Pars Today

The Islamic Revolution in Iran is a freedom-inspiring movement that took shape 40 years ago with the leadership of Imam Khomeini and will of people; the Imam and the people who completely put their trust in God and believed in His help.

This Revolution shattered the hollow awe of the superpowers and emboldened the oppressed and downtrodden to stand firm against the oppressors and bullies. As the Islamic Revolution entered its fifth decade, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued a statement whereby he enumerated the achievements of the Iranian people during the past four decades and gave guidelines for more progress and advancement in the next years. In a couple of episodes, we are going to touch upon this historical statement and explain some of its highlights.

The new phase of the Islamic Revolution's life is described by Ayatollah Khamenei as the phase of self-building and society-refurbishing. God willing, this phase will construct the new Islamic civilization and make preparations for emergence of the Savior of mankind. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution wrote, "To take firm steps in future, we should know the past and learn lessons from experiences. If this strategy is neglected, lies will take the place of reality and the future will be exposed to unknown threats."

Iran's Islamic Revolution gained victory in an era that the world was under the dominance of the western and eastern poles. The western pole was under the rule of liberalism and capitalism while the eastern pole was ruled by communism and socialism. These poles had divided the world between themselves and had different countries under their control. Meanwhile, each of them tried to have the political, intellectual and economic rule of the world. Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in his comprehensive statement, "The day when the world was divided into the material West and East, and no one presumed a major religious movement would emerge, the Islamic Revolution of Iran stepped into the scene gloriously and powerfully; it broke the framework; it showed to the world the out-datedness of the clichés; it put the religion and the material world together and declared the coming of a new age."

The Islamic Revolution turned the bipolar world into a tri-polar world. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and elimination of its satellite states, the western bloc faced with the rise of Islam as the new pole of power.

In view of Ayatollah Khamenei, upon the triumph of the Islamic Revolution enmities began with full intensity against this revolution especially by the Great Satan, the US. The Leader said in his statement, "The spiteful and malevolent look of the coercive regimes and blackmailing bullies of the world was drawn toward the revolution. Thus, the course of the world changed and the quake of the revolution awakened the Pharaohs lounging in their soft bed; enmities began with full intensity and, had it not been for the grand power of faith and motive of this nation and the celestial and divinely approved leadership of our great Imam, it wouldn't have been possible to tolerate against that much of hostility, wickedness, conspiracy and evil."

Iran was a sure base for the United States in West Asia during the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His obedience to the US had indeed made him a servile bootlicker of the US. Since the Shah had been installed by the British and supported by the US, he was an obsequious and a totally loyal hanger-on. In those days, while most of the people lived in absolute poverty, tens of thousands of Americans assumed sensitive jobs and received exorbitant salaries at the most important military, intelligence, economic and political centers of the country. Indeed, the intelligence apparatus of the Shah's regime was created by the Americans and Israelis. The Iranian politicians' national dignity had been trampled upon and they would carry out just what their masters in Washington wanted. As Ayatollah Khamenei described it, the royal system didn't attach any respect to people's votes, the people's demand, the people's religious and cultural beliefs and it had no amicable and friendly relation with the people. The kingdom maintained a hostile relation and the serf-lord relation with its own people and the Pahlavi family lived this way in the country for 50 years.

The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran was the end of a long historical decadence. Iran had been excessively humiliated especially during the Pahlavi and Qajar rules. But the triumph of the revolution changed the course of the country and put it on the rail of rapid progress to compensate backwardness in every field. Iran turned into an independent and resolute country while during the Pahlavi regime it lacked the power to make decision and everything had to be dictated from Washington. After the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, the Americans hatched myriads of plots to overthrow the Islamic system and reinstate their lackeys. They instigated different ethnicities to separate from Iran. This happened especially in the west, southwest, northwest and northeast of the country where the Kurds, Arabs, Azeris and Turkmens live. All of these plots backfired as the people were more united and more vigilant of the enemy's schemes. Nevertheless, the United States and its allies didn't sit idle; this time they incited Saddam to initiate an all-out war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The war lasted for 8 years but the US vassal, Saddam, despite having the state-of-the-art weapons and equipment, failed to take an inch of the Iranian soil let alone topple the popular ruling system. The defeat of the Ba'athist Saddam was indeed the defeat of the US and its accomplices. The conspiracies of the United States continued after the end of war in new forms. This time, soft war was put on the agenda of the American rulers to pressure the Iranian nation. They focused on transforming the religious and revolutionary identity of the Iranian youths. The American spying agencies, in complicity with their partners-in-crime in Tel Aviv and London, even embarked on terrorist attempts against scientists as they assassinated a few nuclear scientists.

The dastardly efforts of the enemies of the Iranian nation have failed to inflict serious harm on the Islamic Revolution. Now, in the 5^th decade of this revolution, the Leader and the nation continue the path of their beloved Imam and stick to his mottos. Ayatollah Khamenei said about the plots of the arrogant after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, "It was natural that the leaders of deviation and oppression would react- but this reaction was fruitless. Whatever the so-called right and the left of modernity did- from pretending not to hear this new and different voice to extensive and varied effort for suffocating it- just brought them closer to their indispensable demise. Now, after 40 annual celebrations of the victory of the Revolution and 40 Fajr Ten-Days, one of the two centers of animosity has already perished, and the second is grappling with problems that signal its imminent death! Whereas the Islamic Revolution is advancing while preserving and adhering to its mottos."

RM/ME