Speech [Sabotage done by the so-called supporters of the nation]

About the end of my stay in Paris, I came to notice something that made me very hopeful of the advancement of this movement. I brought this to the attention of all the persons and gatherings in Paris. That point which had been very rare in revolutions here and there in the world or has probably never occurred anywhere was the fact that whatever was said in a country's center would be repeated in the remotest villages as well; or what is said by the country's intellectuals, the same is also wanted by the people in the streets and the farmers and agricultural hands. I was informed at the time, and some of whom who came from Iran would also brief me that the Iranian nation's demand had spread around in the remote towns and villages which are apart from each other in every possible way. During the last days someone came to me saying that he had roamed around in the villages of Kamareh (around Khomein) and Chaplaq (around Isfahan) and also in Lorestan and saw that every morning the clergyman in the village leads the way and the people of the village follow him in a demonstration (against the regime). He also named a village called Hasan Falak around Kamareh which I remember that at the time I saw it myself there lived only 10-15 families and it was located beside a mountain and was distant from other villages; he told me that he had visited the place and found out that the people there were saying things that the people in the capital were saying. This is the way the Revolution has spread everywhere across Iran. Another aspect of the spread of the Revolution concerns the groups of people; even schoolchildren and younger ones would repeat the same motto that adults would say. Workers, employers, teachers, Justice Ministry employees, clerics, theology students, intellectuals, all were saying the same thing and were united. I understood this point as a sign that there is Divine Hand at work. No matter how one wants to enlighten others and no matter how earnestly one wishes to realize it, one will not be able to do so to that extent. I understood that God The Most High has an eye on the entire thing. And based on this I had confidence that victory lay ahead. Of course, I could not guess it would be so soon and so easily. When the ex-Shah left the former government of Bakhtiyar was formed, I advised him and he did not listen, and I set out to return to Iran when I saw the Americans became active.

They would come to us where we were residing- saying," It is too soon. Do not go back to Iran!" From the Iranian government's side too they were telling us the same! The Iranian government also sent a message to me by the French President that it was too early to go to Tehran and I had better wait! I guessed that they want to do preparations. They wanted to keep us there (in France) and do what they wished to do (against the Revolution) so that we might lose our control over the affairs. I stood fast that I should return to Iran and you witnessed that they closed down the airport. I said I would go back whenever the airport was open. They closed it down again. I said that we would fly back whenever it would be opened. Finally, we came. Throughout all this time and since I had begun to understand the situation that way, I would consider the whole issue a Divine one. And at present, too, the situation is the same. A suffering nation that had nothing in its hands, a nation that was plunged in a situation in which it did not believe in its own right to protest, had risen. You know that when a low-ranking policeman go to the Tehran Bazaar and order the people to hoist flags at their shops on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of the Shah, none would dare oppose him. One could not say," No" to a policeman! No one allowed oneself to say no! But this spiritual transformation emerged among the people, so that within a year or so, the nation was transformed into a nation that took to the streets and cried out:" Death to the Shah." The people who did not believe in their right against a police officer, all began shouting the slogan of" Death to the Shah" in unison. Even a friend of mine told me that once he was in a street in Shiraz when he saw an official there around whom children had gathered shouting:" Death to so and so and long live so and so!" The official was transfixed there and when he saw the friend of mine, he asked him to save him from those children! Then he, facing the qiblah, «1» raised his hands to his ears and saved himself from the children by shouting what they wanted him to say. This is not something that one individual or a single group can achieve. God did this.

This was a Divine work and this happened because our society, our populace had changed and undergone a transformation. This was an Islamic transformation. People had changed in such a way that they regarded martyrdom a great achievement for themselves. I was in Najaf when a very handsome young man, aged 20-30, came to me and made me take an oath to pray for him to become a martyr. This was the morale of the mothers who had lost two or three of their children. When they would meet us, they said their children had been sanctified for Islam, and that they had another son to dedicate to the Islamic cause. Such was the sacrificing mood, that is the same morale prevailing among the people at the time of the Holy Prophet, and which gave domination to Muslims over almost the entire world at the time within only half a century. The same morale had emerged in our nation with which it wanted to sacrifice itself with so much zeal and enthusiasm. What brought us victory was such a morale, not philosophy nor world-view, nor Islamology, none of such issues. This morale and this dynamism, which emerged in the nation, was a Divine issue, which over a short period brought about such a spiritual transformation among people. It was because of such a spiritual change that we reached this stage; and the referendum that you observed, and the defeat of the superpowers were all acts of God. These we must regard as something extraordinary. A nation, which had no means and no weapons (now you see a few guns at the hands of people), this nation with no arms and no equipments, overcame an armed-to-the teeth power backed by America, which had announced it would back up the regime. Britain had openly voiced its support. The USSR was also among its supporters but acted more sensibly. Therefore, a power backed up by all superpowers was toppled by the hands of this very population, which shouted slogans here and there in the bazaars and streets. Of course, the Armed forces too helped. However, after the people shouted their slogans it transformed the army and the people pulled the Armed forces from their support of that wretched man, Muhammad Rida Pahlavi, to their side. Regrettably, though, some of the high-ranking officers some of whom ran away and a great number of them were corrupt. Others too were transformed. They turned to the side of the nation. The Air Force and other forces including the Army's aviation force as well as the warrant officers were all transformed. This transformation among these forces was not an ordinary issue because it transformed the whole armed forces so that they could turn against the Shah who was their so-called supreme commander. These issues, which all took place against ordinary consideration, were of an extraordinary nature.

For as long as the nation keeps and safeguards this unity of expression and unity for Islam, and this Islamic dedication owing to which they sacrifice themselves for Islam, and consider it as everything, we can rest assured that we are victorious and all of us must maintain this morale. You should strengthen this morale among workers and the deprived stratum, which we hope will no longer be deprived. Strengthen this morale and make them understand that it was God who crushed the superpowers and the unity of yours emboldened you into sacrificing your own blood. Safeguard it (morale).

If, God forbid, we let this morale fizzle out, and think ourselves victorious and go after our personal business, we will face defeat; we know that man is powerful for as long as he is moving in the path. These caravans moving along the path have power, but once they reach home, their power will be exhausted. The human morale is the same: if you got into a car and drove to a city and if a human being's destination is 30 kilometers, when he has traversed 27 kilometers he starts getting tired, after reaching the destination he will be exhausted. If we believe that we have triumphed, we will tend toward lethargy ad we have not yet achieved (ultimate) victory. We have removed some of our obstacles, but their roots have remained.

You are now witnessing that all the powers, which have left (the country) and been defeated are now back into action. America will not give up this soon. Britain is the same, as well as the USSR. All of these powers are now lurking to find our weak point with which to browbeat us through their lackeys and those who have affiliations with them. I believe that most of them are American agents and among these, there are a few groups from the other side. «2» All these elements are the working of the Americans in order to infiltrate the population and the ranks of the working class and launch such and such propaganda, and what not. If, God willing, we are able to implement Islam, that is, the Islamic decrees, and gain enough power, we will implement Islam the way it is in reality, and then you will see there is no nation in the world that is as freedom seeking as an Islamic nation. No school of thought is as concerned about the poor class as Islam intends to ameliorate their condition and create a monotheistic class.

The kind of democracy that exists in Islam does not exist in other schools of thought. The name of democracy is there around the world with clamor and propaganda. You see that the same lip service about a democracy everywhere from the Unites States to Britain as well as in the USSR. Yet when we look carefully, we find that in all those countries dictatorial approaches are in practice. The dictatorship in the USSR is not less than that of the United States and not lesser than that of our Shah. All of them are dictators but want to bamboozle the masses and they are just using deceptive embellishments (such as democracy) on their deeds in order to toy away with the people.

You just consider what their agents want now. They are raising a lot of outcry saying that we want to sacrifice ourselves for the people. What do they want? The entire nation says that it wants an Islamic republic. Now if they are truly" immolators for the people" and claim to be advocates of the nation's cause, let them come and join the people so that the people's life will be improved. Well, all branches of the government are endeavoring to put out the commotions in order to improve the people's life and make them prosperous. The establishment of an Islamic Republic is what the people, this very nation, want. Just consider the referendum, which was held very recently. Is there any record anywhere in the world where over 20 million people go to vote out of a population of 35 million, with only 140,000 casting negative votes out of over 20 million voters? Has there been any precedence to such an event in the world? Even in future, without such an Islamic enthusiasm, can there be such an event? Just consider the fervor with which the people cast their votes, the zeal with which they went to the poll, such a fervency and eagerness are unprecedented, too.

What do they want of us anymore? If they are after the people's interest, well, they should give us a respite to set things right. Nevertheless, they are not going to allow us. Now these very groups, who pose under the names of Fada'iyan-e Khalq; etc., have thrown themselves in the people's ranks and cause obstruction in the people's way to have a decent life! It is so because they wish to create commotion, and are ordered by their superiors whom I believe are mostly Americans. They are instructed to cause discord among people by such tactics and prevent the implementation of Islamic decrees with their real contents among people. They fear that if Islam is implemented in its true sense they shall have no role to play in Islamic nations. They fear this and wish to prevent it. Otherwise if the elements who are active in Iran and who create commotion at present and obstruct the way to peace and tranquility, really wish to make sacrifices for the people, they must come forwards and assist. If they desire freedom, we are granting freedom and there exists no repression, everyone is now saying what we want. If they truly are after the people's welfare they must give us time and come and help us so that all of us together endeavor to create a prosperous life for the nation. Moreover, if they wish to cause disturbance, and of course, they do, it is not for the nation. Causing commotion does not serve the people's interest and will cause nothing but bloodshed. It is to the nation's interest that all of us are together. The whole population should be united and build the devastated nation the ex-regime bequeathed to us. If they want to pave the way for the Americans to come back to Iran by creating disturbance and commotion, then, all Iranians and we are duty-bound to fight them.

We advise them. We are interested in seeing all our people in prosperity. We give them advice to join us. What do you want? Ask them what they want? What you seek is found in Islam to a greater extent. What you claim to have (for the nation), Islam has all the relevant plans for them. Islam has crystallized these ideals. Islam once had a government of its own in which a judge would summon the ruler because of a petition filed against him by a Jew. The ruler would go to the court sitting beside the Jew in the most respectful manner and when the judge addressed him as" O Abou'l-Hasan" (showing his respect to him), the Imam asked him not to address him by his eponym and that the judge should treat him and his accuser (the Jew) equally. «3» Are you informed of such an example of democracy anywhere else in the world in which a government-appointed judge summons the head of government and the latter attends the court and the judge metes out a decree against him and he (the head of government) abides by the judgment and yields to it? What do you want to say? Are the bosses in the Kremlin Palace like this? Are the American heads of state like this? Are the British heads like this? Or, is what they say only a claim? Is it possible for someone to summon one of these heads of state to attend a trial standing against a plaintiff? Or, bringing up such a claim against them will be equal to the execution of the plaintiff?

futile propaganda

What do they want? They wish to create commotion. Their intention is ill and they are not after the good of the people. Their intention is corrupt. They wish to return the country to the same situation in which foreign masters come and loot out our everything, leaving us nothing. You are now observing that the power that this wretched man «4» had with the propaganda of the regime was only a cover and when the cover was removed, you saw that Iran had no content and power. Now, to whatever institution you point your finger, you find it hollow! They destroyed our agriculture and we have nothing now unless people Work hard to achieve something for the country. It is said that the agricultural situation this year is better than what prevailed over the last 15 years only because people were given a chance to work. We have lost everything. The former regime, with a lot of noise and sensationalism, loaded the radio broadcasts with futile propaganda whenever you turned on the radio, its programs were replete with propaganda and slogans Aryamehr (ex-king), and everything was but hollow propaganda:" A mission for my country." Yes, he was right, but his mission was to reduce the country to this deplorable state and he fulfilled his mission to the hilt!

The danger in tending toward apathy

If we safeguard the unity of expression, this characteristic, which is the movement's all-encompassing Islamic nature, we will always be victorious. And if, God forbid, they (anti-revolutionaries) cause sabotage and disturbance and we act lethargically and fail to stop them and the nation fails to stop them and if we think we are victorious and therefore tend to apathy, I fear that, God forbid, they will afflict the country with the same old problems but in another form. Of course, they will not talk of a monarchial system because it has proved a failure. They know that this cannot be implemented. They will call it by another name. They know what to do as they have done studies on this. If we remain steadfast and maintain this unity of expression and the power is now in our grasp, which is the nation's power, we will all triumph. If, God forbid, this unity of expression is not maintained and is shattered, we fear for the return to the previous (miserable) situation. God forbid, they will defeat us because this time they have understood Iran's unity and the power of Islam, whereas earlier they would say it was a mere possibility. Earlier, it was mere knowledge, but now they have understood that Iran advanced through its unity of expression and power of Islam and this time, they (foreign lackeys) will cut off everything we had; this time they will curtail all our power; they will not let the intellectuals or anybody exist in the world or in Iran. They will suppress everyone. We should be vigilant! Do not let this take place. By this, we mean we should all help each other; all of us together: workers should help employers and everyone should treat one another with fairness and humaneness; everyone should act with compassion and gallantry and not allow the flame of this movement to be extinguished so that our main objective will be achieved, God willing. May God make you all successful and grant you prosperity.