Speech [Explaining the clerics' services and their grave responsibility]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Whenever my eyes are cast at these bright faces and divine forces, I become glad.

I hope that at this time when you and we need to present Islam to the world as it is, you would be successful. As you have so far been successful and, thank God, victorious, you will emerge triumphant through your plans and gatherings. All my concern is that we, clerics and turbaned people, who should safeguard Islam and present it as it is according to our divine duties, give excuse to the enemy. I fear lest those who are liable to engage in controversy with us, as they have done recently in a pamphlet, we provide them with pretext. Now that they do not have any pretext, they contend that clerics exercise despotic rule! The clerics want to practice opportunism; the clerics want to preempt all government institutions; the clerics are monopolist; the religious strata are monopolist and such irrelevant remarks everyone writes while sitting idly at home without any regard for what the clerics have so far done and in what conditions they are.

They are ignorant of the role of clerics who pulled you out of these niches or else you would have been buried there up to now. You were either in favor of the regime or if not, you did not dare to raise any voice. Some of your leaders told me outright let the regime remain. You did not dare to drop a line against the regime. The former regime had buried you and the clerics disinterred you.

The clerics whom you call monopolist rescued you from confinement. They were the ones who rid you of the captivity; they did not monopolize anything. There are over one million ordinary persons across the country many of which are living in ease in our departments. Now, if you can find fifty clerics in these departments, then you can call clerics monopolist. The revolution has reached this stage thanks to the power of clerics and Islam, as our nation was interested in Islam and those serving the faith. Instead of appreciating the clerics who helped you return to Iran from abroad. You did not dare to cross the borders. It was through the efforts of our nation led by the clerics that you could return to the country. The clerics also rescued you from your place of retreat, helping you to dispose of silence and cry out your demands, renewing your broken pens. While they do not demand any rewards and positions, you level undue accusations against them rather than appreciating them. You regret that our nation suffer so and so! Who are you to say "our nation"? The nation has nothing to do with you!

The nation is the one ninety nine percent of whom voted for the Islamic Republic, while you argued that the term Islamic should be eliminated. You who are making such statements also uttered such remarks in those days. You who voted" no to Islam" mustered up all your forces and obtained one or so percent of the votes while you were involved in forgery! Ninety-eight or so of the votes belonged to the masses of Muslims, the religious people. In fact, religion was the winner and now you fear religion. Who are you to say we are afraid lest the clerics would do so and so to the nation!

Our nation is the one who elects clerics or at least those who think like the clerics when it comes to the Assembly of Experts. There are a few exceptions that withheld their votes for Islamic Republic due to your fabrications and propaganda ploys. You take no account of the nation and then speak of `our nation! ' Your nation i. e. Iranian nation is the one who knows what to do when asked to send their representative to the Assembly of Experts. The Experts Assembly is an assembly to distinguish and implement laws not running counter to Islam. We want Islamic Republic; we do not want, for instance, democratic republic or western or eastern style republic; we want Islamic Republic.

When we say we want an Islamic Republic, people understand whom to send to Majlis to distinguish Islamic rules. You want people to elect you who do not believe in Islam! If you do, it is a fake Islam not being involved in any affairs? Then you want people to select you; the nation has elected clerics; then it is not your business. Who are you to say" our nation"? What do you mean by" our nation"? The nation is the one who has determined its destiny and who has entrusted its constitution to a group of clerics in Majlis. What is wrong with this? You mean we must force these gentlemen out and bring some democrats in their place. It cannot be done by force. You want to evade laws of the world. What are you afraid of? You are afraid of the nation's victory. You who falsely advocate democracy tell me what has disrupted democracy? Was the referendum held out at bayonet point? Did people vote for the Assembly of Experts at gunpoint?

Are they opportunist who took pains in prison and in exile or you who came to take benefit after they had paved the way? What dictatorial step have they taken? What dictatorship? Show me where they have resorted to force, pressure or dictatorship. Do you want to acquit those adjudged by the Islamic courts? Do you mean that those like Nasiri «1» have been executed dictatorially? Now you pick your pens and mourn for Nasiri, Howeyda, «2» and Muhammad-Rida Khan, while you call yourself `nationalist'! If we do not prevent the nation, they will pose a threat to you. We prevent people from doing any harm to you; the nation has freely and peacefully elected some experts to detect whether the rules are against Islam, while you say the gentlemen must be put aside. Well, if those who are appointed by the nation go away, what good would it do for the nation? Ask people what they want to find out. They want Islam and Islamic rules. Then, why do you confront the nation? Now that the clerics have helped you to breathe in e healthy atmosphere, are you acting against them? Is that right? Is it fair to treat those who took you out of seclusion this way? They have taken pains to invite people to Islam; people have responded to their call willingly. Now, you argue that you are afraid of Islam, religion and religious monopoly. What have they monopolized? Where? They have set you free. Which of them are among those one million and a half people who have governmental occupations? A few of them have supervisory duties, of course. They supervise affairs to make sure lest nobody should commit an offence. I wonder how unfair you are. Why are you hostile to Islam and clerics? The former regime slammed the clerics, Islam and religious people under the pretext that the nation must be so and so; Islam must be such and such. Now you make similar arguments.

You and all `ulama' of Iran and Islam are now in a critical juncture. If one of your offspring or youth commits an offence, those who do not want Islam to emerge victorious will accuse you of wrongdoing. It has been their logic. We have been tied up by Pahlavi dictatorship so far; from now on, we are going to be entangled by dictatorship of `Aba (sleeveless cloak) and turban. Everybody knows that you have not behaved dictatorially so far. You did not force anybody to take part and vote for certain individuals in the elections; people voted for their candidates freely. You have done nothing but prosecute those who have offended the people and who killed our youth for more than fifty years. This has made them complain. I see traces of Magism Nationality' is in their blood. I am not talking about these Magis who are noble people and who do not do any harm to us.

If, God forbid, you and I act contrary to Islam, those who are hostile to us will start invasion. They accuse Islam, not clerics. They argue that the Islamic Republic is a royal regime with a different wording. Then, we, clerics, have a divine legal duty to protect the dignity of Islam and the Islamic revolution apart from saving our own reputation. If we do or say something, which these enemies put down on Islam's account, we will provide the means for defeating Islam by misrepresenting it. This is an important matter. We are all clerics involved in this case, which is to save the face of Islam. This would be materialized if we take care of our steps.

Lest you might suppose that it is a personal matter rather it has to do with Islam.

We are now in a situation where we have two possibilities ahead: One is our failure in protecting Islam and its dignity and the other is our success in presenting Islam as it is.

I have frequently noted that we have got a precious faith that we were incapable of presenting, like one who has a good commodity but cannot take it out so as to offer it and find a customer. We have so invaluable a stuff that other so-called 'progressive' schools are nothing in comparison to it. We could not offer it; Islam was buried within the books and did not get out. It was buried in the minds of `ulama' and was not displayed. We could not utilize Islam properly and could not present it to the world. They are afraid lest we would present this school. You should know that those who are writing against clerics and Islam are afraid lest we would present Islam to the world. In that case those who were entertaining false issues should draw aside or join the nation. The opportunist and fraudulent ones should go away or join people.

If Islam were presented, it would be accepted not only by Iranian and Muslim countries but also by the whole world. If we had such a capability to implement Islam in Iran as it is, they could not continue plundering. They are not afraid of clerics or republic; they are scared of Islam.