Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photo: Wiki Commons

As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made his way to meet United Nations negotiators in Geneva, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, delivered a harsh message to this year’s hajj pilgrims, calling on the faithful to pursue spiritual purity while fighting Islam’s enemies, the USA and Zionists.

To the Muslim pilgrims participating in the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the Ayatollah began by saying that by following the traditions of the hajj, “the maladies of the world of Islam will be cured.”

He said, “The great opportunity which these precious days provide for Muslims throughout the world is like a miraculous elixir. If the value of such days is appreciated and if we benefit from such days in an appropriate way, many of the maladies of the world of Islam will be cured.”

He told Muslims to be

“individuals who can utilize thoughts and actions as well as faith, sincerity and purity, who can show resistance in the face of the spiteful enemies as well as exercising self-purification and piety. This is the only way for the liberation of the great Muslim community from the problems which have been created, either by the enemy, or as a result of the lack of determination, faith and foresight among Muslims. Muslims have suffered from these things for a very long time. Without a doubt, the present era is an era of awakening, one in which Muslims can find their true identity. This truth can be easily discovered through the challenges which Muslims are faced with. It is exactly in such conditions that our determination- which is based on faith, reliance on God, foresight and wisdom- can help Muslim nations achieve victory against these challenges and bring about a dignified and honorable fate for Muslims.”

The Ayatollah then addressed the current ongoing civil war and violence across the Middle East, which he ascribed to “the transgressions of the USA and Zionism. ”

“The opposing camp which cannot tolerate Islamic Awakening and the dignity of Muslims has entered the arena with all its power and it is using all kinds of psychological, military, security, economic and propaganda tools to suppress Muslims, make them inactive and busy them with trivial things.”

“Taking a general look at the conditions of West Asian countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and countries surrounding the Persian Gulf, and North African countries such as Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and a number of other countries- reveals many truths. The existence of civil wars, religious and denominational prejudices and political instabilities, the prevalence of cruel terrorism, the emergence of extreme groups and orientations- which like savage tribes in history, cut open the chests of human beings and rip their hearts out with their teeth- the emergence of armed mercenaries who kill women and children, cut off the heads of men and rape women and who do such horrible and disgusting crimes in the name of religion are all the products of the satanic and arrogant plots of foreign intelligence services and their regional agents.”

“These disastrous conditions can abort the progress of Islamic Awakening, destroy the mental awareness which has been created in the world of Islam, drag Muslims- once more- towards stagnation, isolation and decline and consign to oblivion important and fundamental issues such as the liberation of Palestine and other Muslim nations from the transgressions of the USA and Zionism.”

The Ayatollah’s strategy, which he defined as being “among the clearest lessons of hajj” were, one, “unity and brotherhood of Muslims under the flag of monotheism” and, two, “knowing the enemy and confronting his plans and methods.”

He said that “Islam strongly rejects” all notions of competing Muslim faiths, which he described as a ploy that has “become as playthings in the hands of the treacherous Zionist politicians and their western supporters who commit serious crimes and shed the blood of Muslims and innocent people. And the people who claim to be religious, who call themselves clerics and who fuel the fire of fitna between Shia and Sunni and other denominations- should know that the hajj pilgrimage will thwart their claims.”

Returning to the culpability of what he said was Islam’s “main enemy,” the “criminal Zionist network,” the Ayatollah said, “Knowing the enemy and its methods is the second important factor. First, we should not forget about the existence of a spiteful enemy…. Second, we should not make a mistake in knowing the main enemy, who in the present time is global arrogance and the criminal Zionist network.”

He attributed blame to Zionists for “creating discord among Muslims, promoting moral and political corruption, threatening and tempting outstanding personalities, exerting economic pressures on all nations and arousing doubts about Islamic beliefs.”

The Ayatollah also attacked the U.S.

“Arrogant governments, headed by the USA, conceal their true character with the help of comprehensive and advanced propaganda tools. By claiming that they support human rights and democracy, they deceive public opinion in different countries. They speak about the rights of all nations while each day Muslim nations feel- with their bodies and souls- the fire of discord more than the past… Other nations are threatened by the USA and its allies with military attacks, economic sanctions and different acts of sabotage. Taking a general look at all these countries can reveal to all people throughout the world the true face of these leaders of global arrogance.”

While supportive of the revolutions stripping power from Middle Eastern despots, he preemptively blamed the “arrogant powers” for what he expects to be many years before stability.

“Of course, we have no doubts that the people who have risen against global arrogance and who have become the embodiment of Islamic Awakening in such countries will not, by Allah’s favor, allow time to go back so much so that the era of the corrupt, dependent and dictatorial rulers starts again. However, ignorance about the role of arrogant powers in creating discord and bringing about destructive interference will create a difficult situation for such countries and will cause a very long delay in achieving an era of dignity, security and welfare. We believe, from the bottom of our hearts, in the capability of nations and in the power, faith, determination and foresight which Allah the Omniscient has offered to the masses of the people.”

And, as a final wish that might be seen as a prayer for President Rouhani’s success in Geneva, the Ayatollah said, “I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow peace on Muslims and to foil the plots of the enemies.”