‘West humiliated by Islamic Awakening’

The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s Address to Participants of “Islamic Awakening and Youth” Conference

In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful

I welcome you all, [our] dear guests, dear youth, the conveyors of great tidings for the future of the Islamic Ummah. Every one of you conveys a great tiding. When the youth are awake in a country, the hope for general awakenings increases in that country. Today, our youth are awake all through the Islamic world. There are so many traps on their way, but the devout and determined Muslim youth have saved themselves from such pitfalls. You see what has happened in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya, in Yemen and in Bahrain; what movement has begun in other Muslim countries. These are all good tidings.

What I tell you, the dear youth and my own children, is that you should know that the history of the world [and] the history of humanity has reached a major historical turn. This is the dawn of a new era across the entire world. The big and clear sign of this era is attention to the Almighty and asking for help from His inexhaustible source of power and reliance on divine revelations. Humanity has gone beyond materialistic schools of thought and ideologies. Today, neither Marxism is appealing, nor is the Western liberal democracy; you see what is going on in the birthplace of the Western liberal democracy, in the US and Europe; they have owned to their failure; nor nationalist secular figures are attractive. Today, the highest attraction among the Muslim Ummah belongs to Islam, to the Holy Quran, to divine religions as the Almighty has promised that divine religion and revelations and the endeared Islam can guide humanity to prosperity. This is a very auspicious, important and meaningful phenomenon.

Today, in Muslim countries, people have risen up against dependent dictators; this is a prelude to an uprising against global dictatorship and international dictatorship, which is dictatorship of the corrupt and ominous network of Zionist and arrogant powers. Today, international tyranny and international dictatorship has been embodied by dictatorship of the US, the allies of the US and the satanic and dangerous Zionist network. Today, they are imposing their dictatorship on the whole world through different methods and various means. What you did in Egypt, [you] did in Tunisia, [you] did in Libya, and are doing in Yemen and are doing in Bahrain, its motives are powerfully present in other countries; it is part of the struggle against this dangerous and harmful dictatorship which has been exerting pressure on humanity for two centuries. The historical turn I mentioned, is a change from domination of such dictatorship to the emancipation of nations and the rule of spiritual and divine values; this is sure to happen; do not doubt it.

This is the divine promise [that] “God will verily help those who help Him.” The Almighty emphasizes that if you help him, He will help you. This may seem to be a remote possibility in an ordinary approach and in terms of materialistic calculations; however, many things looked improbable, but they actually happened. Did you think one year or [even] two or three months ago that the tyrant of Egypt would be so humiliated and destroyed? If somebody had told you then that the dependent, corrupt regime of Mubarak would fall, you might have doubted it; but it did happen. If somebody claimed two years ago that such strange events would take place in North Africa, most of you would have disbelieved. If somebody had said that in a country like Lebanon, a group of faithful youth would defeat the Zionist regime and the well-equipped Zionist army, nobody would have believed them; but [all of] these [things] did happen. If somebody had said that the Islamic Republic would be able to resist 32 years against all this adversity from the East and the West, and would become progressively stronger and advanced, nobody would believed them; but it did happen. “Allah has promised you many gains that you shall acquire, and He has given you these beforehand; and He has restrained the hands of men from you; that it may be a Sign for the Believers, and that He may guide you to a Straight Path.” Such triumphs are divine signs; these are signs of the mighty power of Truth that the Almighty is showing us. When people enter the arena, when we enter what we have into the arena, the victory will surely come from God. The Almighty will show us the path. “And those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to our Paths.” God both guides, and helps and makes people achieve lofty goals provided that we are present in the arena.

What has happened up to this day is very great. The West ruled the Islamic Ummah for two hundred years by relying on their scientific advances; they conquered the Islamic countries; some directly and some indirectly with the help of local dictators. The UK, France, and ultimately, the United States – which is the Great Satan – gained domination over the Islamic Ummah. They did everything they could to humiliate the Islamic Ummah; they planted the cancerous tumor of Zionism in the heart of the Middle East – this sensitive region – and offered it all-out support and were sure that their goals and policies would be realized in this very important part of the world. However, faith-based aspirations, Islamic aspirations, [and] people’s presence have disturbed all these evil dreams; [they] have impeded all these goals.

Today, the global arrogance feels grounded in the face of the Islamic Awakening. You are triumphant; you are victorious; the future belongs to you. What has been done [thus far] has been a great job; but this is not the end of it all – this is important – this is just the beginning; it has [just] started. Muslim nations should continue their struggle so that they would be able to eliminate enemies in different arenas.

[Our] struggle is a struggle of aspirations, determinations and wills. Any side, whose determination is more powerful, will prevail. That side, whose heart leans towards the Almighty, will be victorious. “If Allah helps you, none can overcome you.” If you earn the help of God, nobody will prevail over you; you will proceed. We want Muslim nations which make up the great Islamic Ummah to be free, independent, dignified, but not humiliated; we want them to organize their lives in accordance with progressive and lofty rules of Islam; and Islam can [help them]. They held us back in scientific terms for many long years; they trampled on our culture [and] did away with our independence. Today, we have woken up. We will conquer scientific arenas one after the other.

When the Islamic Republic was established 30 years ago, the enemies said the Islamic Revolution had won, but it would not be able to manage the fields of life one after another and would [eventually] retreat. Today, our youth, thanks to Islam, have been able to accomplish great tasks in the field of science, which they themselves had never imagined in the past. Today, thanks to their reliance on God, Iranian youths have gained great scientific achievements: they enrich uranium, produce and grow stem cells, and take great steps in biotechnology, conquer the space; [they do] all of this by reliance on God and with the slogan of “God is Great.”

We [should] not underestimate out capabilities. Among the biggest scourges that the Western culture has inflicted upon Muslim countries were two false and deviatory illusions: one [was] the inculcation of the inability of the Muslim nations; making them believe that “you are not capable of anything, neither in the field of politics, not in the field of economy, nor in the field of science.” They said “you are weak.” We [in] Muslim countries have retained the wrong opinion for tens of long years and lagged behind. The second suggestion and second belief they injected in us was the infinity and invincibility of the might of our enemies. So they made us believe that the US could not be defeated, the West could not be driven back; [that] we had to bear and forebear in confrontation with them.

Today, it has become clear to the Muslim nations that both of these beliefs are absolutely wrong. Muslim nations can move ahead; they can revive the majesty and magnificence of Muslims, who were once at the peak of glory and summits of scientific, political and social splendor and the enemy would have to retreat in various fields.

This age is the century of Islam. This age is the century of spirituality. Islam gifts nations with both rationality and spirituality; an Islam of rationality, an Islam of contemplation and thought, an Islam of spirituality, an Islam of reliance on God, an Islam of Jihad, an Islam of efforts, an Islam of action; these are all Godly and Islamic teachings for us.

What is significant today is that the enemy, faced with the blow it has more or less suffered in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries in the region, is busy plotting and conspiring. [One] should be aware of the enemy schemes. [One] should be careful so that they would not steal people’s revolutions from them, [or] deviate courses. Use others’ experience. The enemy does a lot to deviate revolutions, to neutralize movements, to foil endeavors [that are made] and the blood that had been shed; one should be careful, one should be alert. You youths are the engines of these movements; be alert, be aware.

We have had great experiences in the past 32 years. It is 32 years since we have been combating the enemies, we have been resisting, and gained victory over our enemies. There has been no single scheme that the West and the US have refrained from. They have not done everything, because they could not. They did all they afforded and at all points they were smacked in the mouth and defeated. It will be the same afterwards. After this, too, they will fail in all schemes against the Islamic Republic; this is a divine promise to us and we have no doubt.

We do not doubt the trueness of divine promises. We do not suspect God. God blames those who doubt Him; and “He may punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Polytheists men and women, who imagine an evil opinion of Allah. On them is a round of Evil: the Wrath of Allah is on them: He has cursed them and got Hell ready for them: and evil is it for a destination.” The promise of God is a true promise. We have entered the field, inside the battlefield — the Iranian nation has brought all its facilities onto the stage; thus, divine victory is definite. In all other countries it is the same. But we should be alert. We all should be alert. We all should be careful about the enemies’ deceits. The enemy tries to neutralize movements, and sow discord.

Today, the Islamic movement in the Muslim world does not know Shia or Sunni; does not distinguish between Shafi’ite or Hanafite or Jafari or Maliki or Hanbali or Zaidi; does not know Arab or Persian or other nationalities; in this great field, all are present. We should try so the enemy may not divide us. We should all feel like brothers, and specify the goal. The goal is Islam; the goal is a Qur’anic and Islamic government. Of course there are commonalities among Muslim countries; there are differences, too. There is no single pattern for all Muslim countries. In different countries, geographical conditions, historical conditions, social conditions are different; but there are common principles: we are all the enemies of the arrogant powers; we all oppose the evil domination and rule of the West, [and] we all oppose the existence of the cancerous tumor of Israel.

Wherever there is a feeling that what is being done benefits Israel, benefits the United States, it is where we have to be alert; we [should] know that this move is an outsider’s move; a stranger’s move; it is not a friendly move. Wherever a move is an Islamic and anti-Zionist and anti-arrogance and anti-oppression and anti-corruption one, it is where the move is the right move; it is where all friends are; we are Shias, we are Sunnis, we are from this or that country. It makes no difference; we should all think alike.

Today, this is a basic and tangible example; all the media organizations in the world are trying to isolate the people of Bahrain and the movement in Bahrain. What is their claim about this? It is the issue of Shia and Sunni [faiths]. They want to create divisions, want to create distinction and demarcation. There are no differences among those Muslims and believers who follow this or that Islamic faith. The common among them all is Islam. The common point is the Muslim Ummah. The common point is solidarity among the Muslim Ummah. The key to the continuation and victory of the movement is reliance on God, confidence in God, trust in God and maintaining unity and integrity.

My dear ones, my children, be aware lest the enemy might not hinder your movement. God tells His prophet on two occasions: “Therefore stand firm (in the straight Path) as thou art commanded,” stand firm. Standing firm means resisting, carrying on, pursuing a path, refusing to stop, it is the key.

We should move ahead. This movement is a successful movement because it has bright horizons. The horizon is bright. The future is a very bright future. A day will come when the Muslim Ummah, with the power and might of God, will rise to utmost majesty and independence. Muslim nations [should] while retaining their specifications and distinctions, stand under the single banner of the invitation to God and Islam; should be all together. It is then that the Muslim Ummah will find its glory.

We in our countries have underground resources, strategic regions, plentiful natural facilities, remarkable figures, talented and advanced human resources; we should make efforts. God will bless these efforts, God willing.

I [should] tell you youths that the future belongs to you. With the power of the Almighty God and with His permission, you youths will see that day and God willing, you will be able to leave your achievement to posterity.

May God’s mercy, compassion and blessings be upon you!