Shortly after toppling the rule of the Shah and forming the new Iranian political regime, Imam Khomeini called for making the last Friday of the month of Ramadan of every year Quds Day ("Quds" being Arabic for Jerusalem). He did this at his time of greatest need for elements that would attract political support for him and for his regime. This call was accompanied by a statement that can be considered foundational in this regard, as it included, unambiguously and unequivocally, the significance and the goal of such a day for him. The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in the first sentence of his statement: "Quds Day is an international day, it is not a day devoted to Quds alone. It is the day for the weak and oppressed to confront the arrogant powers". In other words, the issue does not concern only Palestine, which Khomeini summed up in Jerusalem, and how to work to free its people from Israeli occupation, but rather represents the promotion of a political theory that views the movement of history as based on the clash between "the weak and oppressed" and "arrogant powers". Khomeini used the word "Quds" (Jerusalem) instead of Palestine purposely, as the holy city includes the Noble Sanctuary (the Temple Mount) which bears great significance for every Muslim, and the potential for mobilization and incitement under its banner exceeds any incitement that would address a national issue like that of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the choice of Quds Day came as a response to Arab efforts to save the holy city and the Noble Sanctuary, within the framework of the Jerusalem Committee, headed by Morocco and stemming from a decision issued by the Islamic Summit on the basis of the call made by Saudi Arabia. Khomeini had thereby sought to suggest that he had become the one entrusted with the Palestinian cause, under the banner of Jerusalem, while he was in fact seeking to promote his own policies. In his statement, Khomeini spoke of the suffering of "the weak and oppressed" and the practices of "arrogant powers", equating the "oppression" suffered by "our brothers in south Lebanon" with that suffered by "the Palestinian brothers and sisters". And that is what gives Quds Day the sectarian dimension which Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah spoke of in his speech two days ago on the occasion of this year's Quds Day. According to Khomeini, "Quds Day is a day when these followers of Iran's past regime and these corrupt plot-making regimes and superpowers in other places, especially in Lebanon, should know their assignment. It is a day when we and they should exert our efforts to liberate Quds and save our Lebanese brothers from these pressures". Khomeini had thus from the beginning linked the attractive slogan regarding Jerusalem and Palestine to incitement to "lift the oppression" from South Lebanon, the majority of its inhabitants being Shiite. The focus then shifted to the Northern Beqaa Valley, also home to a Shiite majority. This is where Hezbollah began to be formed, under the slogan of resistance, as an armed force that would carry out the precept issued by Khomeini, who said in the same statement: "Quds Day is not only Palestine day; it is a day of Islam; it is a day of Islamic rule. It is a day on which the flag of the Islamic Republic is to be hoisted in all countries". Thus, Quds Day turned from a day of solidarity with the Palestinian people and of mobilization for their national cause to a day of incitement to hoist the flag of the Islamic Republic, like the one established by Khomeini in Iran. In this sense, Hezbollah has, since its inception, represented the embodiment of Khomeini's precepts and a successful model for what was later called "exporting the revolution". Today, Hezbollah has become an integral part of the system set up by Khomeini in order to strike at "corrupt regimes", which is the Iranian term for Arab regimes that oppose the expansion of Iran's influence. The Syrian regime, with its sectarian-social makeup, had the greater role to play in incentivizing Khomeini's plans in Lebanon through Hezbollah, making the latter obtain forced recognition as a partner in Lebanon under the slogan of the Resistance, unlike in other areas where groups similar to it have become mere networks working for Tehran. And just as "Quds" played the role of a main pillar in Khomeini's call to promote the Islamic Revolution, so does "the Resistance" play the role of a main pillar in promoting Hezbollah, Iran's powerful arm in Lebanon, and in Syria as well, after having become engaged in the fighting there.
