Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said here on Monday that Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari was at the helm of Islamic intellectualism during the decades of the 1340s (1960s) and 1350s (1970s).
In a meeting with members of the International Forum on Ayatollah Motahhari sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the Leader honored Ayatollah Motahhari for his innovative theories and clarification of Islamic ideology for the young generation.
The Leader said that Motahhari laid the foundation of the intellectual approach to social issues in line with Islamic ideology and overcame the imported ideologies of the East and the West.
"Ayatollah Motahhari was pious, brave, polite, self-confident, and an advocate of justice in his debates. He opposed Marxist and liberal thoughts for several years with his adequate theoretical knowledge and presented an illuminating picture of Islamic ideology for the young intellectuals overwhelmed by imported ideologies," the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei advised the young generation to read Ayatollah Motahhari's books and said that Motahhari was a proponent of Islamic intellectualism and his methodology in dealing with the imported ideologies has proven to be effective.
Prior to the Leader's remarks, IRIB administrator Ali Larijani said the Motahhari Forum has initiated research studies on Motahhari's approach to Islamic philosophy.
Motahhari's philosophy examined freedom, freedom of thought, women and women's rights in the context of religion, dialogue among religions, and intellectual and philosophical innovation, he said.