First, I would like to make a few comments. Then, I will be ready to hear the views of our friends who are present here.
I welcome all the dear brothers and sisters, and I am happy that this gathering has been convened. It is a gathering that is attended by intellectuals, scholars and scientists. This gives me great honor and pleasure. If we could invite all the university instructors and professors in the country, we would surely do that. But, unfortunately, that is not possible.
The objectives pursued by holding this meeting are, first, to honor and pay tribute to university instructors and professors; this is a symbolic move aimed at showing our devotion and attachment to the instructors of different sciences who are the real pillars and upholders of various branches of knowledge in our society. We know that several factors contribute to the promotion of science, one of which is honoring and paying tribute to teachers and instructors.
The second objective sought by holding this gathering is to provide an opportunity for you to express your views, to express a gist of what you have in mind, so that I will become informed of your views. I hope the views that you express and I hear will bear fruitful results. It is clear that the time of our gathering is limited, and only several participants will be able to speak at this meeting. Still, useful results may be obtained from the expression of views even by a few at this gathering.
Gatherings like this were usually held in the holy month of Ramazan in the previous years. Some of you, the dear brothers and sisters, may have attended those gatherings too. This year, we have also invited some friends from provincial cities. This is why we decided to hold this gathering after the holy month of Ramazan. Tonight we have the opportunity to have you here and to hear from you, which we consider to be very beneficial to us.
The issues that were brought up and discussed at the previous gatherings have been to some extent followed up. I recently asked for a report on the subjects and issues discussed at the previous gatherings as well as the measures taken with regard to those issues. Some of the issues related the government and other state organs and some concerned our universities. Therefore, the follow-up of the views expressed here could be viewed as the next objective of this meeting.
There are no limits to the range of topics and issues that you would like to bring up here. In other words, I do not suggest that you talk only about certain issues. On the contrary, I insist that you talk about anything you would like to. Nevertheless, I think it would be a good idea if you include two topics in your subjects of discussion and pay especial attention to them.
The first topic concerns measures to promote and streamline scientific research and investigation in our country, the research that is carried out by both university instructors and the students who write dissertations. Precious time is spent by both instructors and students in writing dissertations or research papers. Have the titles been calculated to serve the country's needs? Do the results of the research jointly conducted by the student and instructor reach the implementation stage? Do our universities and research centers benefit from the results of these dissertations?
Some students send me a copy of their dissertations. I keep them on a special shelf in my library. Although I do not have time to read them all, I notice some of them have very interesting titles, inspiring and providing motivation for follow-up measures. Some other titles, on the other hand, seem to be very marginal and away from the prevalent scientific trend and application in the country.
What should be done to make use of these important dissertations and research papers, on which valuable has been spent. I think it will be useful if you also express some views in this regard.
The second point is that today, we can see a strong sense of commitment toward social issues among our university instructors and students, for which we should be grateful to Almighty Allah. I can remember the condition of our universities before the revolution. Today, the sense of commitment on the part of students and instructors toward social and other issues is worthy of praise. But what should be done to further strengthen this sense of commitment and the responsibility toward the fate and future of the country in our academic circles, which are characterized by interest in science and research combined with dynamism and vitality?
The fact is that ordinary people usually give priority to their personal concerns, although from an Islamic viewpoint public interests should be given priority over personal concerns. However, intellectuals, thinkers and scholars, including university instructors and students, are particularly expected not to allow concern for their own fate and the pursuit of their personal interests get priority over concern for the fate of our nation and country as a whole.
Now the question is: what measures may be taken to further strengthen this sense of commitment and responsibility toward the fate of the nation on the part of our academics?
Naturally, the results that we expect from this cordial and friendly gathering are not like those that we expect from a specialist scientific seminar. Still, I suggest that scientific seminars should be held on all important issues. Sometimes we notice that a domestic or international seminar or congress is held, but with no concrete results. Such seminars are expected to be of a scientific nature and yield tangible and beneficial results.
We do not expect a similar outcome from this cordial gathering. But since it is televised nationwide, it can prove inspiring and motivational to any individual who watches this program on television.
Now, I would like our friends to begin to speak. I think Dr. Azizi, a distinguished committed scholar, is going to direct the session. We are grateful to him for the trouble he is going to take.
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The Leader made the following statements after participants in the meeting expressed their views on various academic issues.
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
It was a very good and useful session. Although not all the dear brothers and sisters attending this gathering who wished to speak found an opportunity to express their views, those who did speak at the meeting made very beneficial remarks and comments. I took note of the points that were made. Later, God willing, these points will be taken into consideration in detail.
Thank God, we are making progress in many different areas. I am closely in touch with realities and developments in society. You, the dear ladies and gentlemen attending this meeting, are part of the elite group of our society. I have also social contacts with the commoner group of our society. I sometimes visit their homes and sit with them on their carpets. I am closely in touch with the realities of our society. I agree that there are certain problems, the ones that were mentioned by our friends. There are problems and complexities, but there are also positive points that infuse us with hope and motivation. What we are expected to do is to increase our efforts to solve the problems.
Altogether, I think more efforts should be made on the part of relevant officials to train elites both in the field of university education and in the area of research. The relevant officials should hold a realistic and nonprofit attitude toward the issue and make calculated short-term plans to achieve these objectives, although in the long term the country's progress and material gains will largely depend on these plans.
Presently, the officials in charge of Management and Planning Organization as well as Cabinet members share this attitude, as they are highly educated themselves and recognize the worth of higher education and research. Nevertheless, what is needed is proper planning and effective management.
The issue of the brain drain, which was also brought up by the gentlemen, is caused by several factors, including those related to facilities, moral values and management. Those who undertake managerial responsibilities at the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, research centers and universities should be well experienced and enjoy competence.
Indeed, the campaign to promote science and research in society is in need of proper and effective management or, as some of our friends said, supervision, planning, guidance and goal-setting. We should know what our strategy for research work is and what we should do in order for the results of research to prove beneficial to the country.
The country has bright prospects. There are remarkable talents and enough facilities in the country. But the facilities could still be increased. The state and executive organs all agree that science is the pivot of our country's development. It is not possible to achieve development without scientific progress. This has been clearly stressed in the country's 20-Year Perspective Document. More efforts are needed, both on the part of managerial organs and on the part of respected university instructors.
Efforts should be made to open new horizons in science. It is not enough just to learn different sciences; what is more needed is to open new frontiers in the field of science and make scientific progress. If we only depend on the outcome of the research conducted by other scholars and scientists in the area of experimental sciences or in the field of humanities without carrying out independent research ourselves, this will not be conducive to our progress.
We have already seen that the hypotheses resulting from the research and investigation carried out by the Western world in the field of experimental sciences and, in particular, in the area of humanities have not provided very reliable and acceptable foundations. Islam's views on mankind, science, human life, nature and existence provide human beings with new knowledge and insight. But the foundations of scientific research in the West are quite different.
The scientific research in the West began by defying what the Westerners called religion. But they were justified in their defiance, since the religion against which the Westerners in the historical period called the Renaissance rose up and opposite to which directed their intellectual and scientific movement was not actually a religion but a body of superstitions in the guise of religion. The ecclesiastical religion in the Middle Ages was not a religion based on knowledge.
Naturally, a myriad of complexities and problems began to emerge in the minds of the scholars, intellectuals and elites of the time, and they sought anti-religious solutions to these problems. As a result, they hold the view that science is incompatible with religion.
However, from the viewpoint of Islam, science has its roots in religion, and religion is the main patron and promoter of science. The religion that we have accepted, the religious ideology that has been introduced to us by the holy Qur'an and also our conception of creation, mankind, supernatural existence, divine unity, fate and destiny are all compatible with science. This is why Islam is the promoter and supporter of science.
You can see evidence of this support in the history of Islam. The considerable support that the scientific movement of the early centuries of the Islamic era received from Islam and the great progress that it made as a result were unprecedented by then in the world. In all areas, science and religion were interlaced and interwoven.
However, in the West, the different branches of humanities and other sciences like economics, sociology and management are based on anti-religious and secular foundations. Thus, they are considered invalid by Islamic scholars, since Islamic knowledge revolves around divine unity.
We should make more efforts in the area of humanities and also in the field of experimental sciences. We should enable ourselves to make scientific progress and open new horizons in science. More efforts should be made and greater strides should be taken in this direction. This is what is expected of our academic circles.
Fortunately, we have made considerable progress after the revolution. This is quite evident. Before the revolution, we had been kept backward and underdeveloped in scientific arenas. They had deprived the Iranian nation of self-confidence. They had made our intellectuals and elites so enchanted by the West that nobody would ever dare to express thoughts, views and theories opposite to those prevalent in the West. We are sill, more or less, dealing with such problems.
Islam infused us with self-confidence and the revolution instilled courage into our hearts. The present achievements are the outcome of this courage, which should be further strengthened so that we may achieve greater progress. Our youngsters are brilliant and talented. Measures should be taken to identify, train and employ highly talented and superior students. The formation of the Elite Foundation is a positive step in this direction.
In conclusion, there is a point that I would like to clarify. Some of the friends who spoke at the meeting asked me to issue orders with regard to certain issues. I do not issue orders about such matters. For instance, I do not order the Science Ministry to take such-and-such measures. By declaring policies, I present frameworks of action to the government and relevant officials. I also make sure that different tasks are carried out on a legal, proper and logical basis. Such things would not be implemented through orders. Many problems will not be solved through orders, directives or the like.
I hope Almighty Allah will bestow His blessings on the honorable guests who took part in this meeting tonight. I also hope the views that you expressed and the comments that you made will prove beneficial and contribute to our greater progress in the field of higher education.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings