Speech [A comparison between the military officials of the Islamic Republic and the taghouti regime]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

This (Iranian) revolution had and has many positive features. This revolution took place at the hands of its peoples and was not like the rest of the revolutions, in most or all of which, the nation was not directly involved. Those revolutions generally either took place through a certain party that was at the forefront of affairs or then it was a certain government, revolting and overthrowing an existent one. The Islamic Revolution is neither like the coup d'etats of the world and nor is it like the other revolutions. It is unique in itself. It is the revolution of the people that came about with the slogans of" God is the Greatest" and (We want an) Islamic Republic! These two features, one of which is that the nation is itself actively present on the scenes and the other is that everyone chose the same path- the path of Islam- and it was these two features and these two characteristics that resulted in the defeat of the satanic rule of Iran that had the support of the other powers of the world.(And even after the victory of the Revolution) it was not as if the nation swerved off and said that now that we have eliminated the previous regime, some particular people should come on the scenes and take over the administrative affairs of the country. The nation itself was actively present in all areas and in the government. And all the aspects of the Revolution have emerged from the heart of the nation itself. And even these Islamic Associations that have been established throughout the country were not the result of any one particular person coming up and suggesting the idea. They came to be established spontaneously by the people themselves. You gentlemen who have come here from the Mazandaran province are part of the large group of people who have formed Islamic associations and I pray that you will succeed by the grace of God. Everything that has been achieved after the Revolution is because the nation considers this revolution as its own and not as a mere change of government that has taken place at the hands of a particular political party or by the elements connected with the West or the East.

Ours was a revolution of the people and by the people and it is to the nation, as dear as Islam. This is the reason why the entire nation did not remain indifferent to it after gaining victory and instead chose to be actively present on the scenes, to ensure that its revolution does not suffer any damage. If this revolution had come about through a political party or group and if it were not supported by the people it would not have survived and it would have to be protected through force. Unlike other revolutions that were protected through force the Islamic revolution of Iran has been and is being protected by sincere, believing people.

These Islamic associations as well as the committees, the revolutionary guards, and the Jihad for Reconstruction, which are playing an active role in this country, emerged from the heart of the nation due to the fact that people considered the Revolution as their own. Things are not like they were during the previous regime in which people wondered who they were working for, thinking:" Are we to work for the benefit of America? They are anyway siphoning off everything from our country. Their agents have been appointed as advisors in all our official bodies and are plundering off everything they can! And why should we slog for the benefit of the foreigners?!" This is the reason why our people were either indifferent or they were against the prevailing conditions and, thus, created hindrances for the usurper regime.

Things are very different today. You can all see that today we have a popular government. If you take a look at our ministers and examine their lives, you will clearly see that not a single one of them is anything like the ministers of the taghouti regime. They have all emerged from among the common people and the masses. Gone are the so-called" Saltanahs" and" Muluks," and their likes! «1» A few days back, a magazine was brought for me in which I read about the lives of the members of the ministerial cabinet of the days of the taghout. That entire cabinet hailed from royal families and from the taghout and they were either traitors or they came from the wealthy aristocratic families of the country. They made very sure that those who reached ministerial posts were not from among the commoners. They were either, as they called them, from among the" elite" class- or in other words, the" haves"- failing which they could never qualify for a government post. And if one ever saw any exceptions to this norm, it was either a very rare case or then it was meant to serve as eyewash for the public. However, if you check out all those people who are in top positions today you will find that they are all from among the commoners. The President is the son of Bani Sadr Hamedani who is a cleric [mulla] from Hamedan. «2» As you can see, the Prime Minister, «3» too, is someone who has faced great hardship during the days of the previous regime. Same is the situation for the rest of our government officials. Today, the government is not separate from the people. Today, we have a government that has been formed by our own people and those whom they have elected. During the days of the previous regime, there was a great distance between the masses- the businessmen, the industry workers, the farmers, and the rest- and a handful of people who held high positions in order to plunder off the wealth of this country and both these groups considered the other to be separate from it. And even if those" royals" were ever seen among the public, they would be surrounded by so much paraphernalia and by bodyguards and ornate coaches and cars, that they would look down upon the people considering them as low and the people, too, saw them as oppressors and plunderers. Our government bodies today do not look down upon the people or consider them unworthy. Our ministers today say that it is the masses that form our cabinet. And the truth is that our people are actively on the scenes. No longer are the officials beyond reach. The masses consider the officials as their own. They mingle among the masses and are in communication with them. This is because our revolution has been a popular one instead of being the revolution of a certain party or a government coup d'etat. The people themselves united together and ousted the previous regime and replaced it with another government. The people themselves formed the" committees". Even on the day that the Revolution gained its victory and the country was in need of law and order, it was the people who took the responsibility upon themselves. A group of people took on the responsibility as" revolutionary guards" and began protecting the streets and homes of the people, even before anyone could ask them to do so. Since they now felt that the country belonged to them, they voluntarily entered the scenes. Even those of you who have voluntarily formed the Islamic associations along with your friends and associates throughout the country were not commanded from the top to do so. You saw the need for your own selves, for an Islamic country to have Islamic systems for all its affairs, and just like the revolutionary guards who saw the need for guarding the country and took it upon themselves, you too found the need for an Islamic system and tried to provide it in all areas.

The Islamic associations all over the country should know that in these Islamic associations, there are people who are actually enemies and enter into your associations in the guise of friends, wishing to drag your Islamic associations into corruption. All of you should take care to check out the past records of all those who wish to join your associations and you should check out their activities before the Revolution. For all you know they could be SAVAK members who have now sported a beard and are tricking you with prayer beads in the hand. Check out their previous professions and their family backgrounds. Check out their educational backgrounds and their belief systems. The backgrounds of these people, prior to the Revolution, should be inspected. Now everyone can claim to be revolutionaries. You will also find people who worked for the SAVAK now claiming that they were against the previous regime! However, there are some among them who are still loyal to the previous regime and are waiting for conditions to revert back to the previous ones so that they can reach their desires and they, thus, infiltrate among these associations that have been formed by our beloved youth to serve the country. It is quite possible that they creep into these associations without your knowledge, which fact you may realize only after they have already dragged your association into corruption. The Islamic associations should be formed by people who hail from religious families and who themselves hold Islamic beliefs and these people should have been committed Muslims before and after the Revolution. You should not be deceived by people who express interest in joining your associations with claims of being Islamic and revolutionary. You should scrutinize the backgrounds of these people thoroughly so that such people do not end up ruining your associations and denigrate the face of Islam. This is a religious and Islamic obligation on all the groups that wish to form Islamic associations, committees, and Jihad for Reconstruction centers. These people are all committed toward serving this nation and consider this country as their own and are busy serving the nation. However, care should be taken and members should be selected carefully, especially in the case of the Islamic associations which bear the name of Islam. Careful scrutiny should be made and if the past records of certain individuals are not up to mark, do not let them enter into your associations. Not that they should be shunned from society; but there are many other things that they could instead be doing. Since the Islamic associations wish to represent Islam and to establish Islam, people who do not have an Islamic background cannot be trusted for this particular responsibility.

Thus, one of your responsibilities is to be careful in accepting members. Select people with an Islamic background before and during the Revolution and with an Islamic family background. Your other responsibility is taking care of the place in which your Islamic association has been formed. When one claims to be a Muslim it is as if he has made an agreement with God Almighty to remain faithful to Islam and to act according to its teachings. When you claim that yours is an Islamic association- The Teachers' Islamic Association, The Islamic Association of the Armed Forces, etc.- you should take utmost care that the young and inexperienced members do not commit acts that would go against the tenets of Islam. It is good to have Islamic associations everywhere. However, that does not mean that they should try to take power into their hands wherever they go. They should rather take it upon themselves to guide people wherever needed. It is you or the Teachers' Islamic Association that should take on guiding teachers on the ways and methods of teaching. Those of you who are part of the Islamic Association of the Army should disseminate the teachings of Islam and should provide guidance without interfering in official matters.

I assure all of you and the entire Iranian nation that as long as your focus is upon serving Islam and as long as you are present on the scenes, in the same way that you are now (you will gain victory); and even as the war is imposed upon Iran, you can see how all the people through the country are present at the warfronts whether serving at the fronts or behind them. Our combatants and all those who are present at the warfronts are actively serving Islam with sincerity, earnestness, and confidence and during the last few days have, with the grace of God, attained considerable victories. All those of you who are serving behind the warfronts should empower the army and the revolutionary guards and all the other soldiers who are present at the fronts, whether they belong to the Jihad for Reconstruction or whether they are from among the masses or whether they are our ethnics. You should be prepared to announce your support to the armed forces just as you have done thus far. And you should lend your support to the war-ravaged people just as you have done so far and should ensure that those who have lost everything in the war do not suffer any further.

I am hopeful that God Almighty will grant success to all of you and us and the entire nation to remain faithful to Islam and act upon its teachings!

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