The Deprived Will Dominate the Arrogant

April 3, 1979
Imam Khomeini in a radio television announcement, officially announced the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 12th of Farvardin (April 1st) is confirmed as the beginning of the Islamic Republic and the day of the festival of Iranians.
In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate
God, the Most High, has promised that the deprived of the earth, with His Help and His Grace, will dominate upon the arrogant. God will make them the Imams (guides in faith). The promise of God is at hand. I hope that I will witness this promise and the deprived will dominate upon the arrogant as they have until now. The way that we have gone so far was in obedience of Islam and its laws. We must introduce Islam to the world. If Islam is introduced to the world the way that it really is, the world will turn its attention to Islam. The goods of Muslims are precious goods but they must be offered.
I thank all of the people of Iran that they participated in this referendum and that they gave their overwhelming vote, which must be said was totally victorious. They gave their formal vote in an overwhelming way to the Islamic Republic even though they had previously given their vote informally. We saw no need for this referendum but in order to cut off some of the discussions and excuses, a referendum was held. Those who made excuses found that the situation was not as they thought it was and the people are one with Islam and the spirituality of Islam. The people want the principles of the Holy Qur’an to be applied in Iran.
Thanks be to God, with happiness and love, all groups of the people throughout Iran voted for Islam and not anything else. It is a Republic of Islam which can implement all Islamic purposes. It is a Republic of Islam and its progressive laws which are higher than all laws which exist in other sections and schools of thought. We see that the claimants heard is an accused person or one charged with a crime and not an obviously guilty person. They are not accused with a crime; rather, they are obviously guilty of crime. These were people who tortured and killed people in the streets. They took away whatever we had. Weren't those people killed in the streets of the towns, human beings? Do they have no rights? Why is it that these claimants of human rights do not support these people? Why do they find fault with us saying, 'Why do you kill executioners?' At the same time that we know them to be obviously guilty and only their identity must be clarified, once their identity is clear, they should be executed. Once Nassiri's [the head of the former SAVAK] identity was proven, he should have been executed. In spite of this, they still kept him for a few days. They tried him. They recorded his confession. Then they executed him.
Does the Human Rights Society not conceive of the fact that the guilty must be executed in order to protect human rights, the human beings whom they killed, tortured and did away with. We try these people in spite of this and we tried them but our belief is that an obviously guilty person does not have a trial. They must be executed.
I am sorry that we still have 'westoxication' amongst us and we still fear, lest Western newspapers write things or that, for instance, a Western magazine, write something. They are, of course, opposed to justice and equity. They do not agree with human rights. They protect the rights of the super-powers in the name of human rights...in any case, praise be to God, we were victorious in the referendum. The words written in foreign media and things that were said, are proven to be null and void. Praise be to God, our people gave an almost unanimous vote for the Islamic Republic and from now on, it is up to the people to implement the Islamic Republic.
In the Islamic Republic, all the problems which exist in Iran must be transformed. Our dependent universities must be changed into independent universities. All the things that existed under the tyrannical government and in obedience to foreigners in this weak country were implemented upon this inferior country. With the establishment of the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic, all of these must be revolutionized. People must correct themselves. People who are oppressive and who commit oppressive acts towards their inferiors must no longer commit oppressive acts. Various groups must not commit oppression towards the lower groups. The rights of the poor, rights of the poverty-stricken must be given to them. All of these must be activated in the Islamic Republic.
The people have the duty to support the governments in an Islamic Republic which serves the people. If they see that a government is going astray, the people must stop them. If you see a despotic government which wants to commit oppression towards others, you must complain and object and the courts must give them their rights. If they do not do this, the people themselves must do it, must deter them.
In an Islamic Republic, there is no oppression. In an Islamic Republic, situations of forcefulness do not exist. The rich cannot speak forcibly to the poor. They cannot exploit them. They cannot make them work for little wages. Islamic problems must be solved and implemented here. The deprived must be strengthened and transformed. The arrogant must become as the deprived and the deprived must be elevated, not like the arrogant but rather, like brothers and live in this country together.
I say to all groups of the nation that in an Islamic Republic, there are no privileges between the rich and the poor, the white and the black, Sunni and Shi'a, Arab and non-Arab, Turk and other than Turk. The Holy Qur’an gives privileges to justice and piety. The person who is pious has privileges. The person who is of good spirit has privileges. But these privileges do not relate to material things, to property. If they exist, these privileges must be done away with. All people are equal to one another. They are all given equal rights. They are all equal. The rights of religious minorities will be preserved. Islam respects them. It respects all groups, the Kurds and other groups who have a different language are all our brothers. We are with them and they are with us. We all belong to one nation, to one faith.
I hope that in various parts of Iran, where agitators propagate against us, and they force the poor people to rebel and kill their brothers, people should awaken and not allow these provocators to do these acts. We are all brothers. We are brothers with the Sunnis and we must not claim to be better than they are. We must not ignore the rights of some. We are equal in the law and the law which will, with the Will of God, be approved by the people, has attended to the rights of all religious minorities, women, and other groups have had their rights attended to.
There is no difference between one group and another in Islam. Only with piety and with the consciousness of God is there a difference made. We hope that God, the Most High and Exalted, will continue to give success. We have brought the Islamic Republic to this point.
I announce the Islamic Republic and know this day to be a day of festival (Eid). I hope that every year, the 12th of Farvardin (April 1st) will be the day of our nation who reached their national strength and that they take their destiny in their own hands. We congratulate the entire nation. Blessings be upon you and this festival. Blessings be upon this Islamic Republic.
All are obliged to follow Islamic rules. Our market must be an Islamic market. It must be cleaned of all inequities. All present governmental ministries and governmental offices and all future ones must be based upon Islamic principles. Country which has a tyrannical form must be changed to a country which has a Divine form.
We do not care what the West says about us. We do not care about those who claim to support human rights who find fault with us. We must act according to justice. We will eventually have them understand the meaning of democracy. The democracies of the West and of the East are both corrupt. Islamic democracy is correct. Later, if we succeed, we will prove to the East and the West that the democracy which we have is a democracy not that which you have and the supporters of large capitalists have and not that which they have and the supporters of the super-powers who have placed all people in great suffocation.
In Islam there is no suffocation. In Islam there is freedom for all groups -women, men, black, white, for all. People from now on must fear for themselves, not from the government. They must prevent themselves from going astray.
A just government prevents’ going astray'. A just government retaliates. We must prevent ourselves from going astray as an Islamic government of itself will not go astray. There is no longer the question of a security organization. The tortures of SAVAK no longer exist. Policemen can no longer speak forcibly to us and our nation. The government can no longer speak forcibly to the people. A government in an Islamic Republic is in the service of the people. They must serve the people and even if a Prime Minister should commit oppression against a nation, they will take him to court and if his crime is proven, they will implement the decision. It is no longer that in Islam a difference be made between a Prime Minister and others. The Caliph, at the beginning of Islam, went to court when a dispute arose with a disbeliever. The judge ruled and the Caliph accepted. Islam is like this.
Islam does not provide a high place for a special group. For the group of pious scholars of course, there is a higher spiritual station, because the stage of humanity is of a higher station. Islam respects the humanity of human beings. The humanity of human beings is to be with knowledge and piety. A person who has knowledge and piety is above others. A person, who, no matter how much he has, has no piety, has absolutely no respect in Islam.
In any case, I ask the people of the nation to change themselves. Change the spirit they had during the time of the tyrant into an Islamic spirit. Now, in Iran, we have many poverty-stricken people. We have many people who became deprived during the Revolution. Those who 'have' must help them and provide them with a better way of life. The government must be thinking about them. The people must be thinking about them and build them houses, build a good life for them, build a correct life for all employees.
Several days ago, a group of factory owners came to see me. I said to them, 'You yourselves must correct things. Hold a meeting among yourselves and discuss and put up the capital so that you can build housing for the workers and employees of these factories. Provide them with a better life. If you do not, it is possible that, God forbid, they rebel and if they rebel, we can no longer prevent them.
I say to all workers and employees that, with the Will of God, Iran will give work to you. Islam will provide you with work. Islam will provide you with a better life. Islam will build you housing. Islam thinks more about the poverty-stricken than about others.
I ask God, the Most High and Exalted, on this festival which is the day of victory of our nation to give success to all Muslims. I hope that other Muslim countries will join together and curtail the hands of tyrants from their countries, as well.
Peace be upon you, and the Mercy and Blessings of God.