Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution attended the 2nd Forum on Strategic Thoughts this morning. Speaking at the meeting, which lasted for about four hours, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed the need for serious efforts to formulate a pure Islamic theory on justice. His Eminence said that good efforts have been made after the Revolution in order to achieve social justice, but he added: "Definitely the current situation is not satisfactory because the Islamic Republic is after practicing maximum justice and because the Islamic Republic wants perfect justice as an absolute and universal value."
He said that justice has always been a concern for humanity and added: "Careful analysis shows that apart from the efforts by different scholars to present theories on justice, divine religions have played an exceptional role in this regard."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described justice as the main goal of divine religions and added that justice has been the goal of the efforts by divine religions to create new social structures. "And this serious attention to justice cannot be found in any school of thought introduced by human beings."
Explaining the difference between the perspectives of religious and non-religious schools of thought on justice, Ayatollah Khamenei noted: "Apart from explaining justice, divine prophets used to take action to fight oppressive people and satanic governments, and in the battle between oppressors and the oppressed, divine prophets have always supported the camp of the opposed. But theoreticians have limited themselves to discussion of justice."
His Eminence said the third difference between religious and non-religious schools of thought on justice is that all divine religions believe that human history will ultimately end in justice. He added that divine religions have always stressed the element of justice. "And this is something exceptional."
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "It was on the basis of this religious outlook that justice gained an exceptional position in the Islamic Revolution since the beginning, and it was stressed as an absolute value in the slogans of the Iranian nation, in the Constitution, in the statements and views of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and in different stages of the Islamic Revolution throughout the past 32 years."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that justice is the top concern of the Islamic Republic. Referring to the numerous and widespread efforts after the Revolution in order to establish social justice in the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei stated: "These measures are good but not satisfactory because our goal is to establish perfect justice and to eliminate all kinds of oppression on the basis of the Islamic view. In order to bridge the vast gaps between the current situation and our ultimate goal, it is necessary to make serious and comprehensive efforts."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic is making efforts in order to develop a pure Islamic theory on justice, further adding: "There have been superficial definitions and understanding of justice so far, but we must try to turn justice into a lively discourse that is present all the time in different areas. We must try to turn justice into a central issue among our prominent figures, our government officials and our people, especially our young generation."
Discussing the goals of holding forums on justice, His Eminence said that in order to practice maximum level of justice, it is necessary to utilize new and effective methods and strategies and to make concerted intellectual efforts.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the era of trial and error is over as far as justice is concerned. He stressed: "Regarding justice, we have acted on the basis of trial and error in many cases during the past three decades, but from now on we must move forward on the basis of firm definitions and methods."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that in order to take quantum leaps, it is also necessary to pay more attention to the issue of justice. "The continuation of this accelerated movement requires great decisions, and if the element of justice and the relationship between justice and progress are ignored when making such decisions, irreparable damage will be caused."
Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei discussed theoretical aspects of justice and stated: "Our goal is to achieve a pure Islamic theory on justice. In order to reach this essential goal, it is necessary to refer to our Islamic sources with a modern and innovative perspective, and we must extract a pure Islamic theory on justice by using special methods and techniques."
His Eminence stressed that when trying to develop an Islamic theory on justice, it is necessary to seriously avoid assembling ideas from other theories. He added that the theory should be extracted from Islamic sources.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that in any school of thought the definition of justice is based on the ontological foundations of that school of thought. "For this reason, it is necessary to avoid using other schools of thought when extracting the Islamic theory on justice."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that there is a deep-rooted difference between the Islamic view of justice and the view of human schools of thought. He added: "In Islam, justice originates from the truth, and practicing justice is a divine responsibility. This is while human schools of thought do not have this view."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that differences of opinion and exchange of ideas are a necessity in the process of developing a pure Islamic theory on justice. "It is wrong to think that our goal is to develop a theory based on a prejudgment. On the contrary, we must try to develop a theory that is correct and appropriate in the light of exchange of ideas and scholarly dynamism."
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: "Even after achieving a pure Islamic theory on justice, it is necessary to continue exchange of ideas in this regard."
He added: "At this stage, it is necessary to make efforts to achieve a firm, logical and valid conclusion regarding justice so that long-term plans can be developed relying on this conclusion."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: "After this conclusion is reached, it is necessary to carry out new studies, especially in practical and executive areas. In this regard, we can make use of what other people have experienced."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that it is important to develop a standard to assess the degree of social justice and reiterated: "Some of the famous western standards can be used only in certain conditions, but many of them are either flawed or totally wrong. Therefore, it is necessary to define independent standards to establish justice based on an Islamic perspective."