Speech [Role of the police forces in society and statement of their duties and their mandate]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

It is of the blessings of the Revolution that we who were detached from you in those times, would flee on seeing you, you too disliked seeing us; I am not talking about you but those who were present then. Thank God that the Revolution removed this distance and all of us now regard ourselves to be from each other. It means that all of Iran is a single group; and this is one of the blessings for which we must be grateful. Whatever blessing descends on this country is through this channel that the government, the police forces, the defense forces, the clergy, the bazaar trader and everybody see themselves in a same row; it is a long row in which all are lined in a single file. Neither this one wants to do injustice to that one and nor that one wants to cheat this one. We shall reach the main destination, God willing, when all of us, each one of us knows his Islamic duty so that we know how to react in a situation wherein a country is surrounded by wolves ready to pounce on it. Know for sure that the superpowers always cause the inside to decay so that they can do anything. If it is strong internally, they cannot do anything and they know they shall not succeed. For this reason, they try to find a way from within and through that weak point compel the individuals so that they themselves and the groups themselves do something for them. All the military coups that occur in the world are in such a manner that the big powers reveal the way to a military man- a strongman- and he is compelled to act and to undertake a coup and take over the reigns of power and act in accordance with their wishes. If all the people know that their duty is to serve their country; the military-man does his military duty; the policeman does his police duty; a clergyman does his spiritual duty; the trader does his trade; the farmer does his duty; the civil servants all do their duty; the laborers all serve for a single purpose, then rest assured that if God willing, something like this happens and is firmly established and now also it is almost being done then they will no longer covet you. Those who wanted to swallow you can no longer threaten you; they shall despair. For this reason, the thing that is of utmost importance is that we safeguard what God has given to us. Now we do not know exactly what has happened because we are in the process of it. When we all are involved in the process of an issue, when all are involved in something, they cannot comprehend the depth of the issue and how important it is. Now those that are abroad, that have stayed back abroad, sometimes opine that we ourselves do not know what the issue is. For the people to cause that sort of a power to collapse and those that were assisting it to turnaround and assist the people and join with the people so that they take away the initiative from them and that too what persons. From those persons that were being supported by all the governments, all were insisting that he «1» must stay. Sometimes even inside the country they would say such a thing. This was a very great accomplishment which the Blessed and Almighty God favored us with; we must be grateful for this blessing; to be thankful is for all of us to perform our respective duties.

You are aware of the bitter experience that the nation had of the police; they were mainly involved in the affairs of the people meaning that they were inside the cities. Through them during the reign of Rida Khan- whoever remembers- they would trouble the people. It is quoted that in Qum, a police chief with a bleeding nose was sitting on the street; he was holding his nose but when he saw a woman with veil, he caught hold of her and left his nose. They had been trained in such a manner that the people had come to hate all of them; all the organizations and especially the city police that had more contact with the people. That taste and feeling in the people was intense and you must do something so that this bitter experience is transformed into a sweet one. When God willing, this becomes your objective, then God shall assist you and the people shall support you; now also they are supporting you. You should know that if in the previous regime a war had occurred, the people would pray that Rida Khan would be defeated. Well, I remember that at least Rida Khan was a monarch for Iran; whatever the circumstance, after all he belonged to Iran; was from Iran; yet when the foreigners came here and the people sensed that their everything was in danger, yet when Rida Khan left, the people were relieved that at least this blessing had arrived to destroy this man. This was the situation he had created that the inhabitants of the country had such a feeling vis-a-vis their own countryman who was the king of the country; yet when the foreigners, the British, the Russians and the Americans arrived at that time, and they banished him, it was as if a blessing had been bestowed on them. If at that time there would be the means available, they would have lit-up the streets just as you saw what they did for the departure of Muhammad-Rida. We, too, must do something; you, too, must do something so that if God forbid, you are faced with a problem, this same bazaar and the neighborhood and this same street people pour out and solve your problem; this is how the situation is now. Do not be under the impression that other revolutions were like the Revolution here that as soon as the issue was resolved the people would cooperate with its government. They would work at the point of the bayonet because the revolution did not belong to the people; the revolution belonged to the powerful and for the reason they would hold the people at the point of the bayonet. Now also those that have undertaken great revolutions, are holding the people at the point of the bayonet. Here because the people themselves were involved, they themselves had undertaken the Revolution; there was no military coup involved, it was not such that a power would come and that power would want to accomplish something. The people of the streets and neighborhoods and bazaars and the clergy and the army and all of them together joined hands and did the job. For this reason, now all the people have this feeling that whatever is there is of their own. They do not regard themselves to be strangers; they regard you as one of them; they regard you as their own offspring. You must perform according to your duty of an offspring for this nation while they, too, perform their duties of supporting you and that of a father. As long as this blessing is present, you are powerful; you are strong and no power can destroy you. If God forbid, in the city police, the chief of the city police for instance, begins to do these things that create discontent among the people. However, right now, something is happening in the corner, but it is not important- but this matter will gradually spread and suddenly you see that in a place where the chief of the city police had committed a misdemeanor, gradually that city becomes corrupted. From there it spreads to other places and then suddenly a person comes to know that a whole country is opposed to the city police and this indeed is a tragedy. Now we have a blessing that we must safeguard; as long as we are thankful for this blessing- and to be thankful is that we serve the people for the sake of God for having given us this blessing- the city police should serve for the cause of God. Now the city police do not want to cheat anybody; it wants to serve for the sake of God. As long as it is so, the Blessed and Almighty God shall strengthen it by the hands of these same people; He shall strengthen this same people so that they follow you- and we must safeguard this blessing. The issue that the sir raised, well, most of it can be discussed here while some of it I shall God willing speaks about later. I have spoken about the issue in general terms; the reason I spoke about the main issue is in order that we revert Iran to an Islamic state; all things should become Islamic. If someone wants to exploit the situation that you must by now be aware of; if for example, somebody wants to exploit the situation because he is under the impression that since it is free and so forth, he can commit a mischief that he was engaging in before- and which is a religious offense that he was committing before- and he wants to commit the forbidden act on the open streets; the duty of the city police is to prevent him. It is for this reason that we want our city police to perform according to its duties. One of those duties is to prevent these forbidden acts that is going to take place in the city, wherever there is a shop engaging in it or some such thing, they must prevent it. At least they should inform the prosecutor so that he sends someone to prevent it. The people must not take undue advantage of the situation.

Included among the issues is the affair pertaining to the system. We do not want that the system is messed up; from the beginning Islam arrived to create a system; an orderly system except that an orderly system is that in the same way that its city police performs on the basis of an order, its people also behave in the same way. If for example, they disregard the words of the city police and they want to commit a driving offense, well the driver must be prosecuted. It is not that now the people are free in the Islamic context; Islam does not give this sort of freedom to the people; Islam grants a correct freedom to the people and not the freedom to this one to break the head of that one and that one to break the head of this one. If you drive one day against the regulations, hundreds of persons can be killed; he must be brought to trial; he must be prevented. There is no question at all that now they will get nervous that something is going to happen to them! No, this must be done. This matter is for the order of the state; those things that are required for the protection of a country, for safeguarding the system of a city must be dealt with seriously. Wherever it is the duty of the city police, they must take action. Alternatively, with regard to the subject of plots, wherever the city police see that there is a plot being hatched, the city police see that there is a conspiracy at work, they must quickly neutralize the plot. They should not adopt the attitude of waiting for it to go away while we go and see on what basis we should react. No, this is regarding cases that are definite; you see that now if you do not take action and follow-up the case, this house is a house in which they have congregated and want for example, to commit an offense; they want to cause an explosion and want to kill a group of people. In such instances, it is the duty of the police to prevent it. It is not that such things correct on their own; however, there are certain criteria to be observed about which we shall discuss later. But those things that concern these immoral persons that want to establish a center from which to distribute heroin among the people; this heroin is far greater in vice than all things else. Alternatively, there is a center that God forbid, is a place for alcoholic drinks; it is a place where people gather to engage in gambling; or engages in prostitution- all these are matters that must be prevented. In these cases we cannot say that no, now we shall wait and see what needs to be done; no, these require prevention; these must be prevented forcefully.

However, what we say is that no one has the right to enter the homes of people, the ordinary people who want to do something in their home. It is also forbidden to intrude into the home of a person that is doing something sinful inside his own home. No, this is not right. Doing this is forbidden; to prevent a wrongdoing with a greater wrongdoing is not right; it has conditions; to forbid evil has conditions; to enjoin good has condition. However, all these talks are apart from the subject of plots. If the hypocrites," for example, have a house where they team together, one cannot say that let them be and leave them alone since they do not come out in the open. Well, when they do come out in the open they kill a number of people; they cause explosions and so they must be prevented. I had also written there on the subject about which I wrote, that there are exceptions to all these matters. One exception is persons that are in this manner; those that run centers of vice; those that run centers of conspiracies, those that run centers of prostitution- these are not the main issues. The question is something else that for example they enter the home of a person to investigate unnecessarily on the assumption that there is something in the house. It is not right to go and inspect. However, if they come to know, they get the information that the house is used as a center for vice and you consider it probable that there is something inside; no, you have no right to enter the house. Whereas if you see that there is a house that has become the center for a purpose, for a vice- whatever be that vice- whether they want to establish a center for prostitution or a gambling den, these are those issues that I declare categorically must be prevented. Whichever aspect that pertains to the city police, they should take over and do the job while wherever it is the duty of the Guards Corps, they should handle and these were not of the issues that we say they must not be handled in this manner. What is said is that no one has the right to enter the homes of people- the ordinary people- even though an immoral act is taking place inside it, which is personal immorality, it is the private lives, and it is a personal sin. If it is done in the open, then too the forbiddance of evil should also be undertaken according to on religious laws. They should not enter the homes of people on the pretext of inspection of the condition of the people. It is improper, for example, to scrutinize the circumstances of Muslims that are doing something within their homes and ask them what they were doing there. No, they have no right to do this except in instances of proven centers of immorality. In cases of centers of vice, if there is likely to be a center of vice in this city; that it is likely that such and such house exists in which anti-social elements gather; and from the visits and movements made to the house it is highly probable that it is a meeting place of anti-social elements, in such cases an inspection must be made and this must be prevented. I am optimistic that God willing, you succeed in your job. I hope that this feeling will be borne in us so that we become thankful for this blessing that God has granted us; to show our gratitude is to serve. Of course, we should thank verbally too, but sincere gratitude is that when the city police sees that the country now belongs to it; that no power can interfere in it; that no one wants to plunder this country; that it should now feel that this is its own homeland; the country is its own; then it must eliminate injustice; it must serve. It must do such things; it must perform the tasks. Everybody wherever they are should perform the task that is entrusted to them in a befitting manner. I pray for all of you and God approve all of you.

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