On first of February, 1979, millions of Iranians flocked to Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport to accord the most unprecedented welcome in world history to the Father of the Islamic Revolution, from almost 15 years of exile. Imam Khomeini (may his soul rest in peace) left Paris in the early morning hours after his farewell message to the French people for their hosting him for a little over three months.
Shortly after the aircraft took off, the Sage of the Age performed the Fajr or dawn prayer in midair before taking rest on the plane floor by wrapping himself with a blanket. He was a picture of calm and confidence, and was the least perturbed while, the pilot, the crew, and the analysts, were nervous amid speculations that the plane might be hijacked or blasted in view of the greatest religious and political figure of the century on board.

At around 09:30 hours Tehran time, in mid winter 1979, when the plane landed in Iran and the beloved leader disembarked in dignity and grace, assisted by an Air France steward, no one thought that the Islamic Revolution will triumph at such an unbelievable speed in a matter of 10 days, for they had thought of a long drawn bloody struggle between the Iranian nation and the western-backed regime of Shapour Bakhtiar, the Prime Minister of the fugitive Shah. The political bankrupt elements of British-installed and American-supported Pahlavi regime thought they could suppress the movement of the Iranian people with more bloodshed. While the Imam and the people relied on God, the regime relied on Washington and the CIA. As late as August 1978, when it was clear that the tidal wave of the Islamic Revolution was not going to recede, the CIA after assessing the situation of Iran had announced that the situation in Iran is neither revolutionary nor even pre-revolutionary. The US Defense Intelligence Agency had said for its part that the Shah is expected to stay in power for at least 10 more years. US foreign policy theorist and senior political analyst, George Ball had come up with a 7-stage plan for thwarting the victory of the Islamic Revolution, expressing confident that one of these stages would definitely end the people’s movement in Iran. All these analyses were proved totally wrong as the grassroots uprising of the Iranian Muslim people speedily gained victory with unique speed on February 11, 1979, thanks to Divine support for Imam Khomeini's leadership.The millions who turned out to vociferously greet their beloved leader upon his arrival home from exile this day 33 years ago, was a firm indication of the conscious uprising of the Iranian Muslim people, determined to achieve their objectives, under the astute leadership of Imam Khomeini. The electrifying events of the next ten days set the stage for the complete triumph of the people’s Islamic Revolution, and hence these memorable days are celebrated each as the Glorious Ten Day Dawn. As the Imam himself described the victory of the Islamic Revolution "A spiritual development took place in the society which cannot be named except a miracle and divine will."

French photographer and filmmaker Patrick Chauvel who shot to fame in 1967 by taking close range photos and making documentaries of both the US war in Vietnam and the 6-day Zionist war against the armies of four Arab countries, describing his meeting with Imam Khomeini in Paris, says: When I first saw Ayatollah Khomeini, I felt that this great would soon be victorious. He was different from the personalities that I had ever met. There was a kind of radiance on his face which I had never seen anywhere else. The revolution he inspired was different from the other revolutions. From my filming of the events of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it was clear that the Iranian people were determined but neither angry nor frustrated.

Today, 33 years have passed since that historic day, and the Islamic Revolution continues its dynamic course by adhering to the brilliant path blazed out by the Late Imam Khomeini, who exposed the fallacy of the western materialist schools of thought by reviving the Islamic identity of the Muslim World on the basis of spiritual values. His prophetic works still echo when he said: All these are a prelude for demonstrating the practicability of the laws of Islam; whatever we have acquired with power and prestige today should be delivered to the next generation intact. In another statement, the Imam said: We wish that our country be an Islamic one. It is the leadership of the holy Qur’an, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams that guides Iran.

It is worth noting that at that time, international relations Dr. Mitchell Johnson had said: The revolution in Iran is the first victory of Muslims over the west since the 16th century, since Islam is the guiding factor for the people of Iran, and not any western ‘isms’ like nationalism, capitalism, communism and socialism.

In other words, Imam Khomeini, not only put end to anti-religion tendencies but revived Islam all over the world. Today we see that the values of Islam have become universal and are bringing dignity and pride in the farthest parts of the world. Despite the plots of the arrogant powers for undermining Islam and the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Late Imam's guidelines continue to inspire Iran and other countries as the Islamic Republic marches towards the pinnacles of progress. He decisively opposed the decadent and oppressive culture and economy of both the East and the West, and considered it the duty of Muslims, especially the ulema, to create awakening amongst the nations. Today the Islamic Revolution of Iran as the only independent movement continues to beckon world people towards the ideals of justice and resistance against oppression. Turkish writer Ms. Benaz Tuprac in an article titled: Support of for the Islamic Revolution of Iran by the Muslim Media in Turkey, wrote: The Islamic Revolution of Iran, set the example for other Muslim countries groaning under imperialism, and proved to world Muslims how to shape a free and independent government without being influenced by the big powers.

One of Imam Khomeini's wishes was not that only the Iranian people but all Muslim worldwide get rid of the intellectual dependence on the West, by reviving their dynamic culture and on the basis of the timeless values of Islam. The Imam planted the seed of self-belief in hearts with his revolutionary literature. The sign of self-belief is that a person should believe in his own capabilities without blindly copying others. The Imam stressed that: the youths, the elderly and the intellectuals should be convinced that they are human beings and they enjoy the power of thinking and they have no need to depend on others for their success. Today on the 34th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolutionary in Iran, we salute Imam Khomeini and his dynamic thoughts, as the precedent set by the Iranian people is echoing powerfully in the region and beyond with cries of Allah-o-Akbar. Conspiracies, sanctions, and threats of subversion and war, have no effect on people who resolutely believe in God and Islamic values, as they continue to master the intricacies of sophisticate science and technology. According to the present Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei: Today in Iran, where the rule of Islam and the holy Qur’an has given hope to all world Muslims, thanks to God, the banner of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) flies majestically and we see that all Muslims in every part of the world respect the Islamic system.