Speech [General efforts for advancement of Islam and cooperation with the government]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The plan was to keep our nation backward by whatever means that was at their disposal. The inhabitants of places that had a wealth of underground resources should live in poverty and deprivation on the surface. Our academic centers were programmed in such a way that our youth were deprived of proper education; and the state of our agriculture was as you witnessed that it was corrupted in the name of" reforms"; all our manpower resources were wasted. These were plans that they were delegated to implement. And this father- and especially the son- did a thorough job. They did as they were instructed by their masters. In the book," A Mission for My Country" that he has written is appropriately titled; but the mission was on behalf of America and others in order to prevent this homeland from remaining a homeland! You should not think that these problems are present only in Masjid Sulayman and among the Bakhtiyari tribes there; this backwardness is present everywhere. Some of the cities whose leaders were their agents were looked after to some extent. While some of them have been attended to out of necessity; but in the same cities when you take a look at their surroundings, you see the same problems. You should go to Tehran and take a look at the shanty towns of Tehran and the places that are on the outskirts of the city; you shall definitely come to the conclusion that the state of those shanty town dwellers living on the fringes of the city and who were forced to migrate there from other places as a consequence of the" Land Reforms" is worse than the state of the residents of Masjid Sulayman and the Bakhtiyari tribes. Do not be under the impression that in those places, everything is in order and only Masjid Sulayman and such places are having problems. Those shanty town dwellers of Tehran- that when I was in Najaf they would bring me a list of the localities- of which I presume, more than thirty localities were listed. They had named that such-and-such neighborhood were for instance, live in thatched dwellings; in such-and-such place, for instance, they lived in hutments and that none of them have even the basic amenities of city living; they neither had drinking water nor electricity nor asphalted roads. They had to carry potable water after passing through puddles and cover long distances to reach a water hole or reach a main road to fill water from taps in order to carry it for their infants. Several of them would live in housing that one cannot call a house; or have built a thatched hut or matting. This is how they are living. And this is a problem that exists in many places across the country. And from the surrounding areas too, these tribes of the regions come here and say the same things that you speak that you have nothing- they say the same things. But every person is aware only of his own environment and is uninformed of the environment of others; they think that other places are taken care of and only their own place has been neglected. Not at all; they had planned to take away all our resources and leave us hungry in a country that is rich; a country that possesses everything.

I hope that with the changes that has now taken place and their hands have been taken off and the hands of the plunderers have been cut off with the uprising of the nation of Iran and the oppressors have been banished and these remnants that are present shall also be destroyed and the country shall be yours; and the government also is an Islamic government so that its initial plan is to start the reforms from the villages and rural areas- and they are also busy doing- but there are so many worries and so much of chaos that although they are all busy doing their job, yet they cannot attend to all of them so soon. They must of course be given time; and God willing, it shall definitely be realized especially with regard to the regions that are rich in oil. These regions beneath which lie this resource while the people are sitting over them on the ground in hunger and starvation. Of course, those places must be developed and they are planning to develop them. Mr. Madani also has our acceptance. I hope that he continues with his activities and the government also provides assistance so that the problems are resolved.

It is important that the thing which should be of concern to our brothers should not all be related to these material ideals and resources. We must be concerned with the revival of Islam. If Islam, if the commandments of Islam are implemented in this country, all the material and spiritual aspects shall be taken care of.

The program of Islam is that there should be no difference and discrimination between the rich and the poor, and between the Kurd, Turk, Lor, and so forth. All are brothers and all are equal; and it is for everyone. You should continue with the movement that you have undertaken- the Islamic movement- with the same Islamic intention and its Islamic movement, and I am hopeful that we succeed in implementing this Islamic republic in the manner that Islam wants it to be implemented. If it happens that way then rest assured that there shall be welfare for all strata, both here and in the hereafter.

I pray that God grant you health and happiness; and all of you be the friends and close companions of one another and all assist one another and assist the government. Today, the government belongs to you; there is no distance between you and the government; and the government officials also are aware that it is an Islamic republic. The impositions of those times when any person would go anywhere and would be given an assignment to impose his will on the people everywhere does not exist in the Islamic Republic in this manner any longer. All are brothers with one another; and all shall carry this movement forward together and shall, God willing, attain happiness and health.

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