In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qasem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate and infallible Progeny, especially the one remaining with God on earth
It is very gladdening to meet with you in person after two years of being deprived of this sweet and friendly meeting. I am also very happy about the speeches delivered by you. Of course, I must say that because some of the gentlemen at the meeting spoke very fast – except for the last person, Mr. Panahi, who spoke at a good pace and I understood most of what he said – I understood some points, but missed out on some other points. You must definitely give me your writings so that I look at them later on.
Before I enter into the main discussion, I wish to briefly mention that what you said in general are your heartfelt concerns and one likes listening to such statements, but there are convincing answers for many of these concerns. There are cogent answers for many of the criticisms made. It is not the case that the criticism that you or your student group have thought about refers to a dead-end situation. No, there are answers for many of these criticisms. Of course, some of you put forward certain suggestions some of which might really be practical and feasible, but most of you voiced criticisms. Regarding many, not all, of these criticisms, our problem is that you do not have discussions with the officials in charge. This must be resolved.
Well, I used to go to the University of Tehran every week, without any exception. This dates back to 40 years ago, not now. There, students would gather and pose their questions and I would provide answers, thus many problems would be resolved and many feelings would be expressed. In certain cases, there were no answers for the criticisms made and we understood that there was a need for something to be done. Such problems must be resolved.
I have advised officials in various organizations and ministers to come and hold discussions with you. Well, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps were mentioned here. These organizations must step forward and speak. Many of these criticisms can be explained. Of course, in certain cases, there may not be good explanations and the other side will understand the need for taking action in that regard. This is a point that I wanted to raise so that you will take it into consideration.
There was talk of the Majlis and there was a complaint about it. There was also a request for taking back the title of “revolutionary” from this Majlis. Well, many of the MPs of this Majlis were once youth like you in your position. Many of them were youth who used to stand up here, making criticisms and expressing their viewpoints. They are revolutionary. It is not the case that they are not revolutionary. Of course, I do not know each and every one of them, but my judgement is about their group in general. The group is not bad. The group of people who work in the Majlis, in the administration and in some other organizations are good. Of course, some of them might have some flaws.
In any case, you should know that I enjoyed listening to you today. When you sit and think about the various aspects of an issue, reach a conclusion and express it here in an outspoken way, this is a beneficial and valuable thing for me.
The first point that I want to raise is a word of advice to you dear ones. The Commander of the Faithful (peace and greetings be upon him) wrote a letter to his beloved son, Imam Hassan, saying: “Rejuvenate your heart with advice” [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31]. This was said by the Commander of the Faithful and it was addressed to his dear son, Imam Hassan. It is interesting to know that the Commander of the Faithful wrote this letter on his way back from the Battle of Siffin, amid the turbulent events that had occurred to him. The letter is in Nahjul Balaghah and it would not be bad for you to read it: “Rejuvenate your heart with advice.” Advice is necessary.
The piece of advice that I want to offer is based on an ayah in Sura Maryam which is a really moving ayah of the Quran. Whenever we read this ayah, it really moves us. It says, “Warn them of the Day of Distress, when the matter will be determined, for they are negligent” [The Holy Quran, 19: 39]. It basically says, “Oh Our Messenger, warn those who have succumbed into negligence about the Day of Regret.” The Day of Regret is another term for Judgement Day. “When the matter will be determined” means when things have already been done and there is nothing else one can do. It asks the Prophet to frighten them of that day.
On Judgement Day, people see that they could have earned a big reward with one small deed. One small action in this world could have brought them everlasting and profitable outcomes in the hereafter, but they did not do it and therefore, one feels regretful. Or they could have avoided a painful retribution by moving away from something bad and from saying a bad comment, but they did not show the determination to do so. Therefore, we must decide to work correctly, to act correctly, to speak correctly and to plan correctly. We must make a decision to do this. The Day of Regret is a difficult day.
These decisions are much easier during one’s youth. It is much easier than making it at an age like mine and people at my age. Sometimes, we witness instances of this great regret in this world. Sometimes, we miss something and we regret our actions, saying why we did this and we did not do that. Of course, such feelings are much smaller in scope than what we feel on Judgement Day. It is thousands of times smaller, but it is a regret anyway. Fortunately, today, you do not feel regretful like this because you are young. Such feelings occur to people like us who have gone through our youth and middle age. We should have done certain things, but we did not. We should not have done certain things, but we did.
You must appreciate the value of the opportunity which is ahead of you. At your age, you may have 60, 70 years ahead of you. You must appreciate the value of the opportunity that is ahead of you. This is my advice for you today.
The point that I have prepared to discuss with you is related to universities and academic affairs. One of the gentlemen made a slight criticism about universities and students. I too have viewpoints and suggestions about academic affairs, which I will discuss.
First of all, I wish to speak about the necessity for universities to play their role, secondly, they must play this role in a near future, and thirdly, I want to speak about the opportunities and threats that exist and after that, I will raise some practical points for students. These are the points that I want to discuss. If you show patience and if am capable of finishing them, I will raise these points with you.
Since the beginning of the Revolution, academic affairs were brought up as a fundamental issue. When the Revolution was formed, it had lofty goals such as turning the individualistic and monarchic regime into a popular government, changing the policy to follow other countries into the policy of independence and other important goals that the Revolution had. However, in addition to these goals, the Revolution had some urgent operational plans one of which was to attend to universities. Other such plans were the issue of the country’s security, the security of the borders and domestic security. These were fundamental and important issues that were on the table for the Revolution as it tried to resolve them. One of these issues was academic issues.
Academic matters were significant because universities were a reality that was based on a need, but there were two outlooks towards universities: one was the Revolution’s outlook and another came from a reactionary and anti-revolutionary orientation. The second outlook had to change into the Revolution’s outlook. Therefore, that was a challenge. Since the first day, academic matters were a challenge. That is why Imam established the Headquarters of the Cultural Revolution.
One of the gentlemen at the meeting pointed to the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. Well, this council was established on the basis of a study. It was not the case that we decided to establish it without any reason. The predecessor of this council was the Headquarters of the Cultural Revolution which was established by Imam himself. Of course, the Supreme Council was established by Imam as well, but after having established the Headquarters. In the beginning of the Revolution, Imam established the Headquarters of the Cultural Revolution for managing the affairs of universities. Notice that this shows the significance of universities in the eyes of Imam. After that too, Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) made important comments about universities. This shows that academic affairs were a top-tier challenge for the Revolution.
So, how are those two outlooks in conflict with one another? One is that the Revolution regarded universities as a center for cultivating outstanding personalities, the progress of the country and the resolution of problems. This is the viewpoint of the Revolution towards academia: cultivating outstanding personalities for resolving the problems of the country, for the sake of the progress of the country, and for compensating for backwardness dating back to two, three centuries.
The Revolution had such an outlook towards universities whereas that reactionary anti-revolutionary orientation did not have such an outlook at all. They established universities in the country and managed their affairs for the sake of producing agents so that individuals from among the people themselves would do things that they wanted to do. This requires a detailed discussion. It is a long story which is related to neocolonial policies.
Unfortunately, youth study little. I do not know how many books you have read about colonialism and neocolonialism and how much you know about it. Since the 17th century – around the 1600s in the Christian calendar – the Europeans engaged in colonizing the world. First, the Portuguese, after that the Spanish, and later on, other European countries did that. In other words, they would colonize and manage the affairs of weak countries with bloodshed and by force and they would loot their resources.
In the 20th century, after three, four centuries of colonialism, they reached the conclusion that direct colonialism would not work anymore. Therefore, a new policy came into being which was to train individuals in those target countries so that those individuals would do the same things that the colonizers wanted to do, to say the same things that they wanted to say, to adopt the measures that they wanted to adopt. This was the essence of it. So, for westerners, the attitude towards universities, towards the cultivation and identification of outstanding personalities in target countries was this. This was referred to as neocolonialism.
Many books have been written and many comments have been made about neocolonialism. A large number of individuals have carried out extensive research about this and it will be good for you to read them. The outlook of the reactionary and anti-revolutionary orientation towards universities was this. Well, this is in stark contrast with the Revolution’s outlook.
Another challenge about universities was that the Revolution viewed universities as centers of producing and cultivating science in order to move it forward. It wanted universities to learn science first and to produce and move it forward afterwards so that they would ensure national power with the help of science. This is because knowledge and science empower nations and countries. This is the viewpoint of the Revolution.
The viewpoint of that reactionary and anti-revolutionary orientation was nothing like this. They did not expect universities to produce science, rather they wanted our universities – not only the universities in our country, rather the universities in all target countries – to learn the leftovers of western science, which was a useless product or a product of little use. They wanted to deprive them of science production. In other words, they did not wish science to make any progress in such countries. This was their goal. Any scientific and innovative movement in these countries has been thwarted. These are facts, not claims. These are the things that have happened. Well, that was a challenge too.
They wanted to produce consumerist scientists and societies by using universities. A consumerist scientist is a person who consumes western science, and not advanced science, rather expired and out-of-date science. A consumerist society means that when such consumerist scientists and graduates assume managerial positions in society, they will embark on creating a consumerist society and create a market for western products. This was the goal of establishing universities. There was such an outlook towards academic institutions.
Another challenge regarding universities was the goal of the Revolution to establish religious universities so much so that when youth entered a university, studied for a few years and graduated, they would become religious, even more religious than before being admitted into a university. However, their goal was quite the opposite of this. They wanted to destroy religion in universities and they did so. Of course, they did not succeed much in that goal, but they did whatever they could to that end.
When I say that they did not succeed, this is because from those very same universities created by taghut and formulated by the westerners, individuals like Hassan Baqeri emerged. He was an outstanding and prominent martyr who studied in the Law School of the University of Tehran. I could equally mention a number of nuclear martyrs who were the students of those days. Many martyrs of the Sacred Defense Era, those outstanding Sardars, were students in pre-revolutionary universities. Therefore, they did not completely succeed in their goal to destroy religion, but they did whatever they could anyway. There are bitter memories in this regard some of which cannot even be mentioned here and some are not suitable for this meeting and the limited time that we have. Therefore, from the first day, the issue of universities was a challenge between the revolutionary and anti-revolutionary orientations.
Well, what did the Revolution do for universities? The great thing that the Revolution did for universities was giving an identity to them and also to the Iranian nation. The Revolution gave a sense of identity to the nation. It gave the people ideals, personality and independence. It gave them a bright horizon. These are the things that the Revolution did for the Iranian nation. Naturally, when a nation is given a national movement, identity and ideals, those who will reap the most benefits are academic youth and young students because of their sentiments, awareness and purity.
Universities felt that they had an identity and this sense of identity caused universities and students not to have a sense of humiliation and weakness in the face of western powers. This is the exact opposite of what existed before the Revolution. In other words, despite the fact that Tehran University students knew that those who had gathered their forces in that university were receiving help from the Soviet Union Embassy and were reliant on Soviet policies, they went and encountered them with complete power and purged the University of Tehran of those elements.
Also, the students who occupied the US Embassy as a center of hatching plots against the Islamic government knew what they were doing. They were wrestling with US power, but they did not feel weak, rather they felt powerful. This is identity and having a sense of it. This is having a sense of independence and personality. This was given to universities.
I think that students were a group of people with the largest number of members in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. Of course, I cannot give exact figures in this regard, but I think this is the case. In the very beginning, students went and became members at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. In those days, the Guards Corps was a center of national and revolutionary power, which was correct and today, it has such a status as well. They would go and become members there and they were prepared. In other words, when a person joined the Guards Corps, that meant that they were ready to fight and to resist superpowers in the world. Such was the case of giving identity to universities. There was a feeling of independence and top-tier powers in the world were humiliated.
In those days, young students would feel the sweetness of independence. Today, you do not find it very sweet to have a sense of independence because you have lived all your lives in a country that is perhaps one of the most independent countries in political terms. Your country did not follow others’ leads and did not obey them. You have not tasted and felt the humiliation of being a follower of others.
Therefore, you do not appreciate it very much, but the youth of those days would feel it tangibly. People like us who were in the arena of fighting would feel it very strongly, but young students too would understand it because they were witness to the behavior of the royal court, the government and the officials towards the US and the Europeans. Therefore, they had experienced that humiliation. That was why they appreciated the feeling of independence as a sweet phenomenon.
Therefore, the Revolution had very good achievements in its challenge regarding universities. I am not saying that it completely turned universities into ideal universities from the viewpoint of the Revolution and Islam. No one makes such a claim, but it managed to make a correct, solid and praiseworthy move in the face of the anti-revolutionary orientation. It gave a personality to universities.
In those days, a number of students went and cooperated with an association in Qom. They held many meetings for preparing books on humanities. Of course, that effort was not very successful, but that required courage. University professors and students in Tehran and a number of Islamic thinkers in Qom prepared many books. Such endeavors were carried out in the very beginning.
Later on, Islamic associations were established in the universities of the country followed by Student Basij and Faculty Basij which embodied the flags of the Revolution. Islamic associations were the flags of the Revolution in those days in the real sense of the word. Good and deep discussions used to be held. Well, I was in contact with them. Islamic associations had asked Imam and Imam introduced me to them so that they would be in contact with me. I was constantly in contact with those associations and the youth.
We used to hold many meetings at Amir Kabir University. We would hold different discussions, good theoretical and deep discussions. Well, that was the first step, but that did not mean that the confrontation was over. It was not the case that with the success achieved by the revolutionary orientation, the anti-revolutionary orientation would sit back, let universities alone and forget about the confrontation. That was not the case. The challenge continued and over the course of these long years – these past decades – there have been ups and downs in universities which is a long story. In my opinion, this can be the subject for research. A study can be conducted on the fate of the universities of the country after the Revolution, about its ups and downs, peaks and troughs, the individuals who studied in universities, how they fared, what became of them and who replaced them. These are important matters that can become the subject of a study and a detailed piece of research.
What I want to conclude from these statements is that today, the Islamic Republic can firstly be proud of its academic institutions and it is secondly responsible for being concerned about them. I will explain both a little. The reason why the Islamic Republic can be proud of its universities is that today, universities are not really comparable with the universities in the beginning of the Revolution. Of course, in those days, they were more enthusiastic with exciting moves in them – well, it was the beginning of the Revolution – but today, the universities of our country are not really comparable with the ones that we had in the initial stage of the Revolution.
First of all, in terms of the number of students, in those days, the students in all universities of the country amounted to 150,000 individuals. Today, we have millions, excluding the graduates. Today’s students are several million in number. In terms of quantity, they are not really comparable, taking into account both state and private universities.
Secondly, in terms of professors, according to the report that we received in those days, the number of all university professors in Tehran in the beginning of the Revolution did not exceed five thousand. Today, we have tens of thousand professors some of whom are outstanding and prominent personalities. The number of professors, just like that of students, is really a source of pride.
Another achievement is our dazzling scientific progress. In those days, we did not really produce anything impressive in terms of scientific work. That was really the case. An outstanding youth might have carried out a scientific or intellectual endeavor here or there that we might not have known about, but universities in general did not launch an eye-catching and noteworthy movement in their entirety. Today, by God’s favor and grace, impressive and stunning scientific feats have been accomplished and this is being continued by professors, educational workshops and elite students.
Another accomplishment is the cultivation of outstanding personalities. Today, we have an abundance of outstanding personalities in the country. Of course, some of them leave the country and some people mourn their departure. Yes, we would love our outstanding personalities to stay in the country, but those who stay in the country are several times larger than those who have left. Fortunately, our universities are very good in this regard.
The presence of graduates in executive management is also very important. We have had good managers at various points in time. We have had good managers. The fact that you voice criticisms directed at such and such an administration and its officials does not mean that there have been no prominent, good – and as mentioned by a brother of ours at the meeting – knowledgeable, brave and sincere managers. There have indeed been good managers and at present too, we do have good managers. In the present time, as a common expression says, those who are still fresh from the oven of universities are present in the administration, the Majlis and the like.
I can also mention exemplary Islamic and religious criteria. It is not the case that I am unaware of ideological, religious and behavioral problems in today’s universities. I am more or less aware of them, but the presence of religion in the universities of the country is a completely noticeable, visible, exciting and exemplary presence. Surely in the world of Islam do we not have such a large number of youths who are interested in religious activities, itikaf, non-obligatory daily prayers, mass prayers, dua, vigil ceremonies and the recitation of the Quran in universities. Nowhere in the world of Islam do we have such a thing, but here, in our country, this is an undisputed matter.
Therefore, today, the Islamic Republic can truly be proud of its universities. As I stated before, this does not mean that today’s universities are the ideal version of what the Revolution wanted, but these very universities are ones that can be a source of pride in the true sense of the word.
As for the necessity to be concerned, why should we be concerned in the first place? This is because the dependent anti-reactionary and anti-revolutionary orientation was being nourished by foreign roots and those roots still exist and are supporting it inside the country. That orientation is still there and it is active too. Western colonial policies have not stopped working. That neocolonial policy, which I described in brief, is still in place and is working. Their think tanks, as they themselves put it, are thinking. They allocate budgets to this and work on our universities. Therefore, we must be concerned because the challenge is still ongoing.
You should compare the influence that our universities exert over the country and its affairs with the influence that 150-thousand students in the beginning of the Revolution exerted. Well, the former’s influence is much more. Therefore, if the enemy can do sabotage work inside universities, its outcomes, harm and damages will be several times more than the early revolutionary days. This is because universities are large and vast. They have a lot of youth in them. They have active speakers, artists and the like. Therefore, we must be concerned about this.
What should be we concerned about? What issue and matter requires that academic officials and you students be concerned about it? In my opinion, the issue is primarily the elimination of ideology and ideals in universities. What we must primarily be concerned and worried about is this. We must think about it. Everyone must do so including academic managers and activists such as university professors, researchers, you students and the officials of the country.
Today, in many statements that are published in newspapers and in cyberspace, you hear that the issue of destroying ideology is brought up as a necessary task. This is synonymous with the elimination of identity. Ideology is the philosophy, values and identity of a nation. Today, the qibla of such individuals is the US and the Americans themselves highlight and rely on American values. American values are an ideology in themselves, but such individuals are not prepared to learn this from the US. When it is said that the elimination of ideology is necessary in the country, this means that the intellectual identity of society, whose important manifestation is universities and students, has to be destroyed. The elimination of identity means this.
It means that the philosophical principles and the historical and national viewpoints of a nation should be humiliated. Their history and that of the Revolution should be humiliated, the big feats that have been accomplished should be played down. Of course, there are some shortcomings, but these shortcomings are magnified ten times. This is what the elimination of identity means. Then, western philosophy must replace this identity. An example of this attitude is the American 2030 education agenda which is an embodiment of the domination of western neocolonialism in our age. This is one of the manifestations of it.
Thanks to the Revolution, the great legacy of thinking and culture was revived in the country. This has to vanish or be undermined. This is the goal of the enemy. Today, we have tens of millions of youth in the country who are ready to climb the peaks. That is, today, the youth of our country are really ready, some of whom have religious and revolutionary motives and some may not have religious and revolutionary motives, but they are prepared anyway. They are prepared to launch a scientific movement and climb the summits of glory and national dignity. [According to the enemy] these youth must become dysfunctional and disappointed. They must turn their backs on the peaks and they must stop appreciating the path taken and blow a breath of cold and poisonous air in the trumpet of despair and render other youth hopeless as well.
Today, this is being done. Therefore, we must stand up against this. One must stand up against it. When you come here and speak with an exemplary courage and power – we really enjoy this power of eloquence, this enunciation and this solid rationale – they want to discourage these sentiments with temptations. They intend to inject a sense of a dead-end situation in youth so that they feel that nothing can be done because there is an impasse and all efforts are futile. This is what is being done. This is the effort to destroy identity.
As for the elimination of ideals, it means making individuals indifferent towards poverty, corruption and discrimination. From the viewpoint of the enemy, there must be a fight against the efforts to destroy these three big devils and evil elements – poverty, corruption and discrimination. They want to render individuals indifferent towards them. They want individuals to be indifferent towards the domination of western culture, make them less motivated about the standards of the Islamic Revolution.
Well, the Revolution has certain standards which have shaken the whole world and which stimulate resistance in countries. These standards are resistance against oppression and the refusal to give in to bullying and to being blackmailed. These are the standards of the Islamic Revolution. These are the standards of Islamic Iran. These have shaken the world and Islamic countries and have attracted nations to Iran.
Whenever our presidents showed their presence among the people in Islamic countries, despite their various orientations – some of them had completely different political orientations – the people chanted slogans for them and expressed their support. What is the reason for this? Why is the flag of the Islamic Republic raised by the people in different countries, but the flag of the US is burned? These standards have moved the world. Therefore, they want to undermine these standards inside the country and make individuals lose their motivation for them. Other standards include a return to original Islam, the rejection of reactionary attitude, and resistance on the issue of Palestine which I will discuss at the end of my statements, God willing.
So, these are the main concerns. We must have these concerns. Who the people who wish to eliminate identity, the ideals and independence are, what their number is and how successful they are is another issue. This discussion falls on you. You must sit down and discuss and study them in your meetings, but you should know – and you surely know – that such a thing exists. These are the concerns.
These concerns may have existed ten years ago as well, but today, they are more serious. Why? I will tell you that today, the world is on the verge of witnessing a new order. A new international order is ahead of the world which is in contrast with the bipolar order in place 20, 20-plus years ago during which time the US and the former Soviet Union and the western and eastern blocs were in power. This new order is also in contrast with the unipolar order which Bush Senior announced 30-plus years ago after the destruction of the Berlin Wall and of the Marxist system and governments. At that time, Bush Senior said that the world was a unipolar system with the US at the top of it. Of course, he was wrong and he had misunderstood the situation. From the same 20 years ago, the US has become weaker on a daily basis in its domestic and international policies, in its economy and security and everything else.
However, today, the world is on the verge of witnessing a new order. In my opinion, the Ukraine war should be looked at more deeply. This is not merely a military attack on a country. The moves that we see in Europe today are deep-rooted moves and one can predict complex and difficult futures.
If we assume that this guess is a correct and that the world is on the verge of a new order, then all countries, including our Islamic Iran, are responsible for showing their presence in this new order – both a hardware and software presence – in a way that they can ensure the safety and interests of the country and the nation so that they will not play a peripheral role and lag behind.
If the country is going to carry out this big task – in other words, if it wants to have a hardware and software presence in the formation of a new global order – then on whom falls the most responsibility? Who will fill the ranks in the frontlines? Students and academic personalities. You must stand ahead of everyone else. You must be the most influential group of people. If the concern that I spoke about – the elimination of identity and the ideals – is true about universities, it will be more serious at this point in time because of the situation that exists today.
This was an analysis and explanation about academic affairs. Of course, there are many things in this regard and we cannot cover all of them in one meeting. Time is limited and as some of the friends said, many student meetings are required to discuss them and even if I have the energy to attend them, this is not possible due to the coronavirus circumstances. By God’s favor, when the coronavirus comes to an end, we might be able to hold many meetings in this regard.
Others too must hold meetings. The intellectuals and thinkers of the country – we have experts, thinkers and theoreticians in the country unlike what the friends said: it is not the case that we have shortage of experts and thinkers in the country – they should sit and hold meetings. One must discuss these matters at length and there are many things to say. I too have many things to say, but I will not discuss them [due to lack of time].
I have a number of recommendations. My first recommendation to you students is to avoid being passive and hopeless. You should be careful. You should take care of yourselves and your heart. You should take care not to become passive and disappointed. You must be the centers of injecting hope in others. There are surely some problems in various areas, but are they unresolvable? Not at all. They can absolutely be resolved. There are good managers and they can resolve them. Until now too, they have done many things.
Ten, fifteen years ago, a scientific movement was proposed. Who would have believed that it would reach such a point? Thankfully, this movement made progress and great achievements were made. The same is true of technology, health, healthcare and treatment. Many great feats were accomplished in various areas. In other areas too, these feats can be accomplished. Therefore, my first recommendation is that you must show piety in this regard, in the same sense that I explained in my meeting with government officials. Piety means taking care of oneself. You must watch over yourselves so that you do not succumb to despair and hopelessness. This is my first recommendation. If you ignore this recommendation, not only will students relegate to a lower level, but the other engines of movement will slow down as well. Their movement will slow down. It will negatively affect them as well.
Youth your age showed determination in the Sacred Defense Era and saved the country. They saved the country in the literal sense of the word. They were young men of your age. In those days, many people would keep saying that it was not possible. I was in the middle of the arena, not the arena of war, rather the arena of military tasks and decision-making. I was witness to these things. Some individuals would say, “It is of no use. We cannot do anything and nothing can be done.” In other words, what they said was that we had to let Saddam’s forces, which had advanced up to 10 kilometers from Ahwaz, stay there and do nothing. In those days, there were some people who would say such things.
However, youth like you entered into the middle of the arena and acted in a way that the whole world was amazed. After the liberation of Khorramshahr, a delegation from different Islamic countries, headed by Mr. Sékou Touré who was the President of Guinea, travelled to our country. They were comprised of seven, eight heads of Islamic countries who kept coming here for playing a mediating role. They came both before and after the liberation of Khorramshahr. I was President at that time and I would meet with them. When they came after the liberation of Khorramshahr, Sékou Touré said that this time, Iran’s situation is different. Why? It was because Khorramshahr had been liberated and recaptured. Such is the effect of achievements in the world. They were youth your age who managed to accomplish this. Therefore, you too are capable of acting in the same way.
Of course, some individuals from former generations could not continue and they made mistakes. In circumstances where they should not have lost hope, they lost hope and this hopelessness drew them out of the arena and some left the arena in a bad manner. Some only left, but in the case of others, as well as leaving the arena of revolutionary fighting, they added their voice to unsympathetic orientations. Therefore, my first recommendation is that you should take care not to turn your backs on the horizons and the peaks. You must always look towards the peaks and bright horizons ahead of you.
The next recommendation is about thinking and deliberating. Notice that two things are necessary in universities: science and thinking. Science without thinking becomes problematic. A science that is devoid of thinking will take the wrong path and will turn into weapons of mass destruction, atomic and nuclear weapons and some other scientific phenomena that could ruin humanity. This is the result of a science that is not accompanied by correct thinking and that moves in an irrational and inconsiderate way. Universities really acted on our advice to move science forward. I also placed great emphasis on thinking, but it seems that the latter is more difficult. Working on this seems to be more difficult and not much work has been done in this area.
An important task is to take an intellectual approach. My recommendation is that you must sit and think. You are talented and gifted and you can think. Therefore, you must sit and think. Of course, to think, one needs a guide and mentor as well. If we move without thinking, our movement will take a zigzag, deviant and stationary shape. One must think in all areas. Of course, some of you pointed this out in your speeches. Thinking is very determining in the management of the country as well. Therefore, I advise you students – for managers, this requires a separate discussion – to sit and work on the issue of thinking.
Thinking determines the do’s and don’ts. Science shows the realities, and thinking shows us the do’s and don’ts. This is very sensitive. Thinking must be channeled towards the right direction. If you do not manage thinking, it might take the wrong course. I do not usually mention individuals, but the late Mr. Misbah [Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi] (may God bestow paradise on him) was a teacher of thinking. Of course, he also had political works. I do not want to discuss them here, but he was a mentor and guide in terms of intellectual matters. He was a reference point in this regard. Such individuals are necessary to act as teachers of thinking. As science needs teachers, thinking needs teachers as well. This was another matter. I have written down two, three points about thinking, but I will not discuss them because time is running out.
My next recommendation is that you must be in close touch with the issues of the country. When one looks at the issues of the country from a distance, they look a certain way and when one is in touch with them up close, they look a different way. One of the friends brought up the issue of water. Well, when you research into this matter and become involved in it up close, you will reach certain conclusions that are different from what was mentioned here. You must be in close contact with the affairs of the country and concentrate on them in a careful manner. It is not necessary for you and your student groups to attend to all affairs of the country, rather you must concentrate on one, two issues and think on and research into them. The results of your research will be benefitted from.
In the present time, we have young student groups whose research is utilized in different organizations. Of course, I do not want to name these individuals, but there are some individuals whose research receives due attention even in places where they did not use to pay much attention to youth’s works. There are certain cases in which youth’s research and proposals are supported, receive due attention and are worked on.
For example, the slogan of this year can be worked on. One of the friends at the meeting did not consider an increase in knowledge-based companies as beneficial. Because he spoke very quickly, I did not understand what he said, but I think that he even considered it as harmful. No, you must think on this: on the issue of knowledge-based entities. One of the issues which you can think on and be in close contact with is knowledge-based companies, considering their large scope. Well, universities are naturally in close contact with them. Now, what can you do about knowledge-based entities? Those who can, form a knowledge-based company, but this is not what I am discussing. My discussion is related to students. Students can create a discourse in this regard. You should create discourses on knowledge-based companies. When an issue becomes the subject of a discourse inside the country and when it becomes an issue on which there is a public consent, it will naturally move forward. Such is the effect of creating a discourse.
You must create currents and orientations. You must create a current against disruptive elements such as the sale of raw materials – in other words, the sale of materials without any value-added. This unfortunately exists in our country in the present time and it is widespread. You must create a current so that the opposite discourse to that attitude is created.
Another example is unnecessary imports. Some of our imports are necessary and needed, but some are consumerist imports. Of course, some of them are necessary and in certain cases, they must be imported. I believe in expert opinion in these areas. Whatever experts say, we must act on it, but generally speaking, the imports that have a domestic counterpart are harmful for the country. They are elements in opposition to and in contrast with the knowledge-based movement in the country. Another example is smuggling. This is another matter that students can work on.
The next recommendation is to have a demanding spirit. Students are demanding by nature. You must have demands and ask officials to do serious work. This is what you can do. You should prevent officials from doing theatrical work. You must ask them to do serious and real work. This is a legitimate and correct demand that students can have.
Of course, it is not necessary at all to make sharp and pointed criticism. Some people think that the way to warn is to fight and make criticisms in an angry and loud way. No, this is not necessary at all. Of course, I myself used to do these things when I was young. When I sometimes witness the quick temper of youth, I remember my own youth and I have memories in this regard. However, one can enter the arena of making demands in a reasonable, intelligent and completely serious manner.
When this happens, then students will not be accused of nagging. When you speak in a harsh tone, they will accuse you and say to us, “Student only come and nag.” When you voice your demands in a rational, serious and reasonable manner, you will not be accused of nagging. Besides, having a demanding spirit will prevent some people from saying, “Now that managerial positions are filled by revolutionary individuals – we have a revolutionary Majlis, administration and the like – what is the role of revolutionary students, then?” We will answer that sometimes, they will even play a bigger role because they have more opportunities to show their presence and pursue their activities. One of the issues is to make demands and you are capable of doing so.
I cited this year’s slogan - knowledge-based production – as an example, but there are many other examples for which one can have a demanding spirit such as the issue of economic justice, culture and lifestyle. These are all matters that one can have serious demands about. We can ask officials to act on these demands, but as I mentioned before, one should do so in a reasonable and logical manner.
One point about having a demanding spirit, which in my opinion is very important regarding all student actions, is that students should strengthen their ideological beliefs. They must strengthen their religious and ideological beliefs for which there are special ways such as studying and associating with ulama.
In Dua Abu-Hamza, when we ask God the Exalted why we do not wish to pray in certain cases, one of the responses provided by Imam Sajjad is, “Perhaps, you did not find me in the company of ulama.” “Ulama” does not only mean the clergy, it also means scholars of morality and religion. We must participate in their meetings and learn from them. Therefore, you must strengthen your ideological beliefs and your thinking, you must deliberate on the issues of the country and examine the solutions and the experiences on that matter. You must examine the solutions. For example, you make a criticism about something and put forward a suggestion and proposal. Well, to what extent have you examined that solution? To what extent have you tried it? To what extent have you examined the various aspects of the issue? If these things have been done, those solutions are very valuable and they will even increase in value.
When I say that you should not behave in a harsh manner, you should not interpret this as compromising and singing the praises of others. I have not offered and will not offer such words of advice to students. I will never say that you should flatter this and that. No, I do not mean this at all.
What I mean is that you must move and speak in a rational manner. One should not speak in an illogical, harsh and sarcastic manner – unfortunately, sarcasm and such things have become a common practice in cyberspace, which is a very harmful phenomenon. If you move like this, then a few bad performances will not be ascribed to the Islamic Republic and the Revolution. That is to say, there will be a dissociation between the ideals of the Revolution and the performance of a few poor managers. This dissociation and separation is necessary.
I have another recommendation to offer which I have written down here. In the process of making demands, which I advised you to do, you must take care not to let the enemy take advantage of your legitimate demands. When expressing your demands and when putting forward a solution, you should try to avoid having common denominators with the enemy. This is because he too brings up certain issues. He too speaks about the problems, the concerns and the so-called cures and conclusions. The way you express your concerns must be different from his. Your conclusions must be completely different from his because is he is the enemy anyway. He is hostile and he does not express concerns in a well-intentioned manner.
Another recommendation is about your international activities. Of course, I offered this recommendation before too. Once or twice, I advised our students and student groups to be engaged in international activities. In the present time, there are many young student and non-student groups in the world who are very busy working against arrogant policies, the US and European and western policies. These groups work in Europe and might also work in the US. Of course, in the case of the US, I do not have much information, but there are many groups in Europe. And in Islamic countries too, there are obviously many groups.
If you can establish healthy relations with these groups, it will have two advantages: one is that you will energize and help them and the second advantage is that you will introduce the Islamic Republic to them. In other words, you students will introduce and describe the Islamic Republic for a French, Austrian and English group for example. If you can make this move, it will be good. I have spoken in this regard before. As well as introducing the Islamic Republic, this move of yours will act as a defensive shield for the Islamic Republic. This is because the news empire is extremely active against the Islamic Republic. This will actually be a response to them. I wish to stress our neighboring countries. You must strengthen your relations with student groups in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as much as you can. They have a lot of emotional and psychological common points with you and you must be in contact with them.
My last recommendation is addressed to the youth who were like you until a few years ago and who have thankfully undertaken managerial positions now, including in the Majlis – one of the friends at the meeting trimmed them completely [ Leader and audience laugh] – and in executive positions.
Well, this is very valuable. Surely, without these young, pious, motivated and powerful forces, this heavy load of the Islamic Republic will not reach the destination. There is no doubt about this. When I spoke of young hezbollahi managers in the same meeting a few years ago, this is because without young, motivated and pious managers, the affairs will not move forward. Youth must assume such positions.
However, I wish to advise the dear youths who have thankfully entered the arena in the legislative, judiciary and executive branches to try not to use their current responsibility as a ladder for higher positions and responsibilities. This is my first and foremost advice to them. It should not be the case that we say, “This position will create a good CV for higher positions.” No, you must stick to this very responsibility. You must work for the sake of God and focus on the issue that is related to you whether in the area of the economy, politics and culture. You must focus on that issue and try to resolve the matter that has been entrusted to you. This is necessary. My expectation of the youths who have undertaken a managerial responsibility is to set yourselves the goal of resolving that matter. This was another point.
Well, my statements about students and academic matters are over. I only wish to make a brief comment: Quds Day is close. This year, I believe that Quds Day is different from previous years. Both in previous Ramadhan and in this Ramadhan, the Palestinians made and are making great sacrifices and the Zionist regime is really showing abject maliciousness and committing all sorts of crimes.
It is very hard to imagine a greater degree of crimes and maliciousness. They are doing whatever they can and the US and the Europeans are supporting it. Palestine is both oppressed and powerful: it is an oppressed power. Once, many years ago, I used the same description for the Islamic Republic. I said that the Islamic Republic is like the Commander of the Faithful, who was strong and powerful but at the same time, oppressed. Today, Palestine is the same. It is really powerful. The Palestinian youth do not let the Palestinian cause be consigned to oblivion. They are standing firm against the enemy’s transgression and crimes.
Quds Day is a good opportunity for expressing our support and unanimity with the oppressed people of Palestine, for boosting their morale and for increasing their power so that they will be able to show their presence in these arenas. Of course, Islamic governments are very passive in this regard, they are acting in a very bad way. One should work much harder and speak much more for the Palestinian cause. Not only do they not take any action, but they are also not even willing to speak. They do not make any valuable comment to the advantage of the people of Palestine.
If we think that the way to help the Palestinians is to establish relations with the Zionist regime, this is a very grave mistake. Forty years ago, the Egyptians made this mistake. Egypt and Jordan established relations with the Zionist regime, but did the Zionists’ crimes decrease in the past 40 years? No, on the contrary, they increased ten-fold.
The things that the settlers of the Jewish settlements are doing and the attacks on Masjid al-Aqsa did not exist in those days. Today, they are showing more oppression. Now, some people wish to repeat the experience of Egypt led by Anwar al-Sadat 40 years ago. This experience is neither beneficial to themselves nor to the Palestinians. It is both harmful to them and the Palestinians. It will not be of any avail to the Zionist regime either. They will not benefit from these relations either. I hope that God the Exalted will conclude the Palestinian cause in a good way and conclude it soon and help the Palestinians achieve domination.
Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad and his household, bestow Your mercy and grace on all the people of Iran on these last days of the auspicious month of Ramadhan. Fill, with Your blessings, the hands that were raised in prayer in these nights, in particular the hands of our dear youth, and increase Your kindness on our youth on a daily basis. Grant Your special blessings to the world of Islam and the world of Shia.
Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad and his household, make our dear martyrs and the immaculate soul of Imam satisfied with us. Make us move on their path.
Dear God, make this meeting serve Your own cause and accept it from us for our sincere and genuine intentions and render it useful and beneficial for present and future audiences.
Greetings be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings
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