In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
To act upon divine duty is a great victory
In this affair in which you and I are involved, there are three basic principles: the deposition of Muhammad Rida Khan and the abolition of the Pahlavi dynasty; the destruction of the monarchical regime; and the establishment of a government of Islamic justice, that is an Islamic republic. In everything man does, there are two kinds of action the fruitfulness of which he must take into consideration: Will it produce good results or not? Will he reach the aim he has set himself, or not? If he is sure that he will reach his aim, he carries on the work, otherwise he ceases his action. And the other he performs because it is his God-given duty to do so. This action may be fruitful and then again, it may not. Achieving a result does not come into it; man performs this act because it is his duty to do so.
Campaigns of the Shi`ah Imams
«1» Amir (Imam `Ali), «2» upon whom be peace, rose up against Mu`awiyah «3» to remove him from his position and put a just person in his place to govern over Syria, for Mu`awiyah was a sinful man who stole the wealth of the people. Rising up to stop Mu`awiyah's tyranny, to show the people that he was a tyrant and that individuals like him should be driven away, was his religious duty. So he rose up against him, but he did not succeed in removing him from his position.
The Doyen of the Martyrs «4» rose up against Yazid, «5» perhaps knowing fully well that he would not succeed in deposing him, and indeed, as is reported, this was the case. So even though he knew that he would not succeed and that his own death may result from his action, still he and his followers rose up, for their uprising was one against an oppressor. They killed and were killed and in the end the Doyen of the Martyrs lost his own life.
Now, today, we have a similar situation in Iran with the Iranian government and the Shah; however, Mu`awiyah was a congregational prayer leader and a leader of the Friday prayers. He was not a person who refrained from performing his namaz [the ritual prayer] or from fasting. No, he did his namaz, he fasted, and he led the congregation in prayer. He used to go to the mosque and the Muslims would stand behind him and do their namaz. He would lead the Friday prayer and outwardly perform his religious duties. So Hadrat Amir did not rise up against him because he did not do his namaz or because he was an unbeliever, no, for this was not the case, he was not an unbeliever; he was a Muslim who outwardly espoused Islam. He rose up against him because he was a brigand, he was an oppressor who stole the wealth of the people and who committed acts of oppression and murder in whatever way he could, and because he had usurped his position. Mu`awiyah's government was unjust; he himself contravened the divine rules and usurped his position and then governed in an oppressive manner. This is why Hadrat Amir rose up against him, and even though he did not achieve his aim, still he had performed his duty, a duty which was to actively oppose and do battle with such a person.
A similar situation exists in Iran today, in that the ruler there usurped his position and just as Mu`awiyah's rule was tyrannical, so too is this man's. As I have said many times before, even if we consider ourselves to be bound to the Constitution, then on this basis too his rule is illegal for it violates the Constitution. Constitutional law states that dominion is a divine gift that the people entrust to the one they want as ruler, and we know that the people did not entrust dominion to him or to his father before him. So as his rule has not been entrusted to him by the people, he has therefore, according to the Constitution, usurped this position, and consequently, in the eyes of the law, he is a bandit.
Unlawful reign
According to constitutional law, this man is a bandit like any other who captures a place and seizes control of it illegally. According to religious rules also, these Pahlavis are in no way worthy of legitimate rule. He who is entitled to rule over the Muslims has to meet certain conditions which these people do not satisfy at all. Therefore, in accordance with both the constitutional law and religious rules, this dynasty, that is, this man, his father before him and his children after him- if they succeed to the throne- has usurped this position and is not entitled to rule. So he can make pilgrimages as many as he likes, he can ask for forgiveness and publish copies of the Qur'an to his heart's content, he can play as many of these tricks as he wishes, it won't make any difference. He has still usurped his position and no matter how much a usurper asks for forgiveness, as long as he remains in this position, it is one which he has taken illegally.«6»
The duty to struggle against tyrannical governments
When oppressive leaders such as Mu`awiyah and others like him, usurped their positions, it was the duty of the Muslims to depose them and hand over the reins of government to the person in whose hands they should have been held, and who, on the basis of the divine law, had the right to rule. Today too, this is a bounden duty for the Muslims, it is obligatory. We are Muslims and it is incumbent upon us to strive to remove the Shah from this position, even if we are unsure of success; we don't have to be certain of success. However, it is more than probable that this movement, which has been embarked upon by the Muslim people who all shout out together that they don't want this man, will be successful, and, God willing, he will be toppled [The audience replies with" God willing"].
Amir fought a bloody battle with the forces of Mu`awiyah for eighteen months in which men from both sides were killed, men who were Muslims- for the followers of Mu`awiyah were also Muslims, albeit sinful ones, while those of Hadrat Amir were justice-seeking Muslims- yet he did not succeed in removing Mu`awiyah from his position. Suppose that in our case too the Shah proves to be mightier and that just as Hadrat Amir was unable to remove Mu`awiyah, we too are not able to topple the Shah this time, the thought of a number of us being killed or killing a number of the enemy in an attempt to achieve this does not strike fear into our hearts for we are acting upon our duty. God the Blessed and Exalted has charged us with a duty to actively oppose and do battle with people like him, with oppressors and those who weaken the foundations of Islam and destroy the interests of the Muslims, and if at some time we are able, we will take up arms, we will throw guns over our shoulders and fight them, whenever it is necessary.
We are not afraid of sacrificing ten or twenty lives. In Hadrat Amir's eighteen-month battle, more than ten thousand or even twenty thousand people were killed. It was the same at the time of the Prophet. When the Prophet wanted to depose a leader, when he wanted to depose those Quraysh infidels, he had to face them in battle. In some of these battles he triumphed, while in others he was defeated. Men were lost in these battles, great men like the Prophet's uncle. In the battle of Siffin, «7» `Ammar Yasir, that great man, was killed. Many were killed. At this time too, it is of no consequence to us if we have to sacrifice lives.
Transformation of masses, greatest gain of the movement
Some people complain:" You have given lives, for what? This is our duty, but what has been achieved?" First of all much has been achieved. The situation in the country was such that when a policeman entered the bazaar and told the people to close their shops, they did so. When the police entered the bazaar in Tehran, the largest bazaar in Iran, and told the people to close up shop and bring out the flags for today was the fourth of Aban (October 26: the Shah's birthday), they didn't disobey, it never even entered their heads to disobey a command from a policeman. A four-star or even a three-star officer could enter the bazaar and commit any malfeasances he liked; no one would say a word to him. This holy, Islamic movement has changed all that, and now even small children shout out in the streets:" Death to the Pahlavi monarchy!" This is the change which has come over the people, such that today the people disregard the police; they pay no heed to officers or to martial law.
Previously, when the country was put under martial law, the people would continue to go about their daily lives and would never dream of opposing or fighting it. Today, however, martial law is in effect and according to one of its regulations, gatherings of more than two people are not allowed, yet seventy thousand, one hundred thousand, five hundred thousand people take to the streets and begin shouting against the Shah! This is indeed a great change which has been brought upon the nation, it is not something insignificant.
Retreating step by step
We see that in some areas the Shah and his regime are now retreating from their previous stance step by step- indeed, they have to be taken to death's door to be made content with a temperature. Was the Rastakhiz Party «8» a matter of little importance that they relinquished it as easily as they did? You all saw to what extent they eulogized it and how this wretch himself (the Shah) went on and on about it with his idle talk:" Everyone has to be a member! Whoever is not must leave the country for he is not an Iranian," and other such nonsense. But then, because of the people's movement, because these bare hands prevailed over the guns and tanks of the regime, the Rastakhiz Party was suddenly dissolved! They announced that it was an insubstantial thing and the government itself did not accept it! [The audience laughs]. It became something that even the government did not accept, even though its members came from this party! They changed the calendar and then they had to change it back again. «9» A man who was not prepared to concede anything to this nation now comes forward and addresses all classes offering his apologies and saying he has erred, he has made mistakes which he will not repeat in the future. You all saw what this man was like fifteen or twenty years ago, and the same can be said of him during the period of stagnation- from Khordad 15 to the present- he took no account of anyone. He was responsible for everything that happened. Now when he talks about making" mistakes", he is lying! Everything he did, he did so consciously, knowingly and intentionally, as the servant of the foreigners; mistakes did not come into it. All these" mistakes", all these" blunders" were carried out intentionally and if you give him a respite now, he will carry out more of these" mistakes".
Our goals
Anyway, these are the concessions made by degrees until now, but we should not let it stop here and say we are satisfied with these. No, we seek to achieve the final aim which means that we should continue with these initial steps until this man goes, until the Pahlavi dynasty and the imperial regime are done away with, until the hands of America, Britain and Russia are severed from our land and our country is ours to administer ourselves, and until an Islamic government is established, God willing.[The audience replies with" God willing"].
The purpose of the Supreme Leader is to establish an Islamic justice system
This is what we are seeking, and we will continue to endeavor to achieve this with all the strength at our command. If we are successful, then praise be to God, we will have been able to be of some service to this nation. If, however, we do not succeed, then still we will have carried out our duty and we will not have to make up excuses before God for not having done so; for truly we tried, and were unsuccessful, and we will not have lost face before God. Thus, we must go through these stages which comprise this man's going, this dynasty being abolished and the hands of foreigners being severed from our land, to reach the ultimate goal which is the establishment of a government of Islamic justice based on Islamic ordinances. This is our ultimate aim. All the rest form a part of this aim, and of course it goes without saying that when we declare that we want an Islamic government it means that we don't want this dynasty or the present regime, and the hands of the foreigners must be severed from this land, for under an Islamic government no unbeliever has the right to occupy an Islamic land. So even though these three aims are intrinsically present in the ultimate aim, I have elaborated on them here and presented them as forming a part of our hopes and aspirations.
Abiding by God's decree, a great achievement
To get back to the main point that I am trying to make which is that if we do not succeed in our aims, we should not question the value of our efforts or ask what has been gained by the spilling of blood. For indeed much has been achieved. First, they (the Shah and his regime) have had to relinquish their obstinate stance a little and secondly we have carried out our duty. Such questions were likely to have been put to Hadrat Amir by the Kharijites: «10»" What has been accomplished? You have done battle for eighteen months, for what? What have you achieved?" What is the meaning of" for what" here? It was our duty.
We perform our namaz, and someone may ask us what we have achieved after twenty or thirty years or so of doing namaz. In reply we can say that by praying we have obeyed God and ask them what they mean by" for what?" We have obeyed God, this is what He told us to do and we did it. The question" for what?" applies to something which is not a religious duty but a personal matter, something which is done with an aim in mind and when that aim is not achieved then one can ask:" What was it all for?" But when one is trying to prevent an oppressive system from demolishing the foundations of Islam and the clerical establishment, when that system is destroying a nation and has placed the interests of the people and the Muslims in danger, indeed has already destroyed them, then it is the duty of the Muslims to rise up and make this Shah eat his words, to throw him out of the country, or, if they are able, they should arrest him and put him on trial and get back the money that he has taken from the people. In the event of him not having it or having squandered it, he must be punished for each oppressive act that he has perpetrated. This is something which is incumbent upon us as Muslims. If we are able to do this then praise be to God, we will have carried out our duty and achieved our aim; if we cannot do this, still we will have performed our duty; in the same way as we did our namaz. So then what is the meaning of" what for?" We did our namaz, we opposed and fought against oppression, we did battle with a person who wanted to ruin a country and who has in fact ruined the country, who has trampled over the interests of the Muslims and has given their resources away to infidels, we shed blood and spilled blood, we did all of this and we fulfilled our duty. If we achieve our aim, then praise be to God, if not then at least we can say we did our duty. We are not afraid to do our duty and God willing we will achieve our aim.[The audience replies with God willing].
Propagandistic support
I ask God, the Blessed and Exalted, to keep you in good health. Nearly every day I repeat the same thing, and that is that we are all duty bound, all of us, not just one or two of us, to assist the people who have embarked on this movement in Iran at present. They are sacrificing their youth. One old lady lost a few of her sons, still she stood firm and said she was prepared to sacrifice everything she had. We have to help this movement. Even though you are over here you can help by telling the people you are in contact with, your friends and acquaintances, the truth about the situation in Iran and thus counter the propaganda disseminated by the Shah, his regime and the reporters who are in the Shah's pay, which portrays the Iranian people as anarchists and barbarians and so on. You must tell the people over here who do not know any better the truth about this movement in Iran. You can hold demonstrations, and you must do so. Whenever you are in a gathering of Europeans or Americans, a few of you stand up and tell them they are mistaken in their views on what is happening in Iran. Tell them what the Iranian people are saying. Tell them the Iranian people are not barbarians, they are a progressive people who are saying," We want freedom; we don't want America to steal our wealth." Put it to them that if someone says America should not take their wealth, does it mean that they are barbaric and have broken the rules? Have these people contravened the rules by saying they want freedom and independence? This is something everyone can accept; whomever you tell will accept that the Iranians are a people who have risen for their independence and their freedom, a people who do not want other countries to hold sway over them. Up until now the Shah and his regime have betrayed the nation and now the nation wants to get rid of these traitors and place the country in the hands of trustworthy individuals, people who at least will not fill up their pockets as is being done now!
The desired government
Of course, we could never find a ruler like Hadrat Amir, one who would live a life as he did. We don't expect to ever find one like him. On the last evening of his life, the following morning of which he was to die a martyr from his wound, this man who reigned over such a vast realm- it is impudent of me to say he" reigned," rather he was appointed to administer this realm- was staying in the house of one of his daughters. History relates that when his daughter brought him salt and milk to have, he turned to her and asked her when she had ever seen him take two accompaniments with his bread. When his daughter came forward to take the salt away he stopped her and told her to take the milk instead, that he would eat the salt. Naturally, we cannot find such a ruler, but we can find one who is not a thief, one who will not steal the wealth of the people in this way, one who will not plunder the country and give its resources away to others. We seek a ruler, who will not spend the people's wealth on himself and his family, who will not give the bigger part of it to America, Russia and other countries in order to preserve his throne.
The desired rulers
Such treason he and his regime have committed! We are not even aware of most of it. Later you will come to discover the extent of their perfidious acts, but now none of us is fully aware of them. However, there are those who do know, they have recorded them and hold their records in safekeeping. Later, God willing, people will see just what this man and his regime has done, just what treachery they have committed against Islam, the Muslims, the Islamic countries and Iran. God willing, these things will eventually come to light.
We want this treacherous ruler to go. We cannot find a ruler like Hadrat Amir, but at least we can find one who is loyal, one who will not squander the wealth of the nation so, who will not give the oil away to the Americans and in return build bases for them here on the pretext that we want the arms! With these arms they have made bases for the Americans in Iran; in return for the oil they build bases for them. We don't want this set-up. We can find a ruler who will meet these requirements. There are many honorable individuals to be found both within Iran and among the Iranians here in Europe who would fit the bill. God willing, we will select them for government and these problems will be solved.