Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution issued a message on October 23, 2008 to the participants of the 43rd annual meeting of the Union of the Islamic Student Associations held in Europe. The following is the full text of the message:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Dear students,
Every effort on the part of you dear youth to acquire knowledge is a step towards restoring the spiritual and material power to your nation, which was once the pioneer of knowledge and innovation in the world. The current revolutionary generation is able to compensate for the backwardness imposed on the nation during the era of dependence and blind emulation. That is a historic mission.
You must take into consideration the needs of your country when selecting your field of study and making serious efforts to think and to learn. You must ask God Almighty to help and to guide you. You must expose your pure and immaculate hearts to the light of His guidance and grace. You must realize that the future belongs to the nation whose youth are hopeful, hardworking, and scholarly. My dear children, May God bless you.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei