Khamenei.ir

The Importance of youth

The Importance of youth

The issue of the youth

Youth is a significant phenomenon and a unique period of everyone's life. If the issue of the youth is appropriately addressed in a country, that country will make great achievements on its way to progress. Youth – this prominent stage of life – is a period that may not be very long, but it exerts long-lasting and permanent effects on one's entire life.

The souls of the youth are full of dynamism, just as their bodies are full of vigor and vitality. Man has been created by Allah the Exalted and has been endowed with mental and physical powers as well as other unknown powers to use nature and the material world as a means to get close to God.

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The importance of the youth in Islam

The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) used to attach a lot of importance to the youth. He maintained a close contract with the youth, and he utilized their powers to make great achievements. During his youth in Mecca, the Commander of the Faith (a.s.) was a selfless, intelligent, and active man. He was a pioneer in his youth. In all arenas, he used to remove great obstacles in the way of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). He used to court danger and shoulder the most difficult responsibilities. Through his selflessness, he prepared the ground for the migration of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) to Medina. Later on in Medina, he led the Muslim army as well as various active humanitarian and scholarly groups. On the battlefield, he was a brave soldier and a leading commander. In matters of government, he was an efficient person. In the arena of social issues, he was also a truly sophisticated youth. The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) made the most of all of the youth and youthful dynamism of his community during the entire period of his rule.

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Nations' source of progress

The proportion of the Iranian youth to the entire population is wonderful. Today more than half of our population is under 30 years old. The rare event that took place was that a country with one of the largest population of youth gave rise to one of the greatest revolutions of history and the most recent revolution in the world. Our country currently enjoys one of the most independent political systems in the world. This is a wonderful coincidence. Such a huge number of youth are not living in a country whose political system is dependant on America, great financial companies of the world, multi-national companies, or a particular country or policy. Rather, they are living in a country whose political system is popular with the youth. The youth want independence. They have a natural tendency to hold their heads up proudly, and they do not want to slavishly follow others. The current political system in Iran is one that has proudly held its head up, and it has not bowed to anyone. Throughout the years, it has not been intimidated – not even for a moment – by the empty threats of America and various other threats. The Iranian Revolution is a young and youthful revolution. Therefore, in order to strengthen the country and achieve progress, it is in need of swift measures accompanied by appropriate planning so that it can stop the enemies from talking against it and impose its presence on all of them – both in theoretical and practical areas. But this is possible with a young population the number of whose youth are rapidly increasing, and there are very bright prospects in this regard.

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Praiseworthy characteristics of the youth

It is easier for the youth to submit to justice. This is a very important point. The youth tend to easily express their objections in a sincere manner, and they act without any internal preoccupations. This is also a very important point. If you add up easy submission to justice, acting without any internal preoccupations, and sincere objections, you will see what a beautiful reality emerges and what a great key it provides to the problems.

The youth have a natural tendency towards reform, justice, legitimate freedoms, and realizing Islamic ideals. Islamic realities and ideals attract them and fill them with excitement. The image of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) that has been etched on their minds fills them with excitement. They compare the imperfections that they see around them with this image and demand reforms. This is a very prominent characteristic.

Youthful dynamism and innovation are among the praiseworthy characteristics of the youth. Have the youth made any efforts to obtain these characteristics? No, they have not made any special efforts to develop a tendency towards justice or obtain their youthful vigor, vitality, patience, and determination. They have these characteristics just because they are going through a natural stage of life. Therefore, they are a divine blessing that entail some obligations.

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The youth and the responsibility of the managers of the country

It is not only parents that are responsible for the youth. Educational and political officials and economic planners of the country are all among the people who should be considered responsible in this regard. The youth of the country are the children of the government officials. If the spirit of fatherhood is prevalent among our officials, many issues of the youth will be resolved. It may not be possible to solve many of the problems in the short term, but raising the awareness of the young generation and utilizing their assistance will compensate for this shortcoming.

The population of the youth in the country is like a fast-flowing and beneficial river. This river is flowing continuously, and it will continue flowing for many years. This river can be treated in two different ways.

One way is for the officials to recognize the importance of this river in a wise and appropriate manner, identify the areas that are in need of this river, and canalize the river to the areas that are in need of youthful dynamism. In this way thousands of farms and gardens will thrive and all shortcomings will be addressed thanks to this bountiful divine blessing. It is possible to turn this river into a great source of energy and infuse the entire country with activity. If it is treated in this way, this river will become such a beneficial, unique, and exceptional phenomenon that people would not be sufficiently thankful even if each and everyone thanked God a hundred times a day. This kind of approach is characterized by planning, management, removal of the obstacles, determining the needs, and directing this river – which is an invaluable divine gift – to those needs. And this will result in increased activity and reconstruction.

Another approach is for the officials to abandon this beneficial and fast-flowing river, fail to plan for it, ignore it, and fail to appreciate its value. As a result of this approach, not only will farms and gardens be destroyed, but the water of this river will also be wasted. It can also turn into a marsh in which various types of infections develop. Even worse, the river may turn into a flood and destroy all the achievements made by the nation. These consequences will entail if appropriate plans, precision, and efforts are abandoned.

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Social responsibilities of the youth

Self-education in all aspects

Engaging in self-education in scholarly and moral areas is something that must be demanded of the youth, and the youth are in need of this self-education. The youth should decide to sow their fallow fields with the seeds they want. They should utilize their cultural wealth. They should make use of their determination. They should appreciate their characters and independence. They should avoid imitation and following foreign models.

The youth must not be after imitation. They should think about the ways of strengthening their determination, faith, and intellectual capabilities. They should think about the ways of improving their moral qualities. Then the youth will become a foundation that will support the genuine civilization of this nation.

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Conscious sense of responsibility

Conscious sense of responsibility is what is important for the youth. The youth are full of vigor, and they are more perceptive. Sense of responsibility means that just as people care about their life, jobs, marriage, and other things that concern them, they should also feel responsible towards the higher goals that lie beyond their individual concerns, goals that are not limited to their personal concerns and are related to the entire country, history, and humanity. People should feel responsible towards these goals, and they should have a sense of commitment. Without this sense of commitment, no individual and no society can achieve the peaks of prosperity. This sense of responsibility and commitment must be conscious and informed. People should know what they are looking for and what the obstacles are. This is what is meant by conscious sense of responsibility.

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The sensitivity of the youth to the issues of their society

The youth are sensitive to the issues of their society. If there is discrimination in society, the youth will suffer. If there is discrimination in the home environment, the youth will be upset. Similarly, if there is discrimination at school and in the classroom, the youth will be upset. Some people have lost their sensitivity to these social problems, or they are too much preoccupied with their personal concerns. In the same way, some people are used to the problems that they see around them. But the youth are not like that. The youth are idealistic. If justice is not administered in a society, the youth will be upset. If corruption becomes prevalent in society, the youth who are after the glory of their country will undoubtedly feel upset. Whenever it comes to national enthusiasm, youthful sensitivity enters the picture. During the imposed war, the youth used to rush towards the battlefields whenever Imam Khomeini (r.a.) told them to or whenever they felt they were needed at the battlefields. The youth are like that in all societies, but they are more sensitive in faithful communities. In all societies, when it comes to defending the country and national honor, glory, and freedom, the youth step into dangerous arenas without being concerned about their personal lives and wellbeing.

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Intellectual efforts

Studying, fighting laziness and indecision, and making intellectual efforts are among the things that are necessary for the youth. The youth should become used to thinking about different issues. This is a kind of battle. Losing one's ability to act thoughtfully and judiciously in the face of problems is one the greatest threats for all people, especially the young generation. Directing the thoughts the youth is a great responsibility, and some people are entrusted with this responsibility. But the youth have duty to think their way through different issues every step of the way. They should become used to thinking in face of both minor and major issues. They should study and weigh different options. If someone gets used to thinking, they will make use of the opinions of other people as well. Being submerged in corruption and despair is among factors that can thwart thinking. Therefore, fighting the sources of despair and corruption is one of the greatest battles that the youth have to fight.

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The obstacles and challenges facing the young generation

Personal preoccupations of the youth

The youth are primarily concerned with studying, work, employment, and their future. It is very important for them to have a promising future. Starting a family and acquiring knowledge are important to them. They have a tendency towards excitement and happiness. They are strongly attracted by the things that are related to the aesthetic aspects of human nature. They are full of human emotions. These are personal concerns of the youth, but their preoccupations are not limited to these.

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Spiritual preoccupations

Spiritual preoccupations are one of the things that concern the youth. This is something that our decision-makers should pay attention to. Generally, there is a natural tendency towards religion in youth. The youth want to develop a relationship with God – with the center of spirituality and the core of truth. Therefore, they take part in enthusiastic religious meetings. And the youth are present wherever religion does not project a lifeless image. Of course in many religious sects in different countries of the world, religion does not manifest any spirituality and reality. Therefore, the youth remain indifferent to it and ignore it. But in a society where religion has a meaning and a spirit and where it can provide the youth with a kind of understanding and spiritual dynamism, some youth are attracted to religion.

Worshiping God purifies the hearts and souls of human beings. It is an invaluable asset to man. Those who do not prostrate before the Almighty cannot understand the pleasure of spirituality. Developing a close relationship with God, praying, asking Him to fulfill one's needs, complaining to Him, speaking to Him about one's wishes, asking Him to help one to achieve lofty ideals – these are the things that can be gained through worshiping God. The youth are the best worshippers. Their worship is more enthusiastic, more spiritual, and livelier, and their prayers are fulfilled more easily by God.

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The need to discover one's identity and talents

Young people have a number of natural tendencies, especially early in their youth. First of all, as they are in the process of developing a new identity, they want their new identity to be recognized, and this is something that does not normally happen. Parents appear to fail to recognize the new identity their young children have developed. Second, the youth have special emotions and motives. They are in the process of spiritual and physical growth. They step into a new world, and those around them, their families, relatives, and people of their society are often unaware of this new world or tend to ignore it. As a result, the youth feel lonely and alienated. Their elders should try to remember their own youth. The youth face numerous mysteries – both early in their adolescence and later on. They encounter new issues which raise questions in their minds. Some doubts and questions are formed in their minds, and they want answers. But in many cases, they do not get timely and appropriate answers. Therefore, they feel empty and confused. Fourth, the youth feel that there is a source of energy inside them, and they feel they have special physical and intellectual capabilities. They do in fact have some capabilities that can work miracles. But they feel that their energy and their capabilities are not being utilized. As a result, they feel neglected and inadequate. Fifth, young people encounter the grown-up world for the first time in their youth – a world which they have not experienced before, and they do not know much about it. They encounter many issues that confuse them. They feel that they need guidance and intellectual assistance, and since parents are often too busy, they negligently fail to provide their young children with this intellectual support. The centers are responsible in this regard are often absent when they are needed, where they are needed. As a result, the youth do not get this intellectual assistance, and they feel helpless.

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Treating the youth logically

The youth want religious concepts to be explained to them. Today the youth expect to achieve religious faith through clear reasoning and knowledge. This is a legitimate and appropriate expectation. This expectation is embodied by religion itself and has been taught to the followers of different faiths. The Holy Quran teaches us to proceed on the basis of clear thinking, reflection, and understanding as far as Islamic teachings are concerned. If government officials can propagate clear thinking among the youth, they will see that the youth are in complete harmony with piety and worshiping God.

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Sexual desires

The issue of sexual desires is a preoccupation among the youth, which can be addressed through starting a family at a young age. Regarding the marriage of the youth, I believe that if the extravagant rituals related to marriage – which are unfortunately being promoted by our people today – are avoided, the youth can get married when their youthful desires need to be fulfilled. Youth is a very appropriate period for starting a family. Unfortunately, blind imitation of the western culture has created the wrong idea among Iranian families that people should marry late in life. This is while Islam does not prescribe this. According to Islamic principles, the sooner people get married, the better it is for them.

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Cultural assault

Today cultural assault through modern communication technologies is a very serious issue. There are hundreds of means and information conduits that can be used to affect the thoughts of the youth. They are using such methods as TV channels, radio stations, and computer technologies to constantly promote various kinds of doubts. For example, when Europeans decided to get back Andalusia from Muslims, they started a long-term plan. Those days Zionism did not exist, but the enemies of Islam and some political centers were actively fighting Islam. They started to promote corruption among the youth. They were being driven by their Christian, political, or religious motives. One of the things that they did was to have certain vineyards provide wine for the youth free of charge. They attracted the youth towards their women and girls in order to trap them in lust. The passage of time does not change the main methods that are used to promote corruption – or reconstruction – among a people. And that is what they are currently doing.

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Laziness and seeking comfort

Laziness, inactivity, and avoidance of work are among the worst enemies of man that originate from within human nature. One must fight this enemy. If the youth fight this enemy and manage to overcome it, then they will be able to defeat the enemies that attack their country. If they manage to overcome this enemy, they will be able to overcome the enemy that wants to plunder the wealth of their country. Otherwise, if people fail to overcome their laziness and are controlled by it, they will not be present in any of the arenas of responsibility that require their action. Therefore, laziness and seeking comfort are the primary enemies of man. Those who are too lazy to study, work, worship, and take on various social and household responsibilities cannot claim that they will be able to overcome their external enemies when threatened by them.

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Self-dismissal and lack of self-confidence

Iran has made very prominent advances in certain strategic areas. These advances are due to the revolutionary movement of the nation and the spirit of the Islamic Revolution. These are the outcomes of the self-confidence that the Revolution bestowed on the Iranian nation. The Revolution provided the Iranian people with an opportunity to utilize their talents and to be hopeful.

Being pessimistic and saying such things as "it is impossible" and "they will not let us do that" and "this is useless" is like a deadly poison to this revolutionary movement. One day they concocted this deadly poison and injected it into the Iranian culture. One day Iranians used to explicitly say "we cannot". When I was young, it was commonly said that Iranians could not even make a ewer! You may not know what a ewer is – it is a container made of clay. This was the attitude of the politicians and academic experts of that time. Many of the then politicians were university professors. Some of them are well-known. They used to say Iranians cannot do anything! No, Iranians can. Iranians can push back the frontiers of human knowledge – which is currently very advanced and wide in scope.

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Muslim youth

The arrogant powers do not like the youth who make efforts on the path of spirituality and faith in a determined and pious fashion. What they want is a corrupt young generation. Muslim youth must resist in the face of the enemy's wishes. The government officials of Islamic countries must gain confidence by relying on this young generation and this nation. Government officials must not be afraid of anyone or anything. They must not be intimidated by the enemy's uproar. They are in charge of this great national front. They should make the best of it. All people, especially the youth, should appreciate their own value and engage in self-education.

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The battle against sins

Man's innocent nature is a divine blessing. The youth should utilize this innocent nature and make important decision to fight off sins. Some people wrongly believe that it is not possible to resist against sins. This is not the case. It is not impossible – one just needs to practice. During youth, those who decide to strengthen their determination should fight their carnal passions. Of course in this regard, fasting – which is an Islamic obligation – is a kind of general practice for everyone. Sometimes people are attracted towards sins. Is man helpless when he is lured towards sins? Does he have no choice but to dive into the cesspit of sins? In most cases man can use his willpower and make a different decision. However, carnal desires and temptations present obstacles to this decision. Sometimes when faced with these temptations, people spend their life in indecision, and it becomes very hard or impossible for them to make such decisions when they grow old. But young people can fight these temptations. Some people wrongly assume that avoiding sins is only limited to old people. But just as old people are physically weak, they are equally disadvantaged in terms of their spiritual strength. The youth have more power to make decisions and resist against sins.

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The secret behind the progress of the youth

An inexhaustible resource

The youth and adolescents who read the Holy Quran should know that the Quran offers them lifelong food for thought. This is something valuable. They may not be able to extract profound concepts and teachings from the Quranic verses during their youth. They may not be able to gain an appropriate understanding. They may only acquire a superficial understanding of the Quranic teachings. But as they increase their knowledge, they make better use of the Quranic verses that have been etched on their minds. Having Quranic knowledge in one's mind is a truly great blessing. There is a difference between those who search the Holy Quran to find a verse about a particular subject and those who carry these verses in their hearts and minds, extract from them whatever Islamic teachings they need, and reflect on and benefit from them. Close familiarity with the Holy Quran during one's childhood, adolescence, and youth is a truly great blessing.

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Reliance on God

The youth should rely on God. They should ask Him for assistance. They should strengthen their religious faith. These are very important achievements for the youth as well as for the entire nation. They should not let lack of faith ravage their souls and destroy them.

The purpose of reliance on God and paying attention to Allah the Exalted is to maintain one's spiritual strength. Indeed, if we are internally firm, no external problems will overwhelm us. We should increase our internal spiritual strength so much that we can overcome all of the physical and external problems. And this will be achieved through reliance on God and paying attention to Him.

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Strengthening the spirit of self-reliance

The youth should strengthen their spirit of curiosity, hope, and self-reliance. Arabs say, "The occurrence of something is the strongest reason for its possibility." The strongest reason for the ability of the Iranian youth to introduce innovations into scientific and technological fields and to push back the frontiers of human knowledge is the fact that they are currently doing so.

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Scholarly endeavors

On the path of acquiring knowledge and increasing their scholarly capabilities, the youth should not miss any opportunities. They should not be complacent about the achievements they have made, and they should consider their achievements as a stepping stone to further accomplishments. The youth are like a group of mountaineers who should climb to the peak. Mountaineers sweat at the foot of the mountain, but this should not make them complacent and blind to the peak. The youth should try hard and endure the hardships until they reach the peak.

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Making the most of one's time

Our dear youth and adolescents should make the most of their time. Of course it is not possible to do so without planning. They should think and make plans for themselves. Planning does not happen in a uniform fashion, and I cannot prescribe a certain course of planning. Each person may have his or her own idiosyncratic way of making plans. But everyone should make plans and make the best of their time.

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Q and A

(The following is the text of Ayatollah Khamenei’s answers to the questions asked of him about the youth.)

Who were your role models in your youth?

The late Navvab Safavi was the one who had the most influence on me during my youth. I was about 15 years old when he visited (my hometown) Mashhad. I was strongly influenced by his character. After he left Mashhad, he was violently martyred a few months later. His martyrdom deepened his influence on my character. After him, Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was the second most important person who influenced my character. I had heard Imam Khomeini's name before going to Qom and before the start of the revolutionary activities. I liked and respected him without having seen him. The reason was that in Qom Seminary all the youth were interested in his teaching. His classes were popular among the young seminarians. And when I went to Qom, I had no doubt that I should take part in his classes. I started attending his classes since the early days, and I continued persistently as long as I was in Qom. He influenced me to a great degree. Of course my father and my mother also influenced me a lot. My mother was among the people who deeply influenced my character. She was a very influential lady.

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How did you spend your youth?

At that time the situation was not like this. Indeed, the situation was extremely bad. It was not satisfactory, not just for me as a seminarian, but for all the youth of the time. The youth were ignored. Many of their talents were suppressed. We could see that in front of our eyes. I personally was witness to that in my world as a seminarian. And when I came into contact with the academic world and university students, I realized that their situation was the same. I was in close contact with university students for years. There were many extraordinary talents. There were many people who perhaps were not very talented in their own fields of study, but who were probably very talented otherwise. But there was no one to discover their talents.

Before the Revolution I spent almost all my youth with other youth. When the Revolution achieved victory, I was about 39 years old. From 17 to 39 I spent the major part of my time with the youth – both the youth of academic environments and the youth outside these environments. I felt that Mohammad Reza Shah's regime had done something to attract the youth towards corruption – not just moral corruption, but also identity corruption.

Of course I cannot claim that the Pahlavi regime was purposefully attracting the youth towards corruption. The reality might or might not have been so. But I can confidently say that they had plans to manage the country in a way that required the youth to stay clear of political matters and daily life issues. At that time all groups of people, including the youth, were totally ignorant of political matters. The youth were mostly busy with their daily life problems. Some youth were working very hard just to feed themselves, and of course only a small portion of their earnings were spent on feeding themselves: They spent the rest on trivial matters.

If you read the books that were written during my youth about Latin America and Africa – like the ones written by Frantz Fanon and other authors of the time, which are still considered as reliable in the modern world – you would realize that the situation was the same at that time. No one was courageous enough to write about Iran. But authors could freely write about, for example, Africa, Chile, and Mexico. When I read those books, I realized that the situation was exactly the same in Iran. That is to say, even young laborers who earned very little money for their hard work used to spend half of their money on alcoholic drinks, sex, and other such things. When I read those books, I realized that the same things were happening in Iran as well. The situation was truly bad at that time. The environment was not good for the youth. Of course the youth thought they were living in a different environment. That was because the youth are by their nature interested in vitality, hope, excitement, and similar things.

I myself had a very exciting youth. Due to literary, artistic, and other such activities, there was some excitement in my life before the Revolution. After the Revolution, this excitement came from the political activities which started in 1341. I was 23 at that time. I was at the heart of the most exciting developments in the country. I was imprisoned twice in 1342. I was arrested, imprisoned, and interrogated. Such things can fill your life with excitement. There was more excitement after I was released and met an impressively large number of people – who supported the values I had been imprisoned for – and their leader, Imam Khomeini (r.a.), who used to guide the people and rectify their actions, thoughts, and ways. That is why the life of people like me – who were involved in similar activities – was filled with excitement. But not everyone was like that.

At that time me and people like me who were deeply and seriously engaged in political activities tried out best to pull as many of the youth as possible out of the regime's sphere of cultural influence. For example, I used to do religious commentary at mosques, deliver religious speeches after prayers, and sometimes travel to different towns to give religious speeches. I specifically focused on freeing the youth from the cultural yoke of the Pahlavi regime. At the time I used to call this yoke "the invisible net". I used to tell them that there was an invisible net, dragging each person in a specific direction. I wanted to destroy as many of these invisible traps as possible and liberate the youth. Those who were liberated from these intellectual traps - who were characterized by a tendency towards religion and Imam Khomeini's ideas - developed a kind of immunity. That was the case those days. The same generation formed the foundation stones of the Revolution later on.

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What were your hobbies in your youth?

Unfortunately, I had very few hobbies. One could not have many hobbies at that time. Of course there were some parks, but they were very few in number. For example, there was only one park in Mashhad, and the environment was very inappropriate. My parents were committed to moral principles, so I was not allowed to go to that park at all. People like me could not make use of such recreational places in their youth. That was because these places were not appropriate for the youth. Government organizations of the time also tried to some extent to contaminate public places with lust and corruption. This was done intentionally and in a preplanned manner. At that time this was only guess, but later on when I found further information and evidence in this regard, it became clear to me that those things were preplanned. They had plans to promote corruption in public places! I could not go to such places, so I had a different kind of hobby.

As a seminarian, my hobby during my youth was to meet with other seminarians. I used to go to school – the name of our school was Navvab – and meet other seminarians. Associating with other seminarians was enjoyable for me. The seminarians used to gather in a place, and they used to talk and exchange information. The school environment was like a club to the seminarians. They used to gather there when they had nothing else to do. Goharshad Masque in Mashhad was also a very good place for the seminarians to meet. Faithful people, seminarians, clergymen, and ulama used to gather in that mosque and hold scholarly debates. Some other people used to go there to have a friendly talk. These were my hobbies.

Of course I had my physical activities as well. I still exercise. Unfortunately, the youth carelessly ignore physical activities, which is a big mistake. At that time I used to go climbing and hiking. On several occasions, me and my friends hiked the mountains near Mashhad for several days and nights. We hiked one mountain after the other and walked past many villages.

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How would you describe the characteristics of a Muslim youth? How can a youth achieve his or her goals in life?

If a person wants to achieve something valuable, he or she should inevitably make efforts. But basically, I think there are three characteristics that stand out among other youthful characteristics. And if these three characteristics were specified and were steered towards the right direction, it would be possible to answer your second question. Those three characteristics are dynamism, hope, and innovation. These are the three prominent characteristics of the youth.

Of course there is an essential point mentioned in the Holy Quran: Paying attention to piety. When people want to form an image of piety in their mind, they think of praying, fasting, worshiping, dhikr, and dua, all of which may be embodied by piety, but none of them are the meaning of piety. Piety means watching one's self. Piety means that man should know what he is doing and that every move he makes should be based on his willpower, thought, and free-will. That is to say, he should act like a person who is sitting on a horse – holding the reins in his hands – and who knows where he wants to go. A person who lacks piety has no control over his moves, decisions, and future. As the sermon in Nahjul Balaghah goes, he is like a person who has been forced to mount an unbroken horse, not a person who is riding the horse. Even if he has mounted the horse of his own accord, he does not know how to ride the horse. He may be holding the reins in his hands, but he does not know how to ride a horse. He does not know where to go. He will just have to go wherever the unbroken horse takes him, and undoubtedly no one is going to save him.

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How can the youth fulfill their need for excitement and how can they make the best of it?

Excitement can be found in certain things. There are certain things that are obviously exciting. For example, sports are exciting, especially some games such as football. Football is by its nature exciting and is different from volleyball and tennis because the nature of this game includes a lot of fighting, excitement, and other such things. Sports are generally exciting. Artistic work is also exciting. But these are the things that are obviously exciting.

Excitement is not limited to such things. If a youth can find his own area of interest – no matter what it is – he can easily fulfill his need for excitement. For example, when I was young and used to wear my seminarian clothes, the type of clothes you could wear and the type of places you could go were limited. But I had my own need for excitement, and this need was being fulfilled. How? I was interested in poetry. You may find this very difficult to believe. I used to attend a meeting where four or five friends of mine who were also interested in poetry used to read or talk about poetry for two-three hours. Reading poetry can be as exciting to some who likes poetry as football is to a footballer or football fan. Therefore, there are many ways to fulfill one's need for excitement.

Similarly, when you hear the word "studying", you may think that it is not exciting at all. It is a fact that classes are not exciting. But if there were a well-equipped workshop inside or outside the university besides the classroom lessons – as is currently common among engineering students – the young students would feel that there were certain facilities in the workshop which would enable them to practice their ideas and engage in innovation. Do you think this would be less exciting [than football]? Such a class would be very exciting. Research should be rooted in enthusiasm and interest. The kind of research that one is forced to carry out would of course be dull and unexciting. It would also be useless.

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How do you feel when you meet the youth? And what is the first thing you tell them?

When I am with the youth, I feel like taking deep breaths early in the morning. I feel fresh and lively. When I meet with the youth, the first thing that comes to my mind is, do they know the value of their youth? Are they aware of it? Youth is like a brilliant star. If the youth are aware of this unique and precious asset, I think they will, by Allah's favor, be able to make the best of it.

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What is your advice for the youth regarding different political and social positions?

One should not be very afraid of difference of opinion. Differences of opinion are not something bad. For example, nothing is wrong with the fact that a certain youth believes in a particular political orientation and another youth has a tendency towards a different orientation. What is harmful is to engage in uninformed and thoughtless actions and to make rash and uninformed decisions. I would advise the honorable youth against these things. Being young does not necessarily entail making rash decisions. Of course it does entail taking intrepid action. The youth do not want to get involved in the complexities of what they want to do, but this does not mean their actions are extreme and rash. The youth can act in a careful manner. They can also act in a hasty manner. If the youth are sensible and prudent and if they have a desire to seek justice, differences of opinion will not matter at all and will not be misleading – or at least, they will not lead to major problems. The youth can easily be prudent and sensible, and they have a characteristic desire for seeking justice.

It is not right to reject others. That is to say, it is not right to adopt a certain position in social matters and insist that it is the only right position. Of course it is necessary to adopt such a position in the case of certain ideological principles. That is to say, ideological principles should be pursued thoughtfully, and at a certain point one should stand up and hold up one's ideological principles as the ultimate truth. Adopting this position is not something bad in such cases. But as far as social and political matters are concerned, it is not right to consider one's own position as the only legitimate position. I believe it is necessary to tolerate opposing views. And in the case of one's own views, it is necessary to consider calculated action as the criterion. I believe if a person adopts this position, he will not encounter any problems.

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Is it possible to bridge the gap between Iran and the developed countries?

I believe it is. It is perfectly possible to bridge the gap. I have repeatedly told our intellectuals that the west is far ahead of us. This is a fact. If a country decides to follow in the footsteps of the west in order to reach where the west is today, it will take several centuries. And it will not catch up with the west. It is necessary to take shortcuts. All the current discoveries are shortcuts. There are many different shortcuts in the world. We do not have an appropriate knowledge of the nature of God's creation. There are thousands of ways. The path that has gradually led to the modern industrial world is one of these possible ways. Why should we lose our hope in the discovery of new ways across the world? Once in the past electricity had not been discovered. That is to say, electricity was already there, but it had not been discovered. Why should we be hopeless about the possibility that new discoveries can be made? In fact, new discoveries are being made each and every day. We should focus our efforts on this and try to find a way to quickly achieve scientific progress. Hard work – especially by our young scientists, researchers, and students – is the only way we can achieve this. It is possible to do whatever you want as long as you are young. That is to say, science, self-purification, and sports are three areas in which you should work hard.

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