On the International Day of Tolerance, khamenei.ir publishes exerpts from Ayatollah Khamenei's statements on tolerance:
The Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) carried the message of knowledge, yet there was no knowledge in that society. He carried the message of justice, yet there was no trace of justice in that society and powerful people and bullying rulers dominated people's lives and possessions. He was the messenger of morality, lenience, forgiveness, justice, and kindness, yet that society was devoid of such characteristics in the real sense of the word. The society was full of unkind, bullying, immoral, ignorant, and prejudiced people who were unjustifiably arrogant and who had their hearts set on carnal desires.
It was in such tough and fanatic conditions and in such a dry desert that the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) grew up. And this 13-year period finally ended in the establishment of the Prophet's rule. He formed a community on the basis of monotheism, knowledge, justice, morality, ethics, and generosity. He transformed humility into dignity and savagery into brotherhood. He turned fanaticism into tolerance and reasoning. He transformed a state of ignorance into knowledge. He built a strong and logical foundation on the basis of which Muslims could reach the peaks of global civilizations for centuries and could rise to new heights which were unprecedented in human history.
Statements made during a speech on the Occasion of Mab'ath; July 30, 2008.
Knowledge helps you to express the ideals and goals and the straight and bright path that is available to you. It helps you to guide more people towards this straight path. If you do not have knowledge, this will not be possible. Therefore, knowledge - which is a tool for national and human growth and for humanity to soar - is one of the necessary things which you should pay attention to.
Having patience and tolerating opposing views is a characteristic that is among the bases of principlism. Sometimes, we become upset and angry at what others say and sometimes, we complain to God, "Oh God, You see what the truth of the issue is and You see that the truth is significantly different from what they say".
Despite this, we should show tolerance. Tolerance means having the capacity to hear opposing voices. Of course, this - I may expand on this issue later on - does not mean that the administration should not defend its performance. This is not what I mean. The administration should definitely defend its performance.
Avoiding selfish desires - whether personal or collective desires - is another characteristic of principlismlism. Thankfully, executive officials are not dependent on any group, clique and orientation. This is a very important point. You should take care not to let your moves, statements and words be associated with a certain clique and group. If this happens, one's selfish desires cannot be separated from one another. Collective desires are like personal ones. They play the same role. Collective desires too make us wander here and there and they make us deviate from wisdom and the straight path. This characteristic is one of the requirements of principlism as well.
Leader's Speech in Meeting with President Ahmadinejad and Cabinet Members; August 28, 2006.
Try to develop a capacity to accept criticisms. Our executive officials should be able to accept and tolerate criticisms. Of course, this is difficult, but it is necessary to be tolerant. "The instrument of management is tolerance." Management does not just mean having the final say on things. If you want to manage things, you have to be tolerant. There are certain things that you must tolerate as a manager.
Leader’s Speech to Cabinet Members; August 30, 2010.
Pure Islam is the Islam of tolerance and spirituality, the Islam of piety and democracy, the Islam of being "forceful against the unbelievers, merciful towards the believers".
Leader’s Hajj Message 2014
