Speech [The threats threatening the Revolution]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

There are complaints coming from Isfahan. Yesterday there was a letter from Mr. Khadimi. «1» His interpretation, as implied in that letter, was that people in the vicinity of Isfahan are being plundered. This is the way he said it. A group of gentlemen, too, brought their complaints here. It was quite a big group. Then their representatives came here. I told them I have not been informed of what was going on in the areas to know exactly what is happening where and when. I am too busy and I may not get hold of all information. However, it is my responsibility to inform the gentleman here of one significant point. Today the Islamic Republic is installed and all[ political, social ]wings are performing their tasks under the banner of the Islamic Republic. If, God forbid. Something happens against the Islamic objectives, both the performer of the wrong-doing and Islam in general will suffer. If, for instance, a policeman or a revolutionary guard does anything wrong, the police department and Revolutionary Guard department will suffer. Then, at a higher level, the Islamic Republic will suffer. Then those who are against Islam will propagate that the Islamic regime is the same as the old regime: nothing has changed. They would tell people that they got rid of a despotic regime to fall in the hands of another tyrant regime. Previously we were held responsible for any thing wrong which we did: Islam was not trained. But today, since all affairs in this country are taking place under the name of Islam, any mischievous act will be ascribed to Islam. And those who want to meddle [in our affairs] and the owners of poisonous pens, both inside and outside the country, who see that the interests of their masters and their own have been shattered, are waiting to see a loophole, aggravate and faint to such a magnitude in order to spoil and destroy this Islamic movement shaky.

Therefore, it is obligatory for any one to observe the Islamic standards and norms in every place where services (to the people) are rendered. If a revolutionary guard does not observe the Islamic codes, he is like a cleric who has failed to observe the Islamic codes. In a similar manner, when a cleric flouts Islamic rules, it is Islam which suffers. Now the tasks of the revolutionary guards are taken to be Islamic. Now, if God forbid, people harbor against a section of the Islamic system or institution, complaining that the officials are no different from the previous ones, foreign media will have grounds to ventilate the issue and noise abroad that what we are engaged in are communistic issues and not Islamic ones. Then they (foreign media) will say that Islam is the same (as communism). There is also a class of pseudo-Islamists who feign knowledge of Islam and ascribes these improprieties to Islam. This is internal corruption which develops from inside and no outside ornamentation would save it from inevitable deterioration. This case is like a musk melon which you nurture and do everything to care for it but a worm inside is eating it away: then when you open it, you will fin out that it is rotten. Let us not let Islam becomes blemished. Those who are working for and are serving Islam such as clerics, judges, revolutionary guards or military men should not let Islam be annihilated. We should present Islam, internally and externally, in such a way to negate foreign propaganda which claims that no justice or discipline or an Islamic program is at work, that anarchy rules and everyone does whatever he wants.

In general, I should warn you against flaunting power in every affair. The strata which are involved in rendering services for Islam, as they themselves say, must be all ears to what norms Islam says, which we also adhere to. But it is not right for someone to say he does not understand Islam or be selective in understanding Islam. Each field has its own expert. If a patient refuses to follow a (doctor's) prescription and wants to treat himself, he will die. A person who treats himself may sometimes meet with a fatal outcome. Now, suppose we did aloof to the experts in Islam who are versed with how Islamic principles should be implemented and acted in the way we desired, and suppose we let those influenced by the communists and Marxists penetrate into our movement, we finally would be left with an Islam blended with the Marxist doctrines. This a great threat for Islam, indeed. You should all be concerned with this threat. You should seriously eliminate it. Being defeated by the enemy is of no importance to note.

If America stages an onslaught against us and destroys us, it has not achieved much. Of course it is a great (defeat), but a defeat in our school of thought is greater. We should apply (the techniques of) our school thought and present it abroad in such a way that foreign writers cannot fan the flames of anti-Islamic propaganda or take steps by raising hue and cry to vanquish our school of thought disseminating that we have not been able to implement or publicize that the Islamic school of thought is what they (our economics) are claiming it to be. Presently, there is a certain clique which misinterprets and misconstrues Islam in order to defame it. What they do not know of what they are saying is that this group has been defeated (ideologically) in Europe and other foreign (countries). They now want to revive the some issue and embellish the left-over dregs discarded in Europe and give them form in Iran and Islamic country. They do not know this and because they are ignorant of Islam to programs and stances, they do whatever they want without think. Now there is a group who are doing exactly this. They were defeated ideologically in Europe and presently they are pouring into country and try to poison Islam.

If asked what has happened, they would reply that they had brought about a revolution and though that we would sow chaos. A revolution does not mean anarchy that they. Of course, each revolution needs to be faced with some short-comings. But those committed to and interested in this revolution and who believe that we have staged a genuine revolution and have replaced a despotic regime with a just one, should perform their acts in accordance with the Islamic codes of justice. Nobody should toe his own line of thought and whatever he wants.

There were some of the heads of the revolutionary guards who had come to see me today. I told them to go and improvise some sound methods of action so that the Islamic principles are taken into account. If we do so, we would be victorious, and all our work will be rectified God wiling.