Speech by Imam Khomeini (RA) during his meeting with the tribes of Hoveyzeh, Susangerd, and Dasht-e Azadegan

Date: December 26, 1980

Location: Tehran - Jamaran

Subject: Conspiracy of the enemies of Islam in creating discord among the Islamic Ummah — Saddam's false claim of defending the Arab nation

Attendees: Arabic-speaking tribes of Khuzestan and Fars, and the Islamic Councils of Tribes of Dasht-e Azadegan and Susangerd

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The necessity of unity and brotherhood among segments of the Islamic Ummah

Welcome, dear friends and esteemed brothers who have come from the battlefronts. May God, God willing, grant you success and cut off the hands of oppressors from our country. The schemes of the great powers—seeking to subjugate Muslims, usurp their resources, and plunder their wealth—have pursued designs for many long years, among the greatest of which is the issue of nationalism. Islam came to unite all nations of the world—Arabs, non-Arabs, Turks, Persians, all together—and to establish a great Ummah named the Ummah of Islam in the world, so that those who wish to dominate these Islamic states and Islamic centers cannot do so, owing to the grand gathering of Muslims from every community. The plan of the great powers and their affiliates in Islamic countries is to divide these Muslim segments between whom God, the Blessed and Exalted, established brotherhood and referred to the believers with the title of brotherhood [1], separating them in the name of the Turkish nation, Kurdish nation, Arab nation, Persian nation, and even turning them into enemies of one another. This is completely contrary to the path of Islam and the path of the Holy Quran. All Muslims are brothers and equals, none of them is separate from another, and all must stand under the banner of Islam and the banner of monotheism. Those who sow discord among Muslims in the name of nationality, sectarianism, and nationalism are the armies of Satan, collaborators with the great powers, and opponents of the Holy Quran.

Pretended advocacy for Arabs and the disgrace of the Ba'ath Party

Praise be to God, the true face of this Iraqi Ba'ath Party has been exposed regarding its claims of what it represents for the Arabs, for Arab power, and for the Arab nation. Its reality was exposed when it confronted Arabs the most in Khuzestan. The massacres inflicted by this abhorrent party and the infidel Saddam upon our Arab brothers are greater than what was inflicted upon our non-Arab brothers. If this corrupt and infidel man [2] were telling the truth in his claim, he should not have suppressed Arab communities—women, children, the elderly, and the young [3]—in such a manner. And if his enmity was against non-Arabs, why did he assault Arabs even more? This exposes him: no, the issue is not about Arabs; the issue is subservience to the superpowers. It is not that he wishes to save the Arab nation. Save them from what? Save them from Islam?! The Arab nation, for long years—just as the non-Arabs and Iranians (non-Arabs among them) suffered for long years under the demonic power of the superpowers through the corrupt Pahlavi regime—endured pain and torment until they were cast into Hell through the uprising of our nation: Arabs, non-Arabs, and all strata. All our nation lived under the shade of Islam and within the Islamic Republic, and under the Islamic Republic and the banner of 'There is no god but Allah,' no one should be—and no one was—in suffering. However, deviants who are servants of foreigners plot under various pretexts against this country—an Islamic country where Arabs, non-Arabs, Persians, and others live together like brothers—scheming to separate these brothers, sow discord among them, and subsequently destroy all their possessions...

...and trample Islam underfoot. The abhorrent Ba'ath Party of Iraq has proved that it is neither a supporter of Iraq nor a supporter of Arabs, but rather a supporter of the great powers and a servant of the great powers. Therefore, even within Iraq, it batters the Iraqi nation and oppresses the Iraqi people, killing and imprisoning prominent Arab scholars. All the Iraqi people, who are Arabs, are exasperated by it. The issue is not that it wants to do anything for Arabs. Both Arabs and non-Arabs wish to live beneath the banner of monotheism and under the shelter of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family). The Islamic Republic seeks to implement in all countries what the Quran and the Messenger of God have decreed, and Iran is the prelude to that; it wishes to make all nations understand that Islam is founded upon brotherhood, equality, and unity, and that all Muslims are a single hand against others.

We want to convey to all nations that Islam is a religion of unity, a religion of brotherhood, a religion of equality. None of its groups has superiority over another except through piety and adherence to the rulings of Islam. The Ba'ath Party of Iraq proved that—just as it is headed by the non-Muslim Aflaq [4]—the Arab issue is not at stake. The issue of the Arab nation is not at stake. The issue of superpowers is at stake. What is at stake is that all our nations must be under the hegemony of great powers. And this was a naive illusion that Saddam had harbored in his mind, thinking he would destroy Iran in a single week. In one week, he failed to capture Khuzestan, which is but a part of Iran, bringing nothing upon himself except shame and hatred among all Muslims and all the oppressed of the world. And now, in a state of nervous frenzy and madness, he seeks by any means to attain some victory, even if only relative.

Expressing sympathy with the afflicted people

Our brothers everywhere, especially in Khuzestan, across all parts of Khuzestan,

Across the South, across the West, and throughout Khuzestan, they have risen up against this person who claims 'I am a Muslim' yet is not a Muslim, who claims 'I am working for the Arabs' while he lies; they stood against him and delivered a crushing blow to his mouth. And, God willing, very soon he will be dispatched to Hell. We share in your sorrows—you who are our brothers—whether in Susangerd, in Ahvaz, or in Khuzestan and all surrounding areas of Khuzestan, in the South, in the West; with all of you, with all the people of Kordestan, Khuzestan, Susangerd, and likewise Dasht-e Azadegan, from where and from all around you gentlemen have come. We sympathize with you in the calamities inflicted upon you, our brothers, and upon Islam. These calamities have been inflicted upon Islam, and you are the children of Islam. Whatever befalls you has befallen all Muslims. And any betrayal that Saddam commits against Khuzestan, he has committed against all Islamic nations. We hope that all Islamic nations will rise with vigilance and awareness to put in their place these corrupt hands that seek to bring all Islamic nations under the hegemony of the superpowers. I pray to God, the Blessed and Exalted, for the victory of Islam and the Muslims, and I ask God, the Blessed and Exalted, for your well-being and prosperity—you, our brothers from Khuzestan, and you brothers who are here from the South and the West. Know and rest assured that these hardships inflicted upon you and these killings that occurred against our brothers are preserved before God and will not be lost, and by the grace of God, you are victorious and honorable.

Peace, and the mercy and blessings of God, be upon you.

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1. Surah Al-Hujurat, Verse 10: 'The believers are but brothers' — Nothing else but that the believers are brothers to one another.

2- Saddam Hussein, head of the regime ruling Iraq.

3- Youth.

4- Michel Aflaq, founder of the Ba'ath Party.

Khuzestan IRIB report on the anniversary commemoration of Imam Khomeini's meeting with the tribes of Khuzestan: