we undergo the same old issues. May God protect you all, God willing.