Speech [The Islamic government is a government that the people desire and one that earns God's pleasure]

I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

On the one hand, the difficulty of the Iranian nation has almost reached its peak: martial law, a military government in force and, as I have been told, guns and tanks which have trained their muzzles against all mosques are posted in the streets. The people have been subjected to hardships and are suffering from food shortages. According to some, they are also facing water shortages. I don't know whether this is true or not. The Shah is fighting the people with all his might. The struggle has almost reached its summit. On the other hand, the Shah's downfall is imminent because this regime is shooting the last arrow in its cross-bow. It had previously been surmised that they (the Shah and his agents) would understand that their own ploys were no longer effective; because this present military government is no different from the previous one; it is the very same government and military forces. And supposing this government became more vicious and violent, it could never pacify the nation through bayonets. The people could never be coerced into satisfaction. This government is after pacifying the people, but is it possible to appease someone by force? Or pacify someone with bayonets? This military regime can temporarily suppress the people at gunpoint and stifle their voices, but only for a while. All of this is futile.

Well, assuming that the people's outcry is muffled, what then is the regime going to do with the strikes? Now, all activities have ground to a halt, that is, everyone is on strike everywhere. Can the regime coerce people to go back to work and start factory wheels turning again at bayonet point? This military government has now been defeated. It was obvious even from the beginning that this government was fighting a losing battle, but now, the government itself has understood it has been defeated and has resorted to rifles and machine-guns to suppress the people and end the strikes. This is impossible.

We believe that unless the Shah leaves, the people will never find peace again. We have carefully studied the situation in Iran and the favors the Shah has done for the foreigners and their interests. All these issues have been well scrutinized, so it is only obvious that things cannot be mended with words. Now, they have set the last arrow in their cross-bow. The next move will be to stage a military coup d'etat, banish the Shah somewhere and install another puppet ruler in his stead! This is also a futile move! Until the time that external influence like that of America, the Soviet Union and the like, is meddling in Iran, neither will peace be attained nor do strikes come to an end. These powers must leave Iran alone. Iran- the Iranian nation- wants to be independent, wants to be free. These foreign powers must give freedom to the nation, that is, leave the nation alone to manage its own affairs. This military regime needs to stop putting pressure on the people through bayonets, guns and tanks and forcing them into satisfaction. Such things are simply impossible.

The Islamic government we are talking about, that is, the government we want is one which the people desire and one to which God, the Blessed and Exalted, could say that these people who pledged their allegiance to you had pledged their allegiance to God. It should be a governing body allegiance to which is allegiance to Allah. In wars, when an arrow is shot, God will say:" When thou threwest (a handful of dust), it was not thy act, but Allah's," «1» meaning that the hand that threw the dust was God's hand. The government that we want is one which is the shadow of God and is the extension of His hand; a government that is divine. The government that we want is such a government. Our wish is for a governing body to come to power that will not transgress against divine laws.

The Holy Prophet never went beyond the limits of God's decrees all his life, his hand was God's hand, his allegiance was only to God. In everything he did, his will was governed by the will of God; whatever he did was what God wanted and his government was a divine one. In such cases, we can say that he did not throw the spear. It was not him who threw the spear, it was God. Even though it was the Prophet who had thrown the spear, he did so as the shadow of God. He never acted independently of God; everything he did was subject to God's laws. The Prophet was the Qur'an personified. He was the divine law incarnate. We want a government which is the law itself; one that is governed by law, not one ruled by Satan or a Satan incarnate; not by a devil among the people personified in the being of Muhammad Rida Khan! These people are Iblis incarnate, they are the army of the devil. This government is the devil itself and is a follower of the devil; it is satanic and is the follower of Satan. This military rule is such a satanic rule; a rule that is opposed to the pleasure of God and that of the nation; such a rule is a satanic rule.

We want a divine rule that conforms with the desires and choice of the people and God's laws, and a rule that is in accordance with God's will is also concordant with the people's wants. The people are Muslim and God-fearing and when they see that the government wants to implement and execute justice they will support it. God wants justice to prevail among the people. God wants something to be done about the deprived and the third class people. Unlike nowadays that the plutocrats have accumulated all the power: one group eats and drinks ad nauseum, while another crams the outskirts of Tehran, starving, without water, electricity, bread or anything. The Shah claims he wants justice enforced. Some justice indeed!

He arrogates to himself the implementation of social justice and the crystal-clear tenets of Islam, but he just preaches and never puts anything into practice. He comes and repents before the nation- all these are but his wiles and the nation should not fall for this chicanery and it will not. He says:" Up to now, I have made mistakes, but from now on, I will commit no more blunders"! Who can guarantee that you will not make any mistakes? But what you (the Shah) had done, you had done willfully. It was deliberately that you gave away the nation's wealth to America and the Soviet Union to devour! This act was deliberate and it was not a mistake. You knew what you were doing. You are a man with malicious intent. Despite the fact that you knew it was the nation's wealth and America was the enemy of the nation, you still gave the nation's wealth to its enemy for nothing in return. You were well aware of what you were doing, it was not a mistake; and after all this, you will carry out the same deeds again and then afterwards you will probably come before the nation once more saying you have made a mistake again! You have not committed any mistake. You have purposefully handed the nation's wealth over to others against its interests.

What we want is a government that will work to serve the people's interests. Of course, we can never establish a rule like that of the Prophet's time- that was a rule gone past- or find a ruler like `Ali ibn Abi Talib. We are not saying that (someone like) `Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God's peace be upon him, should rule over us because we can never find someone like him. What we want is, at least, a government that is governed by the law, one that is based on the laws of Islam, one that is governed by laws correctly derived from Islam. At the very beginning, these people (the Shah et al.) came to power illegally and they will rule illegally until the end. Ever since, neither the incumbent laws of the land nor the divine laws have ever recognized their right to rule. And up to now whatever they have done has been against the law and divine canons and laws and is against God's and the people's satisfaction. We want to set up a (simple) government- not a complicated one as they make it out to be. They think we want a government to descend from the heavens! Not at all! Right here on this earth, there are individuals who can rule with justice. There are dignified personalities right here on this earth, in Iran, or here abroad. Right here (abroad) among ourselves, there are individuals who can administer their country, who can establish justice among people and make them observe justice, manage national affairs systematically without discord and chaos as we now have in Iran. We have such people who can bring the country's economy under control. We do have such people. A lot of plundering is going on! A bunch of people are guzzling the country's oil (dollars) into their monstrous throats and of course, they render the country bankrupt. They are so gluttonous that the more the country produces, the greedier they get, devouring and gulping everything down their insatiable throats. Now, we want these throats to be wrung. A portion of this (national wealth) should be diverted to feed the people who have small throats. We want such a government not one which cares only for itself and its relatives devouring and squandering (the nation's wealth). Now, you (the Shah) claim that you are calling for their (the Shah's relatives') indictment and an inventory of their property so you can put them on trial. You, contemptible man, to whom are you saying these words? Don't people know you? Haven't the people known you? Do you really want to arraign your own relatives and sisters? Why don't you put yourself on trial? Allow them to try you in court and then we will see how much you have plundered the country! You are the ringleader of all these thieves! You are the one who has committed all the treacheries and your sisters took after you. They are just like you. You, your sisters, brothers, uncles, nephews and all your cousins and others, whoever and whatsoever! People say there are 60,000 of these relatives and go-betweens; maybe even more. All the country's revenues are being drained into their throats and then they complain that the economy is in a mess! Have you ever thought of the economy? We believe that when we are rid of these gluttonous throats, our national wealth will be a lot more than what we have now. We are very rich but thieves in the government abound. Plundering is rampant and throats are wide. Their villas abroad need to be maintained, and I do not know how much- about 100 million dollars «2»- has to be spent annually on bribing foreigners and foreign media to praise this man and publicize that he observes social justice and that the Iranian nation has not yet reached the stage where it can be free! What do you mean it has not reached that stage? Does the Iranian nation not want to be free? Has it not reached that stage where it can be free!? You (the foreign powers) are the ones who have not reached that stage to be a human being. The Carters have not reached the stage to even think like human beings and become human, not the Iranian nation which says it does not want to give you its wealth.

Be vigilant, gentlemen! Propaganda abroad has increased and they (the foreign powers) are still publicizing here and there that these people (the Islamic activists) cannot administer the country! If administration means killing people, then all animals can also be administrators! If wolves come rampaging into the country, they can administer it better. What do you mean that the nation cannot run the country? Does Iran not have any dignitaries? Don't we have any students? Either they have been exiled and are living abroad and dare not come to Iran or they have been isolated inside the country. When you leave and this regime is toppled, right and competent people will come forth and administer the country. What do you mean there is nobody who can? You, yourself, could not do it, and that is why there is so much turmoil in the country and now you cannot suppress it. You cannot manage the affairs of the country. Very well, go and leave ... When you cannot handle things, we will run things ourselves!

There is so much propaganda. Focus your (the audience's) attention on this and engage in propaganda too; counter their propaganda. Proclaim to the public that these people (the government officials) cannot run the country's affairs. What could be a better time than now that they can no longer manage the affairs of the country? Every affair in the country has been destabilized. There are strikes everywhere because everybody is dissatisfied. You (the Shah) have created a discontented group, a discontented country. If one can manage a country, there will not be so many dissatisfied people in the country. You cannot manage the country, when you cannot, then everybody is dissatisfied. The merchants are dissatisfied; the tradesmen are dissatisfied; the office employees are dissatisfied; and the armed forces are all dissatisfied. Do you think that the military are this handful of inutile men who are massacring the people? Not everyone is like them. The armed forces have sent us word that they are ready (to support the struggle). When the right time comes, they will all be set and geared up to work (for us). Whom have you kept satisfied? You have kept four contented men who are now killing the people and destroying their possessions. You have bought off these four with money. You have fed them with our petrodollars and the nation's wealth and have unleashed them upon the people. We want to kick them out of our country. They should mind their own business. Enough of the looting! They should go and loot elsewhere!

You (the audience) are all duty bound to tell people about the problems of Iran. Tell these Europeans and Americans and make them understand that this is Iran's situation now. A dissatisfied country has now emerged and this is all because of America, the Soviet Union and the flunkeyism of Muhammad Rida Khan. Anyway, his father was just the same as his son, or perhaps a bit better. Perhaps. You, gentlemen, whomever you meet, inform them of Iran's afflictions. They (the foreign powers) have presented Iran in a bad light. They have propagandized that Iranian people are savages who will not let the country be run properly! You (the foreign powers) are the savages because you did not allow us to run our country ourselves! In every affair you (the Shah) take up, America intervenes. Just take a look at the armed forces and you will find 60,000 or 45,000 American military advisers! Now, they are leaving one by one. «3» Look at its culture and education and you will see America meddling with it. Its Parliament has been created by them (America). The representatives of the Parliament are chosen from their list. Even the Shah himself was hand-picked by America. Everything is in their hands. What else do we have? We do not have anything. Do we really have our own economy? Everything is in America's hands and all these crimes are being perpetrated through this man's treacheries and the crimes of his foreign masters.

We want a country run by you (the people), one in the hands of the barefooted people who are suffering from hunger. Think up a solution for them. We want a ruling clique endowed with human dignity, one that believes in God and the Day of Reckoning, not like these people (in the government) who are ignorant of God, in order that something good be done for the poor people and the country and we be rescued from the claws of these parasitical oil guzzlers.

You (the audience) are duty bound wherever you go and whomever you meet to inform everybody of the country's afflictions whose cure is the deposition of this wretch, the overthrow of his unrighteous regime and our emancipation from the clutches of foreign elements. If this adversity goes and its remedy is found, which is when this man and the foreigners leave, for all of them are sources of afflictions and are like a cancerous tumor which should be removed... Let us eradicate them all. Our country is a great country, very vast and bountiful. It has everything. But a bunch of traitors is disturbing its state of affairs. This bunch of traitors must go. We have a great country. We will run it ourselves. May God bless you with success. May you all succeed, God willing.