The people used to look at religion as a tool for attending to personal matters and acts of worship. They looked at it as a means to say prayers, to fast, to settle their financial affairs, to get married and to divorce. Religion’s function was that.
They confined the responsibility, function and mission of religion to these issues.
However, Imam entrusted religion with the duty of creating a government, a civilization and society and advancing humanity.
As a result, the people’s outlook towards religion changed dramatically.
Transforming people’s outlook about the future and creation of a modern Islamic civilization
Another transformation was changing the people’s mentality about the future.
During the time when revolutionary activities began and when Imam entered the arena, despite the slogans that some parties, groups and individuals – which were very limited and small in number – chanted, the people did not see a future.
They did not envisage a future ahead of them. That gave way to the creation of the new Islamic civilization.
If you look at the Iranian nation today, you see the blessed hands of Imam as the architect of this condition.
The people are looking towards creating a new Islamic civilization, forging a great Islamic alliance and establishing the Islamic Ummah.
In the present time, this is the outlook of the masses of the people.
Transforming people’s attitude towards the young generation and trusting them
Another area of transformation that Imam brought about was a change in the outlook towards youth.
He trusted the thoughts and actions of the youth. That was a transformation in the true sense of the word.
For example, when the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was formed, he placed twenty-plus-year-old youths at the top of this organization.
They were youth who were at most thirty years old.
They were at the top of the Guards Corps and they were commanders and generals.
Those youths were entrusted with big tasks.
The same was true of other areas. He had astonishing trust in the youth whom he believed in and he gave them responsibilities in the judiciary and other areas.
He assigned them different roles and he trusted their thoughts and their actions.
Transforming people’s viewpoint about world powers and believing in the possibility of their defeat
At that time [before the Islamic Revolution], no one believed that one could say something different from what the US said and do something different from what the US did.
However, Imam acted in a way that US presidents admitted that ‘Khomeini humiliated us’.
And that was the truth of the matter. Imam, his followers and the youth who were obedient to him humiliated superpowers in the true sense of the word.
They broke their willpower and made them leave the arena.
Imam showed that superpowers were vulnerable and the future proved him right.
You witnessed what happened to the former Soviet Union. In the present time, America is in a bad condition as well.
You are witness to what is happening there [the nationwide protests following the police murder of George Floyd]. No one would have believed that these things could happen.
Imam planted the idea in the people’s hearts that superpowers were vulnerable and could be defeated.
(Extracted from Ayatollah Khamenei speech delivered on the anniversary of the passing of Imam Khomeini on the 3rd of June 2020)
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Imam Khomeini brought about transformation