The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 15, 2009 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a group of Sacred Defense artists.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
This meeting has been very enjoyable and meaningful for me. For course, not all people who have produced literary or artistic works about the Sacred Defense are present in this meeting. However, the dear brothers and sisters who have attended this meeting represent a wide variety of artistic fields as well as social, political, artistic, and managerial orientations. Due to lack of time, not all those who wanted to speak found the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, two or three hours is not enough to express everything that one has in mind. But I appreciate the comments that were expressed in this limited time. Of course the views that were expressed by the dear friends in this meeting can help us solve our problems in different areas. I wrote down the main points they made. Hopefully, the details will be extracted later on. We should not think that our views, criticisms, and comments will be futile and that no attention will be paid to them in practice. This is not the case. We have made progress in the area of Sacred Defense art and literature. I have been watching the situation in this regard. Some people may say we have regressed and that our regression has been more than our progress, but I would not accept this. We have made progress, but our progress may have been less than what we expected. It is really good to be dissatisfied with the progress we have made. But it is not right to think that we have been only marking time all these years. No, we have made a lot of progress. A lot of things have been done. This is true of different areas. This issue is a controversial one, but it is not important enough to be discussed in detail today.
Now I would like to talk about the points I have noted down because it is not possible to say everything I have in mind in this limited time. I just want to say that artistic work about the Sacred Defense is one of the best artistic endeavors. Those who have worked in this area and promoted it should appreciate the value of the work they have done. The eight-year Sacred Defense is not just a period of time in our history. Rather, it is a great treasure trove that our nation can invest on and benefit from for a long time. The great events that happened during those years are a collection of great virtues, prominent cultural values, and lofty beliefs and teachings that have been passed on to our people. Our people had preserved the potential for these lofty beliefs and teachings, and the Islamic Revolution helped realize this potential. The Sacred Defense is a collection of all these things. Those who recount the events of the Sacred Defense, especially those who do so in an artistic manner, are in fact like a mirror reflecting a manifestation of splendor and glory. During the Sacred Defense Era, lofty human virtues such as valor, selflessness, and sincerity manifested themselves. Our people paid a great price for this - so many lives were sacrificed, and so much wealth and time was spent.
Today you are in fact recreating those events through your artistic works. Your films, writings, and artistic works recreate the effect of those events in our society today. This is a truly great and important endeavor. Through your works, you become a mirror and reflect the glory, delicacy, and beauty of the Sacred Defense. Recounting that sacred jihad through your artistic works and cultural endeavors is itself a form of jihad. That is because your artistic work is an attempt to prevent those lofty concepts from sinking into oblivion. The glory, self-confidence, and sense of power that were felt by our soldiers and our Islamic society and resulted in that impressive victory against all those enemies are one of the greatest needs of our people and our country today. We must preserve these things and resist against those who try to erase them from our minds. This is exactly what your work involves - recounting the events that happened during the Sacred Defense.
One thing that has to be taken into consideration regarding the artistic reflection of the events of the Sacred Defense Era is that recounting the Sacred Defense is a vast arena, and many parts of it have remained unexplored. This is not to say that these unexplored areas are inaccessible to human mind and understanding. That is not the case. It simply means that they have not been reflected. One should not think that the themes related to the Sacred Defense are repetitious. There are many concepts and themes in the Sacred Defense that have not been focused on. I have a long list of such themes, and I once discussed some of the items with a group of people who are active in our film industry. Thinking about these areas and exploring them will help our artists understand unexplored and fundamental concepts and produce artistic works. In summary, those eight years are the embodiment of the best virtues that a society can feel proud of and the best virtues a society can expect from its youth. That is to say, the Sacred Defense is the embodiment of valor, spirituality, piety, pursuit of ideals, selflessness, resistance, and acumen.
Fighting a war is a complex issue. Managing and leading a war is very difficult and complicated, but our youth used to do these things. Their acumen was incredible - it was the manifestation of realizing potentialities. Many of our youth went to the battlefields and managed to make great achievements there. Some of them were martyred, and some became assets for the Revolution and benefited the country later on. In fact that was how the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps turned into a center for providing different parts of the country with manpower during the past 27-28 years. That was because war helped the newly established Islamic Revolution Guards Corps become an efficient and capable force. The war that was waged on us helped the young members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps realize their talents. The Sacred Defense is the embodiment of these values. These are not things that a nation can dispense with. Therefore, those who recount the Sacred Defense are in fact recounting these values and characteristics. And many things have been done in this regard.
First of all, I advise the officials in charge of artistic and literary affairs to pay attention to the views that were expressed in this meeting. Of course some measures have already been taken, and those who express views may not be aware of these measures. Good measures are being taken in this regard.
It is a big mistake to think that artistic works about the Sacred Defense are not popular in our society. Undoubtedly, artistic works about the Sacred Defense are the most popular works produced after the Revolution. This is true of dramatic arts, books, memoirs, and stories. Record circulations belong to the books that are about the Sacred Defense. Some books about the Sacred Defense have been published more than 70 times in less than two years. In our country, it has been unprecedented for other books to be published 100 times in a matter of two years. This is true of our films too. The most popular and the most financially successful films are about the Sacred Defense. It is not the case that Sacred Defense films are unpopular. Of course some films have failed to attract enough number of viewers. But the problem is not with the theme. Rather, these unsuccessful films have only been poorly made. Therefore, there is enough room in this regard for much more investment of time, effort, and money. That is my advice. Our artists should pursue this issue with hope and enthusiasm. Of course such an endeavor requires people who are prepared and feel responsible - those who truly feel responsible and are not lethargic. It is such people who can fulfill their roles in this arena.
One of the shortcomings is that there have been few opportunities for international screening of our works. Of course there are good reasons why this has been the case. The films that recount the Sacred Defense, the Revolution, and the values of the Islamic Republic in an appropriate and accurate manner are not at all allowed to be screened in international film festivals. They do not want to let such films be screened unless they have to. The general policies of international film festivals are against such films. But viewers are not limited to these festivals, and it is possible to find viewers and readers for Sacred Defense films and books elsewhere provided that the works are translated appropriately and accurately, which I believe is one of the arenas.
I hope Allah the Exalted will help you work as hard as you can in the arena of the Sacred Defense. Government officials, artists, and research centers should all make efforts in this regard. Fortunately, good research is being carried out in different research centers, and this is very important. The documents of the Sacred Defense should be given to researchers. Sacred Defense art will hopefully make the best of research. May God bestow success on all of you.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings