The following is the full text of the speech delivered on July 11, 2010 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with his representatives in universities.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to welcome you dear brothers and sisters. As was pointed out, there has been a delay in meeting you dear friends. I thank God for this meeting and I express my deep gratitude to Mr. Mohammadian for organizing this meeting.
The existence of clergy in universities is a very important issue. Like other important issues, we have gotten used to this phenomenon and we do not understand its significance in the proper way. Notice on what bases the universities of the country have been built, what frameworks have been established for universities from the beginning and what learning materials - which have a special meaning in terms of values and intellectual orientations - have been prepared. Then, you should compare the pre-revolutionary era with the conditions which exist in our universities today in terms of the presence of clergy and outstanding religious scholars and their close relationship with professors and students. These conditions exist in the shade of the Islamic Revolution and Islam. When you draw this comparison, you will see how significant the presence of great clergy and honorable religious scholar is among students and in academic environments.
When we realize how significant this presence is, the first effect this should produce is that we ourselves - that is to say, you and I - who interact with universities, should appreciate these conditions and thank God in the real sense of the word for this great blessing. Thanking God, gaining a deep understanding of divine blessings, knowing that God has bestowed them on us and utilizing them are all based on the will of God. This is the practical and complete meaning of thanking God. You should thank God for this blessing. If we thank God, this will entrust us with a list of responsibilities and duties.
On the issue of the comparison that I referred to, I should add that before the Revolution, a number of clergy - including this humble person - had certain interactions with students. These interactions did not pivot around partisan and revolutionary activities. Rather, it pivoted around intellectual and scholarly issues. Students used to participate in our meetings and sometimes, we used to participate in student meetings which were held in universities.
In those days, I had certain meetings in Mashhad which were held between maghrib and isha prayers. I used to stand at the blackboard and speak to students for about 20, 30 minutes. In those meetings, 90 percent of the audience was comprised of young individuals and they were mostly university and high school students.
One night, the late Shahid Bahonar (may God bestow mercy on him) came to Mashhad. He went to mosque with me. When he saw these students, he was astonished. This is while Mr. Bahonar was a person who used to interact with youth and students in Tehran. He said, "I have not seen this large number of students in a mosque in my entire life".
How many youth do you think had gathered in our mosque? At most, there were about 340, 350 students. A gathering of about 300, 350 youth - perhaps, 200 of these youth were students - was an astonishing phenomenon for an intellectual cleric like Mr. Bahonar who used to interact with students, who was an academic personality, who had studied in universities, who knew academic environments and who was aware of the religious activities of the time. He was surprised and astonished to see that 200 students had gathered in one place and that a cleric was speaking to them.
Now compare this with the conditions that you have in universities today. See how easily young and knowledgeable clerics like you can interact with universities, students and professors and compare this with the conditions which existed before the Revolution. See what a great and precious opportunity this is. This opportunity should be preserved and it should really be appreciated. This is the main point.
The significance of this event and phenomenon can be grasped when we realize that ill-wishers and the enemies' propaganda networks have focused their attention on universities. As you see, one of the things which their propaganda networks exert pressure on is the issue of Islamizing universities because the Islamic Republic wants universities to be Islamized and the interaction of clerics with students is one of the manifestations of this Islamization.
The second point is about our universities, students and professors. I completely agree with what Mr. Mohammadian said about students' thoughts and their intellectual orientations. Some people only look at negative points. When we praise our universities, students and youth, these people say, "Most probably, they are not aware of such and such immoral acts and problems in universities". This is not the case. The issue is not about our lack of information. We are not unaware of negative points and dark aspects of universities. However, we should look at the nature of the issue. We should look at the nature of youth, particularly students. We should pay attention that our understanding and wise students live in a communal environment and that they are subject to strange propaganda, temptations and negative influence in today's world.
Considering these things, you should see the bright realities - in terms of religion - which exist in our academic environments. One can see that these realities are very important. The issues which were pointed out in this meeting - such as itikaf, public prayers, active presence of youth in sensitive times and in sensitive places, jihadi camps and the activities of students in the area of construction - are very important.
Our young students are really unique in the present time. The same is true of our professors. There are so many religious, pious and active professors who are interested in the religious and Islamic fate of their country and people. This large number of professors and students never existed in the past. This did not exist nor could one have ever imagined it either. Our academic environment is such an environment. It is an environment for religion and Islam.
Of course, this does not mean that we are satisfied with this. The issue is not about our satisfaction with these achievements, but one cannot help being deeply satisfied and pleased. This is God's great blessing. Therefore, these are the realities. Our academic environment is really good and appropriate. Considering expectations of this environment, it is really outstanding in terms of religion.
Expectations [of the academic environment] should be taken into account. Expectations of different environments are numerous. Our expectations of university environments are different from our expectations of Islamic seminaries. The requirements of university environments, the factors which play a role and the historical factors which have shaped universities should be taken into account so that one can carry out a thorough evaluation. Therefore, our academic environment is a good one and we should benefit from it.
In my opinion, what is of primary importance is the minds and hearts of your audience - first, their minds and second, their hearts. The former means that you should strengthen the beliefs of youth. Youth are subject to change and development. The issue of exerting influence on people plays a great role in today's world. You should strengthen the intellectual make-up of youth in a way that not only will they not be influenced by opposing and hostile elements, but they will also influence their own environment. Youth should be able to enlighten their environment, to familiarize it with Islamic principles and teachings and to play a pioneering and leading role on this path. They should enjoy such conditions in intellectual areas.
I said that you should pay attention to the hearts of your audience. This is because mind is not really enough for one's transcendence and steadfastness on the straight path. As well as the ideological and intellectual aspect, the spiritual aspect is necessary as well. It is necessary for one to pay attention to the spirit of obedience, humility, dhikr and attention to God.
If this exists, many shortcomings will be made up for. If this does not exist, the intellectual and rational capabilities of individuals will not help them in many cases. Without the spiritual aspect, these capabilities will not be of any assistance. The hearts of youth should be softened with good advice and counsel and with good behavior. They should be familiarized with humility, supplication, dhikr and attention to God.
Daily prayers and divine dhikr should be portrayed for them in a correct way. This can be a source of support for the intellectual aspect. If this happens, one's intellectual strength will be indestructible. This softness of heart, dhikr and attention to God will be valuable for us in the arena of action. It is this softness of heart which holds us tightly. This is necessary. These two aspects should be strengthened in youth.
You should hold ethics classes and these classes should be compatible with and suitable for today's academic discourses, students' thoughts and intellectual frameworks. These are necessary and inevitable tasks. One manifestation of using the discourse of the time is this. We should use students' discourse. We should use the language which is understandable to students.
There are many discourses that are efficient in some environments, but that are inefficient in other environments. This is like the difference between words. In fact, the difference between different discourses is like the difference between words. This is like speaking Gujarati in a Persian-speaking environment. No one understands anything if you speak this language in a Persian-speaking environment. If one is not familiar with the language of youth and student environments and if one does not use this language, the path of intellectual interactions will be closed and there will be little influence. Therefore, it is very necessary to use the discourse of the time.
On the issue of good advice, I believe that the issue of behavior - I do not want to use the word education because this has a broad meaning - is necessary as well as the issue of discourse. The hadith "Invite people to good by using means other than your tongue" [Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 82, page 135] is about this. What softens hearts and what brings hostilities and hostile individuals to their knees is appropriate and good behavior.
Good behavior includes good conduct, humility, honesty in speaking and adopting orientations, openness in stating the truth and broadmindedness about worldly and otherworldly issues. These are things which show our purity of action. If, by Allah's favor, we have purity of action, this will naturally show itself in our behavior and our words. Therefore, this is the best way to pay attention to the second important aspect [the spiritual aspect]. First, we should use the language of advice in a brotherly and sometimes fatherly way and second, we should pay attention to our behavior and actions.
In my opinion, one of the things which helps you do this is paying attention to the hadith narrated by the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) about the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.): "The Prophet was like a roaming physician who has set ready his ointments and heated his instruments. He uses them wherever the need arises for curing blind hearts, deaf ears, and dumb tongues" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 108]. We should not confine ourselves in our rooms and behind our desks. It is not to the advantage of us seminarians to act in a formal and bureaucratic way. Wherever we are and whatever responsibility we have, we should not lose our clerical and seminarian characteristics - which are establishing a close relationship with people, being among them, using their discourse and listening to their problems.
Of course, we have seen both of these types of behavior among clerics. There have been a number of clerics who did not hold any official position, but who behaved in a formal, strict, inflexible, indifferent and cold way towards the people who had contact with them. We have witnessed the opposite behavior as well. There have been a number of clerics who had official responsibilities, but who behaved in a kind, fatherly, understanding and sympathetic way towards the people who had contact with them. This is good. This is appropriate. So, this is another important issue: clerics in charge of academic affairs should not confine themselves in bureaucratic molds.
This does not mean that I am opposed to systematic work. This is not what I mean. Without systematic work and without organization, management is not possible and things will not move forward. So, this is not what I mean. I believe in systematic order, but I also believe that this systematic order should not change our identity because we are clerics.
We should behave in a clerical and seminarian way which is the characteristic of the world of Shia Islam. Of course, this spirit is not completely absent in other Islamic denominations and religions. It exists in a number of denominations and religions and this is very good for them as well. But this is a tradition in Shia Islam. You should preserve the spirit which exists among Shia clerics - that is to say, establishing a close relationship with people, relying on them, being kind to them and behaving in a sympathetic way towards their pains - because this is very important.
Well, the friends in this meeting pointed out to the measures which have been adopted. These measures are very good. Another piece of advice that I would like to offer is that you should coordinate activities in favor of the frontline forces rather than the organizational force. Of course, this responsibility is related to managers in your group. You should pay more attention to the force which is in the middle of the arena rather than to the organizational force. The responsibility of the organizational force is to devise plans and identify mid-term, long-term and other such guidelines. The role of the organizational force should be confined to this. If the organizational force expands, it will create certain problems and it will make the body heavy.
In any case, your responsibility is very important and your group has thankfully adopted good measures over these years. I hope that Allah the Exalted will help you continue this sacred effort and this jihad.
Of course, Islamic seminaries really have heavy responsibilities for supporting this group in human and scholarly areas. Islamic seminaries have certain responsibilities in this regard, as is the case with executive organizations. Fortunately, the ground is prepared for you in this administration. I am saying this based on my information about decision-making organizations. In this administration and in the current term, the path is smooth for you. In previous administrations, the path was not as smooth as it is now. In previous administrations, some people did not believe in the essence of the issue and some people offered little help. This is another reason for thanking God and we should benefit from this blessing.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will make all of you successful and approve of you. I hope that, by Allah's favor, the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) approves of what you are doing. God willing, you will carry out the task in a better way and at a higher level on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings