TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed in a message to the Hajj pilgrims that the United States’ administration and system of capitalism and the corrupt Zionist activists now feel the vivid truth of Islamic Vigilance.
The full text of the message reads as follows:
Once again the Hajj season is back with its spiritual tidings, and again it presents a precious opportunity to the Islamic world. While many eager hearts are attracted from all over the world to attend this annual congregation, there are only a fortunate few who actually realize their dream. This is the reason for the perpetuity of this flowing spring.
On the one hand, the annual congress at the House of the beloved reconnects the hearts with the Kiblah of creation on the other hand, the friends who have been detached from one another find an opportunity for the meeting of hearts. It also brings elation and jubilation to the body, spirituality and politics of the Muslim Ummah.
Freedom from material contaminations and remembrance of Allah in all our deeds and in all places, although for a few days, is a great souvenir for hajj pilgrims. The acts of worship and rituals of hajj are for the purpose of providing an opportunity to gain a spiritual experience and sense this joyous experience with our souls.
In the area of politics, the cardinal purpose of hajj is to show the united identity of the Muslim Ummah. Detachment and separation among the brothers will open the door to those who bear malice toward us and will serve as a breeding ground for the seeds of division among Muslims.
The Muslim Ummah embraces various nations, races and followers of different sects in Islam. This diversity and the vast geographical stretch of the Ummah in a sensitive and important part of the planet Earth can be a source of strength. Our diversity has enriched and enhanced the Ummah’s common heritage, culture, history and their effectiveness in the vast part of the globe, and has enabled them to utilize all forms of talents and human and natural potentials.
From the very first days of their entry into The Islamic countries the Western colonialist powers have taken account of this diversity and have consistently attempted to arouse divisive sentiments.
The colonialist politicians knew well that if a united Islamic identity is formed, the door will be closed to their political and economic domination. Therefore, they have planted seeds of division and discord by employing their concentrated and enduring efforts. To succeed in carrying out this nefarious policy and to advance their goal of domination over the Islamic countries, they have taken advantage of the unawareness of the populace and weakness of the political and cultural leaders in Islamic countries.
Suppression of liberation movements in the Islamic countries over the past century, the success of colonialist powers in consolidating their domination over these countries, creation or strengthening of authoritarian regimes, plundering of their natural wealth and destruction of their human resources and consequently keeping Muslim nations behind the caravan of progress in science and technology, have all been made possible under the shadow of disunity that in some cases reached the levels of internecine and fratricidal conflicts.
With the commencement of Islamic awakening which reached its peak with the emergence of the Islamic republic in Iran, the Western camp faced a formidable threat. The failure of political schools of thoughts of East and West, the recognition of the falsehood and the collapse of the values that were represented by the colonialists as the only road to humanity’s happiness helped self-awareness among Muslim masses to take root, and successive frustrations of the arrogant powers in covering and extinguishing this divine radiance have sprung up the seedlings of hope in the hearts of Muslim nations.
A glance at today’s Palestine which has a government that has come to power committed to the unchangeable principle of “liberation from Zionist occupation”, and comparison of the present situation with the seclusion, isolation and weakness of Palestinian people in the past;
A glance at Lebanon in which the Muslims put their lives on the line to defeat the equipped Israeli army with the all the help that it received from the U.S., the West and other hypocritical powers, and its comparison with the Lebanon that the Zionists could easily encroach upon and move forward without any real obstacles;
A glimpse at Iraq, in which its proud people humiliated the pompous America, and bogged down the army and politicians that boasted of having a free hand in Iraq, in a quagmire of political, military and economic problems, and its comparison with previous Iraq in which its bloodthirsty leader brutalized its people with the encouragement of the United States;
A glance at today’s Afghanistan in which all the promises of the U.S. and the West have turned out to be lies and the unprecedented military expedition of the united front of Western countries have produced nothing, except destruction, poverty, killings and the growing power of the narcotics mafia;
And finally, a glance at the youthful populations of the Islamic countries and the generation with growing tendency toward Islamic values and the rising sentiments against the U.S. and the West;
Looking at all these developments provide us with a clear and true picture of the falling fortunes and the failed policies of the arrogant powers, especially the United States, and augur well for the emergence of the united Islamic identity.
The American government, the domineering capitalism of the West and the corrupt Zionist political lobbyists have begun to sense the living truth of the Islamic awakening, and by admitting that their military might is useless against this truth, they are using all their power to employ political ploys and tactics.
The entire Muslim Ummah, whether the political, cultural and religious elite, or the masses of people, must remain vigilant more than ever before, and try to identify and foil the conniving schemes of the enemy.
One of the most effective schemes of the enemy is to incite the flames of discord and division. By spending money and rushing to put to use whatever they have in their power, they try to keep Muslims engaged in feuding and quarreling over their differences and once again to set us against one another by exploiting our negligence, narrow-mindedness and prejudices.
Today any divisive action in the Islamic world is a historical sin. Those who maliciously use Takfir to declare large groups of Muslims as unbelievers, those who insult the sanctities of various divisions of Islam, those who betray and put a dagger in the back of the Lebanese youth who are a source of honor for the Muslim Ummah, those who speak of the fabricated threat of a Shiite crescent in order to please the Americans and the Zionists, those who incite fratricidal hostilities and lawlessness in Iraq to defeat its Islamic and popular government, and those who put pressure on the elected HAMAS government in Palestine, whether intentionally or unintentionally, will be regarded as culprits, detested by history and future generations and looked upon as mercenaries of the brutal enemy.
Muslims all over the world must know that the era of humiliation and backwardness of the Islamic world has come to an end. We are all witnessing the coming of a new era. The flawed frame of mind that Muslim countries will remain enthralled in the cultural and political claws of the West and will continue to emulate them in their individual and collective behaviors have been eradicated from the minds of Muslim masses by the hands of the Westerners themselves, and as the result of their excessive arrogance and conceit.
The concept of the west especially after being lad by the US, through its flagrant acts of oppression and endlessly arrogant and illogical behavior, is now clearly seen as an anti-value in the Islamic world. Their treatment of the Palestinian people compared to their treatment of the bloodthirsty Zionist regime, their position with respect to the admission of the Zionist regime on possession of nuclear weapons, against their position on civilian use of nuclear energy by Iran, their support for military aggression against Lebanon and their defense for the aggressor, their hostility toward the defenders of Lebanon, who were prepared to sacrifice their lives, relentlessly blackmailing the western governments and constant surrender of the western governments to the demands of the Zionist regime, supporting insulters of sanctities of Islam and even open defamation of Islam by high-ranking authorities in the West, including the Pope, while making any inquiry into and questioning of Holocaust or the formation of the Zionist regime a punishable offence, military attacks against Iraq and Afghanistan and killing of civilian population under the name of democracy, while conspiring against democratic governments in Palestine, Iraq and in Latin America and in fact anywhere that their stooges do no come to power, all the hullabaloo on the war on terror while clandestinely talking with and supporting brutal terrorists in Iraq.
These irrational and malicious behaviors have provided clear proof to Muslim nations and have helped strengthen the Islamic awakening. Whether they like it or not, today a profound and deep-rooted movement has begun in the Islamic world. This movement will lead to the independence, dignity and rejuvenation of the Muslim Ummah.
This is a decisive juncture in history. The elite and the intellectuals have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Any weakness, wavering, misguided actions and negligence on their part will lead to disaster. Ulema should not remain silent in the face of divisive actions, the intellectuals should not shirk their responsibility to impart spirit of hope in our youth, and politicians and leaders should not distance themselves from the people and must rely on them. And the Islamic governments should strengthen their ranks and solidarity and use the power of the people to overcome the threats of the domineering powers.
Today the intelligence services of the U.S. and Britain in Iraq, Lebanon and in countries of North Africa, and wherever they can, are spreading the virus of religious division and discord. The congregation of hajj keeps us immune from this deadly virus and places this sacred verse of Koran in our full view: And obey Allah and His Apostle and do not quarrel for then you will be weak in hearts and your power will depart, and be patient; surely Allah is with the patient. Surah VIII: 46
Today distancing ourselves from Moshrekin is the heartfelt desire and the call of all Muslim nations. The season of hajj is the only opportunity when this desire can be expressed with full force.
Let us seize this opportunity to pray for Allah’s grace and favor on all hajj pilgrims and pray for the earliest coming of the Promised Mahdi (A.S.) Cleanse yourselves in this vast ocean. I pray for your success and happiness and for the acceptance of your hajj.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
3rd of Dhulhajja 1427 – 3rd of Dey 1385