In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The plan of the superpowers to create rifts within the nation
Bahman 22 was the day on which the Army and the nation united together. And it was the day on which the Army turned back from the service of the taghout to the service of Allah and with trust in the greatness of Allah and with the support of the nation overpowered the taghout. This lesson should stay with us throughout our lives and we should always keep in mind that if all the people of a nation join hands and stay united, no power can stand against it or harm it.
If any superpower wishes to overpower a nation and to exploit it, it would either need to have the entire nation along with all its people on its side so that it can exploit them altogether or then it would need to play games with all the various groups of the country in order to create a conflict among the people of that country and its various groups. They know very well that if they want to exploit a country they would need to let it exist and they know that in order to succeed in their plans to exploit any nation they would need to get it to surrender to them in some manner instead of eliminating it completely. If an entire nation rises against the big powers of the world jointly, these powers would not dare to face them or to exploit them. It is impossible for them to exploit a country if the entire nation stands up hand-in-hand against them. Therefore, their primary efforts are focused upon creating rifts within the different strata of a nation in order to be able to subjugate them. Once they gain dominance over a nation they appoint a bully over it so that they can succeed in their goals of exploiting the country. Our nation has had an experience of this reality and through its unity of expression and its unity of purpose has managed to overcome all the powers that supported the deposed Shah of Iran and his wretched successor-to-be as well as his unlawfully appointed prime minister whom he had left behind. «1» It was soon realized that none of these powers can overpower a united nation. It was proved on Bahman 11 [February 22,1979] that it is impossible to subjugate a united nation that has been inspired by a divine purpose rather than a materialistic one. And they saw how the nation instead overpowered them. And all the foreign superpowers as well as their lackeys could not succeed in retaining the one they wanted to (the ex-Shah).
The values of 22 Bahman
When they saw that the entire nation refused to tolerate the corrupt taghouti regime, they had to concede and they were forced to carry away their stooge from here. It was you people who threw him out of here. There is a historical lesson in this for all of us. If we intend to achieve our objectives and to lead our country toward our own goals and to achieve the purpose for which all the blood was shed, losses were suffered, and lives were lost, we all need to stay united. This is the lesson we got from Bahman 22 and we should protect and sustain this lesson with all our might. Bahman 22 should remain as a moral for us throughout our lives and for our future generations who should also preserve this victory of Allah over the taghout and this victory of Islam and faith over disbelief and should hold it important. Let us honor this day on which God Almighty favored our nation and graced it with unity and victory. I thank all the armed forces- the military, the police, the gendarmerie, and the revolutionary guard corps- all of which are presently at the service of Islam; and if there are any exceptions they are negligible in the endless ocean and the great waves that have overtaken Iran today. The entire Iranian nation is deeply grateful to the armed forces, whether they are the ones that earlier served the former regime and later joined into the service of Islam and are from among the tawwabin (those who have returned to Islam in repentance) and shall be rewarded by Allah Almighty, or whether they are from among the forces that emerged from the masses; all of whom are dear to our nation. I am sure that the Army and the entire armed forces, too, are faithful toward the nation, toward Islam, and toward their own country.
More difficult to sustain victory than to achieve it Although it takes great effort for a country to overthrow a major power and to attain victory, it is even more difficult to sustain this victory than to attain it.
At the time of victory the various groups existing within the country do not express any opposition to the common aim of the nation even if they do not agree with it. They either keep silent or if they are wise enough they go further and even express their agreement. You all saw that during the great uprising of the nation there were no overt opponents and all the opposition had stopped at that time and thus achieving victory was easier than sustaining it. After the victory of the nation, however, the various groups that were not aligned with you and intended to use this victory in favor of their own objectives began to express their opposition overtly and at times even attributed this victory to their own efforts.
Some sociologists as well as others have said that if a nation is victorious it unites and if it is defeated it splits up. This theory, however, goes against what we have learnt through our practical experiences. In fact our observation proves that after a nation emerges victorious, since its various groups have varying objectives they start opposing each other. We saw for ourselves that following the victory of the Iranian nation even all those various groups and fronts that were silent at the time of the uprising began their oppositions in order to attribute this miraculous victory to themselves and to exploit it for their own ends. In Kurdistan, the democrats claimed to have a share in the victory and, thus, set out to plan what to do next. In other places, too, the various groups- whether they were stationed in Tehran or were scattered all over the country- began their opposition and broke the existing unity of expression. All of them, believing that the final victory was achieved through their own efforts, now wanted to reap its benefits for themselves. Each of them began thinking in terms of eliminating the others so that they could become the sole inheritors. This is because many individuals as well as groups that could not earlier declare their existence in the face of that great uprising of the masses or those who silently watched the fall of the previous regime suddenly cropped up and began attributing the victory to their own struggles once it was achieved. Only about a couple of days ago either one of the newspapers or maybe one of the foreign news agencies had claimed that the victory of this revolution was achieved at the hands of the communists! This is because the opportunists only remain bystanders and wait to watch who succeeds. If the nation succeeds, they claim that it was through their efforts that the Islamic Republic was formed and if the foreigners succeed they claim that it was through their support that this victory became possible. If the East wins they claim to be the true communists! And if the West wins they claim that they were only pretending to be communists while they were aligned with the West all along! Once victory is achieved these opportunists stand up in opposition in order to register the victory under their names so that they can reap advantages from its achievements. And even if we had faced defeat there would have been some other kind of opposition through which each party would blame the defeat upon the others. Of course those oppositions would be short lived, starting out with a hue and cry- each blaming the others- and would have soon faded away. However, victory brings along with it many aspirations and ambitions. In order to take advantage from the victory and to register it under their own names in the annals of history, the democrats claim that they made it happen. The communists also claim the same and many other groups, too, may end up claiming that it was through them that this victory was achieved. However, it would only take a short look to realize that these opportunists had no role to play in the achievement of our victory. It was this nation, and the Army, and the revolutionary guards and the other forces that united together to make this victory possible.
Relationship between a dictatorial nature and a deviated upbringing
Gentlemen, personnel of the Army and the other armed forces, officials! An important point to which I would like to draw your attention is that no human being is born with all the qualities that are manifested in him later on. No human being, with the exception of the men of God- like the prophets (`a) - is born with any knowledge. It is only later on in life, as a result of their own efforts, that they gradually educate themselves each choosing a certain branch of knowledge. Likewise, no one is also born with a dictatorial nature. Even as a child gradually grows up, it is not as if the quality of dictatorship is inherent within him. However, as a result of a deviated upbringing right within the small environment in which he grows up, traces of dictatorship begin to gradually manifest in his behavior. If he is provided with a healthy upbringing, the quality of dictatorship does not strengthen its roots within him but if he is exposed to a corrupt upbringing, those traces of dictatorship in his behavior begin to grow. Similarly, as for those from the armed forces or even some other officials for that matter whether from our country or from the other countries who end up being dictators were not born like this. This trait grows in human beings gradually. Such a person start out believing that he is opposed to dictatorship but it so happens that at times he starts imposing his views and beliefs. He begins to impose his ideas upon others. He does not bother to rationalize his opinions but rather only imposes them forcefully upon others. It is dictatorial to expect others to bow down unquestioningly to one's views. A rational behavior demands that we discuss our views with others and also seek their opinions. But it sometimes happens that the trait of dictatorship that has been nurtured within the spirit of some people- even if they may be unaware of the fact- demands that everyone agrees with their views and their understanding of things forcefully. This is where it begins and gradually when such people start gaining power, they step further and begin to impose themselves, depending upon the extent of their authority and the environment they are within. Once a person gradually enters into society, and maybe enters the army and becomes an army commander, that quality which is within his spirit begins to grow. To start with, even he is unaware of the matter and does not know that his behavior is dictatorial. He believes that his behavior is humane and Islamic but he keeps going further. As he advances, this trait, too, grows within him. It was not as if Rida Khan was a dictator right from the beginning. Or even Hitler for that matter. Do you think that wherever Rida Khan and Hitler were born, they were dictators right from the onset? As they gradually entered a wider social life and gained power, that dictatorial quality that was ignited within them, began to grow and gain strength until they emerged as dictators like Hitler; or like Rida Khan in our country. Muhammad Rida was also a dictator but functioned in a manner quite different from that of his father. He was also a dictator and disgraced others under the subjugation of his dictatorship. Those who brought him to power and made him ruin this country were well aware of this. They knew very well that his father was also a dictator. The son, too, must have made some commitments to them for them to bring him to power. It was not as if such people were born dictators. Similarly, no one is born freedom-loving. All these qualities are latent at the beginning. Generally, it is only as man goes further that he suddenly realizes that he is trapped in the throes of dictatorship.
The characteristics and evils of dictatorship
All of you who plan to, God willing, progress in the system and to grow in power should pay great attention to this point and should make sure to question yourself if when you gain power and maybe head a group or a garrison in the future, will you choose to guide your personnel or will you simply force yourself upon them, even if you are in the wrong. Are you going to be willing to accept your mistakes when you realize them or then are you going to carry in error right up to the end?
One of the evils of dictatorship is that when a dictator says something, he cannot and does not have the power to withdraw his views, even if they end up running against the interests of his own country or his own army. He simply insists on going ahead with whatever he wants. One of the biggest forms of dictatorship that one may fall prey to is to insist on what one wishes even if it carries a country to its doom. The dictatorship of Hitler and others like him was of this kind. Even when he saw that he had committed a mistake in attacking the Soviet Union, he refused to accept his folly and instead believed that since he had set out to do something he must see it to the end. And we all saw what disgrace such obstinacy brought upon him.
Even you who will, God willing, play active roles in this country in the future and will be known as the personalities of Islam should keep in mind that if you do not gain control over these qualities that lie latent within you, you will emerge as dictators at some point of time. Make sure that you do not end up turning so self-centered as to insist upon having your own way and refusing to accept your faults or mistakes even if you realize them.
A perfect man is the one who, when he knows that he is right, expresses himself rationally and explains his matter in a rational manner. When we read in the Qur'an that" there is no compulsion in religion", «2» it is because you cannot impose your views upon anyone. It is not possible for anyone to simply impose his beliefs upon others. It takes a lot of conspiracy to portray bad things as good. If a man is worthy of being called human and if he has had a good upbringing he should explain his views rationally to others instead of imposing himself upon them. He should inform people about the right path but should not force them to tread upon it. You should pay attention to eliminating this trait that is within man as you will, God willing, go on to become chiefs and commanders. You should stay aware right from now so as not to become inflicted with this self-centeredness which is the root of dictatorship and all other evils. If you find that you have really made a mistake do admit it. This confession will not diminish you in the eyes of the nation but it will only make you bigger. Any persistence in one's follies only degrades man further. If one commits a mistake and realizes it but yet insists on gaining some validity for his mistake he is indulging in an evil kind of dictatorship even if it may not appear to be so. Such behavior ends up in making a Hitler or a Rida Khan out of man.
You who are students of the army schools should keep this matter in mind and should make sure that your education is not only focused upon gaining a position for yourselves. It should instead be for the sake of serving the nation, the independence of the nation, the freedom of the nation, and the protection of the boundaries and the territories of this country. The aim should not be to reach commandership, irrespective of what happens to the nation. It is dictators who are only interested in gaining great power even if it is at the cost of the future of a country or even if it carries an entire army to its doom. You should make certain that this quality does not grow within you or is not, God willing, within you from the beginning. However, even if you do, God forbid, see it within yourselves do not allow it to grow any further because dictatorship is the worst trait that can degrade man and can carry a country to disaster.
May Allah bring further unity among the armed forces! And may He bring you in closer unity with the nation because it is only with unity and with unity of expression and with unity of goal- which is the same divinely-inspired goal- that the independence and the freedom of the country lie and the freedom of the people and all the desires of mankind that we shall achieve.
May all of you jointly, along with the nation- men, women, the old and the young- remain united among yourselves and with the entire nation so that you will be able to lead this country to where God Almighty wishes it to reach.
May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.