Speech [The need to implement Islam in all respects; diligence in approving the Constitution]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I wish to thank you respectable ladies who have come from afar to meet with me. I pray for you; may God make you prosperous. I also thank you for being in the forefront of this movement and were like those women of the early days of Islam. Our movement made headway because of them, and I hope that you will be instrumental in the success of this movement.

After thanking you valiant young men who are spending your lives, your time and your youth for Islam, what I wish to tell the ladies and the gentlemen guards is that it is Islam that keeps you awake in the middle of the night when a young man ought to be asleep. It is faith that brings a young man from a safe situation to dangerous one; from his bed in his house- which is a safe place and a place to sleep- into the streets and avenues to stand guard, sleepless and facing probable danger. This is a worthy service that you are doing it voluntarily. The merit of this lies in your having chosen to render this service without anybody having obliged you to do so. Similarly, the women also have a share in this sense that when there was danger everywhere and you went into the avenues, the respectable ladies also went (into the streets). Nobody ordered you to pour into the streets or go on the rooftops to shout," Allahu akbar" and perhaps, be struck by a bullet in the process. It was the power of faith that brought you out into the streets, and also the ladies. The merit of it lies in this. Sometimes, it so happens that an organization makes it incumbent upon a person to go outside (as a duty), thereby putting himself in danger. At times it is otherwise; there is no authority that compels one to do so. One volunteers to render this service. What makes this service and these actions highly meritorious is this very point that, in the face of all the difficulties and dangers, all of you surged into the streets and avenues, when the movement first started, and confronted tank and cannon without anyone having ordered you to do so. And all of you are now prepared in the same way and are standing guard, the value of which is very great. I hope that God places all of you and all of us among the ranks of the guards of Islam and that we serve the Imam of the Time.

What is important now is for you to safeguard this power of faith because of which you are keeping guard, and the women, too, had done so, bringing this movement to this stage and this miraculous event to fruition by destroying this mighty power. If, in accordance with that aim for which you rose and demanded Islam and an Islamic republic, you want this Islamic Republic to be manifested in its full sense and substance, you will then have to safeguard that same faith, that same power of faith, from now onward as well. You must remain united. All thoughts should be on the realization of the Islamic Republic. An Islamic republic does not mean merely demanding it or voting for it. Voting for it will not bring about its realization. Yes, Iran, of course, is officially an Islamic republic now. But Islamic precepts should take effect in an Islamic republic. That is, Islam should be there all over Iran: in the offices, the ministries, the bazaars, the localities, the universities, the courts of law; everywhere. What our nation wants, and God, the Blessed and Exalted, wants us to do is that we give an Islamic appearance to every place in the country. In the days of the taghout, every place was in a mess, and it is the same even at present.

We are, hence, still on the way; we have not reached our destination. One who is on the way ought to focus his attention on reaching his destination. I know that there are certain disruptions and inconsistencies affecting the ranks of the people. It is not so that I am unaware. Well, just as you have come here now and are talking about your problems, so also others come almost every day from here and there to talk about their own problems. And we know that the problems are many. You have problems; the army has many problems; the gendarmerie has many problems; the police have many problems; even the Islamic guards have many problems; the committees have many problems and so do the courts of justice. These are not matters that are unknown. All of us know that the difficulties are many; it is the case after every revolution. It is not possible, and it cannot be expected, that following such a big revolution- that is regarded in the West as a miracle, and that upset all calculations- with the unclean hands, within the country and abroad, having ruined Iran over fifty-odd years and having plundered all its wealth, leaving behind a devastated country, everything be set right- considering the ruined state of the country- once they have left.

All of us should now join hands and build this ruined country together. By saying all together, I mean that everyone, in whatever position he may be, should take proper action there. Do not expect me to do everything. I should also not expect you to do everything. I who am a seminarian should attend properly to my professional duties. You, too, who are policemen, should attend to your policing duties to the best of your ability. These ladies who have other jobs should attend to them as best they can. The ministries, too, should do their job well. The farmers also should attend to their work properly. The workers should also perform their tasks well. When all the people are to be Islamic and their thought are concentrated on managing an Islamic country- an Islamic country managing an Islamic republic- and on repairing the damage, then just one stratum of ours will not be able to undo the damage. Just as you cannot guard the whole of Iran, we, too, cannot run the whole country, for instance, properly. All of us, all the people of Iran, should build the country. You who are in Qum, you who are Islamic guards; that guard, every individual, should carry out his job of guarding (the country) as best as he can. He should do it with sincerity, honestly and for the sake of God. I, a seminarian, must do my work in the same way. The gentlemen of the clergy should perform their tasks well. When all the strata of the people perform their tasks properly, they can turn the country into a good one.

The country consists of this soil and water. Its population consists of this nation. This soil and water are in the hands of the nation. When all the people of this nation join hands; that is, everybody in his own sphere of activity performs his particular task well- the gardener in the garden; the cultivator in the field; the Prime Minister in his capacity as prime minister and similarly in the case of the other ministries, the offices and the public- if the work is to be approached in this way, and just as you, with your cries of" Allahu akbar," undermined a huge mountain and overthrew a 2,500 - year old monarchy- it was faith that accomplished this; it was Islam- in this case also you will be able to do it.

The country is now in your hands; you can manage it yourselves provided that the basic issues and other matters are dealt with. That is, the Constitution must be drafted and voted on after which the National Consultative Assembly must be set up and the referendum held.

Now that these matters are pending, the devils are compelling any and everybody to create difficulties. They draw the people's attention to their problems. For example, they approach the farmers and tell them" Now that the Islamic Republic has been set up, nothing has been done for you." As if to say that as soon as the Islamic Republic is mentioned, this devastation will automatically set itself right! Or their telling the Islamic guards that an Islamic republic is in place now and there are various problems; and about the bad people, the poor appointments, the bad elections and thereby drawing the people's attention to matters other than the one we, at present, have to pursue. This is something like one coming and telling you, for example- at the time when you were shouting," Allahu akbar" in unison and were trying to break down the barrier- what kind of a person the head of some department was. It was not the time to say such things. It was the time to break down the barrier. It is the same even now. This is not the time for these ladies to concentrate on their personal problems, nor for you brothers to pay attention to your personal problems. And neither should I, nor the clergyman, nor the others. Until such time as this basic matter has not been put in place [ ] that is we first of all, want a country we wish to have, we can then talk about its Islamic guards, its clergy and its women and how they ought to be. We now want to consolidate the state of independence and freedom of this country, and to put its Islamic laws into effect. When within the next two or three months, this matter of the Islamic Republic has been settled, God willing; that is the President has been appointed, the Constitution has been approved, the referendum held and the National Consultative Assembly set up, there should then be no more instability in the affairs.

The present government is an interim one. It is now prepared to transfer power to another one so that the power is centralized. Once it has been centralized, each of these matters will be attended to at the proper time. Even now, the government is attending to some essential tasks though it is an interim one. It is currently busy with this reconstruction that is to be carried out; with the construction of houses that it has arranged to undertake; the building of- I should say- bridges and roads, etc. But what is important now is that we should not forget that basic issue. The basic issue now is that they want to frame the Constitution, and the wicked people are attempting to prevent it. We should all stand up to them and say that we want it (just as the government has proposal). This plan that the government has devised is a good one; it is the one that we want. We do not want a constituents' assembly as proposed by the Westernized persons. We want what the government has proposed and which can be done soon; not one that might take one, two, three, or four years during which period this uncertainty may, God forbid, unsettle the situation at some time.

I am aware that it is not only you who mention these things; all the people have difficulties. But you must leave these problems for some other time. Wait a bit and leave them for a later time. Each of you, in whatever post you are, should attend to it as best you can and discharge your duties to the best of your ability. This is a duty that is owed to God; not that anybody is compelling you. Nor is it something for you to covet. There is nothing much about it; just a handful of poor people; a bunch of indigent people. The matters (at hand) now are godly; they are divine. Divine matters are of great importance. We are hopeful that, God willing, all of us together put Islam into effect, and that all the ranks of the people become Islamic Islamic justice is for one and all. Nobody takes precedence over another unless he is virtuous.

May God protect all of you and give you success. I pray for all of you; I am your servant. May God protect you all, God willing.