The Search for Islam
Wise Sayings of Imam Khomeini
o Today, Islam””a progressive school that is capable of meeting all the
needs of man and solve his problems””has caught the attention of all
Muslims of the world especially the Iranian Muslim nation.
o You rose up for Islam and Islam is your support, and he who receives
support from the Qur'an and Islam is surely victorious.
o The Iranian nation revived Islam through its life and blood.
o Our purpose is to observe Islam wherever in the country we may travel. o Islam is our entire destination (i.e., goal).
o It was not our purpose or that of the Iranian nation only to see
Muhammad-Rida1 go. to see monarchy go, or to see the hands of aliens
severed. Under the aegis of Islam we can protect our country.
o These are all preliminary steps. The purpose is Islam.
o We rose up all together, to revive Islam here and. hopefully, to export it to
other places.2
o A country is said to be Islamic when Islamic teachings are practiced there
in.
Muhammad-Rida PahlavT: the former Shah of Iran who was overthrown by the revolutionary' Iranian nation under the leadership of Imam Khomeini. With the triumph of the Islamic Revolution of Iran on February 1979, the puppet monarchy of Muhammad-Rida Shah
came to an end.
2 For information on Imam Khomeini's conception of the export of the revolution, see Imam Khomeini on Exportation of Revolution (Tehran: The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works. 2001). [Ed.]
19
o We are Muslims and the Muslim (worth the name) cannot afford to ignore
Islam.
o The country is Islamic and must practice Islamic standards.
o When you remove the taghut,1 an Islamic, divine country must replace it.
Allah is the opposite of taghut, when taghut goes, a country of Allah must
emerge.
o Today is the day in which Islam should be realized (i.e. implemented).
o We staged the movement so that Islam, its laws and the Qur'an and its
laws, rule our country.
o If you want to be rid of foreign entanglements, you must resort to Islam.
o The important thing is that we feel certain in our hearts that we want our
Republic to be Islamic.
o Just as we say with our tongues, our hearts should be convinced that we
want Islam.
o We ourselves are nothing; whatever is and whatever counts is Islam.
o We want Islam to rule and Islamic decrees to be implemented in this
country.
o We want to make an Islamic, and not a Western, country.
o We are all alive in order to revive the tradition of the Prophet of Islam and
the Holy Qur'an and we must pay Islam its dues.
The term taghut applies to any idol, object, or individual that prevents men from doing what is good, and leads them astray. The term has been used eight times in the Qur'an. Prior to Islam, taghut had been the name of the one of the idols of the Quraysh tribe. This name is used also to mean the Satan. Moreover, the term is used to indicate one who rebels against lofty values.
20
o We are (still) on the way (toward our destination) unless all Islamic
decrees are implemented.
o We want to institute Islamic justice in this country.
o We rose up for Islam just as the Noble Prophet did at the advent of Islam;
(but) we did not suffer and toil as much as he.
o That which supports all of you is Islam; it is the Holy Qur'an. o These movements are all meant to enforce God's commands.
o We want an Islamic republic so that the Islamic laws will be implemented
therein.
o Islamic Republic means that it is a republic and its laws are Islamic.
o The Republic is Islamic and all things relating to us must become Islamic.
o Today, the country is an Islamic country and thus its content (substance)
must be Islamic as well.
o The movement is Islamic and the content of the Islamic movement must
also be Islamic.
o We are after the realization of Islam. We are not after the name only; that
now that we have the label islamic Republic' then it would be' enough
for us.
o I hope Khomeini shall never deviate from the straight path of Islam, which
is resistance against the oppressive powers and never relent in his efforts
to achieve the objectives of Islam;
o Our nation wants martyrdom for God.
o God is the Protector of nations that want Islam in face of the
encroachment of the great powers.
"Is" [l5/l in the original: "It is enough for us,"
21
o Our nation, which poured out in the streets, filled up rooftops, toiled day
and night and gave their youth and blood, was for Islam. They would not
do that if Islam was not then the issue.
o The combatant and noble Iranian nation has prepared itself to sacrifice
everything it has for the sake of God.
o The nation, which wants itself and everything it possesses for Islam shall
be victorious.
o The purpose is to let our country be an Islamic country; our country be1
under the guidance of the Qur'an, under the guidance of the Noble Prophet
and under the auspices of the great awliya'.
o Truth must be pursued and embraced with open arms wherever it is.
Source: 'Wise Sayings" book
Other Links:
Kolineh and Seyyed Sadeq offensive operation (2) (March 6th, 1981)
Democracy in an Islamic Community
The Concept and Principles of Democracy
Roqabieh offensive operation (March 19th, 1980)
Chaghalvand offensive operation (March 20th, 1980)