Receiving a number of Hajj officials here in Tehran on Saturday, Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamenei deemed this religious duty as a 'guarantee for the continuity of Islam,' adding that “no other religious ritual possesses the characteristics this great duty has for the Islamic Ummah.”
“Hajj pilgrimage embodies the true sense of Islamic empathy and compassion, not only for the Iranian nation but also the whole Islamic Ummah,” said the Leader about this highly sacred religious ceremonies that take place through a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
“May those who tried to lead the minds astray from the truth and significance of the Islamic Ummah be damned! Those who have divided the Muslims for various motives and magnified nations before the greatness of the Islamic Ummah, while the true greatness belongs to Ummah,” he said.
He further highlighted the Iranian nation’s effective experiences in distinguishing between friend and foe as well as distrusting the enemy, adding “our people with a praiseworthy understanding have realized that global Arrogance and Zionism are the true and persisting enemies of Iran and the Islamic Ummah, and for this reason chant their disapproval of the US and Zionism in all their great national and Islamic gatherings.”
“In the last 36 years, Arrogance has at times pursued its enmity with Iran through the words and actions of other countries, but the Iranian nation has always been aware of the fact that these countries are all deceived and used merely as pawns while the real enemies are the US and Israel,” said Ayat. Khamenei.
The Leader further added that the failed experience of some Islamic groups coming to power in some countries is due to the fact that unlike the Iranian nation, they failed to properly distinguish between friends and foes and as such, had to bear the consequences of their mistake.
The Iranian Leader further underscored ‘creating unity’ as one of the Iranian nation’s experiences that could be shared with other nations during Hajj rituals, saying “despite all the ideological, intellectual, political and ethnic differences in Iran, the Iranian nation has managed to maintain its national unity and through the blessing of this unity and solidarity it has achieved remarkable victories.”