Speaking at a meeting with thousands of ulama, scholars, clergy and students of Islamic seminaries of Fars province, Ayatollah Khamenei described learning theology, divine knowledge and being in close contact with national and international developments as the most important duty of the clergy. He added: "The clergy and the students of Islamic seminaries have a responsibility to help achieve the goals set by the Islamic Republic."Speaking at a meeting with thousands of ulama, scholars, clergy and students of Islamic seminaries of Fars province, Ayatollah Khamenei described learning theology, divine knowledge and being in close contact with national and international developments as the most important duty of the clergy. He added: "The clergy and the students of Islamic seminaries have a responsibility to help achieve the goals set by the Islamic Republic."
Clarifying the difficulty duties of the clergy, His Eminence referred to security as a basic human need and reiterated: "True security for nations will be gained by relying on the two factors of power and religious spirituality. As the manifestation of religion-based political power, the Islamic Republic is a model that must enjoy these two qualities. And it is this requirement that makes the responsibility of the clergy very heavy."
Referring to the increasing influence of the clergy, he said: "Unlike the past, the influence of the clergy is not limited to individual affairs or certain groups of people. On the contrary, the clergy claim to serve as a beacon of spiritual guidance for humanity, which would naturally lead to many commitments and responsibilities to be undertaken by the clergy."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the fulfillment of the important responsibilities of the clergy is primarily dependant upon piety. "The clergy in general and the young students of Islamic seminaries in particular must treat self-edification and self-education very seriously because an impious man cannot guide others onto the right path," he said.
His Eminence referred to learning theology as the second important requirement for the clergy. Pointing to the martyrdom anniversary of Ayatullah Morteza Motahhari, he said: "That honorable martyr was well acquainted with theology and religious realities, and his valuable books were a sign of great divine grace that had been bestowed upon that martyr. The youth have to study his books in order to be acquainted with Islamic thought."
The Leader described familiarity with Islamic jurisprudence and rational sciences as necessary for the students of Islamic seminaries. Touching upon the efforts by some powers to divert the attention of nations from philosophy and quasi-philosophical matters, His Eminence said: "One cannot deal with these efforts through excommunication, insult and anger. Rather, one should salve the human mind from misguided ideas by relying on religious realities and intellectual sciences, and achieving this important goal requires that one become knowledgeable and help train intellectual thinkers."
His Eminence described familiarity with logic and today's language as important and added: "We should use modern tools and methods to broadcast and clarify the issues, but using logic and today's language means understanding the mentality of the addressee and finding scholarly solutions to solve their current problems."
Having clarified the needs and the current necessities of the clergy and Islamic seminaries, Ayatollah Khamenei described a logical view towards global policies and familiarity with the current local and international political issues as vital for the clergy to fulfill their grave responsibilities and added: "An informed clergyman should, by understanding international political issues, have an understanding of the two critical issues regarding the humanity, namely being misled or being rightly guided."
His Eminence considered the superpowers' policies as the bases of corruption, oppression, war, and bloodshed in the world and added: "The Islamic Republic is the standard-bearer of opposing such policies in the world, and it is due to these reasons that it is the subject of constant attacks by global hegemony."
His Eminence also criticized those who have, due to their weakness and credulity, confused foresight with violating the principles. He added: "The basic goal is for us to gain inspirations from Islam in a vigilant and informed manner, to bravely announce our goals, and to move towards those goals."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called vigilance against the enemies as one of the manifestations of faith and added: "The Islamic Republic has the capacity to promote moral issues, and Islamic seminaries should train pious, vigilant, informed and brave clergy. These pious scholars should shoulder a great portion of the burden of preserving the Islamic Republic."
At the beginning of his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution described Fars province as a region with great scientific and religious resources. Referring to the unparalleled background of the region in instructing valuable scholars during the past 1000 years, His Eminence added: "These facts are an indication of the religious and moral awareness of the people in this region during the past, present and the future, and this should be appreciated."
At the beginning of this meeting the Leader's representative in Fars province, Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi, referred to the lack of security in the West despite their apparent power and added: "Security is composed of the two elements of outside authority and local restrictive power, but the current Western civilization is moving away from security by violating moral principles."