Reporter: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. I would like to extend my greetings to you. I am happy to have the opportunity to meet with you again in this place and environment that fosters a passion for expanding knowledge, awareness, and excellence. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you a few questions on the subject of books, the Tehran International Book Fair, and of course, the culture of reading.
Imam Khamenei: Of course, go ahead.
Reporter: The first question is about the philosophy behind your presence here, your continuous, regular attendance and annual visits to the International Book Fair, which is truly carried out with care, precision, and attention to detail. This matter was completely obvious as you were walking through the exhibition here as well. Your attention to the latest published titles and diverse authors indicates that you pay sufficient, careful attention to the issue of books, and this visit is not merely symbolic. What message does your presence here have for society, for those who are active in the book industry, for the officials, and for the publishing sector?
Imam Khamenei: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. My motivation [for coming here] primarily comes from a personal passion and keen interest in books, as well as my close connection with them. Secondly, I would like to promote [the reading of] books. I want book reading to become more widespread because I believe we need books. All individuals, from all walks of life, from different age groups and academic levels, need to read books. Truly nothing can take the place of books. I want to promote the reading of books.
Today, some other occupations such as the social media and such things have taken the place of reading books. This is not the right move. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t use the social media, read newspapers, and things like that. They should. But these things should not take the place of books. Books should have a special place in both people's shopping carts and in their purchases, and they need to allocate some of their time to this. People need to read books every day. I want this to be promoted and my attendance here may be influential in this regard. This is another reason.
Reporter: The two points you mentioned are the basis for my second question. You see, a book is often thought of as a friendly companion, and a friendly companion should always be paid attention to. As you pointed out, the internet is appealing to all members of society, especially teenagers and young people, and this concern for promoting a culture of reading and studying books is a serious concern. What is your recommendation to our officials? Now, you already mentioned a part of the society, but what is your recommendation to the related officials and individuals who are active in this field on how to promote a culture of reading books?
Imam Khamenei: Government officials such as in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Islamic Propagation Organization, and the like should provide assistance to those who are active in publishing and producing books. We need to help these people. Of course, during my visit to various book centers this year, I asked questions and it could be seen that the authorities are helping publishers – either all or some of them. They should be helped. This is the first thing that needs to be done.
Individuals who are active in the social media should also use the internet to promote book reading. This is surely a duty. Those active in the social media should work on encouraging others to read books, and they should recommend good books to them. There are many good, useful books on various subjects such as literature, history, the arts, science, and religion.
In this year's exhibition, I’m seeing that, praise God, there are many new works and publications. It is important to promote and introduce these works in order for people to know which books to refer to and which ones to read.
Reporter: As my final question, considering that you have already visited half of the stalls in the book fair and plan to visit the rest during the next hour or so, is there any particular point that has caught your attention in this year’s International Book Fair?
Imam Khamenei: There were a few key points that have caught my attention. One was the increase in new works. Many of the publishers I spoke to had a notable amount of new works to present or report on. The second point of interest was the sales figures. I often ask about their sales and if people have been buying their books. Almost all or most responded positively, stating that their sales were strong and that their books were being well-received by those visiting their stalls.
Another point to note is that the number of copies had decreased significantly before. This year I saw that there were thousands of copies of some books. There were three thousand, two thousand, or two-and-a-half thousand copies, and over one thousand copies of some thicker books. This is a positive development. These number are good for some books. Additionally, many books that had been reprinted previously were being reprinted once again. I noticed this in the stalls of the publishers that I visited. These are positive highlights of this year's fair, which we are thankful to God for.
Reporter: Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Imam Khamenei: May God bless you with success. My main advice is for those who are in touch with the younger generation and teenagers. That is, the Ministry of Education and the universities. They should create the environment for the youth and the teenagers to read books and provide them with good books. Of course, families also have their own responsibilities that they need to fulfil in this regard, but organizations that are focused on the youth and teenagers in particular need to feel a deeper sense of responsibility and create the environment for the youth to read books.
Young people truly need to read books. This includes books on literature, history, heritage, and biographies of [prominent] figures. These are areas that we truly need to work on. Another topic is describing various past matters and events. For example, there are only a few books about Constitutional Revolution from the past. A realistic, correct perspective about what happened in our country’s Constitutional Revolution needs to be given clearly and in the right way. We have little or no books in this area, or very few readable books. These are some of the things that need to be worked on.
There are many other events similar to the Constitutional Revolution. We can never write enough books regarding the Sacred Defense. No matter how much we write, it’s not enough and there is always space for much more. The same is true with regard to the Revolution and Imam [Khomeini] (ra). The Imam is a prominent figure in history who is like no other. How many books do we have about the Imam? What have we written? These are very important issues.
These are some of the things that need to be done. Book production is crucial, and it is primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, propagational organizations, Islamic Propagation Organization artistic field, and similar entities. However, the promotion of books is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, universities, and similar institutions. May God grant you success.
Reporter: Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate the time you dedicated to this interview.
Leader: My pleasure.
Reporter: Thank you.
