I am very happy that once again there has been an opportunity for us to meet. I welcome you all to this gathering, and I express my gratitude to you for all your endeavors.
I believe what is important is that we should attach greater significance to the status of university and science in our country. If this is done, many of the tasks that need to be performed will be carried out more easily. In other words, the university chancellors, the officials of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, the Health Ministry, the Management and Planning Organization as well as those responsible for macro-policies should all recognize the significant role of science and also university as the cradle of science in our country's progress both at the present and in the future.
Why should we recognize and believe in something that is evident itself? Because in spite of our numerous scientific achievements in the past and despite the fact that during a long period of our history, we were known to the world as learned and scholarly people, as a result of the domineering policies of the Western colonial powers over the past couple of centuries we either lost interest in science or cherished no hopes of acquiring it or went wrong with regard to its methods. Consequently, the end result is what you can observe.
We should realize that scholarship would infuse both an individual and a nation with dignity and self-confidence. A nation that has many scientific achievements and innovations on its record will naturally feel dignified and self-confident. With this self-esteem and self-confidence, that nation will manage to solve many of its problems and will be able to perform great deeds. We should try to revive scholarship in our country. We should try to advance in all branches of knowledge, including humanities and basic sciences, and the responsibility to achieve this objective mainly lies with our universities.
Our universities should attach greater significance to sciences. Attaching significance is not something merely theoretical, as it requires appropriate planning, in the first place, and serious efforts to carry out those plans in the second place. Fortunately, we have competent university instructors and professors. Last year, I received a report that had been prepared by the High Council for Cultural Revolution. The report indicated that for educational and research purposes, we are not short of efficient professors. The reason is that we have a talented and brilliant nation.
Today, we have a large number of young, talented and promising university instructors. What is important to know about young people is that they are characterized by endurance and perseverance. These qualities, which are essential for scientific investigation and research work, should be utilized in an optimum manner.
A few years ago at Amirkabir University, I talked about the need for launching a scientific movement and opening new frontiers in the field of science. In other words, what I meant was that we should try to introduce something new and break new ground in scientific arenas, as we are quite capable of doing so.
The last point that I would like to mention is about the publication of our scientific papers in the ISI journals and the problems that sometimes arise in this regard, especially with respect to those papers that deal with humanities-related subjects. Some ISI journals refuse to publish these papers. Why? The reason is that they are not congruent with Western principles. If our researchers carry out research in philosophy, psychology, education and other related fields and come up with some results that are not conformable with Western values, those journals would not publish the results of their research!
This should be heeded by those simpletons who believe that the Western liberal democracy is an open society in its real sense, a society where everybody can express his or her views freely. On the contrary, they even judge the results of scientific research with their own yardsticks! The results of scientific research conducted by Muslim researchers that do not fall within the framework set by the ISI judges will not be published in the ISI journals!
You had better consider the establishment of an Islamic ISI which may also function as an accredited authority. You may negotiate with other Islamic countries for this purpose. The establishment of an Islamic ISI, however, does not mean that you should break off your relations with the ISI journals in the world. The more such measures you take, the more you will contribute to our country's progress.
We had a very good meeting, with the only flaw that I could not hear your views and comments, although I very much liked to hear them. I hope I will be able to hear your words in our next meeting, where you will be the speakers and I will be the listener.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings