3 tasks, recommended by Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to Muslim scholars, to eradicate takfirism
There are some great duties which need to be carried out. You honorable gentlemen came up with some solutions and specified certain responsibilities in this… congressional meeting. I too would like to mention two, three tasks that cannot be ignored: one is the formation of a scholarly, rational, and comprehensive movement, by ulama from all Islamic denominations, with the purpose of uprooting the takfiri orientation. This movement should not be confined to certain denominations. All the Islamic denominations, which believe in and feel sympathetic towards Islam, share this responsibility. A great scholarly movement should be launched.
They entered the arena with a false motto of “following the righteous predecessors” [salafu saleh]. We should exhibit the righteous predecessors’ disapproval towards the things that they are doing and the movement they are launching: this should be done with the language of religion, knowledge, and reason.
You should save the young generations. There are some people who are influenced by these deviant thoughts. These poor individuals think that they are doing what is right. They are the manifestation of the holy ayahs: “Say: Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?” [The Holy Quran, 103-104]. They vainly think that they are fighting in the way of God. These are the same people who will say to God on Judgment Day: “Our Lord, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us as to the right path. Our Lord, give them double penalty and curse them with a very great curse” [The Holy Quran, 33: 67-68]. These are the same poor people.
Those who murdered a great scholar in the Damascus Mosque are among these people. Those who behead Muslims with the excuse of apostasy are among these people. Those who shed — by igniting explosives — the blood of innocent people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Baghdad and in various cities of Syria and Lebanon are among the same people who will say on Judgment Day: “Our Lord, We obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us as to the right path. Our Lord, give them double penalty.”
In another part of the Holy Quran, God says, “For each one there is double.” [The Holy Quran, 7: 38]–Both, your leaders and followers, will be punished. “Truly that is just and fitting: the contending one with another of the inmates of the fire.” [The Holy Quran, 38: 64]–These people fight against one another on that day; therefore, they should be saved. These youth should be saved and this falls upon the shoulders of ulama, because they are in contact with both intellectuals and the masses. They should try to do this. Allah the Exalted will ask the ulama on Judgment Day: “What did you do?” They should take action. This is one task.
The second task, which is urgent, is illustrating the role of arrogant policies set forth by USA and England: they should be well illustrated and explained. Everyone, within the world of Islam, should know the role of American policies in this regard. Everyone should know what the roles of intelligence services of America, England, and the Zionist regime are on this matter. Everyone should know when they are working for them: a plot has been hatched by the front of arrogance, and these takfiri orientations receive support and money from them. They receive money by the regional puppet regimes. It is these puppet regimes whom give them money, but the plot is hatched by the front of arrogance, and, as a result, they ruin these poor takfiri youth. They create such a problem for the world of Islam. This is another necessary task that should be carried out.
The third task that should, definitely, be carried out is attending to matters regarding Palestine. You should not allow the issues surrounding Palestine, Holy Quds, and al-Aqsa Mosque be consigned into oblivion. This is what they [USA and “Israel” want]. They want the world of Islam to ignore Palestine’s issues. You can see that the cabinet of Zionists has recently announced Palestine as a Jewish country. It announced that Palestine is a Jewish country. They have been pursuing this issue since long ago. Now, they openly declare it. By pursuing the ignorance of the world of Islam, the masses of people and Muslim nations, they are after setting out to occupy Holy Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque, weakening the Palestinians as much as they can. We must pay attention to this.
All individuals should ask their governments to pursue issues regarding Palestine. The Islamic ulama should ask their governments to pursue the issue of Palestine. This is an important and major responsibility. We thank God, that in the Islamic Republic, the government and the people share this belief. From the beginning, the Islamic Republic’s government and our magnanimous Imam Khomeini announced and raised a policy to support Palestine, showing their disapproval towards the Zionist regime: this policy has continued till this day. It has been 35 years, now, that we have not deviated from this path, and our people, too, are supportive with complete eagerness.
Sometimes, a number of young individuals, whose requests are not granted in this regards, write a letter to me and ask, in an insistent manner, “Allow us to go and fight against the Zionist regime on the front lines.” Our people love fighting against the Zionists, and the Islamic Republic has proven this as well. By Allah’s favor and grace, we have passed through the barrier of denominational discord. We helped Hezbollah of Lebanon — which is a Shia group — in the same way that we helped Hamas and the Islamic Jihad; and, we will continue to do so [audience shout “Allahu Akbar”]. We did not become a prisoner of denominational limits. We did not differentiate between Shia, Sunni, Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi’i and Zaidi denominations. All Palestinian areas must become armed.
We looked at our main goal, and we offered help. We managed to strengthen the fists of our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and by Allah’s favor, we will continue to do that. I announced–and this will definitely happen–that the West Bank should be armed like Gaza and be prepared for defense [audience shout “Allahu Akbar.” ]
I will tell you, dear brothers, that America’s splendor should not intimidate you. The enemy has become weak. The enemy of Islam–which is arrogance–is weaker now compared to all other eras during the past 100, 150 years. Take a look at colonial governments in Europe. They are faced with economic, political, and security problems. Today, these governments have all sorts of problems; and, America is worse than them. It is faced with moral, political, and serious financial and monetary problems. It is faced with disgrace and damage to its superpower status–everywhere in the world, not just in the world of Islam.
Besides, the Zionist regime has become weaker compared to the past. This is the same regime which used to chant the motto of “We will extend from the Nile to Euphrates.” They used to shout and say, openly, that the region from the Nile to Euphrates belonged to them. However, they could not obliterate Palestinian tunnels in Gaza over the course of 50 days. This is the same regime. They used all their power and might for 50 days so that they could sabotage, destroy, and conquer the underground tunnels of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinians, but they failed. This is the same regime which used to say, “The region from Nile to Euphrates belongs to us.” Notice how it has changed. Notice how weak it has become.
Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed Imam Ayatollah Khamenei, Nov 25, 2014
