Supreme Leader: Basij, followers of honorable school of Ashoura

The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the Basij (volunteer forces) are followers of the honorable school of Ashoura and everlasting national heritage inspiring popular movements for salvation.

The Supreme Leader said in his address to thousands of exemplary Basij forces that the arrogant powers are annoyed with the fact that Muslim nations are following the example set by the Islamic Republic of Iran .

“Today, protesters in New York and California are repeating the slogans of the Egyptian and Tunisian people and that protesters in Tunisia and Egypt explicitly declare that they view Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad as their models. These groups have learned from the contemporary Leader of humanity and Iranian nation, the late Imam Khomeini how to break the arrogant powers.”

Elaborating on the philosophy of Moharram and Ashoura and the identity and existence of Basij, the Supreme Leader said that Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) Infallible Household and his companions made the highest sacrifice to promote justice and salvage humanity. They spread the ideas of knowledge, insight, faith and tactfulness.

The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said that the theme of Karbala has grown up since the noon of Ashoura until the modern time, the notion by which the history of mankind has been overwhelmed.

“The Basij is a popular movement originating from the school of Ashoura. It has blissful presence in defense, science, arts, reconstruction, politics, culture, helping the oppressed, manufacturing sector, technology and sports setting shinning records at international level.”

The Supreme Leader said that the Basij has proved sincerity and that the body is political, but not affiliated to or influenced by political currents.

The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said that the rich culture of Basij has developed potentials for progress of the country serving as a treasury for the nation and other nations to follow suit.

The Supreme Leader cited the fall of the puppet regimes by the Islamic Awakening in the region and said that the slogans of the protesters across the United Nations have common ground with that of Basij.

“Those who were aware of the philosophy of the Islamic Revolution of Iran have been waiting for the Islamic awakening movements across the Muslim World over the past 30 years. At the same time the arrogant powers were afraid of the waves of the Islamic awakening since then and they were annoyed with the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been the focus of the Muslim nations.”

The Supreme Leader said that the Islamic Republic of Iran had been successful in revealing the true nature of the arrogant powers to the entire world and convincing nations that the dominance of these pewers over the world can be terminated.

The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei categorically rejected the charges made by the western countries’ propaganda machines against the Islamic Republic of Iran and said that Iran does not need such tactics and that the honesty of the Islamic Republic is a source of inspiration for other nations.