Message [Reply to the congratulatory telegram on the auspicious `Id al-Qurban]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Dhou'l-Hijjah 2,1408 AH

His Excellency Mr. Shaykh Za'id ibn Sultan Al Nihyan, Head of State of the United Arab Emirates:

The receipt of your congratulatory telegram on the occasion of `Id al-Qurban «1» (feast of sacrifice) is acknowledged with gratitude. Reciprocally, I congratulate Your Excellency and the fraternal Muslim nation of your country for this great Islamic feast. Albeit no room for greetings and festivity is ever left with these great tragedies that befell the Muslims of the world, especially the oppressed nation of Iran. Where is the room for greetings and festivity at a time when the forces of the world-devouring America would stealthily enter the Persian Gulf, shot with missiles a passengers' airbus and kill 290 defenseless people including innocent women and children while its irresolute and mercenary stooge, the criminal Saddam, would everyday raze to the ground hundreds and thousands of people in Halabchah as well as in the warfronts by lethal chemical bombs. More regretfully, the rulers in the region and the Muslim countries would even spare from making a rhetoric condemnation? May peace be upon you.

Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini