Leader Stresses Need to Continue Motahhari's Jihad Against Foreign Ideas

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei eulogized the life and works of Martyr Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari here on Sunday, saying he offered timely, profound, and scholarly challenges to foreign ideas and upheld true Islamic concepts.

In his message to a conference on the martyr's thoughts, Ayatollah Khamenei also stressed the need to continue the genuine and profound movement of Martyr Motahhari, which is of great assistance to intellectuals because of its scholarly critique of foreign ideas.

He said the jihad against ideas imported from both the East and the West initiated by the martyr continues to this day, adding that Ayatollah Motahhari ventured into unexplored realms.

The Leader went on to highlight Motahhari's role in introducing genuine Islam to the world and pointing out wrong interpretations, which helped establish the scholarly foundation of the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei also urged conference participants to explore ways to follow the martyr's example through encouraging profound elaborations on Islam in order to silence those who have been treacherously challenging Islamic ideas, particularly since the victory of the Islamic Revolution 25 years ago.

An international conference on the thoughts and philosophy of Martyr Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari opened here on Sunday morning. President Mohammad Khatami attended the opening ceremony.

The four-day conference was organized with the intention of familiarizing Iranian youth with the martyr's ideology and thoughts and encouraging religious and philosophical centers throughout the world to study and analyze Motahhari's ideas.

Ayatollah Motahhari, a prominent Islamic intellectual, was assassinated by the terrorist group Forqan in 1979.

Over 80 experts from 30 countries are participating in the conference.