Sayyed Hassan Khomeini:’Extremism is a poison to Islamic Awakening’

Hassan Khomeini made the remarks in an address to a number of Foreign Ministry officials and Iran’s ambassadors to foreign countries who had visited the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini to reaffirm their commitments to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

Hassan Khomeini went on to say that the developments in the Middle East and North Africa have been a milestone in the history of the Islamic world.

He drew a distinction between revolutions and said certain revolutions are political in nature creating changes in countries’ political systems while others are specifically social.

He said social revolutions are superior to revolutions which are merely political.

“In (social) revolutions social institutions undergo changes and political structures also change as a result,” he commented.

He said the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 was undoubtedly a political and social revolution which changed the social and political structure of the time.

The Islamic Revolution had a “historical message” for the people of the world and it was not limited to a particular generation or time, he explained.

The message of the Islamic Revolution is to promote spirituality and justice in the world and “today we are witnessing such a thing is happening in the Islamic world.”

However, he added it is possible that a movement find an ill fate and “extremism is usually the greatest danger to a movement.”

“If we do not remain vigilant against what has spread in the world under the name of Talibanism” the Islamic awakening will suffer a great blow.