the Viewpoint of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

 

With the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the formation of the Islamic system in this part of the world, along with the long struggle of our nation following their great leader (Imam Khomeini) to protect the revolution and Islam, a new era emerged in the world the characteristics of which are very unique. This new era should be called the “Imam Khomeini era”. (1990)

After the demise of our great Imam to this day, two trends have continued to persist. One of these trends is the hostility and malicious enmity of the arrogant powers towards our revolution. And the second trend is the increasing inclination to Islam as a result of which the younger generations in many Islamic countries tend to extensively join the movement of the late Imam (RA). (1993)

The Islamic system that the Imam (Khomeini) established in this country was with the aim of making this nation find an Islamic form, meaning, and orientation. This Islamic system has a main foundation called “faith in God Almighty and the unseen” and also has a form called “Islamic law”. (1994)

The great Islamic revolution, which was led by our Noble Imam and resulted in the establishment of the Islamic Republic, is of two aspects one of which is internal and the other aspect is of global, international, Islamic, and human importance. In both aspects, we have made great progress as a result of the noble leadership of the late Imam Khomeini and the diligence and perseverance exercised by our dear nation. (1995).

The Imam’s movement was in many ways similar to and modeled on the basis of the movement of Imam Hussain (AS). One of the characteristics that were clearly present in both the movements is the issue of “endurance”. (1996)

The path adopted by the Imam (Khomeini) was and is the path of saving the country, both at the beginning of the revolution and during the lifetime of the Imam as well as today. (1999)

The greatest lesson and service that the Imam provided to this nation and to other nations was to tell the people that “you have the power and you can; the power is in your hands and belongs to you; you just have to exercise that power; you have to have the willpower; and you have to decide. The elites and influential people must enter the scene and people must be ready to make sacrifices. It is in that case that everything will be done and all the intended successes will be achieved. (2000)

Imam Khomeini had taken into consideration all the elements and components that could make this system stable and lasting and had skillfully deployed all these main elements for the establishment of this great and strong structure. These main elements and components are Islam, the people, legalism, and withstanding the enemy. (2001)

The main pivot of all the principles adopted by our great Imam was two things: Islam and people. Our great Imam had also adopted his faith in people from the teachings of Islam. It is Islam that emphasizes the right of nations, the importance of nations’ votes, and the impact of efforts made by people and their presence in the scene. Hence, our great Imam made Islam and the people the pivot of his efforts (in order to ensure) the greatness of Islam, the greatness of the people; the authority of Islam, the authority of the people; the invincibility of Islam, and the invincibility of the people. (2003)

The most important factor in the resoluteness and steadfastness of the Iranian nation in the honorable path adopted by them was the political philosophy and political school of the Imam (Khomeini) in which our nation strongly believes. The enemies of this Revolution have no choice but to be hostile to the Imam’s philosophy and school of thought and also the personality of our great Imam - which will continue to strongly exist - in order to force this nation to retreat and surrender to their demands. (2004)

The main essence of the school of thought of our great Imam is the relationship between religion and worldly affairs. It is the same thing that is also interpreted as the relationship between religion and politics and religion and life. In expressing the relationship between religion and worldly affairs, the Imam had resorted to the Islamic view and Islamic teachings as the foundation, spirit, and basis of his efforts. (2005)

We must all endeavor to preserve and protect this noble lineage that was formed by the great Imam (Khomeini) and blessed by the Almighty God and expanded its effects in such a way. Officials, political elites, scientific elites, seminarians, academics, workers, and all other classes of people should put in their efforts. (2006)

Our Noble Imam was able to create a new identity in the turbulent world of politics in this region, and that is the identity of the Islamic Republic. And the alive Iranian nation was able to create and protect this Republic. This is an Islamic identity and a national identity, and this identity does not only belong to the Iranian nation. Islamic identity belongs to all Islamic nations. (2007)

Imam Khomeini’s teachings continue to be of great guidance in the ups and downs of our lives. The strongest and best spiritual heritage left behind by the late Imam (RA) is his last will and testament. It is important that our people, officials, and our youth should read this will and testament from time to time. (2008)

In fact, by creating this great movement in our country and in the Islamic world, our dear Imam (Khomeini) hoisted two flags and held them high. One flag is the flag of the revival of Islam and involving this great and infinite power in the arena. And the second flag is the flag of honor and pride for Iran and Iranians. (2009)

Imam’s school of thought is a complete package and it has various dimensions. These dimensions must be seen and taken into consideration together. The two main dimensions in the school of our great Imam are spirituality and rationality. There is also a third dimension (to this school of thought) and that is the dimension of justice. (2011)

Besides being a complete manifestation of self-esteem and spirituality, one of the greatest things that our Noble Imam Khomeini (RA) did was to revive the spirit of dignity in the nation. (2012)

Our great Imam strongly believed in three things, which gave him determination, courage, and perseverance. These three beliefs were belief in God Almighty, belief in people, and belief in himself. These three beliefs of the Noble Imam were clearly manifested in his decisions and in all his moves and in the true sense of the word. (2013)

We must continue to stay on the path in order to achieve our goal. We should not go astray. And in order not to go astray, we must have the main plan in front of our eyes at all times and we must know and recognize it. The Imam’s plan and the main objective of the Imam was to build a civil-political order on the basis of Islamic rationality. (2014)

If the Iranian nation wants to achieve its lofty goals and if it wants to continue on this path, it must know and recognize the path of our great and Noble Imam correctly. It must know its principles correctly. It must not be allowed that Imam’s personality gets distorted because distortion of the Imam’s personality is equal to the distortion of the Imam’s path and deviating the people from the straight path that the Imam had envisaged for the Iranian nation. (2015)

We always describe the Imam with many attributes, but the attribute of a devout revolutionary believer - with which we rarely describe the Imam - is a comprehensive attribute… The Imam of the Revolution means the leader of all these characteristics that the term revolution implies. This was the reason that material powers, which were always angry with the Imam and, of course, feared the great Imam. Even today, the enemies of the Iranian nation are hostile and inimical to his revolutionary characteristic. (2016)

Imam Khomeini (RA) had a very strong personality that enabled him and gave him the power to withstand hardships… In addition to this quality, his belief in the principles presented by him was the cause that attracted different social strata and the youth to enter the scene. (2017)

This year (anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini) coinciding with the days of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (AS), brings to mind the similarities between this sincere and true follower of the Amir al-Mo’menin and that great leader (of all times). There are similarities that make the Iranian nation and the Islamic Ummah proud. It is important and useful to pay attention to these similarities in order to find the right path and also to get to know our great Imam better. (2018)

The Imam did not choose resistance for the sake of excitement and fleeting emotions. The choice made by our great Imam for resistance was supported by logic and rationality and, of course, it was the religion of Islam that provided the strongest support to the Imam’s resistance and uprising. (2019)

One of the most important and prominent characteristics of our Noble Imam (Khomeini) was the spirit of change and transformation. Intrinsically, the Imam was a man in search of transformation and creating transformation. With regard to transformation, his role was not merely that of a teacher. He was a leader in the true sense of the word and played the role of a commander who was directly involved in an operation. (2020)

The most important factor in the resoluteness and steadfastness of the Iranian nation in the honorable path adopted by them was the political philosophy and political school of the Imam (Khomeini) in which our nation strongly believes.

 

One of the most important and prominent characteristics of our Noble Imam (Khomeini) was the spirit of change and transformation. Intrinsically, the Imam was a man in search of transformation and creating transformation.