On October 1, 1999, on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra and the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Imam Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei delivered the sermons of the Friday prayer held in Tehran. In the first sermon, he spoke about the situation of Iran in the late Qajar period and the emergence of the Pahlavi dynasty as well as how the Pahlavi rulers were following the foreigners, especially the United Kingdom and the United States, and the efforts of Imam Khomeini to revive the spirit of self-confidence, independence, and strengthen the religious spirit and faith of people.
He also pointed to the three most prominent attributes of Imam Khomeini, namely wisdom and knowledge, faithfulness and open-mindedness, and courage and self-sacrifice. Considering the importance of the Supreme Leader’s remarks regarding contemporary Iranian history, its main points will be mentioned.
Having three characteristics, Imam Khomeini entered the field. Of course, he has many positive features, but I chose these three because they are related to each other and have a distinct effect and harmony as well. He made endeavours until he reached the point of victory – that is, the year 1979. At that time, he was confronted with a big event of the victory of the Islamic movement which had the full support of a nation. That victory was not just defeating a corrupt and reactionary regime, but since that corrupt regime had the backing of almost all the tyrannical powers, it meant defeating all those arrogant powers. He wants to run this country with Islamic teachings and views. What is in front of him? A country that has faced pressures for nearly 200 years which aimed to weaken and eliminate all the privileges of its great nation. If you look at the history of the last two hundred years, you will realize how great Imam Khomeini’s work was. I emphasize that young people should read that historical period.
Organizations that engage in propagational activities also should inform people about the facts of the history of this country in that period. In my opinion, little has been done in this regard. From the early nineteenth century when the agent of the United Kingdom Sir John Malcolm passed the border of Iran and India and entered our country; that is, during the time of Fath Ali Shah Qajar’s rule, he brought precious gifts for the corrupt politicians and those who were in the court, and the English colonialism or in other words the destructive influence of United Kingdom, because colonialism in its common sense did not occur in Iran; yet worse than that happened. They managed to control the Iranian governments through which they did whatever they wanted. Since then until the Victory of the Islamic Revolution about a hundred and seventy, eighty years have passed. Throughout this period, all the powers of the world – the great powers of the world, the military, political, economic, cultural, and moral powers and forces – have worked to make this deep-rooted historical nation with a great culture weak, desperate, and hopeless such that it will not threaten the great powers. Imam Khomeini was confronted with such a fact, of course, during this one hundred seventy, eighty years, mostly Iran was under the influence of the British government along with the American government expanding its influence in Iran from 1953 onwards and then the Russians came to Iran which marked the beginning of the Russian-British rivalry in Iran; this was the situation of the country during the Qajar and also the Pahlavi regimes with the difference that the situation in the latter era was much more dangerous and difficult.
They did everything they could. The result was that there was a politically dependent and subordinate state in front of Imam Khomeini. Everything the United States government was willing to do was done in Iran. They could do whatever they wanted. In the fields of economy, oil, appointments, governments – changing and overthrowing the governments – international communication, the habits and behaviours that were imposed on the people, and universities; hence, they could do anything they wanted. We were completely subordinate and dependent. Economically, we were poor and merely a consumer. We had to import everything. Once I said that even we used to import the shovel handles. They imported sewing needles, all kinds of foods and industrial products. We used to just consume; that is to say, this nation, these talents, these minds and these young people, did not have the power or opportunity to produce some of the goods they need so that they could say we do need the foreigners. If they brought in an industry – such as the automobile industry, or iron smelting, and the like, which had entered the country in a very imperfect way – the whole industry was dependent. When they sold us advanced and modern equipment – like fighter jets –they did not allow us to repair them so they had to be repaired outside the country.
Economically, we were completely dependent and a consumer and we had no scientific advancement or accomplishment. This nation had nothing new to say about the new global science and market. In the universities – which, of course, were too low in quantity, such that during the last years of the Pahlavi regime there were about one-tenth of the number of university student which we have currently in the country – the lessons presented in classes – in any area, whether humanities, technical or industrial sciences, or natural sciences – were rephrasing and repeating the teachings and ideas of others. Scientifically, there was nothing new. In terms of national wealth, we had been looted. They took the oil, the mines, they took everything with whatever price they wanted. The country was extremely poor in terms of social status and there was a big gap between the poor and rich. There were thousands, but tens of thousands of villages in the country, which did not have electricity or drinkable water and so on, and even they did not have hope to have such things one day. They only managed the affairs in Tehran and some of the big cities, yet Tehran was considered one of the filthiest capitals of the world that day. They only cared for their own affairs and interests. Wherever they had interests they would build an airport or other facilities, but if they had no interest in that place it would be completely abandoned. The class divide was at its height.
From a moral point of view, corruption was increasing. During the post-revolutionary period – in the late 1960s and early 1970s – in different speeches for the youths I stated that according to the evidence such corruption and obscenity that we see in the country do not exist in European countries. I was aware of this, and of course, there could have been such centers of corruption in European countries, but the standard of living there – such as the behaviour and dress code of women – was better than what one could see in some of our cities. Regarding morality, people suffered from all sorts of ethical dilemmas, not just the issue of lust. People’s relationships, interactions, attitudes, trust and confidence were all disturbed and lost. This situation was deliberately created in the country. They wanted people to be hopeless and weak. The morals that drive a nation forward are hope and determination. A hopeless nation, a nation that has no hope of its future, a nation that despises itself, will not progress.
When goods were produced in the country, it meant that that thing does not have good quality; People and even the educated would tell me that an Iranian cannot make an ewer! That is to say, the scientific generation of the country was also disappointed with the country’s scientific future. This is a moral problem. We faced backwardness in terms of science and civilization. In terms of the system of government and the rulers who ruled in this country, we had one of the most reactionary governments. There was an inherited monarchy in the country, which means if the ruler dies people have to accept his son as the new ruler without considering any criterion such as knowledge, piety, and rationality. Even they embedded such a type of regime in the constitution which was adopted in Tehran under the influence of and in accordance with the will and desire of Reza Khan and his agents. There was no mentioning of the name of Iran in global assemblies as a country with an opinion, vote, or personality. The country was turned into a poor one and a place where others would test their policies. They used to test some of the economic plans, and so on, in this country to see how they work.
The country was spiritually and materially poor. Imam Khomeini faced such a society and country. Of course, the important thing was that the Iranian nation is great and talented. The situation which they created was temporal and non-essential. When Imam Khomeini began his mission, the nation arose. Of course, from the day Imam Khomeini began his activities, it took this movement fifteen years to turn into a massive wave – fifteen that years were accompanied by hardships. However, we have a noble, talented and faithful nation with a rich culture and long history which could overcome that state of inactiveness and respite and show its ability in times of conflict – especially during the last two years. That was the saving grace. But those facts, which had been imposed on this country for many years, and which had left lasting impacts on people’s lives, were in front of Imam Khomeini. Now he wants to make this society ideal. What does he have to do? Now you would realize how important is this task. For example, you want to build a huge and monumental building using some materials and facilities. Not every engineer can do this. It is where the great identity and personality of Imam Khomeini is manifested. He considered Islam, Islamic ideals and precepts, and with Islamic materials and people’s help, he wanted to establish a great, sovereign, progressive government that would compensate for all the weaknesses of the past.
What he should seek in these people more than anything else? What is the priority? Imam Khomeini recognized the priorities, chose them and followed them. In my opinion, these priorities were two things. We can realize them because from the very beginning we have witnessed many of the motives, thoughts and decisions of Imam Khomeini. Today, all of you, if you look at Imam Khomeini’s statements and behaviour you will notice these two things. First, reviving the spirit of self-esteem and independence in people. For years, it was made clear to people that you cannot. Whatever people of all classes — clergy, non-clergy, scholars, ordinary — would say, the answer was you cannot and it is to no avail. That spirit had to change. Such social moods and traits are not like individual traits. Individual traits are not easily changed, but it is much more difficult to change social moods. Imam Khomeini had to change this into a spirit of self-reliance, self-esteem, and independence. For the sake of this attribute, Imam Khomeini must not accept the interference or influence of foreigners on this nation. It is because of this matter that Imam Khomeini stood up against the United States and the Soviet Union. For twenty-five years, the Americans were in this country without being questioned. They, along with their agents, had done whatever they wanted in this country and even they hoped that they could continue their actions until the first months of the revolution. Imam Khomeini cut the hands of all of them. If he had failed to manage the situation those who had gone out would enter the country again. Imam Khomeini strongly stood up against the foreigners and this was the first point.
The second thing that Imam Khomeini wanted to do was to revive the religious spirit and strengthen the faith in the people. The same faith and belief that he had. Therefore, he was so concerned about religious issues – acts of worship and all that related to religion – and put all his efforts into implementing religious teachings. Because religion is a cure. When the religious spirit prevails in a country, not only it will provide people with a good, clean, and virtuous personality, but also its effects will be reflected in social life. That is why all the enemies throughout the world, as well as their agents in the country, began to oppose the religion that Imam Khomeini promoted, which he called pure Islam. They said that this religion is political and governmental. Sometimes they pretended to be concerned about the well-being of the country and people saying that what is presented as the political and governmental religion will weaken people’s faith.
This is the exact opposite of reality. When a society follows religion, there would be the spirit of self-sacrifice, awareness and the sense of being upstanding in that society.
Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei
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