The Policy of Global Arrogance

By:
Hojjat al-Islam Hashmi Rafsanjani
Former President of Islamic Republic of Iran
Friday Prayer Sermon 12: (December 21, 1984)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and Allah's peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his descendants, the infallible Imams. I take refuge with Allah (SWT) from the accursed Shaytan.
"..Surely the most honourable of you with Allah is the most pious, God fearing among you... (49:13)"
O Servants of Allah! I recommend you to observe taqwa and to fear Allah.
In the previous khutab (sermons), we have talked about the cultural attacks of the white race on other races of the world, and about the profound moral oppression inflicted on other races in this manner. In this khutbah, I am going to make a comparison between the approach of Islam and. that of the Western racists regarding the spiritual aspects and morality of various sects, nations, and other races. In the last two of the khutab of Salatul-Jumu’ah, I have pointed out how the oppressive white race, during the last five hundred years, has made a profound attack on the spirituality and humanitarian values of others in a bid to weaken the bases of non-white communities, and how a part of this effort has entangled themselves in trouble as well. Earlier, we have mentioned that the Westerners have used numerous means and devices to undermine the spiritual values and morality of the peoples which they intended to colonize. These included propaganda, economy, and psychological means; and the most important lever they used for their domination was the corruption of the significant part of the manpower (i.e., the women), which I have already elaborated.
In this khutbah, I am going to discuss some other points in relation to spiritual issues and human morality. Then, compare the way Islam behaves with other races with that which the Westerners behave with non-Western peoples. The genuineness of the school of Islam will become evident at this point as to how all-embracing and humane it is, what a natural and an innate basis it has, and what plans it has (for guidance and salvation) for the entire humanity.

Dispatch of the Wicked to Countries under Domination
Among the examples of the cultural attack of Western racists, which I should briefly discuss, is the policy which the world arrogance adopted at the beginning of the colonization period, and whose consequences still trouble the non-white people, and which should not be overlooked. This was the policy of appointment of the wicked and corrupt people to non-European regions. This is among the worst acts of the Westerners, and one day they should pay its penalty to humanity. When they started the colonization of the non-European world, their satanic people made a plan which according to their policy-makers, hit two birds (aims) with one stone Fulfillment of both the objectives ended up to the detriment of the non-European community. They gathered all the wicked and rogues who were troubling their own society, those condemned to imprisonment with hard labour, and intractable elements of the society in their organizations, and then sent them to nooks and corners of the world as officials of their ministry of colonies. Just see what this type of politics does. Firstly, they got rid themselves of the evil of a corrupt group which constantly caused corruption in their region; secondly, they exported this corruption to other countries.
In this regard, I will mention a few examples, so that you would see how cruel they have been in making cultural invasion and destroying the spiritual values of other nations. For America, which was one of its colonies, Britain had fixed an annual quota of two thousand highly wicked people who were typically selected from among the unpardonable prisoners and sent to America. This led on to the protest of Franklin [1] who said that they had made America the waste-basket of Britain. This event itself is a historical episode. They resisted a little and transferred the zone of politics to Africa. In many colonies of Africa, the living conditions were so terrible that even those very wicked people, who were imprisoned with hard labour, were not willing to remain there, and so they used to run away. Of course, they remained in some areas such as South Africa where the whites rule, and where even now the horrible racial discrimination is dominant. Australia was among the areas which received maximum attention of the Britishers. The books on this subject mention that one hundred and sixty thousand British wicked people were sent there. Just imagine what would happen when one hundred and sixty thousand colonizers, corrupt and seditious, enter an island with the power of colonization and force, and how it can be expected of them that they would allow the community to move towards well-being.
Australia's Samoa Islands were the landing place of German mischief-makers and convicts. Portugal sent so many wicked people to Angola that once a European sociologist (from among the Portuguese) addressed the people of Portugal saying: "Be ashamed. Tell your leaders and politicians that it is embarrassing for us to turn an independent and oppressed country into the waste-basket of the Portuguese. What is their fault that they should pay the penalty for the sedition of our mischief-makers in their lives?" This was their situation. One of the German thinkers severely attacked German politicians in the country's Parliament and interpellated them. Following this, the official in charge of German colonies attended the Parliament session and said: "That day when we dispatched mischief-makers, we had no other choice."

Viewpoints of Europeans about the Officials Dispatched to Colonies
In an official address, which was very much criticized, the Belgian King, Leopold said: "As the King of Belgium I do not give myself the right to send pure and honourable gentlemen to the colonies. If you talk about colonies, these mischief-makers and hoodlums should be dispatched to the colonies."
The Europeans themselves say about the European officials deputed to the colonies that: "They are a collection of the meanest, the most corrupt, and the terribly immoral people that history has ever known on earth". With this policy, they have allowed such people to ruin the other countries of the world. This had its repercussions to such an extent that a new danger threatened Europe itself and that was "the hybrid generation." When these rogues went to other areas, naturally there were people like them only who were willing to be with them.
When the hybrid generation grew up and returned to Europe, it posed a serious threat to Europe itself. This caused such an adverse effect that they passed a law according to which the colonial officials were prohibited from having sexual relations with native women of the colonies. It looks like that essentially they are the source of corruption in the world, and that they have had the plans for corruption, and they continue to have plans for corruption. The Western colonizers knew that one day the degraded morality of the people in colonized countries would make the people stand against them. Consequently, they wanted to uproot morality in other countries by various means. This generation that you see now in America committing so much oppression, and treating the world people as such springs from the same root. These are the activities and actions of Europe, which considers the world civilization emanating from it, and which regards itself as the standard-bearer of the civilization of the modern period. These issues which I have mentioned are not taken from Iranian books. They are rather a summary of many published works by the Europeans themselves. A person, who used to present the "Panorama Programme" on the German Television, and who was expelled for his statements, has written a book entitled: "What Did the Whites Do?" which has also been translated into Persian language. The book points out that basically the Western white race has had the plans to corrupt the whole world. The Westerners had implemented this policy through their colonization programme which of course befell themselves, because there were reactions arising out of it. Now against these corrupt policies, look at the policies of Islam.

The Viewpoint of Islam in Regard to Nations and Races
To the same extent that Islam feels for its followers in terms of ethical and humanitarian matters, it strives for the salvation of other human beings as well. Basically, Islam has been descended to root out corruption and safeguard the pious who need protection. The following Qur'anic ayah says:
"..And whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men... (5:32). "
And another ayah says:
"... Whoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the laud, it is as though he slew alt men...(5:32)"
Refer to spiritual revival and spiritual slaughter according to the interpretation of many of our exegetists and ahadith. To make a sound human being for a man from any race, generation, and religion is as though all the world people have been revived by him. This is the aim and programme of Islam. We have never seen Islam allowing a politico-Islamic movement to penetrate among its non-Muslim enemies to make them corrupt, and to degrade their society from within. Such an act is by no means permissible in Islam. The world should pay heed to the point I am making. You Muslims are aware of the value of your religion but the world should pay heed to it. Only such a school of thought, i.e., Islam has the competence to be the standard-bearer of world civilization, and not that school of thought which determines the expediency on the basis of colour, skin, blood, borders, seas and lands, and flag. Mankind is the aim of Islam and I will present some examples.
In this regard, the Holy Qur'an contains numerous ayat. Numerous ayat insistently call on the Jews, Christians, and even the mushrikun (polytheists) to act according to their own ethics and aims, and not to deviate from their own religion. It is quite exceptional that Islam should put pressure on those who draw swords against it as to why they do not act according to their own religion to reach salvation. In some ayat of Suratul-Ma'idah, the Holy Qur'an complains of the Jews and Christians, saying that they go for debauchery and do not observe the commandments of the Tawrat (the Torah) and Injil (Holy Book of Christians). They have indulged in "eating of what is unlawfully acquired" and other things. The Holy Qur'an then complains of Christian and Jewish spiritual leaders as to why they do not fulfill the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil and do not convince them to go for reformation. That is to say, why don't they prevent them from lying, coercing others, and eating what is unlawfully obtained or acquired, as it explicitly says:
"Why do not the rabbis and the priests prohibit them from their speaking of what is sinful and their eating of what is unlawfully acquired? Certainly evil is what they do (5: 63)."
Just compare this religion (Islam) with the school of thought which fans the flame of the `opium war' in China to stifle the people. See how the Qur'an calls on the Christian religious leaders and monks, and Jewish monks as to why they do not forbid their followers from lying and eating what is unlawfully acquired. Then the Holy Qur'an says:
And if they had kept up the Tawrat and the Injil and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they would certainly have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet;... (5:66)."
Had they acted even according to Tawrat and Injil, Allah (SWT) would have showered blessings upon them from heaven and earth. This ayah calls on the Christians to observe the practical laws of Injil, and asks the Jews to practise the laws of Tawrat. In the manner the Holy Qur'an reproves the usurers among Muslims with regard to usury, it reproves in the same manner the Jews - in whose religion usury is actually forbidden - questioning them as to why they engage in usury and lying. This is how the Qur'an confronts them.
In the Surah of Ale`Imran, there are many ayat on the same subject matters that I have pointed out. At one place it states:
"And among the people of the Book there is one whore if you entrust with a heap of wealth, he will return it to you; and among them there is one whom if you entrust with a dinar, he will not pay it back to you...â€‌ (3: 75)
Finally, the Qur'an says:
"Yes, whoever fulfils his pledge and observes taqwa -then, Allah does love the muttaqun (pious, God fearing)â€‌ (3:76)

The Claimants of Western Civilization Mislead the Nations
The Qur'an demands for the Jewish and Christian communities the same taqwa that it wants for the Islamic community. This is quite nice. Tell the claimants of the modern Western civilization, who intend to mislead other peoples with wine and misleading pictures that they do not have the competence to be the standard-bearer of world civilization. They look at humanity as "a rival wife". They do not care for the prosperity of humanity. It is Islam that possesses the competence for this vital matter. When the Christians and Jews collaborated with the mushrikun against Islam, and were the enemies of the Muslims, the Holy Prophet (S), instead of finding infiltrating agents, and sending these agents among them to corrupt and destroy them from within, he found means to reform them and thought of bettering them.
In our Islamic jurisprudence, you may see the case for those kafirun converting to Islam. (Our Islamic jurisprudents note that if such people performed their deeds according to their own religion which they followed earlier, they are free from any additional binding duty. That is, we believe in the principle that those who believe in a religion or school of thought should observe taqwa and perform their duties according to their religion, and we emphasize this). The Qur'an also has laid emphasis on this matter with regard to the mushrikun as well. In regard to the-prohibition declared by the mushrikun in SuratulBaqarah (look gentlemen, the mushrikun had declared certain things haram and did not eat them, and had declared certain other things halal and used to eat them), the Holy Qur'an first asks them as to how they have declared such cases of haram and halal, and then it leads them not to eat useless things, nor to deprive themselves of what is halal, nor to do injustice to their own souls.

Taqwa -- The Basis of Prosperity
In principle, the basic programme of Islam for building the world is that the pure man observing taqwa (he might be the follower of any religion that we do not accept) is useful to the society. The sound person in a community is the main source of prosperity of people. On the other hand, the corrupt and the transgressor, be they Muslims, Christians, or otherwise, are harmful to the society. When such a humane logic is presented in this manner, it shows the value and universality of this school of thought as well as its concern for what is the way over and above carnal desires.
I want to mention a very interesting point for our own country. In my discussions on ethics, sexual issues, observing the hijab, and the like, I am not typically addressing the revolutionaries and the Muslims, for these people are themselves good by nature. In our society, the religious type of people are the supporters and defenders of the Revolution. They observe the hijab and follow the principles of ethics. They are what we want, and many of them are even better than us.
We are making so much effort and delivering khutab (sermons), our Islamic revolutionary guards are taking great pains on the streets; mobile units of our Islamic guards invite the ladies to practise chastity and modesty; we request so much the shops and boutiques to observe Islamic principles; we struggle so much against immoral affairs; etc. - the addressee for all these are mostly those who are not happy with our Revolution. Perhaps what we are doing might not be politically in conformity with the current world politics. This point is worth serious consideration. I request all friends and foes and revolutionaries and anti-revolutionaries, to pay heed and note where the human virtue lies.
The current policy of arrogant countries and corrupt governments is to fascinate their opponents towards corruption. From the worldly point of view this is correct also. They consider things on the basis of `two and two makes four'. They believe that if such and such a group of their opponents is, for instance, addicted to heroin or alcoholic drinks, or is engaged in merry-making in dancing halls or cabarets or other places of corruption, it will no longer go towards politics. This is a policy which is being followed by materialistic and worldly governments, as well as agents of arrogant powers. You remember very well the Shah's regime. At least all of us, who encountered it, remember it well. When the SAVAK agents arrested Muslim youths, and took them for inquiry, one of the statements which the investigators normally used to make was: “When we have arranged so many means of amusement for you, then why do you make yourselves imprisoned in these prisons? There are youth recreation centres, cabarets, sea beaches, streets, and classrooms. Go after your revelry and enjoy yourselves." When most of these youths were caught in corruption centres with a girl, the SAVAK agents used to let them go free, if they made the SAVAK agents believe that they had unlawful sexual relations. This was their type. They were determined to corrupt Muslim, and even communist youths. The policy of promoting means of debauchery and drinking and the policy of encouraging the use of smuggled goods and narcotics, etc., are based on this basis only.

The Policy of Global Arrogance Is to Promote Means of Debauchery and Drinking
When the French were defeated in Algeria, one of their politicians made an analysis and said "Had we set up merry-making sports clubs such as for boxing, etc., and had we expanded centres of corruption in Algeria to such an extent that they were available to girls and boys everywhere, they would not have come to mountains and streets with arms to fight against us." This very policy is being pursued by global arrogance everywhere.
If we wanted to go for worldly interests (Our opponents are generally weak in their conduct, and the anti-revolutionaries in Iran are generally irreligious people, or wealthy people who see a threat to their money, or unrestrained people who have no share in the Revolution as it does not conform to their revelries) we could have paved the way of corruption for these bad people. But we would not do so.
I, as an official, as well as other officials would be more grieved to see a Muslim girl trapped in a corruption centre, and then found in dancing halls of Paris than to see her stay here, and work against us at the university. We do not want our children to fall into such a situation and this is extremely difficult for us to bear. Unfortunately, this is the way which has been adopted to oppose the Islamic Republic of Iran. Two or three days ago, a Paris-based newspaper reported about the anti-revolutionaries held up abroad indicating that their condition is quite pitiful. As a matter of fact, it gives the account of their condition in a very honourable manner. Poor people, they got entangled with other matters. Information reaching us indicates that youths, who started the work in the name of their combat against the United States are now working as waiters in dancing halls in Paris and the United States. There they are serving beer and pork to the customers and stretch their hands out to receive a few cents of money. They have fallen into the path of corruption. To provide for their basic needs, they are struggling and have fallen into such a very abject abyss.
Our view is this that we ask our opponents to be morally sound, even if they are against us. But unfortunately, they have chosen a wrong path. They believe that by moving without hijab, by setting up a dancing hall in a house secretly, or by bringing a filthy video tape, for example, a bad sexy or indecent musical tape and distributing it among the Muslims they are combating the government. If they were intelligent, they would have realized that in terms of materialistic matters, the more the opponents and the anti-revolutionaries are plunged into these cesspools the more their political maneuverability is decreased. Everyone knows this. Actually, this is one of the basic matters of modern politics. Indeed, we feel sorry about it, and consider it a loss.
We prefer that they do not become addicted to heroin and opium, do not disregard hijab and be corrupt, do not lose their individual personality in centres of corruption, do not become vagabond persons visiting cabarets in Europe, America, and Asia, and do not become brokers for arranging corruption in Turkey, Thailand, and the like. We prefer that they remain here, be against us, and even write slogans against us. Let these Muslim youths remain here where they could gradually become human.

By No Means We Accept to See a Human Being Deprived of His Basic Essence of Humanity
In any case, this is the Islamic policy. This is our religious duty. We have come to reform the human beings, and to preserve morality and spirituality. We are not willing to see that even our enemies get entangled in such a calamity. We are not even willing to see the United States getting involved in this corruption. We are not even willing to see Europe getting caught by this corruption. We are not willing to see that anywhere the basic quality of humanity is taken away from a human being to decrease his political value, even if he might be the enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the enemy of our people. This is a loss for us. This is a loss for the society. This is a loss for humanity. This is how we are different from them. We are witnessing the dark years of Europe as to what state it has fallen into. Today Europe is safeguarded only by its solid organizations, and by a group of honourable people, who are maintaining the countries at the universities and laboratories and in nooks and corners.
I have received a copy of an issue of "Saf" magazine, published two months ago by the Politico-Ideological Office of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Forces. (As sometimes I discuss such topics here, they forward such information to me). It has quoted an account from a Finnish newspaper about Europe, which is in continuation of the previous discussion. See to what a state of affairs Europe has fallen. If we have such thoughts and ideas, it is because we do not want to end up like these unfortunate ones and undergo a deterioration.

The Dark Years of Europe
Quoting a Finnish newspaper, this magazine has published that near the borders of France and Switzerland, they suspected a truck having refrigerating facility. They stopped it and found that it was loaded with unborn foetuses. These were the children for whom the abortion was arranged and they were frozen like frozen meat. They made further investigations, and found that the issue was related to a huge mufti-national company, and hence they did not dare pursuing the matter any further. Yet an attorney mustered courage to pursue the issue. A deplorable trend was discovered in the European world. But unfortunately since the European mass media are under the control of these wretched, arrogant, colonial, and imperialistic powers, they did not allow the highlighting of this issue, otherwise there would have been so much uproar in this case as there had been in regard to India's Bhopal poisonous gas leakage matter, on which also they blocked the coverage.
This issue is of such a great importance. It was discovered that there is a very sad story in the modern world. The case is that the abortion devices which private hospitals and clinics have set up for the European girls (based on statistics, most of them engage in several abortions after marriage) have given rise to a production centre for the Western world. These legitimate or illegitimate aborted foetuses are used as the raw material in the high-level quality cosmetic companies. For the sake of Allah (SWT), look to what extent the humanity has degraded.
Today let us look back in the past, one thousand four hundred years ago, when we reprove the Arab Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period) for burying alive some girls by certain tribes. And we have the right to do so. And the Holy Qur'an indicates:
"And when the girl-child that was buried alive is asked; for what sin she was killed." (81: 8-9)
But at the universities, in the colleges and in hospitals of the modern civilized world, the highly educated people, using abortion, turn potential human beings into raw material for manufacturing cosmetics for high-class ladies of the world. And in this manner, they fill up the pockets of brokers of those who perform abortion, and others.
I heard another report that this issue was raised at one of the cultural centres of Europe. One of their thinkers said: "Well, what's wrong with this? After all, the modern world is the world of production. And this can be useful for us at least as much as a coal mine is useful. This is the condition of Europe, which our children from here think is the `haven of angelsâ€‌.
Such is the destiny of this Western school of thought, which takes mischief-makers out of prisons and sends them to the oppressed, innocent, and poverty-stricken countries of the world to corrupt them for establishing political domination over them. One of the commanders of a French unit in Algeria said: "Four of our regiments consisted of people to whom we gave the right to choose between being in prison or fighting in Algeria. These were the mischief-makers of the French Armed Forces, and they were totally incorrigible. We told them to either remain in prison or fight in Algeria." This is the situation of their armed forces.
These are bad people, corrupt, impious, materialistic, and full of wrong claims. They sit there and with regard to anyone doing anything in any part of the world, they poke their nose and brand him as being against human rights, against world diplomacy, or against international courtesy. They pass judgments on everything except on themselves, and on other corrupt agents who have brought so many miseries on world people, and still continue to do so. We will discuss the other dimensions of their cultural invasion elsewhere. Such a nation or such an arrogant movement has become the standard-bearer of modern world civilization, and believes that whoever opposes this civilization in any part of the world is either barbaric or semi-barbaric. Still when these very rogues who were taken out of prison and relieved of hard labour were taken to Australia, India, or China, they took undue advantage as the right of their barbarism. When they received wages, they got a little more, because they were barbaric.
Now see who is barbaric, these or those?
Notes
[1] Benjamin Franklin, an American statesman and physicist, is regarded as one of the leaders of U.S. freedom and independence. In 1774, Franklin endeavoured hard to get the bill passed for establishing a "voluntary army for suppressing the American Red Indians". In 1757, the General Assembly Commissioned him to forward to the British Court the demands of the American people. This assignment continued for five years. In 1776, he announced the independence of America, but this brought about the opposition of Britain and war against America. Ultimately, Franklin succeeded in defeating Britain in 1781 with the help of France and in stabilizing American independence.