Iran's Leader calls for 'Islamic power bloc'

Islam Times: Referring to the popular uprisings in the Arab world and the recent anti-capitalism movement across the world in his message to Hajj Pilgrims in 2011, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Muslim world to “make the most of this opportunity for the formation of an international Islamic power-bloc.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said such global developments “can change the destiny of the Islamic Ummah (nation)” and herald “a bright future accompanied with dignity and progress.”

“Today, the West, the United States and Zionism are weaker than ever before,” the Leader pointed out.

The message was addressed to more than 2.5 million pilgrims from around the globe who converged in the vast plains of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia to perform a ritual of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The leader described the present era as a “new chapter” in the history of the Islamic world in which “a young generation has emerged from the heart of these nations.”

Islam has become the guiding principle of popular movements despite the efforts of secular rulers to curtail the influence of religion in the Muslim countries, Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the victory of Islamic Ennahda Party in Tunisia's recent elections and noted, “Without doubt, free elections in any Islamic country will result in nothing but what happened in Tunisia.”

In late October, Ennahda, Tunisia's largest Islamic party, won the country's first elections since the ouster of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidin Ben Ali in January.

“During the last decades, arrogant powers, led by the United States, had reduced regional states to a state of subjugation through their political and security ploys … But now, they are the primary target of disgust and hatred of the region's nations,” the Leader said.

“To be certain, the governments and powers emerging from these revolutions will never submit to the disgraceful inequalities of the past; the political geography of the region will be determined by these nations,” he reiterated.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the entire Islamic Ummah (nation) and especially the revolutionary nations stand in need of “continuity of their stance and avoidance of slackness in their resolve” and “vigilance against the plots and gimmicks of arrogant international powers.”

The Leader warned that the global hegemonic powers “will reenter the arena with all their political, financial and security ploys to reestablish their influence in these countries.”

He advised the revolutionary nations to maintain “national unity and official recognition of sectarian, tribal and ethic differences” as “a precondition for future success.”