89 5 THE VELAYAT-E FAQIH BASIS, POWER AND LONGEVITY Mojtaba Mahdavi There is no difference between the guardianship of a nation and the guardianship of the immature. Ayatollah Khomeini 1 [The guardianship of the people is] just as the shepherd leads his sheep, just as the shepherd wants this sheep to graze in a good place. Ayatollah Khomeini 2 The mostaz’afin [the oppressed] are wrongly defined as inferiors or [...] vulnerable. They are those who will inherit the earth. Ayatollah Khamenei 3 Marg bar Asl-e Velayat-e Faqih! (Down with the principle of velayat-e faqih!) Marg bar Setamgar / Che Shah Bashe, Che Rahbar! (Down with the oppressor / Whether the shah or the leader!) Slogans of street demonstrations 4