Speech [Recounting the motives and aims of 15 th Khordad uprising]

Why did 15 th Khordad come about? What was its origin? What was the sequel to it in those days and what is it now? What will happen afterward? Who brought it about? Who followed up the issues arising from it and who is following them up now? On whom can we place our hopes subsequently? What was the purpose of 15 th Khordad and for what purpose has it continued up to now? What would its purpose be later on? Understand 15 th Khordad and its aims. Know who the people were that occasioned this, those who followed it up and those who hope to follow it up from now on. Also know the people that are opposed to 15 th Khordad and to its aim.

The 15 th Khordad uprising began from this seminary. There was a huge gathering in this place on the afternoon of `Ashoura (10 th of Muharram). The issues mentioned and the revelations made led to 15 th Khordad, fifteenth Khordad was for the sake of Islam and in the name of Islam. Its genesis was Islam; its guide, the clergy and the people that have gathered here. These were the ones who created 15 th Khordad. These kinds of people were the ones who brought it about, and it was they who were killed. It was this very category of Islamic people who rose for Islam, without any motive other than Islam itself, and so made 15 th Khordad come to pass. It is this same gathering that has no aim except Islam, which has been following up the issues of 15 th Khordad so far. It is hoped that these same people- who apart from Islam have no other aim- pursue the matter and bring the movement to fruition.

It has to be seen who these people are; from what strata of society were these people who brought 15 th Khordad into being and in which 15,000 lives were sacrificed, as is very well known; and also those who entered the fray following 15 th Khordad and 15 th Khordads; following the massacre of 15 th Khordad and other massacres. Those who brought 15 th Khordad to its present stage; those who endeavored to smash the barrier posed by the regime; those who poured into the streets shouting" Allahu akbar;" all of them belonged to this same strata of society. Only those people have share (in the movement); the others have none. Who are they that are now diverting the course of our nation's path? Who are they that are intending to divert our nation from this path? Who are they that want to divert our Islamic movement from its Islamic nature? These are people, some of whom are not aware of the issues; they are ignorant (of the matter). There are certain others who are knowingly and purposely against Islam. Those who are ignorant should be guided. They should be told:" O, you gentlemen who think that you can succeed in Iran with any system other than Islamic; those of you who think that any power besides Islam has had a hand in overthrowing the regime; those who think it likely that somebody else apart from the Muslims, and anything else apart from Islam have taken part in this movement, should go and study the matter. Find out who those people were who sacrificed their lives on the 15 th of Khordad. Go and look at the gravestone and find out who they were. In case you find any gravestone of those belonging to the un-Islamic groups, it means that they also had a part in the movement. If you find gravestones of the upper class of the people belonging to Islamic groups, it means that they have also participated. But you will not do so." Whatever the case, it was the deprived class, the farmers, the workers, the Muslim merchants and shopkeepers, and the committed clergymen. Whoever there was belonged to these groups. So, these people created 15 th Khordad in following Islam. And in following Islam, they safeguarded it and are keeping it up. Those who think that any power besides Islam could have smashed such a barrier are mistaken.

The groups that are opposing us because of their opposition to Islam should be rehabilitated through guidance- if such rehabilitation is possible. If not, with that same fist that you destroyed the regime, you will also destroy those associated with it. Whatever has happened from the 15 th of Khordad up to now, and whatever has been realized is because of the activities of these very groups, because of the sacrifices they made and the lives they gave. They are entitled to have a say in everything that has been realized. Those who were abroad and have now returned, those who were not in line but have now lined up, have no right to this movement. Their views have no credibility at all. The opinion of that nation which launched the movement and crushed the superpowers, and will continue with this movement even after this stage- is that all the benefits are due to these people. Their views are balanced. If the views of the others conform to the views of these people, if they adhere to Islam and are to safeguard Islam and its tenets, they are, then, welcome. However, if they are divergent, they should return to wherever they were previously. How can we recognize deviation? How can we know the difference between the groups that launched the movement and those opposed to it? How do we understand it? From the writings, their statements, their meetings, their gathering. The parts of every grouping that conforms to Islamic principles and laws is the same as that of the nation, whereas every group, every speech, every address, every writing- whatever it is- that is contrary to Islam is against the movement. Your opponents want to derive the benefit while you had your blood spilled. Your opponents wish to enjoy the fruits of your labors. The opponents of you- the victimized people- did not suffer at all. They did not suffer in the days of the taghout because they were submissive, compliant, or silent. Now that you have laid the table, they are collecting around it to enjoy the benefits. I wish that they had asked us to join in too. But they say," Only we; not you, nor the clergy." They do not want us and the other groups. They want everything for themselves; not for Islam; not for us.

O you who are Westernized! O you who are obsessed with foreignism! O you shallow and worthless people! Come to your senses and stop westernizing all your affairs. Consider the things of the West; the" good" things. Consider the groups on human rights. Notice who these people are and their aims. Do they wish to safeguard human rights, or those of the superpowers? They serve these powers and want to guarantee their interests. O our legal experts and human rights group! Do not follow these (foreign) legal experts. Observe the people's rights just as this hard-working stratum is doing. They are the ones constituting the human rights group. They are the ones striving for human rights. They are the ones that secure the welfare of human beings; and you are saying things! They are the ones that act: these workers, farmers, these upholders of human rights and these lawyers. They act while you write. Not even one of you has taken any step for the people to attain their rights. Those who are active are the same people who rose up (against the taghout) and staged the uprising of 15 th Khordad. Being Muslims,they are sympathetic toward human beings. They are Muslims. Islam has concern for human beings. You do not do anything for the people as your path is not the same as that of Islam. You write and thereby wish to divert the movement from its path, and mislead it with your utterances.

From the 15 th of Khordad up to now, we have given victims; rather, you have. I, too, who am sitting here, have no right (to the movement). You gave victims; you entered the fray and struggled. We have no right. We ought to serve you. We should not derive any benefits; there should be no taking advantage of designations. Shame on me if I want to take advantage of my position and benefit from your efforts! Shame on me if I want to benefit from your sacrifices! [The gathering weeps and expresses intense emotion while chanting praises for Imam Khomeini]. Those of the upper classes who took no part in the struggle but are not opposed to us, do not and should not, have any right either. However, they will have a right if they serve from now onwards. But I have no hope of their doing so. Those people with divergent views, those who intend to betray Islam and this nation and those who view the Islam of a 1400- year background as inadequate, should consider themselves as being apart from the nation; and it is so. We will need you (those who made sacrifices) from now on; we need this group, but not the other ones.

It is now the time for the implementation of Islam. The words that are now being uttered are like the previous pronouncements of it still being too early, and of waiting a bit. If we do not put Islamic injunctions into practice in the course of this revolution and this movement, when are we going to do? When is such a movement to come to fruition? If this movement is to be extinguished, God forbid, who can ever again take the name of Islam?

When we are going to put Islamic laws into effect if we do not do so now? Those gentlemen who say that it cannot be done now should be asked as to when it should be done.(They will) say," Never; not Islam."(They will) say that the movement should be minus Islam. Just as they used to say," Islam without the clergy," they can even now say that the movement should be without Islam. If you do not actualize Islam and implement Islamic injunctions to the letter, then (you will) be disappointed as it will never see the light of day. The people who believe in Islam and whose hearts beat for the Qur'an should now be active. The 15 th of Khordad was for this very purpose. The uprising of the clergy before 15 th Khordad was for the sake of Islam. The uprising of 15 th Khordad was for this purpose, and it continued after this. It was not for anything but Islam. We do not want anything besides Islam. Islam can be implemented at any time; especially now.

Gentlemen! Heed your own words; your own writings. Heed the fact that Islam released you from bondage. Bear in mind that Islam drew you back home from foreign lands. Keep in mind that Islam pulled you out of nooks and corners. Consider that Islam made your pens and utterances free. And now you are opposing Islam? The Muslims can endure the fact that Islam and Muslim blood liberated you. But now you are up in arms against Islam? You have been writing certain things? This is being utterly ungrateful. God has given you this gift. You should be thankful for it by adhering to Islam, by repenting for the statements you have been making and the things that you have been writing. Turn toward Islam and the lower classes that you look down upon, but are superior to you. These people are the radiant face of Islam and the Muslims. These are the faces that the Messenger of God will accept. These are the faces that are beloved of God. You should join their ranks. Let your faces (actions) conform to theirs. Let your views conform to theirs. How much do you keep on harping on the West! How shallow you have become! We should compare Islamic norms with Western ones! What nonsense! Being thankful is in your being faithful to Islam. I am giving you notice to be faithful to Islam; I am advising you. It was in this very same school that I had advised the Shah, but he did not listen; you are nothing. On the afternoon of `Ashoura, I had told him not to do anything that might cause the people to drive him out. He did not listen; he did something which made the people drive him out. [The approval of the audience followed by the cries of" salutations be on Khomeini"]. My brothers, to whichever strata you belong; there is still time, there is time for you to repent. Come and tread this path in a brotherly manner with the nation. There is none of you in the gathering! There is not a single one of you in this gathering! Come, be unanimous with the people; be concordant with them. Move toward Islam that has delivered all of you. Be faithful to Islam as a mark of gratitude. Live for Islam. My brothers! You will find whatever you want in Islam. Whatever you want is there in the corners of this school. Look at the lives of these people. Compare them with those whose hearts( are supposed to )beat for humanity! That is, with their pens and their statements! Look at the situation they are in. See how the clergymen live. Look at the lives of the class of workers, the farmers, the traders. Have a thought for them. Showing concern does not lie in writing against Islam. Assist them in the name of human rights and as lawyers. Have you spent anything out of your pockets for this nation up to now? I leave to your conscience, you, whose hearts ache for these poor people and for humanity; for these women living around Qum and in the south of Tehran; and in the" south" (depressed areas) of all the cities. South in the sense that according to you, they are of the lower class, they know what human rights are and act according to them. They came and gave their jewelry- their savings of twenty, thirty, fifty years- to the poor. What have you done? What have you people done? Tell me! You, too, should help these poor people; support this class. I am not saying that you should give them money. What I am saying is that you should approve of them in your writings, your actions and your views. Safeguard Islam; it is of benefit to you. It is good for your worldly affairs. It is at least good for this world of yours, even if you do not believe in the hereafter. Do not oppose the clergy; it is to your own good. It is this stratum of the committed clergy, these clergymen, who are living in twos and threes in these small cells that they (regime) had driven out. It is these slim-dwellers living around the cities in hovels with seven or eight of them in each one. They are the ones who understand human rights better than we do and who are concerned about their fellow human beings. They are the human rights group; not you or me. Come; let us do something for them. The government and the nation should have some thought for this class of people. They have rights; give them their rights. These are the people who are observing human rights.

I wish to tell you people, who gather here every few days, that I desire your prosperity. I advise you not to take a path separate from that of Islam and the clergy. Do not lose this divine power; the power that is the clergy and is a divine one. You will be nothing if this power is lost. It is the power of the clergy that draws the people to the streets. It is the power of Islam that emanates from the throats of the clergy. Do not strike at them. God knows that I am not supporting the clergy because I am a seminarian [talabeh] myself. I am supporting them as I know that they are the ones who can save this nation. It is this group that the people need. It is the mosques that did all this. It is the mosques that gave rise to the movement. The mosques were centers of political meetings even in the days of the Prophet and for a long period after that. They were centers of mobilizing armies. Mihrab (the principal place or altar in a mosque where the Imam leads the people in prayer) means the place of" harb" or battle; of war. That is, the fight against Satan as well as taghout. The struggles should originate in the mihrabs because they would largely begin in the mihrabs and mosques. O you people! Safeguard your mosques. O you intellectuals! Safeguard your mosques. Do not be Westernized intellectuals; imported intellectuals! O you legal experts! Safeguard the mosques. You should go to the mosques; but you do not! Safeguard these mosques so that the movement attains ultimate success; so that your country is rescued. May God keep these mosques safe for us. May God protect the clergy for us. May God guide the antagonists. May God make our nation prosperous.

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