October 18-2013
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi issued his annual hajj message Friday that continued the regime’s standard anti-Western screed without any modification at all for Iran’s new openness on negotiating with the West.
“The opposing camp, which cannot tolerate the Islamic Awakening and the dignity of Muslims, has entered the arena with all its power and it is using all kinds of psychological, military, security, economic and propaganda tools to suppress Muslims, make them inactive and busy them with trivial things,” Khamenehi said in his message.
The theme was the standard one prevailing for decades, that the West disparages Islam and Muslims and is working daily to weaken and divide the Islamic world so it can be conquered. The core assumption is that everything that is wrong within the Islamic world is the fault of non-Muslims.
“The existence of civil wars, religious and denominational prejudices and political instabilities, the prevalence of cruel terrorism, the emergence of extreme groups and orientations—which like savage tribes in history, cut open the chests of human beings and rip their hearts out with their teeth—the emergence of armed mercenaries who kill women and children, cut off the heads of men and rape women and who do such horrible and disgusting crimes in the name of religion are all the products of the satanic and arrogant plots of foreign intelligence services and their regional agents,” Khamenehi said.
He told the Islamic world: “First, we should not forget about the existence of a spiteful enemy…. Second, we should not make a mistake in knowing the main enemy, who in the present time is global arrogance [meaning the West] and the criminal Zionist network.
“Third, we should properly identify the methods of this hostile enemy, which is creating discord among Muslims, promoting moral and political corruption, threatening and tempting outstanding personalities, exerting economic pressures on all nations and arousing doubts about Islamic beliefs.”
As is his norm, Khamenehi preferred to use general terms like “arrogance” rather than name specific enemy countries. But he did cite the United States by name a few times in his message. “Arrogant governments, headed by the USA, conceal their true character with the help of comprehensive and advanced propaganda tools,” he said. “By claiming that they support human rights and democracy, they deceive public opinion in different countries.”
He mentioned Palestine as a central concern, as he has for years. But he passed over Palestine rather quickly to paint of picture of major challenges throughout the world.
“Syria has come under the attack of arrogant powers and their regional agents because of supporting anti-Zionist orientations and it has experienced a bloody civil war. In Bahrain and Myanmar, Muslims have been ignored and their enemies are supported. Other nations are threatened by the USA and its allies with military attacks, economic sanctions and different acts of sabotage. Taking a general look at all these countries can reveal to all people throughout the world the true face of these leaders of global arrogance.”
The reference to Myanmar’s repression of Muslims was a new addition. When Myanmar was a fellow outcast that supported Iran at the United Nations, the Islamic Republic completely ignored its long-running mistreatment of its Muslim minority. But immediately after Myanmar changed its policies, allowed free elections and opened to the West, the Islamic Republic discovered the oppressed Rohingya minority of Myanmar and blamed the West for the mistreatment.