The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 16, 2006 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with outstanding youth.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
One of the reasons why I am deeply interested in these meetings with youth is the feeling of freedom and - for today's youth - courage in expressing one's thoughts. This is a very noteworthy point. Therefore, I thank the dear brother and who stood up and pointed this out.
Of course, managing this meeting in a way that it suits my condition and the way you say it is almost impossible. If I were to decide, I would do the same thing. That is to say, I would ask participants to stand up and ask for delivering a speech. However, this requires a lot of time and it is not possible with my limited time. I see the viewpoints of youth, university and school students and outstanding personalities - those people who organize these meetings and other such people - in many reports that I receive from different places and I follow developments. Of course, hearing your viewpoints from you yourselves is more interesting but because my time is limited, this is not possible. In any case, I am satisfied with this much.
First of all, I welcome all of you and I thank each and every one of the youth who delivered a speech in this meeting. What you said has been recorded. Some of the things that you discussed are points which the honorable officials in this meeting - including the honorable ministers, the honorable deputy, the President and the other officials whom I saw taking notes - should pay attention to. They should pay attention to these points and follow them up. Some of them are possible to be implemented and some may be flawed. In any case, they should be examined and followed up.
Some of the statements are things that are completely correct and that are important in the present time. For example, on the issue of the Elite's Foundation - which was pointed out by some of the friends in this meeting - we witness that this foundation has become more active recently. Besides, the individuals who have been elected as the directors of this foundation - whether in the past or in the present time - are outstanding personalities themselves that preceded you. It is not the case that those people who do not know the meaning of being outstanding and who do not feel what it is to be an outstanding personality are entrusted with the task of managing the affairs of outstanding personalities. This will not be the case. By Allah's favor, this foundation will even be better. I too have placed great emphasis on this foundation. I would like to stress again that this foundation is an important place.
You - Dr. Davoodi - should definitely follow up the point which was raised about the center in charge of petrochemical research. You should follow it up because the honorable Minister of Oil is not present in the meeting. This is a very important point. This is what I have always stressed: the connection between the centers of science and research, and the centers which use science and research. These centers should follow up one other's work and they should benefit from one another. The latter can channel the former's research and the former can channel the latter's activities. By Allah's favor, you should definitely follow this up.
It will not be bad if I discuss with you some of the points that I grasped from the statements of the friends in this meeting. You should notice that first, not every kind of immigration to other countries is bad. I have said many times that this is not desertion. Desertion from different fronts is bad. Your country is organizing a move and a great challenge and it is taking a giant leap towards moving forward and making progress. This is like a military front. Running away from this front is bad, but staying aside for learning more and increasing one's preparedness is not bad. I do not reject all kinds of going abroad and I have said this many times in meetings with you and other youth.
Why is it wrong for some people to go abroad? Well, they can go. Those people who forget their country, abandon the interests of their country and their people - that is to say, their own families - and go abroad for the sole purpose of filling their pockets are condemned on the basis of reason. They are not condemned in a judiciary sense. There is no law which condemns such an act, but human and national conscience and reason condemn this act. Besides, it is not the case that such people are outstanding personalities. This is not the case. A few of them may be outstanding personalities, but a large number of them are not so. It should not be thought that all of those people who set out to go abroad are our outstanding personalities and that each and every one of them leaves the country. This is not the case.
They go abroad and they face certain problems. You too should pay attention - we are well-informed in this regard - that most of those who leave the country are not welcomed and appreciated. Even if they are really outstanding, those centers will squeeze and exploit them and then, they will throw them away. They have no commitment to them. The goal for individuals should be to render services for their country, their people, their families, the country which has accepted them and helped them to bear fruits, and the current and future generations. The goal should be this and it does not matter how it is achieved.
Another point is about the issue of cultural independence which was pointed out by a number of friends in the meeting. This cultural independence has begun in the country. During mid Qajar era, a sense of xenophilia emerged in our country. Of course, there were certain natural causes behind this and these causes were strengthened on a daily basis. They reached their peak during the Pahlavi era and this led to dangerous cultural ideas such as the idea that the people of Iran cannot make any significant achievement and that they do not have the capability to enter scientific and cultural arenas.
They created negative attitudes towards our cultural past and our valuable historical and scientific legacies. These are the things that happened in this country. You did not witness those eras. We who were brought up in those times witnessed those things. I - who am about half a century older than you - witnessed those times and we saw how it was. The culture which used to be promoted was really the culture of "we cannot". It was the culture of preferring every western phenomenon to every Iranian one. The situation was like this in the past. On the issue of Iranian achievements, only those areas were highlighted which the west wanted for some colonialist and imperialist reasons. The decision-making organizations of the country used to highlight and pay attention to any area that western politicians had devised and developed. It was nothing beyond this. Many years in the past were like this.
The Revolution awakened the conscience of all our people. It awakened us and it drew our attention to our identity. It showed us what our capabilities are and it turned "we can" into our slogan. We too entered the arena and experienced it. Then, we saw that we can. This is why today, cultural independence in this country is making progress and cultural confidence is increasing on a daily basis. We too insist that this task should be carried out. You youth should pay attention to this point. You should adopt a pessimistic outlook towards any movement which is contradictory to the spirit of cultural enrichment and independence and you should know that such movements are directed by the enemies.
Another point is about the rate of the scientific growth of the country. A number of friends in this meeting pointed out that it is slow. I want to say that the rate of our progress is not slow. On the contrary, the rate of our progress is one of the fastest ones in the world. This has become clear with a scientific calculation. Our rate of progress is one of the fastest ones in the world, but because there was a large gap between us and other countries, this fast rate of progress does not clearly show its results in the present time. If, by Allah's favor, we can maintain this rate and rhythm of progress for 10, 15 years and move forward, then these results will completely show themselves.
Of course, I have many examples to offer in this regard. Some of these examples may not be tangible for you. This is because you do not have enough information about the statistics that I may refer to. Therefore, some of them may not be tangible. But those which are tangible and easily seen - such as research on the nuclear energy - have been achieved from a point where we started our movement. At that time, the gap between us and other countries was intimidating, but this task was carried out. The same thing is true about the issue of biology, stem cells and the various kinds of research which have been conducted on military products. That is to say, because you are not aware of what has been achieved and because it is not part of your general knowledge, it will not be very tangible for you if I refer to them.
I have said this many times: before the Revolution, we were not allowed to take apart the composite pieces - a composite piece and component is made up of 20, 30, 50 smaller pieces - of fighter planes which were mostly bought from America. When part of such fighter planes broke down or needed fixing and when a certain piece expired - perhaps, these pieces could be used more, but they set a date for them to be expired - we were not allowed to fix them. Our industrialists, pilots and technical officers in the air force were not allowed to do this. They did this once or twice, but these pilots and officers were brought to trial by the military court of the former regime. They asked them, "With what permission did you dismantled this part of an F-14 or F-4? They should have delivered that piece to the American agent without it being taken apart so that he could take it to America by plane and bring the replacement". In other words, they were not even allowed to know what this piece has been made of and which part of it had broken down.
Now, we have reached the point were Iranian fighter planes are flying in the air. All of you have seen this on TV. Of course, these are multi-generational planes. The first Iranian fighter plane flew in a military maneuver about eight, nine years ago. I myself was there and witnessed this. Then, this plane was improved. Now, this is what it has turned into and they can produce it in large numbers. If it is economic for the country, it is possible to mass-produce them. The gap between the past and the present time is astonishing and deep and it has been narrowed through follow-up and diligence. Therefore, the rate of progress is good, but it should be maintained.
What you well-informed, intelligent and talented youth should know is that this rate of progress should be preserved. Of course, officials pay attention to this issue and it has been decided that these things should be followed up. If there is a problem in the quality of progress, these problems are minor ones and they will be resolved. We do not deny that there are some flaws. Rather, we refuse to accept that these flaws should disappoint us. We will not allow this. I myself and the officials in charge of these areas will fight against despair with all our hearts and souls. This is because the most important obstacle on the way of the progress of an individual and a nation is despair and painting a dark picture of horizons. No, horizons are bright and we can move forward.
I raised a few points before you delivered your speeches. Of course, there are other points about the statements that you made some of which I have written down. However, there is no time to discuss them. I will only discuss one of them. One of the ladies complained that the position of humanities graduates is not a well-defined and outstanding position, but this is not the case. I will tell you that if, by Allah's favor, you become knowledgeable in this area and if you make progress in humanities - such as history, sociology and psychology which you referred to - you should really and undoubtedly know that your value in society and at an international level is not less than that of a physician. On the contrary, you are more valuable than them.
Take a look and see how many physicians and how many sociologists and historians exist among well-known personalities in today's world. If you take a look, you will see that there is more of the latter in terms of number and prominence. But you should work so that you can make progress. You should not be satisfied at all with what you have achieved so far. You should not be satisfied with being outstanding either. You have entered a road by being chosen as an outstanding personality whether through the entrance exam or through winning a medal in such and such a competition and festival. You are in such conditions in the present time. You have entered this road. If you stop moving forward, you will remain in the beginning of the road and it looks as if you had not entered the road at all. The significance of your work lies in taking this road as fast as you can. You should not become tired so that, by Allah's favor, you can reach where you deserve.
I would like to raise a point. First, the purpose of holding this meeting is not to solve these problems. Without a doubt, these problems should be solved, but our meeting has a loftier goal. I have said this many times: This meeting is mainly a symbolic meeting. This meeting indicates that first, the Islamic Republic respects knowledge in itself, second, it respects the seeker of knowledge and third, it respects the significance of knowledge. These are symbols. Symbolic tasks do not contradict the realities that exist inside symbolic movements. However, the most emphasis is on "symbolic" such as Islamic slogans. Slogans are like this. Islamic slogans play a symbolic role. They are a movement in themselves, but the most important influence that they exert is their symbolic influence.
For example, in the hadith "Indeed, al-Safa and al-Marwah are among Allah's slogans" Safa and Marwah during hajj play a symbolic role. Most acts in hajj are like this. These are symbolic acts. Imagine that two points have been specified with a specific distance between them. They say that you should constantly take the route between these two points. In one part of the route, this movement should take the form of running. This is a symbol. A symbol is a constant movement for a Muslim.
Another example is tawaf around a pivot which is an endless movement. The movement of tawaf is endless. Your tawaf may come to an end, but another person begins his tawaf. You never see Ka'bah without this circular movement of people. These are Allah's slogans and they have a symbolic aspect to them. Symbolic acts teach this lesson to the human society. Symbolic tasks are these. We want to make it clear that in this country, acquiring knowledge, knowledge in itself and the effect of knowledge in the future of the country is an outstanding and fundamental goal for the Islamic Republic. In fact, this is a fundamental and outstanding point in the minds of the people of Iran.
We have received certain blows in this regard. We have received certain blows from scientific backwardness. One day, a scientific movement was launched in the world. Scientific movements are always like links in a chain and they are always connected to one another. Our nation and our society always benefit from one another's knowledge. One day, the center of scientific discovery was the world of Islam and the world of Islam did not go and colonize Europe, Africa or any other area with knowledge. This knowledge was developed, it reached everywhere and everyone utilized and benefitted from it.
But during the recent era - that is to say, from the emergence of the Renaissance onwards, when knowledge fell in the hands of a group of European and western people - knowledge was not utilized in an ordinary way. Knowledge became a tool for them to achieve domination over all countries and then colonialism gradually emerged. For two, three centuries, the east - most areas in Asia and Europe - was trampled under the boot of colonialism. Not only did westerners use science in order to achieve political and colonialist domination, but they also used it for looting nations, and their resources and wealth. Moreover, they utilized science in order to impose their own culture on peoples who were backward in scientific areas. The last case - that is to say, the imposition of culture - deprived these backward peoples of participation in making scientific progress. Not only were they not encouraged to make scientific progress, but they also faced certain obstacles. This is the situation which has been brought about.
Well, we should make up for this historical backwardness. We received a blow from lack of knowledge. If the world of Islam is backward in economic, cultural and political areas today, this is because our rival - that is to say, the western world - is armed with knowledge. It uses the weapon of knowledge to conquer the arenas of policy, economy and culture.
We should gain this weapon. We should be armed with knowledge so that the threat of our rival - either our rival or our enemy, because not all of them are the same - will not be as efficient as it has been until now. We should have this weapon. This is a long-term strategic goal which is very vital and important.
Knowledge should be acquired. Of course, we know that knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge should be accompanied by morality and faith so that we do not fall into the abyss which the west fell into. For westerners, knowledge became a tool for oppression. It became a tool for moral deviation and for the promotion of deviant and destructive cultures. We should not be afflicted by this. Although this issue should receive attention, the main point is that knowledge is a vital issue for us.
Therefore, in this meeting, we want to thank and praise knowledge, knowledgeability and those people who have made achievements in the arena of acquiring knowledge. This meeting is a symbol of praising these characteristics.
I study - to some extent - the fate and history of nations. When I do this, I see that two of the most important and most influential factors in the national achievements of countries are: risk-taking, and hard work and diligence. Today, I want to advise you to pursue these two characteristics.
The first factor is risk-taking. The opposite of risk-taking is fear. Fear of what? Fear of failure. We think that we should not do something because we may not succeed. We think that we should not move forward because we may not reach the destination. We think that we should not take action because it may not be accepted by other people and because it may create certain problems for us. All of these are the exact opposite of risk-taking. One of the good characteristics of westerners - we observe both good and bad characteristics and we do not deny any of them - is risk-taking. Westerners, followed by the Americans who assimilated the European culture for the first time, enjoy this positive characteristic. That is to say, they are risk-takers. Risk-taking can help society to succeed.
You youth should be prepared. Fear of failure is a very bad thing. Sometimes, one's imagination pictures a future that completely disappoints us. In my opinion, this is a mistake. We think that if we go to university, if we pursue our education, if we carry out such and such research and if we enter the arena of research, will it be accepted? Will it help us in our future career or not? You should take the plunge. As the Arab poet says, "Fear of calamity is worse than the calamity itself". Fear of calamity is more serious than the calamity itself. We think, "What happens if we fail?" Well, we should not pay attention to this "what happens". You should enter the arena and you will see that you can succeed. In all material and spiritual arenas where one witnesses an achievement, courage, bravery and fearlessness in the face of the possibility of failure is a very important element in helping us move forward.
Another one is the issue of hard work which is the opposite of laziness. You should not allow laziness, self-indulgence and the tendency to live without any problem to tempt you. If laziness had been a pervasive mood, none of these important scientific achievements would have been made. You should take a look at the biography of great discoverers and inventors. Notice how they suffered from sleeplessness, how they overcame hardships and how they coped with problems until they managed to reach the desired point. Of course, these achievements brought them many advantages in many cases - perhaps in almost all cases. It brought them material advantages, money and other such things. Of course, from the beginning, their goal was not to achieve material prosperity. They wanted to get to the depth of an issue and a scientific task. I am saying this to you as a definite and firm piece of advice.
Another point which I would like to discuss with you is that knowledge is beneficial for humanity only when it is accompanied by religion and morality. You should know for certain that although knowledge may make great progress, it will not be beneficial for humanity if it stays away from morality and religion. Those people who say that they want knowledge for improving the conditions of human beings should pay attention to this point. You may have seen clear examples in this regard and I do not want to expand on these examples such as the fact that those who made progress in chemistry built chemical bombs and weapons of mass destruction and those who made progress in nuclear sciences built atomic bombs and slaughtered people throughout the world in a disastrous way. These are clear examples.
Take a look at other peoples. Take the case of an advanced people who stand at the peak of scientific progress in the world. See if these people have truly achieved happiness. Is there any justice in this country? Have poverty, discrimination and injustice been eliminated in this country? As they claim, do the people live in peace and without any violence and transgression? Although knowledge prevails in such countries, these facts can be seen as well. Does a sense of trust and tranquility dominate families in such countries? Are children brought up in the arms of their parents and are they filled with human emotions? Is there not any murder, crime and wrongdoing in these countries? As you can see, the situation is quite the opposite.
Today, there is the most insecurity in the country - that is to say, America - which has achieved the highest scientific rank. No country in the world - neither in Europe nor Asia - is as insecure as America. There is the most psychological insecurity in America. It has the highest crime and murder rate and it has the highest level of violence. And such crimes are committed by civilians themselves. It has the highest level of discrimination and class inequalities. The wealth of a number of people in this country can be likened to the height of the Himalaya Mountains and a number of people are so poor that it cannot be described in words. They die of hunger in the real sense of the word. Class differences are like this in America.
The most important ideals of humanity are these. From the beginning of history until today, these ideals have not undergone any change despite the changes that have occurred in the world. The important ideals of humanity are justice, security, living comfortably with other people, being safe from others' harm - paradise is any place where there is no harm - feeling psychological tranquility, feeling comfortable in the family, enjoying one's family life and the presence of one's children, and enjoying the arms of one's parents. These are the most basic needs of human beings. These are the things which human beings have wanted from the beginning until today. They wanted these things in the past and they want them today as well.
These ideals do not at all exist in a society which is the most advanced in terms of scientific progress. Notice that if knowledge is not accompanied by faith and morality and if they do not move forward shoulder to shoulder, it will lead to such results. If a scholar is religious, society will gain a real benefit from his knowledge. Not only does religion not prevent knowledge from making progress, but it also helps it to achieve progress. However, it prevents knowledge from overstepping human boundaries.
Therefore, my advice to you youth is that you should show as much diligence in strengthening spirituality in your hearts and souls as you do in acquiring knowledge. The arena of spirituality is open to you. Knowledge and spirituality do not at all contradict each other. Working in a scientific, educational and research center and showing diligence in such and such a classroom and university does not contradict saying prayers on time by paying careful attention and with a feeling that one is present before God. This cleanses your hearts.
You are young and your hearts are enlightened. Even the hearts of those youth who are not very religious are pure and honest. This is because of their youth. Your hearts are in much better conditions than the hearts of people who are at my age. You are more prepared than people like us. Like a clear and transparent mirror, your hearts attract the divine light and attention and they reflect it.
When you are good in terms of religion, when you are pious and innocent in spiritual areas, when you pay attention to God and feel the presence of God and when you enjoy these characteristics, then your existence - wherever you are, whether at university, in your workplace or at home and among your family members - will exert its enlightened influence. When you are good and enlightened, you cast light on other people as well. You should appreciate the value of this and you should not miss it. I am not addressing this to the youth who have gathered in this place. Rather, I am addressing all youth, particularly the youth who are moving towards knowledge. Fortunately today, this can be seen to a great extent.
One of you friends said that the current generation of our country and people are not less valuable than the first generation of the Revolution. This is what I also say. I too have the same belief and I have said it many times. You youth of today's generation have shown in different areas that you have taken a step forward. Our young generation have taken one step forward. However, the furnace of the imposed war, the Sacred Defense Era and those strange conditions has naturally exerted its influence. If those conditions arose today, then it would become clear to what extent our youth have moved forward in spiritual arenas. And we can witness this today both inside and outside universities. Therefore, knowledge should be accompanied by religion and morality. This was addressed to you.
You should benefit from the opportunity of the month of Ramadan. You should fast well. Of course, youth fast, but you should do it in a good way. Fasting well means that while your mouth avoids eating and drinking, your hearts and eyes too should avoid temptations and sins related to vision. The same is true of other parts of your body. You should feel that in this month - the month of Ramadan - you are getting closer to Allah Exalted and that your hearts are becoming more enlightened through fasting.
I have written other points to discuss as well, but there is no time. I only want to raise this point because one of you youth pointed it out and I have written it down: you youth should feel that you are playing your part. You should not wait for certain events to take place in other places. Governmental organizations have certain responsibilities. The Elite Foundation has certain responsibilities as well. They should carry them out and by Allah's favor, they will do that and gradually, things will be better. But you should consider yourselves as the pivot of responsibilities. You yourselves should feel that you are responsible and that you have a role to play.
You might think, "Will they give us any responsibility in the future?" You should forget about this at the moment. You should see what role you have to play today - which is the era of your education and achieving perfection - and then you should play that role. And that role is studying well, working well, moving forward in a serious way, maintaining the rate of your movement, and attending to religion, piety and self-edification as well as acquiring knowledge.
I hope that God will bestow success on all of you and I hope that He will open the gates of happiness to you on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings