Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed Imam Ayatollah Khamenei: Palestine is the Pivotal Issue of the Islamic World

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 6, 2016 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with government officials and the ambassadors of Islamic countries in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The meeting was held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his immaculate household.

I would like to congratulate all the dear brothers and sisters who are present in this meeting, the honorable ambassadors of Islamic countries and the people of Iran on the occasion of the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr. It is really necessary for us to congratulate – with all our power and from the bottom of our hearts – these great, pious, loyal, courageous and self-sacrificing people on the occasion of the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr. Also, I would like to congratulate the great Islamic Ummah on this eid: “You Who have made this day into an eid for the Muslims” [al-Iqbal, page 289]. Allah the Exalted has made this day into an eid for the Islamic Ummah.

In this eid, people have been invited to two fundamental pillars: to monotheism and to unity. Monotheism is manifested in the deep and meaningful dhikr that exists in Eid ul-Fitr prayers. It is followed by zakat. First, salat is mentioned and then zakat. This is a symbol of monotheism on this day. As for unity, in fact, it originates from monotheism and it means the solidarity of Muslims. Bodies are next to one another during Eid ul-Fitr prayers and gatherings and all hearts pay attention to one center, which is the center of divine greatness, the center of God’s power and mercy. This day is such a day.

Of course, the world of Islam is unfortunately deprived of unity in the present time. It is suffering from grave problems and from conflicts. When there is tumult and when there is conflict among Muslims, spirituality is undermined. According to the logic of the Holy Quran, spirituality and faith need tranquility to a great extent: “It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they may add faith to their faith” [The Holy Quran, 48: 4]. When tranquility, peace and security exist, then people will have the chance to add faith to their faith with good deeds, with attention to God and with dhikr. However, when the people in an Islamic country or in an Islamic group are afraid for their lives, their belongings and their security and when they do not benefit from security, there will not be any tranquility in that place either. And when tranquility does not exist, there will be no adding faith to faith either. Today, Muslims are in such a situation.

I said to the people in my Eid ul-Fitr sermons that Baghdad is mourning today. Many other Islamic countries are mourning because of wars and bloodshed as well. Syria, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain are mourning. The Islamic Ummah does not deserve to suffer from all these problems.

Where do these problems come from? From which evil and sinister source do these problems originate? Who promotes this unclean embryo in the world of Islam? Everyone expresses their hatred of terrorism in words and sometimes, they pretend that they are taking action against terrorism. As our honorable President said, they form a false, fake and bogus coalition against terrorism. But this is not the case in reality. In reality, they promote terrorism.

We have not forgotten the days when – this happened in the early days of the Syrian events – the U.S. ambassador went to the Syrian opponents to encourage them and to urge them to turn a political dispute into a civil war. Is this a small matter? Well, political disputes exist in many countries. Why should they turn political disputes into a war? And that is a war among people in a country. It is a war of fratricide! And then with haraam money from oil revenues, they employ some youth from different corners and send them there! This is happening in Syria and in Iraq in different ways. In the present time, it has been extended to other countries as well. It has been extended to Bangladesh, Turkey and other countries. It is these events which are creating such disasters for the world of Islam and which is causing this insecurity. Why should we not know our enemy?

Some people think that our insistence on America’s enmity towards us originates from our prejudice and bias. No, it originates from knowledge and experience! It is 37 years now that we have been experiencing these enmities. From the beginning of the Revolution, they have showed enmity towards our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and his great movement. From the beginning of the Revolution, they began hatching plots. And they are continuing to do so in the present time. They tried to pit Iranian tribes against the Islamic Republic, but they failed. They tried to pit dependent elements against the people. They succeeded in doing so to some extent, but the people defeated them in the end. They have continued these efforts until today, but they people are awake, the administration is vigilant and the officials are prepared.

Unfortunately, this plan has worked in other areas and other countries. Some people come to the terrorists’ help with money and modern weapons and by making contacts. Where do terrorists bring all these modern weapons from? With which money do they buy them? These are issues that cripple the world of Islam and the Islamic Ummah. These issues should be understood and identified.

Today, we witness that they are doing this in other areas as well. We did not show any interference on the issue of Bahrain and we will not do so in the future, but we are advising them! In that country too, there is a political dispute. They are doing something to turn this political dispute into a civil war. If they have awareness and understanding and if political wisdom rules over them, they should not do such things. Political oppositions and disputes might exist in every country. Why should they do something to make peoples fight against one another? Why should they do something to pit them against one another? These are mistakes that we are unfortunately witnessing in some other Islamic countries as well.

Global arrogance – headed by America – wants to busy this region with itself so that the Zionist regime can breathe easily. They want to consign the issue of Palestine to oblivion. They want to deny the existence of a geographical entity and a nation. Palestine is not a fake country that has come into being today. Palestine has a thousand-year history. The people of Palestine are a nation. They own a land and they own a geographical area. However, arrogance wants to deny all these things. It wants to deny the people of Palestine. The wild Zionists will be slapped across the face because of the pressures that they are exerting on the people of Palestine! They should know this.

The issue of Palestine is the pivotal issue for the world of Islam. The issue of Palestine is an issue that no country should forget. No Islamic country and no country that has a human conscience should forget that this is a pivotal and fundamental issue. A people are being oppressed. A people are under siege. A people have been constantly exposed to cruelty and oppression during the past 70 years. They should not forget this. We believe that the other issues of the world of Islam have been created so that the issue of Palestine is forgotten. This is why they are creating disasters.

Look at the issue of Yemen. What is happening in Yemen is a disaster. It is a disaster! It is a year and a few months now that a so-called Islamic country is attacking and bombing these people with a stupid reason. It is not military camps that are being bombarded, rather it is hospitals, the people’s houses, mosques and the infrastructure of that country that are being bombarded and ruined. This cannot continue. Transgressors should stop their transgression and the world of Islam should punish these transgressors so that others do not think of transgressing anymore!

The people of Iran have stood firm. In the past 37 years, the people of Iran have shown that they have stood firm. This is one thing that they have shown. Another thing that they have shown is that the path to progress is through resistance. If the people of Iran had surrendered and shown weakness and if they had bowed down to global power-seekers and to arrogant individuals, they would not have made these achievements. The path to progress is to resist, to show steadfastness and to strengthen domestic structures, national determination and willpower, and one’s relationship with God.

My dear ones, you should appreciate the value of these prayers and supplications of the month of Ramadan. You should appreciate the value of these prayers. You should appreciate the value of these auspicious vigils and the pure tears that flowed on people’s faces during the Nights of Qadr and in prayer and supplication ceremonies. These things are very valuable because they strengthen the hearts of the pious and increase their reliance on God. When you rely on God, you will no longer be afraid of those other than God. When you are not afraid of those other than God, you will firmly move towards your lofty goals.

Dear God, associate the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), who showed us this path and who helped us enter it, and the pure souls of our dear martyrs – who laid down their lives on this path – with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.).

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings