In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I am very happy that I have thankfully found another opportunity to meet with you. If I had the opportunity to meet with each and every person who is present in this meeting and to listen to the opinions of each and every one of you – I know that there are good viewpoints in your organization in different areas – I would certainly do that. Unfortunately, we have limited time. That we cannot benefit from the likes of you is one of our deprivations. In the meeting that we held with you in the IRIB – which was held a few months ago and in which many of you gentlemen were present – we raised general points about national media and the IRIB. We discussed the issue of delivering “the message” and publicizing it and the fact that today we are engaged in an all-out promotional battle in the world.
Today, we may discuss such issues in a more detailed and comprehensive way. Of course, I would like to apologize to you because you are sitting on the ground and you may feel a pain in your legs and become tired. This is also one of our deprivations. I wish you could recline in a comfortable chair so that we would not worry that you might become tired if the meeting lasts longer than expected. In any case, I hope that you endure these conditions.
The main issue is that we should gain a correct understanding about the positions of the country and the Islamic Republic in the world’s human geography and that we see where we are in the extensive, diverse and complex deployments that exist in the world. When this point receives attention, the role of the national media on this issue will become clearer and more visible.
I would like to make an analogy: take the case of a city which has been occupied or which is on the verge of being occupied – for instance, Basra or Kabul. The military forces of an enemy or a foreign country have either entered and occupied this city or they are very close to occupying it and advancing in that city. The people who live in this city are logically divided into certain groups:
One group is formed of people who have compromised with the occupier in advance and in the present time, they are welcoming him. They think that his presence will bring them certain benefits and therefore, they cooperate with him. Let us call this group “the treacherous group”.
Another group is formed of people who have not done so. They do not welcome the presence of the occupier, but now that the enemy is coming or has already come, they cease the opportunity and they approach and help him, hoping that they receive some help, some benefits and some attention from him. Let us call this group “the opportunist group”.
Another group is formed of people who are not in the mood to do such things and this is in their nature. They are either timid and cowardly or they do not have the necessary awareness. They remain in their houses and entrust themselves to their fate.
Another group is probably or logically formed of people who are influenced by the occupier’s propaganda. After all, the occupier engages in propaganda work. He distributes papers, uses some megaphones and somehow justifies his presence. Such people are influenced by his propaganda and they say, “What is wrong with the presence of other people?” So, these people surrender in such a manner.
Another group is formed of people who probably resist. It can be said that many of them do so. Their resistance originates from the fact that they know occupation is to their disadvantage. They know that the destruction of national identity has a disastrous significance for a nation. They know that when the occupier achieves complete domination, he will not show mercy on anyone and anything. Therefore, love of their home and their city draws them out of their houses and makes them engage in resistance. Of course, some people only defend their own houses, but some people have higher aspirations and they defend their neighborhood and the entire city. Naturally, this group of people become the main target of the enemy’s attack. The enemy deploys all his resources to make them clear his path.
What I am saying is not an illusion, rather it is a reality that has taken place throughout the world. We do not want to look for very distant pasts in history. In the last one, two centuries, you have heard many such stories. This has happened in Asia, Africa and in the continent and country of America. As they say, the redcoats – that is to say, occupying English soldiers – had come and occupied their country. Some people helped, surrendered to and compromised with them and some people resisted. You have probably read about - in novels and history books - or seen in movies the stories of George Washington and other such issues. And in the end, they achieved victory.
In Asia, India is one of those countries that experienced such events. They fought for 90 years – from 1857 to 1947 – against the English. In that country too, some people compromised with the enemy. Some people behaved in a conciliatory manner and some people stayed in their houses, but there were also some people who fought and who finally achieved victory. Gandhi became the leader of the country. Jawaharlal Nehru became the powerful head of “the Independence Government” and until today, India is one of the most dignified and honorable countries in the world. It is a country that is moving forward with a population of one billion people and that is solving its problem one after another.
During World War II, the same thing happened in Paris, Eastern Europe and Romania and the same thing happened in other countries as well. In Asia, this has happened frequently.
In the face of the power of a dominant occupier whose power is not comparable with that of the resistance force in a city or country – the occupier is much stronger – such people overcome the superficial power of the occupier with resistance, courage and faith. It is they who snatch the victory, not those opportunist groups who compromise and collaborate with the enemy. The latter is among the first groups who receive a blow on their head.
The well-known Romanian novelist – Zaharia Stancu – has written a book. I do not know if you have read it or not. I read it many years ago. The story is about the occupation of Bucharest by the German. Some people go to the forest and engage in fighting and they finally achieve victory - of course, this happened in the aftermath of the Germans’ defeat in the whole war. And some people inside the country behave in an opportunist manner, but the occupier delivers the first blow on them. A story is narrated in that book that I will never forget.
This is a not-too-improbable image that all of us have ahead of us. You should promote this image on an international level. It is an incident that is taking place in the present time as well. In the present time, the Middle East region – or you should say the Islamic region, referred to as the Middle East, and North Africa – is like the city that the enemy has occupied or is very close to occupying.
Of course, this kind of occupation is different from the old and traditional military occupation which was common in the past. The former is a complete cultural, economical and political domination. Even in some cases, it might happen without the presence of an occupier unless military or emergency presence is necessary. This is happening in the present time. If I am mentioning the region as an example, this is because I do not want to enlarge on the matter, otherwise if we take a look at other countries in Asia or Latin America, the same thing is happening there more or less. However, I want to speak about a region which has influenced ourselves and which enjoys a special unity.
In the present time, the occupier – like the one who had occupied Bucharest, Paris or such and such a country – has engaged in gradual occupation. Who is this occupier? The answer is not the American or another government. This occupier is comprised of a social class, one that is controlling the American and other governments within the remit of its capabilities and their potential. Of course, the members of this class are undoubtedly present in the structure of such governments, but this control is not exerted by the government, rather it is exerted by a social class. If we want to give them a name, we should say, “power-seeking masters of gold”. And their goal is to dominate the vital and financial resources all over the world.
Of course, this domination has certain political requirements which is the same as “the new global order”. It has also some scientific and bureaucratic requirements which they are getting close to gradually. The issue of globalization which is being discussed today in the area of finance, economy, culture and cultural networks – such as the internet and the like – are all at the service of this class of people whether knowingly or unknowingly. Of course, the sociological analysis of this matter is very detailed and comprehensive.
The Islamic Republic is that resistant force. Many people behaved in an opportunist manner, many people behaved in a treacherous way and compromised with the enemy in advance – we are speaking about governments and at this point, we do not want to involve nations – many people stood aside and went to bed thinking that they will live their life in a comfortable manner and many people were deceived and cherished slogans, statements and promotions. And one group has stood firm because it knows that this domination is to its disadvantage. It knows that this domination will bring a disastrous situation to the region. It knows that if this domination is completed, the large group of people who live in this region will fall behind the caravan of knowledge, civilization, understanding and happiness for a hundred years or perhaps even more. It knows that this will be the beginning of and a passage towards an undefined colonialism.
They have defined colonialism for us. They have also defined neocolonialism for us in different books, but they did so when many years had passed from colonialism. Sociologists defined neocolonialism for us during a time when many years had passed from it. The kind of colonialism that is common today is something beyond neocolonialism. It is brand new. It is a fresh colonialism that imprisons nations in its claws and that does not allow them to make any movement. As a result, nations should behave in the exact manner that that group wants. In this human category – where billions of people are present – hunger, poverty, illiteracy, frustration and deprivation will exist at the highest level. On the top, the highest level of welfare, domination, power, gold and bullying will exist. And there is a middle group who somehow scrape a living. This is the panorama and the height of this domination. Therefore, Islamic Iran is that courageous, religious, capable and well-informed – about all aspects of the issue – group that has confronted this phenomenon.
Of course, this is merely an analogy. The Islamic Republic, as a system, is inside this definition along with the majority of the people, but in other countries, it is only governments that are included in this rule. Most of the people in those countries are either unaware or they have different feelings and emotions. Therefore, the issue there is not about the people. Of course, in scientific deployments, systems and structures, these words have a stronger significance and they have a clearer form. Today, the condition of the Islamic Republic is this: resistance against a comprehensive transgressing and imperialist movement.
This resistance is not only related to the present time. It is 25 years now that we have been resisting. On that day, I said to Mr. Chavez that I believe that we have achieved victory in all those arenas where they confronted and wrestled with us. By “victory”, I mean one of these two cases: either we overcame and defeated them or we did not allow the other side to achieve victory and this way, we frustrated him. This has been the case throughout the past 25 years.
Today too, when I take a look at us, I become hopeful from head to toe. I am familiar with the details of the country’s affairs and I know our shortcomings and weaknesses in management and decision-making, but on the other hand, there are so many strong and promising points that make me feel that we only need a “besmellah” [an expressing meaning in the Name of Allah and it is used when one wants to start doing something] and a move. Sometimes, we show laziness in these areas. We do not make any moves or we make it late. This is why some phenomena occur. However, we have the capability to take action and to make moves in all areas.
We have a rich asset in terms of intellectual individuals. There are so many talents among us in terms of managers and macro-management. We have experienced and trustworthy individuals. We have talented and courageous individuals in terms of innovation and creation. All these horizons are open to us. This is why we have confidence and high morale and why feel that we can. We can solve our own problems, we can eliminate economic problems and we can make others – everywhere in the world – hear our loud cry which is accompanied by correct content. These are our capabilities. We should say “besmellah”, become prepared and start moving forward.
Under such circumstances, what position do the national media have? Notice how significant the role of the national media becomes in such circumstances. On that day, I said that you know better than I do that today, the war in the world is the war of the media. The development of tasks and the international policies of different organizations and camps are being carried out by promotion, news coverage, concept formulation and correct and incorrect – that is to say, true and false – portrayals. Before, during and after the beginning of a military and economic movement, promotions are the vital need of those organizations that want to be active in the world. This is why they make investments, expend thinking and utilize science. They do this so that they can promote their thoughts and ideas.
One of the very important tasks that is at the top of their agenda is launching a news, promotional, cultural and ethical invasion on our country. Today, this invasion is the peak of cultural invasion. Of course, this is not particular to our country. They are doing cultural work everywhere in the world, but we are the main target of their invasion. Many of the goals of global arrogance in promotional and cultural areas and in the area of the media are aimed at us. Therefore, we should equip ourselves in the face of such invasions.
Our media should both pay attention to foiling the enemy’s plot inside the country and to striking the enemy in the public environment. You can see what an important role the national media has. In my opinion, all the efforts that are being made and all the tasks that are being carried out in the country exist on one pan of the scale and the work that the national media – the IRIB – does exists on the other pan. These are two, different orientations. If a lot of work is done without the national media being active, its effect will be much less than it should be. Therefore, as I said, the role of the media is very important.
We consider the national media to have a pivotal mission for which there are certain requirements. This national mission carries major goals with it. In my opinion, that pivotal mission is managing and guiding the mentality, culture, morale and ethics of society, channeling the public mentality and culture, protecting society’s mentality, culture and behavior from different detriments, encouraging individuals to make progress – this means boosting their morale – and banishing the feeling of backwardness.
Today, one of the tactics of the enemy is injecting and instilling the feeling of backwardness and incapability. We have 35 million youth in the country. So, this is not the case and they should know that we are not backward at all. On that day, Mr. President said to me that our achievements in the last 10, 20 years are more than the achievements that countries like us – including all regional countries – have made. Of course, this was not a public report. I myself have received many such reports. This is a very important matter. The reports that have been delivered to me confirm the same thing. There was only one question and one ambiguity about one of the countries that he mentioned. It was decided that they research into it and then submit the result to me. We should not have this feeling in any way. Our youth should not feel that they are backward, rather they should feel that they are moving and galloping forward. They should be practically encouraged to pursue such a task, such progress, such galloping and such forward movement.
This mission has certain requirements. If the national media, as the most important cultural tool in the country, want to accomplish this task, they should have such characteristics: they should win the system’s trust, be trusted by the people and enjoy competitive advantages. Today, our rivals – whether regional or international rivals – are many. We should benefit from competitive advantages in the face of such rivals. Having a high capacity – both in the area of the quantity and quality of products – is what we want. Quantity should not overshadow quality and vice versa.
Another requirement for this mission is having an efficient formation in provincial, national and international arenas. Mr. Zarghami pointed out that certain areas do not have the minimum requirement which is hearing the voice and seeing the face of the Revolution. In such areas, our formation is weak. Of course, many of such weaknesses originate from outside the IRIB. This is another issue which we should seriously pursue.
Our organizational and media formation should be shaped in a way that we can cover the whole country in all its dimensions. This formation should be efficient and it should enjoy the power of flexibility so that it can be compatible with different and unpredicted conditions. It should enjoy power, speed and agility in facing different matters. It should be able to adopt its own position and to be competent.
If these things, each of which has certain requirements that should be met, are achieved, you will manage to completely take the guidance and management of public thoughts – in terms of culture, morality, behavior, morale and the like – in your hands. Under such circumstances, no one will be able to compete with you in this area.
What are our major goals in this area? The first goal is raising broad-mindedly religious understanding. I would like to stress the word “broad-mindedly”. Religious understanding should develop and be promoted, but it should be a broad-minded and well-informed understanding.
The second goal is sincerely religious behavior. Similarly, I would like to stress the word “sincerely”. Religious behavior can be hypocritical, fabricated and superficial and it can be sincere. We should draw the people towards religious behavior and religious actions – good and righteous actions – and such actions should be carried out in a sincere way.
The third goal is deepening the people’s understanding about and strengthening their belief in the values and intellectual foundations of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. It is not enough to repeat certain clichés and slogans about the Revolution and the system. The people should believe in these slogans. This is the responsibility of the national media.
The fourth goal is immunizing society’s mentality against the destructive effects of the cultural and ideological invasion that has been launched by the enemy.
The fifth goal is belief in the efficiency of the system.
The sixth goal is to create public convergence and an environment for cooperation, compassion and unity inside the country and among the people. The spirit of compassion, unity, convergence and bonding should be strengthened among the people.
The seventh goal is informing the people of sensitive issues such as the issue of knowledge. The issue of knowledge is very important in the country. With a careful and comprehensive study, we reach a few important chapters one of which is knowledge. We need knowledge for the future. The software movement and the movement of knowledge production and thinking – which has been brought up in the country – should be taken seriously. Fortunately, the ground is completely prepared and the people have given it a good reception. You should make the people sensitive about the issue of knowledge, security, the cultivation of outstanding personalities, national power, efficient and valuable innovations and tasks and other such issues.
How long does it take to accomplish this mission and to attain these major goals? I believe that we should formulate certain plans and roadmaps and become prepared for a movement whose goals are these. These goals might be achieved in 10 years, but there is nothing wrong with this. For this task, 10 years is not a long time. It will pass in the twinkling of an eye. Sometimes, we do not make the necessary efforts and formulate the necessary plans in the course of five, eight, ten years and when we reach the last stage of our term, we will see that we are empty-handed. If planning is done, one will see progress with one’s own eyes, like the growth of a tree.
Now, I would like to mention a few important issues so that it becomes clear what the relationship of the media with these issues is. It is good to think about the relationship between the media and these issues. I will mention them and you should study, think about and work on them:
Society’s real identity is its moral identity. In fact, the main structure of a society is its moral shape as everything is formed around this pivot. We should attach great significance to morality. The IRIB should formulate plans in the area of moral education and promoting and explaining moral virtues. One of the goals of the IRIB in all planning should be this.
Another issue is the behavior of individuals in society examples of which are: social discipline, dutifulness, order and planning, etiquette, attention to the family, observance of others’ rights – others have certain rights which should be observed and this is one of the most important virtues. Other examples are: human dignity, a sense of responsibility, national self-confidence, personal and national courage, contentment – one of the most important moral virtues for a country is contentment and if we have serious problems in certain areas today, this is because we have forgotten about this important Islamic virtue – trustworthiness, righteousness, being in pursuit of right and beauty – one of the good virtues is seeking beauty which means being after beauty, beautifying life, both the outer and inner aspects of life, and beautifying the environment of the family, the outside environment, and the environment of streets, parks and cities – rejection of consumerism, modesty, and respect towards parents and teachers.
These are our moral virtues and dispositions. The IRIB should consider itself to be responsible for promoting these virtues. In every program that you make and in every serial, debate, round-table discussion, telephone conversation and report, you should notice that these virtues should be strengthened and that they should not be violated and trampled underfoot in any way.
What role, position and responsibility does the IRIB have about the people’s religion? Naturally, one of the responsibilities of the IRIB is to raise religious awareness and religious faith. Awareness and faith are different from each other. Both the people’s faith, and awareness and understanding should be strengthened. You should pay attention that the faith that the people have should not be shaky, vulgar and superficial. This should be seriously avoided. You should not be satisfied with provoking the people’s feelings and extremist ceremonies. Highlighting these things in an extremist way is not beneficial at all and it is not considered as the promotion of religion at all. You should set this as the basis of your work and after that you should refer to the religious programs of the IRIB to see what you should do and what you should not.
Religious programs should kill, not give birth to, falsehoods. I sometimes listen to and watch religious statements on the radio and on TV and I see that they create falsehoods. They sometimes mention an unreliable hadith or make an unreasonable statement. If a certain statement is made among 20, 50 genuine and pure believers, it will increase their faith, but if it is made among millions of ordinary people, it will not do any good other than weakening some people’s faith and creating doubt in their minds. Such things should be avoided. Religious statements and explanations should wipe out falsehoods and they should be clear, strong, artistic and diverse. They should not give birth to falsehoods and they should not be cliché. Religious statements should be correct at all levels.
Although it is true that we have religious explanations and discussions at the level of outstanding personalities, at middle and low levels and at the level of children, the same thing that we teach to children should be completely correct. In the first grade, you teach children that two plus two makes four. Even when children reach the peak of mathematics and mathematical knowledge, two plus two will still make four without any change. Therefore, what we teach to children or to ordinary people should not be wrong in any way because when they reach a high level of religious understanding, they will see that that particular statement was wrong. Religious statements should be made in a correct way from the beginning, but they should be made in an easily understandable way as well. Therefore, religious statements should be correct at all levels.
Intelligent programs should be made for religious ceremonies, Eids and mourning occasions. Some of the programs that are broadcast are completely unwise. What things do you say about Hazrat Javad on TV or on the radio? Very good things have been written about Imam Javad (a.s.), Imam Hadi (a.s.), Imam Askari (a.s.), Imam Ridha (a.s.) and other Imams. When I, who have spent my life working on these areas, take a look at these writings, I benefit from and enjoy them. Why should such writings not be benefitted from? There are many good writings, research works and articulate and faith-inspiring issues in these areas.
Sometimes we watch a program in which someone speaks - in an exaggerated manner and in the form of a literary writing – about Imam Musa ibn Ja’far (a.s.) which is completely nonsensical. Such programs do not increase anyone’s faith, nor do they give anyone joy, nor are they written in an artistic – in the real sense of the word – manner. Why should we broadcast such programs? Someone should speak about a number of Imam Musa ibn Ja’far’s virtues and narrate his life by using correct and reasonable documents and in a soft, mellifluous and innocent voice, instead of using an exaggerated voice.
You are experts in this regard and you know that not any voice is suitable for a program. The people listen to and enjoy good programs and their understanding and love of the Imams (a.s.) increase and their hearts are enlightened by listening to the virtues of these great personalities. If religious programs are made in an efficient manner, they will be beneficial. But if they are made in a bad and inefficient manner, they will not be neutral, rather they will have bad consequences. This is like the story of that muezzin who had a bad voice:
Molavi says, “The daughter of a Christian man had become completely besotted with Islam and Islamic teachings and she had converted to Islam. That Christian man was very unhappy. In that city, some people were Christians and some were Muslims. It had both mosques and churches. One day, the Christian man went to the muezzin and after showing great respect to him, he gave him some gifts and money and then said, ‘I thank you very much’. The muezzin was surprised and did not know why he thanked him. The Christian said, ‘You saved me because my daughter was in love and besotted with Islam, but when she heard your voice one day, she stopped loving Islam and said, ‘I do not want the Islam of this muezzin.’”
If we say adhan in a bad manner, we will make the lovers of Islam drift away from it. We should say adhan in an artistic manner and in a mellifluous voice. Our adhan is the teachings that we preach. It is our IRIB.
In my opinion, the general policy of the IRIB should be strengthening the executive management of the country. I do not advise the IRIB to cover up weaknesses, shortcomings, flaws and – God forbid – treacherous acts. This is not what I am saying. On the contrary, it should portray weaknesses and the pains that are in front of the people’s eyes. It is alright for the IRIB to attend to them, but portraying these pains, weaknesses and limitations should be done in a way that primarily it will not disappoint the people and secondly, it will not weaken the management.
You should speak about the administration’s achievements. Portraying the achievements and developments of the country should not necessarily be done by officials. For example, the President goes and inaugurates a project. This inauguration is a vague thing and it is not clear what it is. When there is something wrong with the asphalt on a street and you want to reflect it, you go and speak, for example, to a taxi driver and he says that the wheels of his car fell in a hole. Another says that in the winter, water gathers in the hole and it spatters on the people’s clothes. To cut a long story short, you interview with 10 people until it becomes clear what a bad thing this hole is. Similarly, you should put the microphone in front of those people who benefit from achievements and developments. If the manager in charge comes and says that by launching such and such a project, 500, 1000, 5000 job opportunities were created, this is not enough. The issue should be clarified.
Our goal should to be strengthening the executive management of the country. I said and I would like to repeat that weaknesses and shortcomings should be portrayed as well so that the people do not think that the IRIB is only a horn that sings the praises of the government. However, shortcomings should be portrayed in a valuable and sympathetic – not a belligerent – manner.
Speaking about problems in the wrong way is harmful. Posing questions that do not have an answer are harmful. Of course, sometimes clever methods are used. A few days ago, I saw that after the meeting between the heads of the three branches of government, they interviewed them about economic corruption. They had done a clever, interesting, smart, comprehensive, intelligent and shrewd job. It was good and it was efficient as well. One enjoys such programs. Very well, now they [the heads of government] are pursuing what you interviewed them about. These things should be reflected as well. Of course, you can also guide managers by using the same methods, but it should be done in an intelligent manner. Sometimes, managers are not aware of their shortcomings. If you speak about shortcomings in a fair-minded and impartial way, this will help them.
I pointed out that knowledge is a very important issue. When we take a look at the different ways for the progress of the country, we see that all ways lead to knowledge. May God damn the people who prevented the country from making scientific progress in the course of tens of years. When scientific progress exists, it will be accompanied by technological progress and technological progress makes the country move forward and it will create enthusiasm in society. If knowledge does not exist, nothing will exist. Even if technology exists under such circumstances, it will be a borrowed, fake and imitated one, like the imitated and copied industries that exist. Knowledge should be grown.
In my opinion, the media can play an important role in the movement of knowledge production, theories and thinking in different areas – including technical, human and other areas. You can pursue the line of producing knowledge, thinking and theories in a well-organized way. You should promote reasonable and valuable discussions. You should televise innovation debates and you should introduce scientific and innovative personalities.
May God show mercy on Mr. Ahmad Birshak. I do not know if you know him or not. He was an interesting old man. We saw him when he had become old although we were familiar at school and during our teenage with his name and his books. That old man was hardworking and diligent even when he was 90-plus years old. I liked him very much. He had met with me.
One of the things that I saw in him and that I liked very much was that he was interviewed on TV a few years ago and the interviewer asked him to give youth a word of advice. That old man advised youth like a youth. He said to them that they should study and acquire knowledge. I became very happy. I said that they should thank him on my behalf because of those short pieces of advice. Notice that one sentence from an old man who believes in knowledge, scientific progress and youth’s dynamism can exert a world of influence. In my opinion, it is not at all the case that you do not have any responsibilities on the issue of knowledge. It is one of your important responsibilities and you should pursue the issue of knowledge.
One of the most important issues which is undoubtedly one of the necessities of society is smiling. Smiling is one of the needs of humans. Life without joy and smiling is a hellish life. Heavenly life is one in which one smiles. Hazrat Ali (a.s.) said, “The believer has a smile on his face and keeps sadness in his heart.” If you have some worries, you should keep it in your heart. Believers are like this. Believers always have a smile and joy on their faces. Faces should always be joyful. If you can make society happy with your faces, you should definitely do so. Joy is necessary and it should be provided for the people.
However, this requires planning. Of course, you have done planning. When I say, “you should”, this does not mean that you have not done them. You have carried out many good tasks and I want to stress their continuation. You should take care not to allow the people’s joyfulness to be accompanied by clownishness, corruption and decadence. Joy should not be given to the people in this way. All ways can be used to give joy to the people, but you should give it to them in the correct manner. Sometimes, a joke or a timely narration can cheer up the audience and sometimes a comedian cannot create that effect with ten ways of mimicking and mockery. Being happy and cheering up the people does not mean clownishness. One of the gentlemen who sometimes speaks in the IRIB and who does good interviews and says interesting things – I sometimes listen to him – never jokes, but his words and his speaking make one laugh involuntarily. This way of cheering up the audience is good.
Brilliant and outstanding satire is one of the arts. Satire is a great art. I used to joke with the late Saberi and I used to say to him, “You satirists…”
You should strengthen and build up real satirists and help them create good satire. Satire means an important and serious issue that is expressed in a funny way. There is content in it, however it uses the language of jokes.
One of the entertainments is television competitions. Such competitions are good, but we should be careful about the bad verbal and nonverbal lessons that they might teach. Sometimes, one witnesses frivolity in words, in behavior and in stupid laughs and of course, sometimes this is not the case.
One way of holding competitions is telephone competitions. Someone calls and they give him a prize for nothing! One day, I saw that someone was given five million tomans in a television program because he answered a few questions! This is not a very interesting entertainment. Five million tomans is almost the salary that an average employee receives in two, three years. They might say that is a way of promoting knowledge. However, you should promote knowledge in a better way because this way is harmful. Crazy and insensible ideas might come to the minds of some people who watch these competitions and they might take advantage of such ideas. There is no point in knowing that the Bible is Arabic, Greek or Latin and there is no point in giving 500,000 tomans or such and such an amount of money to someone who knows this. Therefore, the necessity of having entertainments and diversions is one issue that you should pay attention to, and doing this in a well-organized and meaningful way and avoiding negative aspects are other issues that you should pay attention to.
You should create an atmosphere of sympathy for the poor. During the recent years, the IRIB has fortunately broadcast very good programs in this regard which is praiseworthy. You should make the minds and hearts of the people anxious about justice. This is a very good task. Of course, it should be tried to avoid insulting the poor so that their human dignity is not ruined. I have seen that in some of the tasks that are carried out in this regard, this is completely observed. The boy or the girl who offers a gift to such and such a charity fund says something on TV which is very good, sweet and gentle and which includes no offensive remark. But, you should disparage aristocratic, patrician and absurd life style as well as highlighting social justice and attending to the poor because this lifestyle deserves to be disparaged. Aristocratic lifestyle should not be promoted in any way, rather it should be disparaged and considered a negative point. Why should aristocratic lifestyle be promoted for no reason? If someone wants to live an aristocratic lifestyle, why should we promote it? You should pay attention that we should give a sense of dignity and honor to the poor and that we should teach the wealthy to help the poor. In any case, in the entire social life, we should avoid using aristocratic and extravagant lifestyle as a model.
In the present time, the issue of nuclear energy is under discussion. This issue should be explained to public opinion. I have heard that the night before last, the IRIB broadcast a very good program in which the officials in charge in Tehran and Vienna were called and the issue was discussed in detail. Such tasks are very valuable. Public opinion should be informed of these issues and the issue should be explained to the people in a correct and reasonable manner. Thankfully, the IRIB has done very good activities in this regard.
I deem it necessary to mention a few important practical strategies:
The first point is that in all programs, you should make it obligatory for yourselves to pay attention to the content. All your programs should convey a message. Having a message does not necessarily mean being boring and dreary so much so that someone says that the people become tired of such programs. Messages can be conveyed through completely sweet and entertaining programs, but programs should have a message to convey. Not only should our programs not have a negative message, but they also should not be without any messages. That is to say, they should not be neutral. The serial that you produce, the round-table discussion that you hold, the movie that you make and the competition that you organize should convey some messages. After all, you want to promote among the people the important pivots that are within the remit of your responsibilities. What pivots do you want to promote in this way? This should become clear. By making good programs and formulating good plans, you should provide and guarantee the discourses that society needs. Sometimes, a certain issue should be turned into a public discourse.
The second point is that conveying different messages should be done in a systematic way and it should become a process. Doing so in a temporary way and for a limited number of cases is of no value. All our programs should help one another so that this thought and idea becomes popular in society. It is possible that we sometimes convey contradictory messages. For example, on the one hand, you produce a very good program about social justice, but on the other hand, you practically reject social justice through another program. This is not correct. The general rhythm of programs should be the same and there should be no contradictions in them. On the issue of social justice, certain movies and series are made in which the houses used by the characters are mostly aristocratic and extravagant. Do our people really live like this? Do young partners and husbands and wives live in such houses? Is it necessary to portray such houses? Many years ago, in the series which used to be broadcast by the IRIB, the living environments of the people were simple and the houses portrayed were ordinary although their quality was not like today’s movies and series – they had a lower quality. This way of portraying life is good.
Life should not necessarily be portrayed in an aristocratic, extravagant and lavish way. The promotional environment of the IRIB should be like this. Of course, they sometimes give us certain warnings in this regard and they raise certain points. Media commercials – the extravagant ones that draw the people towards consumerism – practically contradict the programs that you have built to, for example, disparage consumerism. They are not compatible with each other.
The third point is qualitative supervision. I know that one of your responsibilities is to exercise qualitative supervision over programs. However, you should not confine qualitative supervision to fiqhi and religious considerations. For example, we take care to prevent an actor and actress from touching each other’s hands or we ask them to have some distance when they sit next to each other. These things are absolutely necessary and it is necessary to do them in a more intelligent and exact manner, but qualitative supervision is not only this. This kind of supervision should be exercised over the content as well. You should supervise the movies that you have ordered to be made by producers so that you see if they have good content or not.
One of the very good tasks is to oversee movies particularly during their production so that a huge amount of money is not spent which will make you think about eliminating the problems caused by it later on. In any case, during exercising qualitative supervision, there should be an effort to prevent negative messages from being conveyed.
The fourth point is that you should take the program’s effect into consideration, not only an increase in the number of viewers. Of course, one of the correct policies of the IRIB is to increase its viewers. Fortunately, it has succeeded in doing so and figures show that both the number of TV viewers and Radio listeners has increased dramatically in the recent years. This is a correct policy. The goal of all the media in the world is the same and you can even do so with the intention of qurbat [doing something for the sake of God]. However, this should not be the only goal, rather you should see what effects your programs produce in the audience. Sometimes, increasing the number of audience has a price which is not worth it. They are attracted, but to what? They have been attracted to something that is either negative or neutral.
The late Sayyid Qutb spoke about an incident in one of his books which I translated before the Revolution. He says, “I went to one of the cities of America and I saw that a notice was put up on the door of a church which said, ‘Tonight, a dancing program will be performed with a light meal and music.’ I wondered why a church has announced such a thing.” He continues, “I became curious to go and see what is going on at that specific hour. I saw that there is a dance floor next to the church hall in which young partners come and dance and in which provocative and sexy music was played. Older people were sitting aside and watching the spectacle and they enjoyed it. The priest too appeared on the scene late at night and adjusted the light in a very calm and composed manner.” He says, “I went to the priest the day after that. I said, ‘Are you a priest or a bar owner? Is this a church or a dance floor?’ The priest replied, ‘I want to attract youth to the church in this way.’” Can youth be attracted to the church in this way? They were not attracted to the church, rather they were attracted to a dance floor that belonged to the church. Does the dance floor of a church have any value?
If we are supposed to broadcast a movie or a program that exerts bad influence, then what difference does it make if I broadcast it or my rival? In either of the case, it is bad, then why should I be the one who broadcasts it? In my opinion, this is an important reason which should receive attention.
The fifth point is about Radio Quran and Radio Ma’arif of Qom. These two radios are really one of our greatest blessings and among very good and valuable measures. The programs of these two radios should be among the most dignified and excellent programs particularly because they have a religious background. These two radios do not use musical instruments in their programs. They have such commitment which is good, but because they use singing, such singing should incorporate the most mellifluous and rhythmic voices and the most meaningful content. Bad, cacophonous and hoarse voices and unnecessary and stupid usage of choruses should not exist in any way. The best should be gathered there because they use music that does not include instruments. In any case, because these two radios have a religious nature, their programs should be very beautiful and brilliant. It should not be like the story of adhan. Of course, you should pay very careful attention to the content of songs as well.
A person who takes the minbar to speak to, for example, a hundred people in a mosque does not “read” a text, rather he relies on his own mind. Sometimes, something flashes across someone’s mind which they did not want to say in the beginning and sometimes they do not remember a statement or hadith that they wanted to say and so, they say something else which is not problematic among a hundred people. But is it necessary for us to express such a statement among millions of people? These things should completely be taken into consideration. In my opinion, the existence of competent, intellectual, broad-minded and religious experts is absolutely necessary in these two radios. All the products of these two radios should be first-rate, not even second-rate.
The sixth point is conveying messages and concepts in an indirect way. We have frequently spoken about this matter over the course of many years. I sometimes see that in the foreign movies that are broadcast, there are surprising cultural and sometimes religious messages that one does not feel at all. The beauty of our work lies in that we make the point in the most articulate and effective manner without engendering a feeling of dislike and refusal in the audience.
The seventh point is building manpower. This issue is very important. The IRIB has an academy. This academy should seriously attend to building competent manpower in sufficient numbers. You should employ suitable and competent individuals. In the present time, there are revolutionary and good artists inside the country some of whom are undoubtedly outstanding in their own field and job. However, the IRIB does not benefit from them. I do not know why. Such people are in contact with me. Sometimes, they come and visit me. I have advised them many times to benefit from such friends. Some of them are very good at writing, announcing, poetry, the visual arts and other areas. Some of them too have really produced outstanding works.
I would like to raise some short points:
Mr. Zarghami needs a powerful consultative team in the area of major strategies. He himself should choose a consultative team for major strategies. Intelligent people should sit and work in an efficient manner. Of course, he pointed out that consultative teams have been chosen for each channel. This is very good, but the entire organization needs such teams so that they can provide back-up in a constant manner. I have always stressed this point. In the past too, I pointed this out to former managers.
You should design strategic plans, goals and roadmaps for at least five years. Of course, he said in his speech that something like this has been prepared. It should become clear where we want to reach in the course of five years. This should be measurable.
You should seriously pay attention that the IRIB should not give prominence to negative and flawed individuals. I have sometimes seen that those people who are not scientifically valuable in any way are brought into prominence in the IRIB by the people’s money. Why should we do that? Of course, I do not want to enlarge on the matter, but I see that they bring on TV someone who is not valuable in his own field and who is mediocre. Despite this, they dedicate one, two hours of the people’s time to his life, his family and his completely mediocre life. Why? In my opinion, besides the fact that this “why” exists, it is negative as well. This is a role-model presentation. Whom do we want to introduce as role models to youth? Such people?
An important point is that managers should dedicate their whole time to the IRIB and that they should not attend to other tasks. I seriously request that that IRIB managers consider their job in this organization as their most important job and that they do not attend to other tasks. This is your most important job. Attending to another task will prevent you from pursuing both of them. Once, during the time of my presidency, I read a sentence from Khawaja Nizam al-Mulk’s “The Book of Government” in the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. This book is one of our very beautiful and elegant works. Although 700, 800 years have passed from that time – he lived during the time of Sultan Sanjar or Sultan Malik Shah – its ideas really continue to be valuable. When one reads, one enjoys it a lot.
In any case, one of the words of advice that he offers to the Shah of the time is this: “Beware not to entrust a man with two tasks. Any man should have one task to deal with.” He was right. Any man should have one duty. Of course, Khawaja Nizam al-Mulk himself had ten jobs and duties! However, as Saadi says, “Do not entrust any task to anyone other than the wise although the wise do not take action.”
The wise manage, but they have others do the task. In any case, “Any man should have one task to deal with.” You should attach great significance to this point because it is very important.
The last point is that I really and sincerely thank the high-ranking managers of the IRIB and the honorable deputies for the harmony and cooperation that they have had in the last few months. I ask you to continue this harmony, cooperation and correct interaction as much as you can. This is a very important task. Time is important as well and harmony exerts extraordinary influence.
My speech became too long. I apologize to you dear friends. I wish that you could have spoken half of the time [other suggestions: over a half of the time or more than half of the time] that I spoke so that we would benefit from you, but this did not happen this time. Perhaps, we can hold a meeting in which you speak and we benefit from you, God willing.
Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings
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