On September 21, 2024, Iranian regime officials, ambassadors of Islamic countries, and others attending the 38th Conference for Islamic Unity met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Hosseiniya, or seminary for Shi'a religious studies, named for the father of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In his address to them, Khamenei stressed the need for establishing a united Islamic ummah, or nation, as the Prophet Muhammad had begun to do.
Khamenei hinted, but refrained from explicitly stating, that this united Islamic ummah must be led by the Shi'a, by the Supreme Leader (that is, himself), and in accordance with the values and vision of Iran's Islamic Revolution. It should be noted that if this happens, one of the overarching goals of the Islamic Revolution – a world order led by revolutionary Shi'a – will have been achieved.
Khamenei went on to say that today, despite the proliferation of Muslim countries in the world, there is no true Islamic ummah, because these countries are not coordinated and are not working in the same direction. As leader of the Shi'ite minority in the Muslim world, Khamenei explained the divide in the Islamic world as caused by the supremacy of the enemies of Islam, and stated that the Islamic countries needed to rely on the U.S. because of it. He called on all Muslims, 90% of whom are Sunni, to unite – that is, under revolutionary Shi'ite leadership – in order to form a force that will withstand all forces in the world and be stronger than anyone else.
Also in his address, Khamenei called for leveraging the internal strength of the Muslims to "remove the Zionist regime" – the "evil cancerous growth" – so as to unify forces in the pan-Muslim struggle against the Jewish state. He added that the U.S. control in the region must be eradicated, and demanded of the Islamic states to take the first step in the struggle against the "terrorist gang ruling Palestine" by severing economic and political relations with Israel.
The following is the translation of his September 21 address:
Khamenei: "The Birth Of The Prophet Was A Necessary Prelude To The Final Prophecy"
"...I welcome all the dear brothers and sisters, the guests of Unity Week, and the representatives of the Islamic countries to Tehran. I welcome you on the occasion of the birthday of our Great Prophet and of the Imam Ja'far Al-Sadeq, and I hope that with Allah's help, today will be a joyful holiday for the Iranian people, and for the entire Islamic ummah and for Muslims worldwide. I thank our distinguished president, who in his correct statements raised the central and most important issue today: Islamic unity. It is on this that I will also speak.
"The birthday of the Prophet is an exceptional day in history. The reason for this is that the birth of the honorable Prophet was a necessary prelude to the final prophecy, that is in fact the full and final version of humanity's happiness and progress. Therefore, this day is a very important day.
"I want to say a few words about the general movement of the prophets. If we compare the general movement in the history of humanity to a caravan moving along the path, in which humanity advances all the time in sequential progress, there is no doubt that the leaders of this caravan are the prophets. The divine prophets do not only show the way; they also hold human beings' capability to identify the correct direction. This means [that they] not only [provide] guidance, but that they also build up humanity's ability to properly identify the path.
"As the Emir of the Believers [the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb] said, 'In order to awaken their internal covenant, they must be reminded of the ongoing blessing, and must make public the hidden forces of their thinking.' The prophets work with those... [who are] using their minds and their reason and putting these into action, thus allowing humanity to move forward.
Graphic from Khamenei's website with text from his address: "Today we need to establish an Islamic ummah – the force of the Islamic ummah can remove the corrupt and evil Zionist entity." Source: Khamenei.ir, September 21, 2024.
"There were times when humanity obeyed the prophets and went on the path they indicated, and saw positive results. There were also times when humanity resisted the prophets and ignored their guidelines, and saw negative results. These oscillations in history created the disputes and differences in the faith, as well as heresy, and they led to clashes between truth and lie...
"The birthday of the Prophet is naturally a day of the dawning of this sun, a revelation of the unique gemstone of the world of existence. Therefore, this is a great day, a very important day. We must not denigrate the birthday of the Prophet. We must learn lessons from it. Mere description and praise are not sufficient. The lesson of the Prophet is a comprehensive, full, and inclusive lesson for all areas of life. Every part of it can be greatly explained, analyzed, and expanded upon."
"Today, We Have No United Islamic Ummah – There Are Many Islamic Countries… But We Cannot Call Them An Ummah Because They Are Not Coordinated And Not Moving In A Single Direction"; "If We Establish A Single Unit, It Will Be Stronger Than All The Forces Existing In The World Today"
Khamenei continued: "One of the lessons from the life of the Prophet and his call [to join him], that in my view is perhaps one of the greatest lessons for us, is the creation of a nation – the establishment of an 'Islamic Ummah.' The struggles that have gone on for 13 years in Mecca ultimately led to hijra [the Prophet Muhammad's emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622, which is the year the Islamic calendar begins], that was the basis for the establishment of the Islamic ummah. The Islamic ummah became strong, both during the Prophet's life and after his death, by virtue of people's sacrifices and concessions. Although the ummah could have been administered better, it still remained an ummah established by the Prophet in Medina, with a small population. Today, we need this lesson. Today, we have no united ummah. There are many Islamic countries, and nearly two billion Muslims in the world, but we cannot call them an ummah because they are not coordinated and not moving in a single direction.
"An ummah is a group of people who are moving together in the same direction for the same shared goal with a shared motivation. We are not like that. We are scattered. The result of this divide is control by the enemies of Islam; the result of this divide is that a particular Islamic state feels that in order to hold on, it must rely on the U.S. If we were not divided, this need would not arise. We could stand together, use the resources of one for another, help one another, and establish a single unit. This unit would be able to be stronger than all the forces existing in the world today. It was like this in the past. With all the problems and flaws of that situation, the fact that they were united made them a force. Today, we are not in this situation. This is the greatest lesson for us today. We must draw closer to one another.
"Today we need to establish an Islamic ummah – that is, we must aspire to do so. Who can help us in this matter? The [various] governments can have an influence, but the motivation among the governments is not always strong. The ones who can strengthen this motivation are the ones with influence in the Islamic world – that is, you, the politicians, the religious leaders, the scientists, the academics, the influential thinkers, the poets, the writers, and the political and social commentators. All these can have an influence. Imagine if, for 10 years, all the media in the Islamic world were to focus on Muslim unity. If they wrote articles, if the poets wrote poems, if the analysts analyzed, if the academics explained, if the religious leaders issued rulings – there is no doubt that within 10 years the situation would be significantly changed. When the peoples awaken, when they take an interest in unity, the governments will be forced to act accordingly. Those with influence can do this work. It is their duty."
"Focus On The Enemies Of Islam"; "They Do Not Want The Creation Of An Islamic State Or Of Unity"
Khamenei said: "Of course, there are those who are opposed to the things I am saying – i.e. the creation of unity and the establishment of an Islamic nation. [They are] the enemies of Islam. Think and focus on the 'enemies of Islam.' The enemies of a particular state are not important. There are those who are the enemies of Islam even if they are ostensibly close to some of the Muslims. But their aim is to eliminate other parts. They [hinting at the Sunni countries, particularly Saudi Arabia] are in fact the enemies of Islam. They do not want the creation of an Islamic state. They do not want the creation of unity. They are activating the religious fault lines in the Islamic world in order to prevent this unity.
"One of the most dangerous fault lines among the communities is the belief and religious fault line – just like the fault lines in an earthquake. If this fault line is activated, it is very hard to stop it. The Crusades went on for 200 years, and they were really religious wars that were based on religious fanaticism. They (the enemies of Islam) are not allowing this [unity]. They do not want to allow it. The will of the enemies must be overcome. Even before the Islamic Revolution, our great Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] put such a great emphasis on the unity of the Islamic world and on Shi'ite and Sunni unity, for just this reason. The strength of the Islamic world emanates from unity, and the enemies want exactly the opposite and act against this and try to prevent this. This is the lesson we learn today from the Prophet."
"We Must Act For Real Goals"; "We Must Leverage Our Internal Strength" To "Remove The Zionist Regime, This Evil Cancerous Growth, From The Heart Of Islamic Society, And To Eradicate America's Influence, Control, Interference, And Aggression In The Region"
He concluded: "Of course, we must, and our entire people must, take note that if we want this message, the message of unity, to be perceived in the world as sincere, we must create this unity amongst ourselves. Differences of opinion, political differences, and the like need not impinge upon the people's cooperation and mutual understanding. We must act for real goals. If we succeed at this, then the enemy will not be able to allow a filthy and evil entity like the Zionist regime to commit all those crimes in the region. See what the Zionist regime is doing today! They are shamelessly committing crimes, and not hiding them. In Gaza, in one form, in the West Bank, in another form, and in Lebanon and Syria in yet another form. They are committing actual crimes. They are not fighting fighters – they are fighting simple folk. In Palestine, they are not succeeding in harming fighters, so they are turning their idiotic and evil rage against little children, patients in hospitals, and young schoolchildren. All this stems from the fact that we are not leveraging our internal strength – we must leverage it. This internal strength can remove the Zionist regime, this evil cancerous growth, from the heart of Islamic society – that is, Palestine – and to eradicate America's influence, control, interference, and aggression in the region. We can do this.
"The first and most important step today in uniting the Islamic world against the criminal and terrorist gang that rules Palestine and has destroyed its land is this: The Islamic countries must completely sever their economic ties with this criminal gang. That is the least they can do. It needs to be done. Their economic ties must be severed, their political ties weakened, their media and media attacks strengthened, and their support for the oppressed Palestinian people must be open and openly declared.
"We hope that Allah will bless us all – the governments, the peoples, those with influence, and the activist groups – so that we can fulfill this duty."[1]
[1] Farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=57610, September 9, 2024.
