Once we went to Imam (r.a.) on a particular occasion. Our discussion was about a seminarian who had committed a wrongdoing. Imam (r.a.) was consulting with us to see how he should be treated. I said to him, "Your victory in the Revolution was the product of the 1,000-year reputation of Shia seminarians. Otherwise, when a marja enters the arena, why should the people follow him and lay down their lives?" This was what the people did during the movement of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). One thousand years of Shia credibility accumulated until it reached the time when a marja like our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) - who had great courage and capabilities, who was a self-sacrificing personality and who enjoyed awareness of the developments of the time - entered the arena and the people followed him.
Now, some of our colleagues are nibbling at this 1,000-year credibility like a termite which penetrates a structure. Imam (r.a.) expressed his agreement with me. This is the truth. We should take care not to be like termites. God forbid, any indecent and inappropriate course of action that each of us adopts is like a rift in the valuable 1,000-year resource of Shia seminarians and clergy.
Imam Khamenei, Nov 8, 2006
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