Speech [Causes of victory; endeavor to reach the final victory; advice to the nation and government]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

At the end of this year, now that the New Year is approaching, I have to inform the nation of something. You know that the year we are in, which is about to end, has been a year of great endeavors and suffering; however, it was with benefits as well. The sufferings the nation went through during this year was perhaps unprecedented, or, if not, rarely equaled. Moreover, the strength that the nation had demonstrated and shown to the world has been peerless because the nation had been under intolerable pressure during the last fifty odd years. The regime had depleted the nation's strength and wasted the people's lives; however, in spite of all this, the nation rose up and forged a movement. I cannot call it by any other name but an Islamic movement, which has been achieved through the power of Islam and faith. Had it not been for the power of faith, a nation could not have prevailed over satanic powers with bare hands. It was the power of Islam and faith that united the people and it was this unity and power of faith that pushed the people toward victory.

The Iranian nation must safeguard this movement. If, God forbid, this nation predisposes toward lassitude, we should prepare for the return of the previous tribulations. If disparity is created among the nation, that is, if the criminal hands of anti-revolutionaries cause discord among the nation, then it has to be ready to undergo suppression, plundering and backwardness. The key of our victory was unity of expression and the reliance upon God and Islam. The nation should not let this key slip off its hands.

At the threshold of the coming New Year, we have to express our sadness in one way and celebrate the feast in another. At the onset of this New Year, I would like to warn the nation, the government and its machinery. I am forewarning the nation of the fact that it should not surmise that the task is finished now that we are at the threshold of victory and think that the victory has been reached. This thought can cause weakness to set in. Man is strong while he is invading; he is powerful while advancing. However, when he sees himself triumphant, he is weakened and the enemies may take advantage of this weakness. We have not achieved our ultimate victory yet. We have advanced our cause to a certain extent and, that is, we severed the criminal hands of the Pahlavi dynasty. To a certain extent, we have clipped its roots and branches, but its remnants may still be in this country, and the criminal hands of its agents whose wishes and aspirations are to plunder our treasury vaults and push us backward in order to loot the treasury may still be trailing behind. There are still conspiracies at work. If we consider ourselves victorious and think that we have gained ultimate victory, we may, God forbid grow negligent of this issue. We should not think ourselves victorious; we should think that we are at the threshold of victory, and this is the truth. We have reached the threshold of victory.(True) victory is the day when all the roots of the foreign (influence) and corruption are severed and this has not been done yet. Therefore, the noble nation of Iran is duty bound to safeguard this movement. It has been maintained up to this stage. By safeguarding the unity of expression, this movement and its goals, which consist of Islam and the Islamic republic, the nation should advance forward. Do not let lethargy set in to your ranks or let lassitude creep in. Do not imagine yourselves victorious. If this thought finds place among you, lethargy will also gain prevalence. You should consider yourselves only partially victorious and think that you have gone only half of the way. We must tread the rest of the way, which teems with difficulty, through the enterprise of all the strata of the people until we reach the ultimate victory.

Another point I want to tell the nation is that we cannot expect the government alone to repair the damage that had been inflicted on the country in the last 20- odd years. The government cannot do it alone. We cannot rely upon the clergy alone to repair the damage; the clergy cannot do it alone. Nor can we rely on the government office employees or teachers to carry out this task, as they cannot do so. When we were advancing toward our destination and the victory that we have achieved so far, one single group could not take this movement to victory. Therefore, we and all the strata of the people got united, set aside our own creed, moved forward together and reached this stage (of victory). Now, too, we should advance the cause together in the same way that we achieved this victory and trod this path.

If the construction of the devastation (wrought by the regime) is to begin, one single class of people cannot do it. Once more, we should be united but each in his own field: the farmers should be inspired in doing agricultural activities in the farming areas. Now, there are no more hands to coerce them into toiling for the corrupt elements, or skip over their benefits for their own advantage or give it to the foreigners. Now, nobody can ever do such a thing anymore. Farmers should carry on farming with zeal, and in this period farmers must cultivate crops consisting mainly of important varieties of crops, which make up the staple food of the nation such as wheat, rice, barley, lentils and so on. They should avoid cultivating crops that are harmful or worthless; they should cultivate opium less or refrain from doing so. Moreover, they should also refrain from sowing crops that are detrimental to the people's nourishment. They should make the cultivation of food crops the major part of their farming activities so that we will not find dependency on the foreign stuff, God willing. You know that presently we depend on foreign countries for foodstuffs. We should be relieved of this dependency and this can be achieved through the farmers' efforts and, of course, the government should assist the farmers and it will, God willing.

Similarly, our bazaar should be Islamic. As I have been informed repeatedly, there is now a gang of profiteers in the bazaar, who have overpriced commodities. This is an inhuman issue. It is an issue that individuals who are now hankering for profits should take note and realize that the nation, most of which belong to the low class of people who cannot financially run their lives, was the one that achieved this victory for us. Hence, those creditable merchants who did not play a role in this movement must not cause difficulties for these people. These days are New Year days. The people need clothes, food and other things. They should be treated with fairness and in a brotherly way. Profiteers should shun overpricing, hoarding, and stocking up commodities to sell them at higher prices later. Hoarding foodstuff is odious. Traders must treat the people in a brotherly manner like their own brothers, and must know that they brought about this victory. You have now been freed and emancipated from bondage. Are you now afraid that the security organization might persecute you and do things such as these? On the contrary, you should fear God or Islam. You must be considerate toward weaker people; you should help the destitute; you should not go after profiteering, hike the prices of goods and cause difficulty for the people. This issue concerns this class. Of course, there are other issues, but it will take a long time to discuss them.

Regarding the government, I can say that there are many problems in it now at the threshold of the New Year, and we cannot say that they (the government officials) are culpable. They (the government officials) are all busy working but problems abound. A lot of attention will have to be paid to issues the first of which is education. The educational system we now have should be revised. The colonial educational system should be transformed into an independent educational system. Teachers in this educational system or the entire class of professors should be chosen with carefulness and they should be righteous and virtuous individuals. They should be ones to bring up our youth as righteous and not parasitic citizens. In the past, our youth had been brought up in a western way to make them west intoxicated. You should be independent; you should be unaffected by what is happening in the West! Do not think that many (wonderful) things happen in the West. They themselves (western people) are saying," Nothing exciting is going on in the West!" Events do take place, but events regarding intellectual and human growth are very few. You must be independent and enhance your human growth. You must raise the children and youth with a humane upbringing. Headmasters and teachers that the government chooses for universities and schools to teach will have to be purged of any previous (Western) inclinations. Teachers and instructors who were previously at the service of foreign individuals and the taghout must not be allowed to join (the teaching force) for the second time lest they push our children (educationally) backward once again. This is an issue of great significance in our educational system. Eventually, the educational system has to be transformed into a healthy, independent and humane system.

Regarding the army, I say that the nation is duty bound to support it. You should not undermine it. We need the army; the nation needs it. The army must be supported and buttressed by the nation, but in turn, the army, too, must be considerate. Military heads should care to identify certain individuals among themselves who had been at the service of the taghout and criminal regime and dismiss them gradually or in another way. They should appoint in their stead honorable individuals as military heads and employ others for other positions. In appointing individuals, extreme care must be exercised to make sure that the right people are appointed. The same responsibility applies to the government when appointing governors, commanders, the courts of justice and all other appointments, which must thoroughly be evaluated. Those who had been serving the taghout, whose crimes are so conspicuous, and who incur the people's dissatisfaction must not be chosen lest it aggravates the people's dissatisfaction. These individuals should be at the people's service. The government must be at the people's service. Things should not be in a way that officials just give orders; it should be in a way that officials carry out orders for the people. It should be this way and we hope, God willing, it will be so. The government, justice department and the rest of the other offices will have to be purged. These offices have to find a way to make their choices in a way that treacherous individuals are brushed aside, likewise those who were on the (taghout) side before the Revolution, but who feign having changed hearts when they saw that victory was at hand. Identify these elements and brush aside these opportunists. Finally, the government will have to have full control and choose the right and suitable officials to head all ministries and carry out their tasks in the right manner. Of course, the government is performing its task, but it should make more efforts.

One important issue is the workers' conditions. I had a talk with the workers as well as with the government. The parley with the workers was to dispel their thoughts that we, or the government, are not concerned about their welfare; they should not think that we can do something for them, in reality or immediately, and we are not. This is not the case. More than any other issues, we are concerned about the working class, farmers and low-ranking government employees and we will act upon our word. Regarding their housing, the government is busy drafting a plan to construct houses for those who do not have their own houses. Regarding their salaries, God willing, they will be paid but it needs a little time. The workers should give the government some time and should not think that the government has the facility but is ignoring them. They should not think that we have a chest of treasure in our hands but we do not give them! This is not the case; the government does not have anything; nor do we have any treasure! The government, as well as we, is thinking of them, but a little time is needed until the economy gets under way. Of course, workers who had been laid off will be recalled; those who are working and have a complaint about their wages and bonuses will have their problems corrected. All these issues will be resolved.

However, regarding the government, it should favor the workers more, and consider their affairs properly. It should provide them more supporting order to alleviate their conditions. I am giving the workers my assurance that it is not the case that the government does not want to do something for them. It wants to do as much as it can for them and it is doing so. The Labor Minister is busy working out a suitable arrangement for them, but time is needed. I want the workers to give it more time and to be patient and consider the problems of the government. I also want the government to work a little faster in carrying out its affairs. It should progress a bit more quickly and accomplish its work a bit sooner. It should give employees the assurance and act upon it. This is what I can say regarding the employees and the government.

I would also like to say something regarding propagation agencies such as the radio and television and the like. When these media were at the service of the taghout, they were utilized either in promoting the taghout that no sooner than you turned on the radio you would hear" His Majesty, Aryamehr", and then a hollow propaganda, and other issues which distanced the people from the stream of the main issues. Both the illiterate and literate people would learn about the country's affairs through media broadcasts by listening to the radio and watching television across the country, making the media very important (propaganda) machinery. Hence, it was extremely important to the system to stupefy the people and make them negligent so they could be easily looted. However, thank God, the system has now become Islamic and Islamic responsibilities will be carried out. Now, the radio and television have to be reformed. In this regard, some deliberation has already been done and further attention will be paid to them in order to identify and purge individuals who had been at the service of the taghout spreading corruption. We cannot take in people who had been against the nation, who used to make anti-revolutionary speeches, made a show and set the scene for such activities, and who now lay claim to Islam and religion. These will have to be eliminated as well. The radio and television are media to which great significance is attached for both positive and correct propagation as well as negative and corrupt propaganda. Perhaps, those who invented these media of communication had educational aims when they first developed them. The entire press had been set up for the same purpose. However, the significance of the television is foremost of all, that is, the radio and television. These media are educational tools through which all the strata of the people will have to be educated. They are like public universities. Universities are located somewhere; but the mass media are public, that is, it is a university, which is scattered all over the country. Like other universities, they should be utilized to the fullest extent possible. This instrument (of education) should become an instrument that should enlighten all walks of the nation after a few years and bring up combatant and thinking individuals. Universities should develop independent and freedom-seeking individuals, purge them of their west intoxication and grant them independence. This is the most important of all the features these apparatuses have. It is duty bound to establish student-teacher relationship with the people. Discerning and well-informed individuals as well as writers and speakers should lecture in these centers. These individuals should be given the opportunity to speak there. Many individuals have suggested this idea and they should be given the chance to talk over there. They should provide the people with something beneficial and feed the people with food for the intellect so that they feed on healthy and correct ideas, not something that will be detrimental or useless. As they have promised to reform gradually, I hope that these universities will take greater strides, and be purged and modified sooner, God willing.

I would like to address those people of my own kind. We are of the same kind, but we are also of the same visage and I respect everyone, that is, the `ulama' and the clergy. The `ulama' and the clergy have more and heavier responsibilities than all the people. The Exalted and Blessed God has given them this responsibility. Now the Muslim nation listens to the words of this group more than those of others. Therefore, God can place us under question why we, whose words people obey and heed, showed shortcomings in this respect, or why we spoke so sparingly. God willing, there will no longer be anything like this, although, God forbid, a few might still show this weakness. Our responsibility is very heavy. Regarding the purging of this Islamic university, that is, the great Islamic university, this task will have to be carried out by the grand Religious Reference Authorities. Likewise, the purging and correction of education and training should be done by the great `ulama', who should also consider education. In all humility, I am asking all  the gentlemen here, who should guide the nation, to be well-informed in all methods of guidance. People expect you to be well versed in all the methods of guidance.

In the same way that Islam has various dimensions, it also has laws based on every human dimension. It has the Qur'an, which is a book of human development. Therefore, in the same way that the Qur'an is multidimensional, the `ulama', too, should have knowledge on the multifarious dimensions of education based on the dimensions that Islam and the human being have. Of course, a single being cannot have all these dimensions. However, a seminary with 10,000, or, for instance, 30,000 members, can be divided into groups each of which could oversee each dimension: one group could supervise the intellectual dimension, one the political aspect and another ones for other dimensions that there are in Islam. All of these aspects exist in Islam. The theology schools should be the same, that is, they should be well equipped and in the same manner that Islam has various dimensions, theology schools, too, should have various dimensions, that is they should have individuals trained for the guidance of the people. If upright and competent individuals do not arise from these theology schools, then we cannot expect any other places to train the right people. Hence, in the same manner that they learn and get educated in Islamic jurisprudence and its methods, they should also learn all the rest of the Islamic subjects, study other dimensions of Islam, teach them and produce meritorious individuals to guide and lead the people.

I have to express the grief I felt over our martyrs at the end of this year. We are very much aggrieved by the great number of the martyrs we have. It seems that 160,000 wounded and martyred have been written (in the papers). Anyway, even one martyr is a lot; there should not be any casualty. Anyway, it has happened already. However, it was done for Islam and religion and not for worldly reason, therefore some individuals would come and ask me to pray that they become martyrs; this act had an Islamic and religious motive and this was the reason that we advanced. This was the kind of morale that pushed them into martyrdom, that is, they were undaunted by death. The progress of Muslims at the advent of Islam was due to the same reason. We have lost many valuable individuals, but because they died for Islam, God willing, their souls are in bliss and prosperity under the aegis of the Exalted and Blessed God. We also pray to God to grant the bereaved families strength. And at the threshold of the New Year, we pray for their salvation and beseech God for the prosperity of all the nation.

My last request will be the same. Oh, nation of Iran! Safeguard your movement, your unity and preserve your Islamic direction. Edify yourselves and do not attach any value to those worthless human beings.

May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.