In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Convening the Friday prayer is of the great blessings of Islam
As I have repeatedly mentioned, one of the blessings of this Revolution and our victory is that we meet the religious scholars and especially brothers from the Sunni sect whom I would not have the opportunity to meet before and I hope that this continues and the unity of expression is always in place.
Conducting the Friday prayers is one of the great blessings of Islam that unfortunately before the victory of the Revolution was given a very low profile among the Shi`ite theologians; while the sermons of the Sunni sect that would establish it was limited to specific subjects. However, today it is from the blessing of the Friday prayer that the nation leaves their homes, congregates at the Friday prayer centers, come to an understanding with one another, and listens to political and religious issues. This is extremely valuable and just as you see, praise be to God, it is growing day by day and the congregation is getting larger and there is never any vacillation witnessed in it.
These foreign mass media propagate that the people are not showing too much interest in the Friday prayers. Where in the world can you find a place like the province of Isfahan? Just a few days ago, only in the city of Isfahan they held the funeral rites of three-hundred and seventy martyrs. despite, these same martyr families and the bereaved families continue to serve Islam. Today, our people have come to know that unless there is no self-sacrifice, Islam cannot move forward and they are familiar that we all must sacrifice for the cause of Islam.
The behavioral traits of the universal Prophets especially the honorable Prophet of Islam and his companions throughout the course of history was to be sacrificed in the path of Islam and our people have also absorbed his trait and follow them. The rumors that make the rounds sometimes that there are many problems and for example, there is too much inflation and the people have become unconcerned are unfounded. You see that these sorts of problems exist in countries that have undertaken revolutions since long years. You will not find a country that four years after the victory of its revolution, has become normal in every way and more and more people come into the arena and support the revolution and the government extensively. This is nothing except that this Revolution is Islamic and connects to Islam. If this Revolution like the rest of the revolutions was associated with a particular group or party or that a band of people would come to power by means of a coup d'etat, it was impossible that the nation would move behind them in such an undivided manner and support them. This is a blessing that Islam has favored us with- and we must be grateful for this blessing of God. It is of the favors of Islam that all the brothers from the Sunni and Shi`ite sect are together and have no differences with one another. Praise be to God, they identified the persons from both sides who would create rift and have set them aside; today, they are serving besides one another and I hope that this trend shall perpetuate.
Position and mission of the Friday prayer leaders
Friday leaders must pay attention to the fact that they are regarded as one of the most influential strata of the society; and they must take note that the people are all ears to them and at congregations, they try to take note of what the Friday Prayer leader is saying. For this reason, they should make the effort to ensure that their sermons are consequential. In the sermons, they should enjoin both piety and observance of such matters as well as call upon the people to unite and be present in the arena.
That you see the foreigners making false propaganda against Iran and their mass media is being used hysterically against us because this uprising is for Islam, we want to spread the Islamic culture to all places, and they are afraid lest Islam extends in their country so that there is no space left for them. One of the issues, which the foreigners harp on, is this same subject of the elections. Any election, that takes place in Iran, they say that this time the people will not turn out; that the people have lost their enthusiasm and are fed up. You saw that in the past elections, right from the referendum for an Islamic republic to the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution, the Majlis and the presidential elections, the people participated more than previous elections. Now also a group are sitting abroad and speculating that this time the people are tired and do not have the enthusiasm of past and such sort of statements. Most of them are frustrated and they speak because of inner frustrations. They would not have said such things if their internal frustrations had been resolved. These same munafiqin and the others, whom the people banished them from Iran, are sitting abroad and claiming that people are on their side.
You, the Friday prayer leaders have a duty to prevent from the mischief that they are engaging in and mentioning that the people are turning against and are not going to participate in the elections. You should call upon the people to participate in the elections and the people prove that they have not turned against and with their participation in the elections, prove that they have not turned away from Islam. Islam is not something from which a person can turn away. Everyday, we are witnessing that the mothers of the martyrs even those that have given several martyrs cry out that if they had more sons would have given them for the cause of God and regret that they do not have more sons to sacrifice in the path of God. The foreigners circulate that small children are being forcefully taken to the war fronts where as it is not so. The people want to prevent these fourteen and fifteen years old from going to the war-fronts but they run away from their parents and go to the front lines. Obviously, an individual who is not mature is not asked by anybody to go to the war front and nor anybody has the right to ask such a thing. Praise be to God, they themselves willingly move towards the fronts and fill up the war fronts.
I hope that you gentlemen stay at the side of each other with sincerity and call upon the people to be firm in their resolve; you must all be in the arena and invite the people to be present in the arena. It is not such that a virtuous person is one who sits in a corner with rosary beads in hand and utters invocations in mosques. If a virtuous person was of this type then His Holiness the Prophet- may God's peace be upon him and his progeny and the Commander of the faithful Hadrat `Ali would also have done such a thing. We have not seen anywhere in history that somebody has said that the honorable Prophet of Islam and the Commander of the Faithful adopted isolation and sit in a mosque and utter invocations; rather on the contrary they were present in all places and were much involved. Therefore, a group that sits down and says that one must withdraw is not right. The clergy must
be an active member of the society and must guide and enlighten the people. I also beseech God to grant you the favor to serve Islam and the Muslims.
May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you!