AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Imam Khamenei met with the officials of the second National Congress of Sports Martyrs on September 11, 2022. The speech that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution delivered during this meeting was broadcast at the venue of this congress on October 10, 2022.
During the meeting, Imam Khamenei emphasized that the issue of sports is an issue that needs to be addressed as a central rather than a marginal matter. He also raised some important points with regards to sports and martyred athletes. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed out that martyrs are alive based on the verses of the Quran. He then spoke about the martyred athletes, stating: “The attractiveness of jihad [the struggle] and martyrdom in the cause of God causes people from all walks of life, from various places in society, to enthusiastically yearn for jihad. Those who are mentally prepared, such as the athletic martyrs or the athletic fighters head towards the fields of jihad. The athletic society is an influential community; especially those who leave an impression and achieve fame – they will influence certain people.”
Continuing his speech, Imam Khamenei further emphasized the need to combine technical victory in the sporting field with the victory of values and ethics: “When you win a certain competition, you have achieved a technical victory, but you can combine this victory with the victory of values and ethics, such as playing in a fair manner or like what our female athletes have done; that is, preserving their Islamic hijab and observing the Islamic limits and displaying confidence. This is a tremendous victory; it’s no less, if not more important than the technical victory.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution further stated: “Sometimes a person might become deprived of a medal; our athlete will refuse to compete with his opponent who has been sent by the usurping regime [Israel]. He is deprived of getting the medal, but yet he is victorious. If anyone violates this principle, it would mean that he’s violating his moral victory. If you compete with that opponent, if you face them, it would mean that you’ve officially chosen to recognize the usurping regime - the regime that murders children.”
With regards to the double standards approach of the world’s Arrogant Powers towards sports, which has been manifested in “opposing the boycott of the Zionist regime by Muslim athletes” and “resorting to the sports boycott of Russia”, Imam Khamenei stated: “Arrogant leaders and their followers and in fact, the servants of the world’s superpowers raise their voices to say, ‘Hey, don’t politicize sports’; You saw what they did with sports after the war in Ukraine! They banned some countries from participating in sporting events for political reasons; That is, they easily cross their own red lines when their interests demand it, but then when our athlete refuses to compete with the Zionist side, they start finding faults with it.”
In another part of his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution addressed the issue of the Western world’s efforts to import their culture into the Islamic Republic of Iran through new, advanced sports: “Our duty is to bring the innovative sports that the other side has created – such as football, volleyball, and the other team sports that exist – let’s learn to advance in these and become professionals without accepting their culture. We shouldn’t let this turn into a bridge for western culture. We need to let our own culture govern it.”
.....................
End/ 257