Speech [Conspiracies of the corrupt parties and factions; freedom and democracy; cooperation of the representatives with the people]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I wanted to express my regret at the situation they have created and this situation; and always they do these types of sabotage prior to a task that was about to be performed. When the referendum was about to take place, they created certain disturbances. When they were defeated there, after that they were defeated in every instance. Now also that this Council is about to become a reality, they have brought about these vandalisms in order to divert the attention to somewhere else, and perhaps in their own thinking, they hope that the representatives will not be able to continue with their jobs; and then this job was done. Then, when we wish to establish the National Consultative Assembly and elect the president, once again we are waiting for these problems to crop up. But the nation has found its path; and the nation and the government, all the strata, continue on this path- whether they cause these vandalisms or not. To get rid of them is not very difficult; we want as far as possible to behave kindly with them; that there should be no bloodshed. But they want.

In any case, we are for these vandalisms at the hands of these vandals and at the hands of these foreigners who are using them as their tools for their own objectives; and they are continuing with these inhuman actions under various names such a" Democrat Party", democratic so and so forth, Fada'iyan-e Khalq and such meaningless names; sometimes with their writings, at times with their actions. And as I mentioned the day before yesterday, the sin for this is our responsibility. A revolution must not be in this manner.

We wanted and the gentlemen wanted also, after the Revolution, to behave in a very gentle manner; they let go, they kept the borders open; they freed everybody; they freed the pens; they freed the speeches; they freed the parties in the hope that if these people are not Muslims, at least they are humans. For a state that the nation has toiled for these people, at least they would have so much sense that if the condition reverts, it would be bad for everyone. But it became apparent that no, that this is not the issue and that they are the agents of foreigners; now either they are agents of America or the agents of some other places. Now their essence, the essence of these writers, the essence of these parties, and the essence of these deceptive and meaningless words has become clear for our nation.

If from now on we behave in a revolutionary manner with them, they cannot say that we did not give them freedom. We did give them freedom, they misused it and we shall not give them freedom anymore. Freedom in the sense that they want to engage in vandalism- this freedom will not be granted. Freedom within the limits defined by law; within the limits that Islam has permitted. Islam does not permit that we allow everybody to be free and do whatever nonsense they want; whatever plots to hatch; whatever they wish to do for wreaking havoc and spilling blood.

We must also complain to the government and the Minister of Interior that on the day when these people injured three-hundred persons- as they have said- we did not see the government take any action except to express regret; we also heard nothing over the radio. If, by an expression of regret, with an advise, for instance, they would refrain from engaging in unlawful activities, now it is several months that they have been advised; they have been counseled; they have been pleaded with; all forms of corrective behavior has been undertaken with them; but they are not that type to refrain from their activities by gentle counseling; they must be dealt with sternly. And maybe today or tomorrow, I am going to announce the banning of most of these parties and we should not permit any writing from them to be published anywhere nor any trace of them to remain in any part of the country; and not to allow anything to be published by them; we shall destroy all their writings. For, after the nation has come to know that they are vandals; that they are a corrupt group; they are a subversive group, we cannot allow them to do as they wish; even now they have protested that it is we who are doing these things like when the day before yesterday some days earlier they committed these vandalisms and blamed it on the people! They themselves create the disturbances and then blame it on others. Now also I read in the newspapers that the corrupt `Izziddin Husayni and the immoral Qasimlou «1» - who are probably not in the country anymore- claim that we ourselves, the Guard Corps came and did it; whereas they chopped off the heads of the Guard Corps personnel! They cut off the heads of the people; what not they did with the children. They are such types of people; with them one cannot deal in a gentle, friendly and compromising manner and these sorts of behavior; with them one must deal sternly, and God willing, we shall deal with them sternly.

However, as far as possible, even now we desire that those who write, those who, let me say, regard themselves to be" intellectuals"; those who have organized" fronts" we still would like to deal with them temperately, but they must cease what they are doing. The path of the nation is clear; it is not something unknown. All those who are aware of the situation in Iran, all of them know what this nation wants; it is not hidden from anyone. It is not concealed from the foreigners, the local people, and the parties what this entire nation wants; it wants an Islamic republic; this nation wants Islam. A few corrupt persons should come and say," No, we do not want Islam, only a republic!" And a few persons want to impose their will upon a nation and then say that they are not free. Freedom is that you who are in the minority- not the parties that are in the minority and some in the majority- that you all came together and did all you could and committed all the vandalisms to gain one and one-half percent or maximum two percent of the overall votes; on the whole only two percent were opposition votes! Such a referendum was unprecedented in the world that it be held in such a manner. Such a free referendum in which all people were free and people voted freely; but in some places they caused obstructions. In some places these devils themselves caused obstructions and prevented voting. They do not want the country to remain as it is and this country and this movement to advance; their objective is to prevent it from moving ahead, otherwise, burning the harvests and causing work stoppages in the factories and preventing the people from casting their votes; and bringing about this situation at a time when people want to establish the Council of Experts; and when casting their votes they do that and when they want to establish that, they do this- and later also it will happen- are all of these the path of the nation? You who say that you are working for the nation and for the masses and for the people; are these paths of the nation?! Is burning the harvests of the toil of a population, for the benefit of the people? With a single matchstick you burn the yield of a year's toil; is this path of the nation? Is this for the benefit of the masses and the people?! You prevent the masses and the people from voting: Is this for the benefit of the people?! That you claim that you are on the side of the masses, that you are supporters of the people and that it is this turban and the wooden sandals that are opposed! What have this turban and sandals done? It is five months that this turban and sandals have given you respite although it held all the powers in their hands. Everywhere the power was in the hands of the turban and sandals; what have they done? Have you done anything except vandalism? Yes, it is the fault of the turban and the sandals to have given you a break; this blame on us is justified. If we had right from the start, like the other revolutions that took place in the world; that following a revolution, they would come and hang a few thousands of those corrupt people from the gallows in public squares and set them on fire, so that the issue would be over; that they would not allow a single newspaper to be published except that newspaper which they themselves approve of. Now a long time has passed from the October Revolution; «2» they still do not have a peoples' daily; they still do not have parties; there is only one party. These people are talking in praise of them! If here we prevent a single corrupt party, they create uproar and say that it has become a single party system; that it has become Rastakhiz; «3» we want it to become Rastakhiz.

We shall allow one party, a few parties that act correctly to operate and we shall declare a ban on the rest; and all the writings that they had and that are in conflict with the path of Islam and the path of Muslims we shall destroy all of these. After we have made it clear to them that they are dictators; that we were freedom-lovers and you did not allow; and we gave you freedom and you did not allow this freedom to remain; now that this is what has happened, we shall behave with you in a revolutionary way. Whatever the foreign newspapers want to write and whatever the followers of the Zionists and their likes wish to protest aloud let them shout. These people too can go inside their homes and cry out whatever they wish to say; but they cannot do so outside anymore; they must be isolated.

After this also, we have problems; tomorrow is the issue of the President; the same situations and the same bloodshed; and it is going to be worse on the issue of the Consultative Assembly. It shall be much worse than this. We have a duty on behalf of Islam to protect the interests of Muslims. All of us are obliged; all of us are obligated to safeguard the interests of Islam- and these factions are destroying the interests of Islam.

Therefore, with utmost regret, we can no longer give them the freedom that we gave before; and we cannot allow these parties to continue with their job and with the corruptions that they were indulging in and are doing. That petty capitalist- whom I do not want to take his dirty name- that petty capitalist caused all these disturbances in the few days before this and then later, fled the country. We cannot give them a break. It is not religiously permissible anymore to give them time. We gave them as much as we could and we were mistaken! And I confess that we made a mistake; also we made a mistake, also the government made a mistake; also the Revolutionary Council made a mistake- all of us made a mistake. We were under the impression that we were dealing with human beings and thus we should approach in a humane way; it became obvious that no, we were mistaken. We were not dealing with human beings; we were dealing with predator animals! We cannot deal with wild predator animals in a gentle manner; and we are not going to be gentle anymore.

I hope that these clamors of theirs, this hue and cry of theirs, and this rumor-mongering of theirs- now they have also spread the rumor that the Mordad 28 «4»

of the Shah will come! Well, let it come! We pray to God that the Shah would come here!- this rumor will never happen.

And I hope that without the slightest consideration, the gentlemen that are, God willing, upright- I know it and it does not require that I mention it, but for the sake of having said it- without the slightest consideration of the West, of the East, of such-and-such a party, of the Democratic Party, of so on and so forth, without the slightest consideration, they must draft this constitution in accordance with the religion and within the frame work of the religion. If any one of the lawmakers or all of them wish to act outside this framework, they are not lawmakers at all for the job! Are you gentlemen also qualified to be legal representatives for divorcing the wives of people? Can you divorce the wife of your client? No. Is it correct if you grant a divorce? No, because you are a legal representative who is empowered to take care of the constitution of the Islamic Republic. Now if you want, or some of you want that the word" republic" should be omitted and take the discussion to the monarchy; do you have the right to review it? You have no right to review because you have the right for reviewing only the Islamic republic. In the same way that for granting divorce to the wife of someone else, you and we, although each of us has the power of attorney but has not been empowered to grant divorce to the wife of someone else; our power of attorney is restricted. On non-Islamic issues, if a single non-Islamic issue is put forward here, it is rejected.

The putting forward of non-Islamic matters is against your legal authorization. Such as, for instance, a discussion: you can discuss a scientific subject there; it is okay to discuss, but it is against your legal empowerment in the same way that granting a divorce to the wife of your client is contrary to your legal empowerment. You cannot propose a non-Islamic subject whatever it may be, however progressive it may be. For that they should form another group. The nation itself has the authority to form a group to discuss non-Islamic issues within the framework of Islamic subjects. Of course, administrative and managing the affairs and so forth are different issues. But, if someone wants to propose issues that are contrary to the subjects of Islam, it is in the opposite direction of the nation; and in addition, it is beyond the scope of the legal empowerment. The legal empowerment limit is not beyond this. If he votes, if the entire gentlemen vote, God forbid, on an issue that is non-Islamic, it is against their legal empowerment. The people have not empowered them for that. When it goes against the legal empowerment, it is like granting divorce to their wives.

We have no fear of anything. We are neither afraid that the East would regard us, for instance, as freedom-restricting and dictatorial; nor of the West regarding us in such a manner. However, when their interests are threatened, they must level such accusations at us and we also accept all their accusations. Not at all! Whatever they say, well and good, but we shall tread our own path. We shall tread the path of the Islamic Republic in the manner that God, the Blessed and Exalted, has instructed us and in the manner that guarantees the interests of our nation; as is appropriate for our nation; and the gentlemen will also tread this path. And whatever any person says is not at all acceptable and important for us, and we do not care what they say.

However, if you want that all the people should speak well of you, you should go and sit at home so that no one sees you! For the Commander of the Faithful also, they would say many things; for the Prophet also they would say; now also they are saying. We do not care for this. The Westerner speaks more ill of our Prophet than he speaks for you and us! They say things about all the leaders of Islam, for all of them, because now their interests are in danger. When they are in danger, when their interests are endangered, what else must they say about us? But we shall go our own way to the extent that we can and the gentlemen should also tread their own path without being anxious of what this side or that side says. We do not want to create popularity and esteem for ourselves; neither have you wished to become popular with the people; if somebody recognizes you, you are popular. You do not need to create it. You do not want to create popularity in this assembly. You want to enter the assembly and proceed in the manner that the people have empowered you to and in accordance with what Islam has mandated you to do- and you will also discharge your duties in this manner.

And I would like to advise those who, God forbid, have an opinion that is in conflict with the path of the people, to set aside their plans and opinions for some other time and do these things at some other time. Now is not the time to propose subjects that are opposed to the path of the people and in the process, destroy their own credibility among the nation. I do not want the credibility of the gentlemen to be destroyed among the nation. If in this Majlis certain statements are made that are against the direction of the nation, they have destroyed their own popularity and esteem and, God forbid, it will not be very useful for their future.

Follow the same path that the nation has followed; the same thing that you want to act which is in line with your wishes, to act democratically; democracy is the rule of the majority; and that too this sort of a majority. Whatever the majority says is valid even if it is contradictory; even if it is to their detriment. You are not their masters to say it is to their detriment and you do not want to do it. You are their representatives, not their masters. You must move on the path of the nation.

I request you that it is possible that some individuals propose something that is in the opposite direction of the nation; they should initially not propose it; it is not necessary; it is not necessary to put forward every subject. It is not necessary to propose every acceptable subject here. You propound those issues that are relevant to you and you are legally empowered to undertake and follow the path that our nation treads; tread that path even if you believe that the path which the nation is following is against its interests. Well, so be it. This is what the nation wants; it has nothing to do with me and you. It wants to go against its own interests. The nation has voted; the vote it has cast is to be abided by.

All over the world, it is the rule of the majority; that too such a majority; that too the cry of a nation lasting over a period of several months and several years; that too the tragedies that our nation has borne toward this objective; it is not fair that now you come and say something that is contrary to it. In other words, it is not fair and it also cannot be done, it won't get far. Even if something is said, it won't go far because firstly, it is against what you have been empowered to do and you are not empowered on behalf of the nation to do every thing. And secondly, it is against the interest of the country; it is against the interest of the nation; it is against the interest of the gentlemen themselves.

And I implore God, the Blessed and Exalted, that the gentlemen, God willing, cover this path with health and success, and draft a constitution that is in line with Islam, progressive and is complete in all respects; and we regard Islam to be the most progressive of religions, regardless of what any person, any doctrine says. We regard Islam to be a progressive religion and suppose you opine that it is not a progressive religion, but we want this. We want this. If you call it" progressive" well and good; if you call it" non-progressive" so be it. If you regard us barbaric, so be it! We want this. Our nation also wants this. And I apologize to the gentlemen for having come here in this hot weather. May you be assisted (by God).