Speech [The duties of the clergy and the pasdars vis-a-vis Islam and the Islamic Republic]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I must, in a few words, tell the respected gentlemen, the clergy, Islamic guards and all the other esteemed gentlemen seated here of the dangers facing us, the difficulties we have and our position at this time. I have mentioned this issue to other gatherings of people as it is important and I will repeat it.

Our position at present is more critical in two respects than at other times. In the days of the previous regime, when you and all the strata of the people were engaged in the struggle against it, you had risen against the taghout as the regime of that time was a taghouti regime. It would not have mattered much if we had then been defeated and killed; an Islamic army, God's army, had faced the taghouti army and was defeated. It was a defeat, but the Saints of God would also suffer defeat at times at the hands of the taghout. In that situation, no harm would be done to Islam because of the defeat. It was to Islam's benefit as the power of Islam and the rightness of our school would become further established in a way like the struggle of the Doyen of the Martyrs (`a) against the government of the time which was taghouti. The martyrdom of the Doyen of the Martyrs did no harm Islam in the least; it took Islam forward. Had it not been for his martyrdom, Mu`awiyah and his son would have shown Islam in another way to the world in the name of being the Prophet's caliph, by going to the mosque for Friday prayers, as being the Friday prayer leader and as the leader of the congregation in the congregational prayers. The designation was the Prophet's caliphate and the government, the Islamic government. But in sum and substance, it was to the contrary; neither was the government Islamic in content, nor was the ruler Islamic. The Doyen of the Martyrs (`a) thwarted their plan of taking Islam back to paganism and of showing it to be similar to the cults of former times. Even if we had been defeated and killed in our struggle, no harm would have befallen Islam. In fact it would have stood to gain as Islamic crusaders had struggled against the taghout; a struggle between right and wrong. But the followers of the right path were martyred owing to the larger numbers of the forces of evil. But what is the situation now? At that time, the regime was taghouti the government was taghouti, and all the organizations were taghouti. But now that we call our government Islamic, and with all of you voting for an Islamic republic, the regime changed from a monarchy to a government of an Islamic republic, and now that we, the clergy and you the pasdars and all the classes of the people living in the country, are living in an Islamic system, an Islamic republic, and our government is now Islamic, the danger that we presently face is not of getting killed; or an Islamic community being defeated by the taghout- these are not dangers at all. The danger to us at present lies in our school suffering a setback; Islam suffering a setback. This is the greatest danger that is now menacing us. The factor that brought us up to this stage and earned us victory was the non-existence of differences among the various classes of the people. They would all clamor jointly for an Islamic republic. It was the same in the cities and the villages; the center (of population) and the country's outlying regions. All the people joined together and shouted that they wanted an Islamic republic. These were the two factors that brought you victory. One was the unity of expression, because of which most of the people were together, and the other was the aim, which was Islam. You constitute a victorious army now. But in the past, it would so happen that very often a triumphant army, after gaining victory, would end up defeated. I mentioned Hitler to another gathering as an example of one who acted and campaigned, who attacked and killed, and conquered France and other countries, who invaded the Soviet Union, and notwithstanding the power he had, seized many places. But he was not able to retain them. He was not able to maintain his grip on his conquests and victories. And as he was not able to hold them, he was defeated and, as it is said, ended up by committing suicide. It has always happened that certain factors emerge to take most victors to defeat after they have triumphed.

I am now worried that certain factors will emerge to defeat you, a victorious Islamic army and an Islamic nation that amazed the world by its victory, and this defeat will be of your own making and not because of the enemy. I am now worried that we, whether the clerical class or all the classes of the people, the most important ones being those that directly bear the appellation" Islamic" such as the Islamic government, the Islamic ministries, the Islamic committees, the Islamic guards, and the Islamic courts; these (organs) that have the name and appearance of Islam- may do something wrong at this time that we claim to be pasdars as well, and you, who are the Islamic guards, do things at this time- when we are being closely watched by our opponents and enemies who have riveted their eyes on us- that do not conform to the essence of the Islamic Republic. It is not the defeat of a Muslim at the hands of an unbeliever; it is not the defeat of the Doyen of the Martyrs at the hands of Yazid; it is Islam's defeat. We claim to have an Islamic republic, we claim that an Islamic government is the only just government in which everybody from the president to the policeman are the subject of Islam; neither does the president behave haughty toward the subordinate, nor do they persecute the people because of their being, for example, soldiers or pasdars. This is what we are claiming; that the Islamic Republic is a just government. If a country is Islamic and its republic (government) is being run under the banner of Islam, then the organs of this country should be Islamic as well. If at this juncture in which we live, if at this time when we claim to have changed taghout to Islam- we have such a claim- if we the turbaned men and you the pasdars do something contrary to what the pasdars, the clergy who are pasdars and you who are pasdars ought to do, even if the offense is committed by somebody else and the others do not prevent it, those who are now watching us in order to fault us will magnify it a thousand times by means of their organs of propaganda in Iran and abroad; in another (indirect) way in Iran and in a clear manner abroad. They will say:" Islam is also like that! No change has taken place. Islam is basically this! Islam is also like the monarchial regime, but these people have replaced one name with another. The people voted for just one thing, but the substance of it is something else; it is a different thing. Islam is like this! At that time the agents of the Security Organization (SAVAK) used to persecute the people, and now the Islamic guards are doing it! At that time the taghouti authorities would violate the people's rights, and now the Islamic Republic authorities are doing it." When some of the clergymen would do something wrong in the days of the taghout, the people would say that the clergy are" SAVAKis." When somebody committed an offense, they would not say that the clergy are servants of Islam and they are doing such things. They would say that the clergy are part of SAVAK. But if a clergyman commits an offense today, who will say that he is a" SAVAKi"? Who will say that he has to do such a thing? ... If a clergyman does a wrong thing today and the others do not object or stop him- there is no need to quarrel; just by raising objectives, advising," forbidding evil"- those abroad who are your enemies will reflect it as the Islamic Republic being no different from the monarchial regime, only the name has changed; otherwise the situation is the same as before. The reason for this is that they see that these Islamic guards conduct themselves just like the taghouti courts, so on and so forth! What is causing us anxiety and distress at present is that our school; that is, our Islam, runs the risk of the world turning its back on it and burying it because of our actions. Some thought must be given to it.

Until we reform ourselves, we cannot say that we are people who are serving God and who want to reform the people. Until one is not pious himself, one cannot invite the people to be good. One who is not upright, God forbid, will be ridiculed if he tells the people to be honest. They would tell him to be honest himself if being honest was a good thing! You the Islamic guards claim to carry out your guard duties and serve Islam. If any of you, God forbid, does something now- such as they would do in the days of the previous regime when they would enter someone's house and take away the household effects and so put the person's wife and children in difficulty- and the others do not stop him; if they do not correct that person and forbid him, it (offense) will serve as a weapon in the hands of our enemies. They will say that the Islamic guards are also like this. They will not say that the wrongdoer is that kind of a person; they will not say that it is a clergyman attired in this dress who is like this. They will say that the clergy and the Islamic guards are like this! How is this danger to be averted? We are facing this danger now.

It is now our duty and responsibility; all of us. All of us are responsible, not for our own affairs but also for the affairs of others." All of you are responsible and you will be questioned for the things that had been entrusted to you." «1» Everybody should be considerate toward everybody else; everybody toward everybody else. You have responsibility toward me as well; I have responsibility toward you. You will stand responsible in case I do something wrong and you do not question me. You must; you must ask why, and forbid me from doing it. If a clergyman, God forbid, does something wrong somewhere, all the clergymen should assail him as to why he acted against principles. The other people must also do so. Forbidding what is evil is not exclusive to the clergy; everybody has a right to forbid evil. The ummah must forbid what is evil; it must enjoin what is good.

We are now claiming that the establishment is Islamic, our government is a government of justice, and so on. We have told this to the world which has also recognized our country as an Islamic republic. And most of the countries consider our establishment to be Islamic. But if the establishment is not Islamic in substance and our actions do not conform to Islamic laws; if we quarrel over petty issues, if we have enmity and fight over minor matters- all of which are contrary to Islamic rules- and if such things happen for the world to say that this is what the Islamic Republic is, this is what the" regime" is, then in such a case we are all of the same cloth. It is not that we have been defeated in a war.

The Doyen of the Martyrs (`a) was defeated by Yazid who killed everybody. But he (the Doyen of the Martyrs) dealt Mu`awiyah regime such a blow as to bury it forever. Had we been killed in this campaign, we would have, perhaps, buried the regime. But now that we have triumphed and have reached this stage, if differences and personal quarrels arise among us, if we differ over trivial issues, if the courts issue verdicts that are contrary to Islam and if the committees act in violation of Islamic principles, it will then not be said that such things are happening in a taghouti regime, but that they are occurring in an Islamic one, in an Islamic government. And Islam will be blamed for all these things. Our enemies will attribute them to Islam, and we will suddenly see it written in the newspapers abroad that these people (the Islamic authorities) are the same and that nothing has changed. They will not dare to write such things explicitly here (in Iran); they will do so indirectly.

We now fear the enemy more than we feared Muhammad Rida. We fought against Muhammad Rida; we contented and clashed with him and, thanks to God, you chastised him and drove him out. The war is no more. It is now the war of the pens; the war of nerves. It is not an easy war. It is a war in that they are writing things against Islam in Iran and abroad. It is not against you or me or against Zayd and Bakr (Peter and Paul); it is against Islam! They fear Islam; they do not fear you or me. They are afraid of Islam. It was Islam that enabled our youth to overcome tank, cannon and everything else. It enabled our people to overcome all the powers. If after this victory, those who guard us do something that will cause Islam's downfall; it will be a responsibility different from that of murder, different from that of sins committed. It will be an unforgivable sin.

If we portray Islam abroad other than it (really) is, if we present it abroad (in such a way), it would spell defeat for Islam. It does not constitute a sin; the matter is not one of committing a sin. It is a matter over which the prophets were killed; it is a matter over which the Imams were killed. The school of truth is that over which the prophets and the saints were killed. Doing harm to Islam is a greater sin than killing a prophet. The prophets were killed for the sake of Islam. Harming Islam is worse than killing prophets! It is worse than killing the Doyen of the Martyrs! The Doyen of the Martyrs gave his life for the sake of Islam; the same Islam that has fallen into our hands now and with which some of us are, unfortunately, playing games!

You have to reform; the responsibility, sir, is great! Do no think that we are not responsible. I am responsible; he is responsible; I, a cleric, am responsible and you, not of the clergy, are also responsible. The bazaar merchant, the academician and everybody is responsible. We should be careful, all of us, that this school is safeguard. The enemies are now aiming to destroy this school because it is the thing that they fear. Our enemies do not fear you or me; they fear our school. Those who know that they have been defeated do not consider themselves to have been defeated by you or me; they consider that they have been defeated by your faith. They understood and experienced that a group of people overcame them with the power of" Allahu akbar". They want to deprive you of this power, but you must maintain it. And maintaining it lies in me, a cleric and all the other clergymen, not overstepping the divine limits in word and deed. You, the honorable pasdars- may God keep you- should not exceed the limits of your duty of protecting Islam. The merchant class, the office goers, the government and the nation are all (living) in the Islamic establishment at present; all of you are now living under the Islamic government. Do not forget the duty of the Islamic government.

Put aside- all of you- the differences you have over any matter; matters about which you should not differ at all. This game of setting up parties and forming groups, owing to which nearly one hundred groups have declared their existence over the past few weeks according to the newspapers, means that one hundred groups are doing something to disrupt the solidarity that had arisen and was the secret of your power. You have a hundred enemy groups, but some understand this and perhaps the majority is not heedful of it. This splitting into groups has not happened just like that for you to think that they are announcing their existence by chance. You read in the newspapers every day that such and such group has also announced its formation. Many of these groups bear the name" Islam", and many of them have other names. The ones that carry the name of Islam are making a mistake, as well as those that have names other than Islam. All the people should be under the banner of" there is no god but Allah," and remain united.

Great is the danger and great is the responsibility. My responsibility and that of the gentlemen is greater than yours. Your responsibility, too, is great. We have to discharge this responsibility properly. It is actually a test; God has given you this gift, and you are being tested now.

Freedom is the greatest gift that humanity has. You lacked this freedom and could not utter a word. You were not able to gather here; was it possible for you? Was it possible for us to sit down together and talk to one another? They would not allow anybody to enter through this door. If at any time you smuggled yourself inside, you would have to go to the Security Organization once you went outside! God has given you the gift of freedom. He is testing you in this freedom to see what you are going to do with it. Will you squander this God-given gift and trouble the people with this gift of yours, or will you be thankful for it and make the best use of your freedom? I consider it my duty at this time to mention this to every group that comes here because the problem is this. The problem now is that there are many differences and many groups. They are gathering together and we are breaking up!

Every one of us should wake up, every one of us should be attentive, and also reform ourselves so that, God forbid, we do not do anything wrong. We must also be careful about anybody doing something wrong, and stop him if he does so; not by shouting and quarrelling, but by gentle persuasion. If a person commits an offensive act and a hundred people wish him gently and speak courteously to him what he did was not right, it will affect a person and he will not be able to commit an offense.

May God keep you Islamic guards for the sake of Islam. And may He make you Azerbaijanis, who have always been an honor to Islam, an honor to

Islam once again. May He give us success in serving Islam, the Muslims and all the deprived countries.