Speech [Necessity of bringing about changes in the government offices, reforming the country's banking system, and omitting usury in transactions]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I thank you for your coming here to talk to each other and together find a solution to the problems besetting our country. Thus far, we have been kept apart from each other, because they did not want the various strata of the people to be close to one another and have mutual understanding. Fortunately, now, thanks to God, we have succeeded in closely exchanging views with you, friends and brothers, and discussing our problems. Not only the banking system but also all the other things and institutions of the country have become devilish. During the taghouti regime the culture, the justice ministry, and the other government offices were such that they bore no relation to Islam, nor were useful for the country. Fundamental changes must be made. If not all the foundations are changed and if they are not transformed from the satanic forms to monotheistic and Islamic forms, once again we will be inflicted with the same problems and will face the same difficulties; and God forbid, the situation may even turn worse. All the strata of the country must endeavor to make reforms and changes.

The current banking system of Iran is satanic. Usury is unlawful in Islam; the Holy Qur'an has announced its unlawfulness. According to the Qur'an the person who takes usury or the usurer, wages a war against God! This system must be changed. The banking system must be changed. We hope that these sorts of problems will be solved through the efforts of all the workers and employees. If the problems are not solved, if our culture remains the same culture, the ministries remain the same, the personnel of the ministries remain the same, the offices remain the same, and our people still retain the same ideas they had during the evil regime, I am afraid such a defeat will be inflicted on us that we will never be able to compensate. We are all duty-bound- it is a divine duty- to rescue Islam and the country.

For many years, they have tried to hide Islam; in order to do so they have tried to prevent the presentation of the real Islam to the outside world. If Islam be presented as it is, other schools of thought will take the back seat; they will be defeated. Nevertheless, those who wanted to plunder our country, who wanted to take everything away from our country, and who wanted to take our resources away, planned for long years to conceal the real Islam; they hid Islam even from the Muslims. Even our youth are not informed about Islam and do not have any information about it except its surface. If God willing, we succeed and establish the Islamic Republic with all its principles- all its illuminating principles sent by the Almighty God for the salvation of man- and if we implement these principles with the efforts of all the strata of the people and the courageous youth, we will become prosperous.

Our country has everything; our country has rich subsoil reservoirs; more than what it needs. It is a rich country, but the hands that wanted to take our assets away do not allow Iran to be governed as it should be; and at every stage, they appoint an agent to make the people ignorant or to take them backward. We ourselves witnessed during the past fifty-plus years that Rida Khan «1» destroyed all our memorable deeds and suppressed all the strata of the people that could serve this country, and after him his successor, «2» who truly followed him as he was a traitor and a criminal too, was catapulted to power, and for several years they kept our affairs backward and took away all our assets; and you must preserve the remnants.

Iran has been turned into a state of ruin. They destroyed and took away everything, and we must preserve the remnants for our future generations. These issues can be solved through the efforts of all the strata of the nation, through the efforts of you, the youth. Anybody in any position must make efforts to serve the country and Islam in order to eradicate the problems. You, the staff and the managers of the banks, must reform the banks; those in the cultural sector must reform the culture; and those in the ministries must purify the ministries. Likewise, all of us must join forces so that the country, which they have ruined and taken away whatever we had, returns to its original state, rather to a better situation. May God assist all of you. May you be successful and prosperous.