Speech [The necessity of preserving the, values and achievements of the revolution]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I should thank the gentlemen in advance for taking the trouble and coming here from afar so I can meet them. I have said time and again that one of the blessings of this revolution is that we are able to see the `ulama' of different regions frequently. Once in a while they come here and make us feel honored. But in the past we were deprived of the honor of meeting gentlemen who were in remote places, and could only see those who resided in Qum. I appreciate everyone's efforts and thank God Almighty, who provided me with this opportunity. I hope we will all be successful in this path, which is the beginning of the way, and can go ahead now that obstacles have been mostly removed.

I can now make the claim in your presence that in our age, in the age we are now living, you will not find such a government, such people, such clerics as we have in Iran. I make this claim with confidence. You cannot find in the entire world a government that people follow and support. The reason is that other governments are not Islamic and that those which claim to be Islamic only bore the name of Islam, but are devoid of Islamic content. Study the governments that you can find information about say, the Islamic governments. Do not imagine that any of them have the support of their people; they are not as popular as this government is.

You witnessed what the central and regional governments were like in the past. I saw the governments at the time of the Qajar dynasty when I was young. Then I saw the governments at the time of the Pahlavi dynasty too. A government that was established in a city was the owner of the life and property of the people. People did not dare raise their voice against them. I myself saw the behavior of the head of a provincial government-a member of Salas clan, with its capital in Golpaygan, who had come to Khomein. I was a child then. One of the top businessmen of Khomein, who was a religious man and a good person, became the victim of this wicked man I do not know under what pretext he stormed his way into the man's home and intruded in his privacy, dragged him from his seat into the yard, fastened him to a pole and flagged him on his sole. Then I saw that wicked servant who accompanied the villain-I was in the corridor when he was crossing- slapped him on the back of his neck and took him away. What they extort out of him, I do not know any more. This was the situation of governments. You are aware of the situation of the men at the helm of the governments. You experienced it at the time of Rida Shah. How is it now? Now, you cannot find a president among all presidents to be a cleric, a true cleric and one who is indeed enthusiastic about the clerics. Nor can you find a government that people sympathize with.

You see how people make sacrifices in the war which has been waged against us. These youth, these mothers and these fathers and those behind the frontlines from all walks of life ranging from the clerics to the masses of people, make sacrifices. This development is a divine development. One cannot see this in any other context. This is a divine ray that has shone over this country, so wonderfully reviving this country. As long as this ray continues shining out, do not fear any harm. Beware, lest we may do something that will prompt God to deprive us of this favor and helping hand. We should be fully attentive to preserve this grace and favor of God. We should safeguard the favor God has done for us. I ask all of the gentlemen who are among our ranks, no matter where they are, to cooperate with people and the representatives of the governments and push forward the works with assistance of each other and with one and the same mind. If a mistake is made supposedly by a government official, you should not disclose it in Friday congregational prayers. Rather, you should advise him to do the proper thing. If he fails to listen to the advice, report to the center about the wrong done by the person concerned. However, it is not advisable to criticize him in public as this may weaken the government. We should not now do such a thing.

At any rate, I hope that all of you, gentlemen are cautious and vigilant in safeguarding this system. Today, almost all foreign writers and all ploys are directed at weakening this republic. There are only a few foreign governments that do not raise their voice against us. Almost all are against this republic. All are planning to ruin Islam, which has been established here. Even a so-called Muslim, I mean a Muslim ruler who claims to be Muslim openly announces that wherever there is talk of Islam, he will destroy it. Well, the government of Egypt said so. Wherever Islam is in force, they will destroy it, because they see it as something harmful. Now, all of those who are opposed to you are angry because you want to establish an Islamic government. They raise their position to it. They object because if an Islamic government is established in a country, the superpowers cannot plunder the treasures of that country in chaotic conditions.

If Islam is not weakened, the clerics will not weakened; only when conditions are unstable can they carry on with their intentions. Therefore, from the outset, when Rida Khan came to power until the end of his rule, he planned to weaken Islam in any manner he could. He worked to weaken its laws, weaken and destroy the clerics who served Islam. You saw what Rida Khan and his son did to the clerics, each in a different manner. This was because they did not want Islam to rule here so that they would be unconstrained to purse their own desires. They feared Islam; they were scared of nothing except Islam. If there was someone who let them alone, they would not bother him. It has been related that when British forces came to Iraq, somebody was reciting the prayer call at the top of the minaret. One of them asked what he was doing. He replied that he was calling the people to prayer. The former asked if it harmed the British Empire. The latter said: no. The former said," Let him say whatever he wishes." The act was not harming their empire. That time the measure was doing no harm to England, nowadays it is doing no harm to the US. This is the point we want to make.

I have said time and again that Azarbayjan holds a special place in Iran. Azarbayjan has a neighbor with special qualifications. Azarbayjan has always been a dam in the face of such plans. Today, God willing, this characteristic should be more applicable. The `ulama' of Azarbayjan keep the people prepared as they are, because as long as the people are present in the scene and are mobilized, superpowers cannot do anything even though they have power. Once discord creeps into the ranks of the people, between people, the government and the clerics, God forbid, that day the superpowers might interfere. As long as all people are together, the clerics and the people are in the scene and the government is popular and Islamic, they cannot do anything. They have power, but not common sense. You see that they cannot do anything. They can do something when they ruin us from within. If they did something from within us through adverse propaganda and distortions of all sorts, then they can do something and we should be preserve this unity.

If we actually want Islam-and thank God, you do-all of you want Islam- if we want Islam, we should preserve this republic. The objections raised by some people, saying this time is worse than the time of the Shah indicates that they are doing so instead of the U. S. They themselves do not initiate such acts, but try to do so through some corrupt agents. We should preserve this republic; we should protect the blessing God has granted us. You know that the day when they were in power, the clerics were forgotten and were about to be brushed aside and destroyed. If ex-regime had remained ruling for long, it would have completely destroyed the clerics. God willed that the foreign powers be toppled and now, thank God, the clerics are performing their tasks.

You see what a great blessing is this Friday prayer which is performed everywhere. Actually, if this Friday prayers had not found expression, what would we do? Friday prayers congregate and enlighten the people. If they were not performed, we would have faced many troubles. Thank God, everything is being held now. Everything is moving towards improvement. Of course, we should not expect a government to which all are opposed to reconstruct the country overnight. The country handed over to us was in ruins because of that much corruption. You know the corruptions in the bazaar, in the streets, in the pleasure centers and elsewhere. Such a country cannot be transformed into a lofty paradise overnight. It is not possible. Never has such a thing been possible. Never will such a thing be possible. Therefore, a companion is required to accompany this government so that this can be accomplished.

We are sure that all the people existing now in the Majlis, in the government, in the judiciary, in revolutionary organizations want to work for God, for Islam within their capability. They cannot do beyond their abilities. For example that we do not have judges to cover the entire country, because we were not prepared from the outset for such an enterprise. The judiciary has not been in our hands from the beginning. Others used to exercise control over it. Now that we exercise control over the judiciary we do not have the sufficient number of competent individuals. The ones who are now passing judgment are much better than those drinkers to become judges. You do not know the situation of the justice system in the past. We also do not know exactly what the situation of the justice has been. Perhaps corruption has been more pervasive in the Justice Ministry than elsewhere. Now, if we want to implement Islamic justice all of a sudden, we need experts in the field, we require hard work and patience. The nation, particularly the clerics, should contribute. Thank God, the clerics have launched efforts to improve the situation. I implore God Almighty to grant health and happiness to all the gentlemen.

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