Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met this morning with a large group of enthusiastic religious scholars, seminarians and instructors of Islamic seminaries.
Speaking at the meeting, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the holy city of Qom as the intellectual center of the world of Islam. He added that Qom can infuse the entire Islamic Ummah with knowledge, vigilance and insight.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that involvement of Islamic seminaries in political issues does not cause them to lose respect and added that neutral positions and lack of involvement do not bring about genuine respect.
He said that adopting passive positions will result in gradual marginalization of Qom Seminary. "Generally, the Shia clergy have always played a central role in social and political events. For this reason, they enjoy unparalleled influence and depth compared to all other Muslim and non-Muslim clergy throughout the world."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that strengthening Islam is the second reason why Islamic seminaries should actively participate in political and global issues. "The clergy are the soldiers and servants of religion. If they act passively, religion will certainly be harmed. And this is in contradiction to the philosophy of their existence."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the presence of the clergy on the scene will provoke enmity and added: "But we should pay attention to the point that if we remain vigilant, these enmities will create opportunities for us. This is because these enmities will increase our motivation to engage in intellectual activities and to respond to the doubts that are raised. Also, as evidenced by numerous historical instances, such enmities will promote and deepen Islamic teachings."
He reiterated that inaction and neutrality do not cause the enemy to stop being hostile and that they have the opposite effect.
His Eminence rejected "clerical rule" and "governmental and non-governmental clergy" as wrong and misguided concepts. He stressed the necessity of vigilance among the clergy in this regard and reiterated: "They want to deprive the Islamic Republic of the great intellectual and logical support of religious scholars and to isolate and defame the revolutionary scholars who are present on the scene. It is necessary to vigilantly counter these goals."
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the mutual relationship between the clergy and the government and stressed that Islamic seminaries and the Islamic Republic provide support and advice for each other.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that describing the Islamic Republic as "clerical rule" is a barefaced lie. He added that the Islamic Republic is the rule of religion and religious values, not the rule of individual clergymen.
"In the Islamic Republic, being a clergyman is not a sufficient condition for obtaining official positions. This is because being a clergyman is not a sufficient condition for being considered as qualified, just as it is not grounds enough for rejecting people as unqualified."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the lack of religious theorizing in different administrative areas leads to the domination of western and irreligious theories. He reiterated: "This is why I repeatedly stress the need for paying attention to the humanities in our universities."
He added: "The humanities in our country are based on something other than a divine world view, and they train the future managers of the country on the basis of the goals specified in the western and materialistic world view. And it is necessary for Islamic seminaries and religious scholars to provide government officials with Islamic theories in different areas in order to prevent this diversion."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that certain individuals issue fatwas out of consideration for materialistic conventions and the arrogant powers. He added: "Somebody has issued a fatwa saying that Iran's peaceful nuclear activities are not legitimate because it causes the superpowers to be suspicious. But I say that the arrogant powers are not in a position to suspect the Iranian nation."
Ayatollah Khamenei also added that different mujtahids may follow the common and appropriate methods of jurisprudence and arrive at different fatwas. "Nothing is wrong with this. On the contrary, this will bring about development and progress for Islamic seminaries."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that self-purification is one of the essential foundations of positive change in Islamic seminaries and added: "In the behavioral and ethical system of Islamic seminaries, revolutionary tendencies and feelings should be fully stressed. This is because the enemies and their followers want to pursue their evil goals through ruining the revolutionary atmosphere."
His Eminence reiterated: "The opposition of a certain individual to revolutionary tendencies and feelings is not a problem. Rather, the problem is that the enemy tries to create a negative atmosphere by stressing such instances of opposition. And Islamic seminaries should pay full attention to this issue."
His Eminence said that isolating revolutionary clergy, trying to degrade martyrs and martyrdom and questioning the Sacred Defense are among the methods used by the enemies of Islam in order to undermine the revolutionary atmosphere in Islamic seminaries. He advised the luminaries of Islamic seminaries to be fully vigilant in this regard.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the dynamic and revolutionary students of Islamic seminaries as the hope of the future of the country and advised them to guard against all kinds of extremism and act in a way that nobody can label them as extremists.
His Eminence added: "Besides maintaining their dynamism and revolutionary feelings, all revolutionary individuals should try to understand the complexities of their era in a vigilant and insightful manner. They should always behave in a wise and logical manner by resisting against the pressures and problems."
He said that it is necessary to avoid labeling revolutionary elements as extremists and reiterated this allegation is the kind of deviation in which the enemy is directly or indirectly involved.