In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I am very thankful to dear brethren who have tried to relive the endeared memory of Muslim Kurd Peshmerga and did not allow these sacrifices to be forgotten; I am thankful for the trouble that you have undertaken and I am also thankful for the remarks that were made by Mr. Hosseini, Mr. commander [Rajabi], [and] my old friend, Mr. Molla Qader. God willing, the Almighty will make all of you succeed and help you. Yes, as you pointed out, brave and devoted brethren in the Kurdish region were not few and all across the Kurdish region, there were faithful and devoted brethren, who really spared no effort for the [success of the Islamic] Revolution. The centerpiece of them was these young people who had come together in groups of Muslim Kurd Peshmerga; [they]took up arms and went into the [battle] field; endangering both their own lives and their families; this is an important point.

In Isfahan, in Tehran, in Yazd, in Mashhad, [and] in Tabriz if the son of a family went to war and was martyred, people showed them respect. Nobody would dare, and basically nobody was willing, to threaten them. [However,] this was not the case in Kordestan. In Kordestan, some families whose young members were martyred or fought [against anti-revolutionary elements] were threatened by anti-revolutionaries. This young person, among the Muslim Kurd Peshmergas, who came into the field [of battle] with such bravery – and I remember and was quite familiar with this group; I had frequently traveled there, I had seen; they came and went – endangered both his own life and the comfort of his family. They knew this and [still] they came forth; these [issues] are very important. And they succeeded to pass the test in a good way; truly and fairly speaking, they succeeded to pass the test in a very good way.

From the first day [after the Islamic Revolution] the enemy focused on the Kurdish region; for two reasons: firstly, for ethnic issues, and secondly, for [the sake of] religion. They had hope that they would be able to infiltrate[the country] from this point; in Baluchestan one way, in Turkmen Sahra another way; [and] in Kurdistan another way. All these numerous documents and papers related to Kordestan region, which were hidden in security caches of the tyrannical regime [of former Iranian Shah] all fell into our hands. We realized what policies were pursued by these people [in Shah’s government] in that region and what they did. They wanted to take advantage of the same policies following the victory of the Islamic [Revolution] and turn Kordestan region into a vulnerable point from which the revolution could have been hit; this was the goal. Now, they chanted various slogans; some shouted leftist slogans [and] some even chanted Islamic slogans. In this very Kordestan region, there were people among the antirevolutionary elements, who were opposed to the Islamic Establishment, yet [they] read verses of Quran – well, we all remember it; those who were involved in this issue, remember it. However, in fact they were working [and] endeavoring for anti-revolutionary [groups], for America, [and] for the Zionist regime [of Israel]; and they used all their force so as to make that region insecure; well, that region was never made insecure.

Well, yes, our youth from various places went to Kordestan, but if the Kurdish people were not with the revolution in their hearts, would these [youth] have been able to do anything? It is evident that [the answer is] no. If tenfold the number of forces that we sent to Kordestan, had been dispatched to Kordestan, but Kurdish people were not with them in their hearts, they couldn’t do anything. The hearts of Kurdish people and many Kurdish clerics were with them. Some of Kurdish clerics were martyred by anti-revolutionary [elements], the latest [instance] of which was the late Sheikholeslam [who was martyred] a few years ago. They martyred this pure and virtuous man in [the city of] Sanandaj. Therefore, the work that was done in that region was due to determination of [Kurdish] brethren.

I have a lot of memories; now, Mr. Molla Qader talked about [the case of] Paveh. I remember the day when I went there for the first time after what happened in [the Kurdish city of] Paveh; the air was cold. I went to the high grounds [of the city] and [saw] young people who were there and [I] went into their mosque. Despite being strangers in their own home, the people in that region were really working hard and served and persevered for the Islamic Republic Establishment; I mean, it was really like that. Well, thank God, it [their hard work] was effective; today [the same situation] prevails in those regions. The important point is that we must be aware that the enemy will not remain idle. If we imagine that the enemy will remain idle, no [this is not true], the enemy will remain hostile as far as it can and will make plots and take action; they also have money [and] their security services are immense; their propaganda machine is immense and they keep trying. We must remain vigilant and we have to remain vigilant. As I told you, this issue of Shia and Sunni is an important issue. They have put their emphasis on the issue of Shia and Sunni; [they] have tried to fan the flames of biases on both sides; that is, they have tried to ignite the flames of bias both on the side of Shias and on the side of Sunnis.

Well, some people always become playthings for such things out of oblivion. People who are concerned and interested should be very vigilant not to fall for these issues. It is really like this that he who poses as supporter of Sunnis and starts attacking Shias and goes to extremes in showing animosity [toward Shias] has no interest at the bottom of his heart in Sunnism and in Islam. The same is also true about [Shiism]. There are people who ignite the flames of bias among Shias against Sunnis while they is no religious motivation in them. Who is being exploited by them? [They exploit] ordinary men and women who do not pay attention to all aspects of this issue;[they] have religious interests, but they lack necessary wisdom and attention and knowledge to understand what the enemy’s goal is. These [enemies] do the instigation on both [Shia and Sunni] sides. Everybody must be careful not to allow these plots reach their goal. Since a long time ago I have said that the British have extensive experience about this issue, [and] they are more experienced than Americans [in this regard]. They have a lot of experience in sowing discord between Shiism and Sunnism; they exactly know what to do to pit the two sides against each other.

Sometimes they talk as if they support Sunnis. Now, you saw they passed a bill in support of Arab Sunnis in Iraq at the American Congress! Now, are they really interested in Sunnis? They are against anything that bears a sign of Islam; for them Shia and Sunni is alike; this point should be taken note of. Therefore, the issue of religion is [just] one issue. Now, fortunately, the issue of ethnicity does not apply to Kurds. “….” [Enemies] cannot take advantage of the Kurdish factor. Although in some countries they can take good advantage of the Kurdish factor, they cannot use this factor in Iran; however, they go on with their propaganda [and try] to take advantage of the factor of religious differences; the issue of ethnicity is [just] one issue. We must strip them [the enemies] of their excuses.

[The necessity to do] cultural work to which Mr. Molla Qader referred is totally correct; cultural work is very good. Now, this step that you are taking with regard to Muslim Kurd Peshmerga is, per se, a cultural work. If this work is, God willing, carried out well and clean and comprehensive, it would be a valuable cultural work. This must be done. [Providing] services and [economic] work should be also done. The youth should really not remain without job; joblessness is the root cause of corruption and issues related to the youth are high priority [issues]. I hope, God willing, the Almighty will make all of you succeed [and you will] be able to, God willing, finish the work that you have started in the best possible manner.

Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings.