Speech [The heavy responsibility of the officials of the Islamic system]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I would like to thank you dear brothers and youth who have been keeping guard during this period and have maintained security. I ask God, the Blessed and Exalted, to grant you health, prosperity, and to make you honored. I have to tell you something that I had also mentioned to the other Islamic guards who had met me. And it is that, at present, you and your country are being watched intently by friend and foe. The enemies want to find an excuse to tarnish this revolution. A person, sometimes, commits a misdeed on his own which is undoubtedly not right. But it does not sully the movement; it only concerns an individual. It sometimes happens that a person is connected with the movement and belongs to it like you who are its guards; who are the sentinels of the Islamic Republic. If he or some of you do anything wrong; if you commit an act that is not in conformity with Islam, and is the cause of the people that are watching intently to find an excuse, they will, then, not condemn the person- this man- for having done such a thing. They will target Islam, the Islamic Republic and Islamic movement so as to show the movement in a way that is not what it ought to be. The responsibility here is very great. All bear collective responsibility if there is any wrongdoing in the main task. However, there are some cases in which one is personally responsible and concerns the person and God Who forgives him if he repents. Besides, there is a responsibility with which the movement, Islam and such things are concerned. If today, one among you who are attired in the honorable uniform of the Islamic guards behaves, for instance, with the people like, God forbid, the members of SAVAK used to behave, it will not be said that this person has behaved like this. Those people who are enemies will say," Well, they are now in power and the Islamic Republic has also been set up, Republic, too; they are doing the same things that the SAVAKi used to do." They will attribute (the wrongdoings) to the Islamic Republic and Islam.

The responsibility that now rests on us is a very great one. That is, you and I have this same responsibility of being the guards of Islam. One of the duties of guarding is to protect the nation, and another is to protect the businesses and homes of the Muslims. Furthermore, the people who want to create trouble must also be watched so that they- the agitators- are prevented from causing trouble. The thieves must not be allowed to deprive the people of security, and treacheries must be prevented. This is a kind of guard duty. Another one is safeguarding Islam. It is important that we safeguard the Islamic school and the Islamic Republic. Safeguarding these lies in our deeds being in conformity with what Islam has prescribed for us. That is, the acts of the Islamic Republic's guards should be in line with those of Islam and acceptable to God. The servants of God, and even the sinners, should be treated in a brotherly manner. Just as the Prophet of Islam (`a) was merciful and sympathetic toward the believers, he was the same in the case of the non-believers as well. He was greatly concerned about the non-believers. That is, it used to distress him that they would remain in their state of infidelity and end up in the fire of hell. He was sympathetic toward them. His invitation (to them) was for the sake of delivering these infidels; those recalcitrant people. Addressing him, God, the Blessed and Exalted, says:" It seems as if you want to kill yourself for the sake of these people who have not become believers"! He was very distressed as to why they did not profess the faith and why they did not want to be delivered; why? According to history, when, in a war, a group of chained unbelievers was brought to him, he stated that they should be sent, bound in chains, to heaven! They had to bring them like this and guide them. «1» He was the guiding light. Just as he was sincere and amicable with his friends, so also was he with the others, except those who were like cancerous tumors and had to be ostracized from society.

You gentlemen who are now the guards of the Revolution; that is, the" Islamic Republic" has a duty greater than that of safeguarding the Revolution. You must safeguard Islam; and that lies in guarding yourselves. Guard yourselves from your carnal desires, your passions and the desires that are present in everybody and are satanic ones in such a way that when people see you, or the ones that are waiting to find fault with you see you, they find you to be clean, honest people who, while having power and using it to deal with the corrupt, are kind and friendly toward the people.

The reason why the former regime and the satanic ones used to bring misfortunes upon the nation and fill it with sorrow, persecute it, intimidate it and make it fear them in every way was that they, themselves, were traitors and feared the people. And the more they feared the people, the more they intimidate them. In order to keep themselves (in power), they saw no alternative other than persecuting and intimidating the people so that the people should fear them. As a result, they could not appear in society. This Muhammad Rida could, at no time, appear in public. Whenever they wanted to pass through an avenue they would bar entry to it. The agents of the Security Organization would keep the houses overlooking the avenue under their surveillance. They would restrict the people's movements and keep a watch on them. Those who used to shout and clap were their own agents; not the people! The people would not applaud them. He (the ex-Shah) would not dare to pass through the avenue until this was done and everything brought under control, supervision and surveillance! Why? Because the people were not well-disposed toward him. He was afraid of everybody lest he be shot at, for example, or hit by a stone at some time or other. They feared the people. The condition of our gendarmerie, our army and- I should say- our constables and police was such that, because they were not one with the people, they would intimidate them so as to safeguard their position.

Islam is not like this. Its leaders used to mingle with the people. The Prophet of Islam (s) was the head of all the people. He was the chief but was in their society. He would come with them to the mosque and sit among them like everybody else. Hadrat `Ali, when he was the ruler of a country that was many times bigger than the size of Iran and included Egypt, the Hijaz, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Yemen, all of which were under his control, would come with the people, sit among them and socialize with them. This was because he was not afraid of them. He did not oppress the people to be afraid of them. He had done no wrong as to fear them. He was for the people who looked upon him as their protector.

The people should regard you as their protectors. You should behave in such a way that the people regard you as their sympathetic brothers who keep awake at night and sacrifice their lives in order to protect them. If a youth among you, who, being young, disregards his responsibilities and wants to do a wrong thing and deal harshly with the people, and possessing a gun, for example, argues with the people, you must advise him that the system is Islamic. There is no more of the taghout for its soldier to fight the people. He is the people's brother and is for them. When matters are such, all the people will support you, too. Kindness is mutual: when you are kind to the people, the people will also reciprocate your kindness. The day when the Iranian army had attacked the people, the people, too, fought against them with all their might. The day when army came among the people and empathized with them, the people showered them with flowers. Kindness is mutual.

This is now the time when it is necessary for our actions, our words and our deeds to be such that our enemies do not criticize us for being those that could not do anything in those days (of the ex-regime) but can do so now, and that we had no opportunity at that time but now we are able to commit misdeeds! It should not be like this. We have to watch ourselves; we have to maintain Islam's prestige. We must protect the bazaars, the roads and such things. Those are less important than those that I had mentioned. Those ones are extremely important.

I am your supplicant and your servant. I pray to God, the Blessed and Exalted, for your welfare, well-being, prestige, and power. I hope that with this power, you will progress and take the movement forward, God willing, and that Islam becomes a reality just as the people want. May we manage our country by ourselves, God willing, and the hands of others be severed from it. May Islam, as it actually is and as the progressive school that it is, be realized abroad with everybody's help and with the power of you valiant brothers.