Radio-Television Message [Islam is a political religion]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I congratulate all the Muslims in the east and the west of the world on the occasion of the auspicious `Id al-Fitr. It is hoped that God, the Blessed and Exalted, will accept the devotions of Muslims in this great month and blesses the `Id.

Islam is a religion of politics; it is a religion in whose decrees and mawaqif politics is seen with clarity. Every day there are crowds of people in all mosques of the Muslim countries- in the cities and towns, in the villages and hamlets. These crowds gather together for the purpose of congregation, and in order for the Muslims in every city or hamlet to become aware of each other's state of affairs and those of the oppressed. And every week there is a huge gathering of all walks of life in a certain place. The Friday congregational prayers consist of two sermons in which the issues of the day, the needs of the country and those of the region, as well as political, social, and economic trends, are supposed to be brought forth so that the people may become aware of them. There are two `Ids every year in both of which the people should get together and there are two sermons included in the `Id prayers, i.e. there are two sermons in the `Id prayers. In these two sermons that follow the hamd [praising God] and sending blessings [s alawat] to the Noble Prophet and the Imams (`a), the political, social and economic trends as well as the needs of the country and those of the region are supposed to be discussed. Those who are giving sermons are supposed to inform the people of the issues. And, most important of all, in an annual gathering of hajj in which it is incumbent upon the people from all Muslim lands who are mustati` to gather in there, the issues related to Islam [are supposed to be discussed]. In those mawaqif which are in hajj, `Arafat, particularly in Mina, then in the Holy Mecca itself, and in the holy shrine of the Noble Messenger, in those mawaqif there the people are supposed to be informed of the conditions of their country as well as those of all the Muslim countries. In fact, what you have there is a supreme assembly and a grand gathering for reviewing all the state of affairs of all the Muslim countries. Hence, the point is this: Every day there is a gathering in the communities for reviewing the state of affairs of the city and the community. And every week, there is a huge gathering in the cities and in places where the requirements of (Friday) prayers are meant to review the state of affairs of the towns and beyond, the whole country. And every year there are two great gatherings to review the state of affairs of the countries. And every year there is a huge gathering of all the Muslim countries to attend to the question of hajj and the mawaqif that are in the hajj. The gatherings there are meant to review the state of affairs of all the Muslim countries. All these issues are of political nature and are issues to which the Muslims must pay attention. It is unfortunate, however, that these issues are being neglected and they have been neglected in the past. Gatherings do convene, but no result is produced. Muslims do gather in the Holy Mecca and in the mawaqif, though they act as if they are separate entities or are strangers! There are also gatherings in cities, Friday prayers, the `Id prayers, but the individuals seem to have no unity of expression. Islam has called on the people to such gatherings for great objectives in mind. Islam has supreme goals for such gatherings.

On Fridays, when there are gatherings, two sourahs are chosen and the leader of (the Friday prayers) is being called on to recite those two sourahs: in the first rak`ah «1» Sourah al-Jum`ah, and in the second rak`ah, Sourah al-Munafiqin. Sourah al-Jum`ah is about the prophetic mission of the Noble Messenger and as to the prophetic mission of the Noble Messenger, it indicates that the Noble Prophet was called to prophethood" to purify them and to teach them the Scripture and Wisdom." «2» The purpose of the prophetic mission is to purify the people, which have priority over teaching of Divine Wisdom and the teaching of the Scripture. Purification has been specified as the reading of ayat «3» to the people so that they become purified. And teach them and introduce the Book and the Wisdom to them and train them. In Sourah al-Jum`ah, it indicates the secret behind the prophetic mission of the Noble Messenger. It gives the secret behind the Noble Messenger's prophetic mission as purification as well as the teaching and training of the nation, a teaching that includes all the aspects of teaching whereas the Book and Divine Wisdom qualify all the aspects of education. After mentioning teaching and training, it points out the pseudo-`ulama', i.e. those who have learned knowledge but do not practice on that learning and have been denounced in the worst possible terms:" The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books." «4» The story of those who possessed the knowledge of the Torah but practiced otherwise is likened in saying, to a donkey bearing books on its back but does not understand what they are and does not benefit from them. The example of those who have become learned but the learning has not left its effect in them, is likened to a donkey which is loaded with books! If knowledge does not leave its effect on man and does not make a human being of a man, no matter if he carries those books in his heart or carries it on his back! The example of such people is likened to those people or rather to the animal, a donkey that has books on its back. Just as a book is of no use to that animal, so is that knowledge which is not followed by commitment or is not practiced and is not followed by mental development, or is not applied to guide people. This is just of the same sort of man who has books on his back, just as if an animal, a donkey, is carrying books. At this juncture, it mentions this to remind the people so as to differentiate between false `ulama' and authentic `ulama'. It is also meant for the `ulama' to understand where they stand. In the second sourah of course, there are some other points in the first sourah, but I am short of time to elaborate on them; my time does not allow going into them.

In the second sourah, it mentions the Sourah al-Munafiqoun and the characteristics of munafiqoun [hypocrites] as follows: In your (the Prophet's) presence, they claim to be religious and to subscribe to Islam, however they lie! They are not Muslims. They are hypocrites. It (the Qur'an) denounces the hypocrites in the worst possible terms so that people will know them. We warned the people before to make the distinction between the hypocrites and the non-hypocrites. As soon as someone says that he is a Muslim, or he says that he believes in the Islamic Republic, it is not enough a reason to believe in him; rather, their deeds are to be watched closely. One should see how committed they are toward the Islamic Republic and what have they done for their country; what the state of their mind is. They claim to have subscribed to Islam but set people in the Iranian cities and set people's harvests on fire and murder our youth in the countryside, including the beloved Kurdistan. They murdered so many of our youth and of the Kurds themselves. And yet these murderers claim to be Muslims. But the Qur'an says," You are hypocrites." You are not Muslims; you whose word of mouth does not match your deeds and your words do not match your real selves; you who are right now engaged in destruction of everything in Kurdistan and yet claim to be Sunnis and belong to the Sunni school of thought. If you really belong to the Sunni school then, based on the religious edict of the great Sunni `ulama', it is incumbent upon you to obey the ou li'l-amr [holders of authority]. Today, our government and we are the ou li'l-amr. It is incumbent upon you to obey us, as per Islam's decree and as per Qur'an's decree and according to the edict of your own `ulama' and according to your own patriarchs. Now, if you are really Muslims, why do not you follow the Qur'an? Why do not you do what your `ulama' have observed as to the noble ayah:" Obey God, and obey the Messenger and the ou li'l-amr among you"? «5» You are only Muslims outwardly; you pretend to have subscribed to Islam while in reality you are not Muslims.

Our dear Kurdish people, our beloved Kurdistan, and our dear young Kurds should focus on the criterion to distinguish the hypocrites from those who are not. Those who pretend to have subscribed to Islam, but set Muslims on fire; those who claim subscription to Islam, but cause people trouble and cause them to endure hardship; those who pretend to be adherents of Islam, but put the hospitals on fire and decapitate the injured; come to recognize them- these are not Muslims- they are hypocrites. They pretend adherence to Islam today in order to take advantage of your credulity, do not be deluded! Be heedful as to what kind of people they are.

The Islamic Republic was founded in opposition to the taghout and as a result of the Muslims' efforts. But those people who did not cast a vote for the Islamic Republic wanted the same taghout to stay. Not casting one's vote for the Islamic Republic could simply mean that they longed for the taghout. These people are hypocrites; they couldn't be Muslims- a Muslim must cast his vote for the Islamic Republic; a Muslim must accept the Islamic government of justice. Those who boycotted the voting for the Islamic Republic are hypocrites; they are not Muslims. Those who set fire to the (ballot) boxes, those who prevented people from casting their votes, are not Muslims and we will deal with them in the same way that we do with the non-Muslims; we will act against the hypocrites and we will suppress them.

In order to let the people of the world understand and for our people to know what kind of people we are dealing with, we gave them freedom. We gave them such an absolute freedom that in (only) the recent few months, two hundred parties, groups, the press, including magazines and daily newspapers emerged! And no one barred them, even though they insulted our sacred things and despite treating the government in the way they did and despite treating Islam in the way they did in their press media. Notwithstanding this, we did not object or protest until a time when we felt a plot and we realized that they were indeed troublemakers. They are the kind of hypocrites who want to foment trouble; the kind of hypocrites who conspired against Islam and conspired against the government, conspired against the nation; they are the kind of people who are in contact with the frontiers and with abroad- their commuting is under control. We are being informed that you socialize with individuals who were associated with the old regime, the individuals who wish for our country to return to its former state- after your conspiracies are revealed, and people get to know what kind of people you really are, we can no longer let you do freely what you want to do; we will suppress you!

I warn the beloved people of Kurdistan, the great people of Kurdistan, to be watchful of these individuals' acts and inquire into their position. I warn the dear youth of Kurdistan that Islam is a refuge for all of us. Islam will provide for you everything; these individuals (the hypocrites) are dependent on the foreigners. In case you have now joined their party, quit them and do not come into contact with them. I ask them (the youth) themselves to arrest the wicked heads of that party, those treacherous heads and turn them over.

Our youth should not be deluded. These are a group of false people; a group of hypocrites that God labels as munafiqoun and states their characteristics in the Qur'an.

I warn all the strata of the nation to avoid them (the hypocrites), wherever they are and however they appear. And at the proper time and when the need is felt and there is an order to that effect, and God willing when we want, and if those (individuals) do not stop their wicked acts, we will mobilize the people, in the manner we did before, and will purge everyone. The nation should be vigilant and ready. Our nation should be on the alert and do not allow these germs of corruption to take our country back into its former condition and reinstall the monarchial regime or a worse one, if there exists a worse one.

I ask God, the Blessed and Exalted, to bless the Muslims with this `Id and all other `Ids and awaken all Muslims so that they all join in acting together and side by side, everywhere and in all four corners of the world for the expediency of the Muslims and for the difficulties with which we are entangled in Afghanistan, which is caught in the hands of the same group, i.e. the hypocrites. They pretend to have subscribed to Islam, but are in fact hypocrites. Same is true about Quds, and other places such as Lebanon and Palestine, where our brethren are in the grips of the superpowers, who set them on fire with the collaboration of Zionism. Muslims should remember to pray for all these on the day of supplication and to act accordingly when there is time for action. And I hope that we can hoist the banner of Islam and the flag of the Islamic Republic all around the world and follow Islam which is everyone's right; and for all to follow it.

And I have to remind everyone that when we talked about a party to be called the" Party of the Downtrodden" worldwide, that did not mean for other rightful parties that (now) exist in Iran to be closed down. Regional parties are one thing; and a party of all districts and all localities is another. If the Muslims succeed, God willing, in establishing such a party, i.e. the" Party of the Downtrodden" for all the places, that will be a timely measure. However, this should not mean that the local and regional parties should not exist. No, there will be parties in the regions and they are free to operate as long as there is no conspiracy felt in their part.

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