Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with the Engineering Community

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

This is a very good and valuable session; firstly, you have gathered here a distinguished and wise group of educated individuals and specialists from this country; secondly, it marks the anniversary of one of the bright stars of knowledge in our glorious history - namely Khwaja Nasir al-Din - and revives the memory of that great man in our minds; thirdly, several officials from various executive sectors of the country are present and consider themselves participants in the issues concerning this assembly; they have also delivered statements that were beneficial. I will present a few points.

One point is that our technical faculties have always been the place for the best talents of this country throughout the years before and after the revolution. From the times I remember - from my youth and my connection with universities and students and university environments - the most thoughtful, dynamic, and active student elements have gathered in the technical and engineering faculties and scientific centers related to engineering with its various branches. Let us place this alongside another undeniable truth; that is, the high average level of intellect and intelligence of Iranian generations, which is a matter of fact and not mere slogan or propaganda. The intellect and intelligence of Iranians are above the average intellect and intelligence of the nations of the world; this is a scientific, statistical, and researched statement; our past also shows this; Iranian culture and civilization have been a prominent indicator and a flag for the nations of the world in various eras. In the Islamic period, the nation that was able to take knowledge, philosophy, and various sciences and ways of life from Islam, stabilize them within the framework of solid logics, and present them to the world has mainly been the Iranians; this is acknowledged by others as well.

Consider a national assembly that is intelligent and possesses abundant and overflowing talent; it can almost be said that they sent their best and most intelligent children to the technical and engineering sectors. What should the result be? The expectations from such an assembly - which consists of the elite and intellectual chosen ones of a country and a nation - are very high. Unfortunately, we must say that those expectations were not realized in our past periods before the revolution; and there are reasons for this that I will briefly refer to. Let us also add the insight and vibrant social thought of the students in this sector. As has been rightly pointed out, the most militant and aware students in universities in political fields have also been relatively more in these technical faculties.

The next point: when a country finds itself on the slope of social, political, or technical decline, the most significant loss that occurs for the country is that the country's resources are not utilized; this is the nature of the period of decline. We have experienced a very regrettable decline for almost a hundred years. This period begins from the mid-Qajar era until the end of the Pahlavi period; that is, even in the Pahlavi period, which was the period of modernization of Iran according to the view of its governmental officials and intellectuals of that day, unfortunately, we moved towards the slope of decline. Why do we say decline? Perhaps in the early Qajar period, we did not show much great art in various scientific and industrial fields; however, I do not call it a period of decline; the period of decline relates to the mid-Qajar era and afterwards. Why? Because this period is one in which the Iranian nation fell away from its natural movement - which sometimes accelerated and sometimes slowed down; that is, it was enchanted. A nation is not always at the forefront. A talented nation sometimes has progress and speed due to various factors; sometimes it also has slowness; but at one point, a nation becomes enchanted; this enchantment occurred. Enchantment in front of what? In front of a fresh, living entity that looks at the issues of the world in detail and in general; and that is the industrial civilization and scientific advancement of the West. This entity came into the field with a view to dominating the world; thus, it benefited itself, but became a source of harm for the world. For a long period, like a nightmare, it fell upon the oblivious nations such as our nation and the nations of Asia and Africa and other parts of the world; it did not allow them to continue their natural movement - which sometimes had acceleration and sometimes was slow - it enchanted them.

From the mid-Qajar period, signs of European progress gradually began to appear in our country. Our intellectuals were those who went to Europe or read their writings; thus, they became familiar with their advancements and saw themselves as weak and insignificant in front of them. This is a repeated statement from the intellectuals of the early Constitutional period, that we must only and only follow the Westerners and act according to everything they say in all aspects of our lives; this is a statement that has been quoted from Taghizadeh and others and is indeed a reality. They said we must act one hundred percent according to their prescriptions to advance; that is, there was absolutely no room for innovation, creativity, and a native perspective on scientific and industrial issues in their calculations. Consider this from this side; now what is the opposing side that we were advised to follow? It is the same industrial revolution and scientific revolution and scientific advancement that does not limit its view to the framework of its own country; rather, it looks at the world as a great storehouse and warehouse that it must utilize and consume to increase its own volume and develop itself. This time I am referring to is when more than a hundred years had passed since the beginning of colonization; that is, the Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch, and various parts of Europe had laid hands on the untouched wealthy regions of the world, including our region, the Indian Ocean region, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Africa, and other various regions and had discovered those strange and untouched wealth. Of course, the European temperament also influenced this work. Some of these temperaments are positive, some are negative. I am not one who considers the Westerners to be entirely negative; no, they also have positive traits; they are risk-takers, brave, and persistent. They boarded ships, set out, and went to the untouched countries and regions; that is, the warehouses of natural wealth. They conquered Asia, they conquered Africa, and naturally, they also conquered America.

When in Iran, our political thinker says we must be one hundred percent small copies of the Westerners and follow them, what situation do we find ourselves in? If the other side, whom we wanted to be a small copy and follower of, was a fair and just being and had no intention of invasion and aggression, it would have been very good; but who was our counterpart? That invasive, aggressive being that looks at the vast world as a warehouse of materials for growth and development; we became its small copy. It also entered and did not give us its knowledge and industry; it did not educate us scientifically and culturally, like a caring teacher who educates a student; we, in the period of scientific and industrial modernization of Iran, and as the gentlemen say, the period of modernization - which I do not like such expressions - became like a simple construction worker at the disposal of an architect and an engineer. What can a simple construction worker do? Yes, he plays a role in building a house, but merely a physical and non-intellectual role; give clay, give bricks, give plaster, or stack these on top of each other. Our period of decline is from this perspective.

The intelligent and talented Iranian, in this atmosphere, had to do one of two things; either submit and accept this situation, or leave the country and serve others. In military and aerospace industries - industries about which we have gained information in recent years - the engineers who today can build airplanes and the most complex parts, and perform reverse engineering, at that time had the duty to take the aircraft checklist, go for inspections, and come back to say whether this part is correct or not. If a part was defective, they would remove it, hand it over to a foreign engineer so that he could install it on our aircraft at our expense and take it to America to repair or replace it and return it; no more was allowed. This engineer and this intelligent and talented person, capable of leaps, either endured this situation - which most of them did; they lived with this situation - or if they had a spirit of adventure, they would leave this country and serve others, or they would not come at all; we had many of these as well. After the revolution, I have encountered and met some of them.

Of course, the ministers who came reported good reports; however, these reports do not at all represent the realities that existed then and exist today; the realities are much beyond this; the gentlemen did not have the opportunity to report in detail. At that time, the country and the system did not give our engineers the opportunity for construction, research, and scientific growth, and even for utilization. I previously mentioned in an interview, after I visited the Dez Dam, that I said this point; perhaps you have heard it too. After the foreign companies built part of our Dez Dam, for a short time, they gave the operation of its power plant to a domestic company. Then they wanted to double the capacity of the power plant. An American company that committed to come and double the capacity of the power plant, when it saw that the operator was Iranian, said they must go out; therefore, it did not allow it. The Iranian government expelled the Iranian operator and gave the operation of the Dez power plant to an Italian company; at that time, the Americans apparently agreed to come and complete the other fifty percent of the power plant. Therefore, the Iranian was not allowed at all; even in the field of operation. That is why we do not have anything noteworthy and presentable that is Iranian-made in the fields of construction - whether industrial constructions or various civil engineering structures at that time - while our forces are the same forces, and today's generation is not distinguished and different from yesterday's generation. The same youth who today have been able to produce these dams, these power plants, these highways, these railways, these various factories, these designs of machines and airplanes, these military weapons, and this complex nuclear technology were also in our past generation; however, there was no news of these things. This is the greatest service of the revolution to the country. In my opinion, in the scientific fields, the greatest service is that it instilled this belief in us Iranians that we can; the same expression that the Imam made: "We can."

At that time, they told us to go and make a pipe; the clay pots that were made at that time; that is, not even a tin pipe! We even imported the handle of the shovel; likewise, the rest of the increasingly needed industrial items. The standard of living was improving and numerous needs were arising day by day; we had to take all of these from others and import them. The planners of that time even took pride in this! In 1965 or 1966, we had gone to visit a friend in Mashhad, and coincidentally, one of the representatives of the National Assembly of that day also attended this meeting. It was the period of our youth and enthusiasm, and we spoke about dependency and foreign domination and such matters; unaware that this gentleman was a representative of the Assembly. The representative of the Assembly of that time - that is, someone who was listed by the court to be the representative of a certain place; at that time, there were no elections - responded to me somewhat arrogantly and haughtily, saying among other things, what are you saying and what are you protesting about? Today, the Europeans and Westerners work for us like servants. We have oil, we have money, we pay, and they are our workers and work for us like servants! This is the logic of a representative of the Assembly of that day! The period of decline that I speak of means this. This thought was that why should we produce? Why should we build? Why should we learn? We sit in our homes like gentlemen, they bring it to us, and provide us with the necessary tools; we also have oil money, we pay, and live an aristocratic life. This was the logic of a high-ranking statesman of that day. The prevailing culture of that day over the governing bodies of the country was this; hence that hundred years was our period of decline.

The revolution disrupted this. One thing also helped us; I find it necessary to mention this to you, and that is the wrath of the industrial world and the Western world against us; the same sanctions and frowns they have had against us from the beginning of the revolution until now. Some people feel sad at the thought of these sanctions; I want to say no, this helped us. I have mentioned this memory many times. In the early days of the war, we needed barbed wire; we bought it from a foreign country to bring it into the country. This shipment had to pass through the Soviet Union of that day. Since they were supporting Iraq, they did not allow passage! Barbed wire is neither an atomic bomb, nor a cannon, nor a tank; but they did not allow passage! They were that bad to us. When we wanted to buy cannons, they would not sell to us; when we wanted to buy tanks, they would not sell to us; when we wanted to buy barbed wire, they would not give it to us; when we wanted equipment, they would not give it to us; but a smuggler would sell it to us at double or triple the price, and we had to ultimately procure these items as needed at high prices. The result of these sanctions is that today we are among the top ten countries in the world in anti-armor technology. Today, we are among the ten or eleven countries in the world that have uranium enrichment technology at this level. This technology is indigenous as well. We are different from that country which, because it had a communist regime, the Soviet Union of that day helped it. Some people compare China to us. China, in the first ten years of its revolution, took all its resources from the Soviet Union of that day; at a time when their relationship had not yet soured. However, in none of the years, no power with knowledge and industry helped us. Everything we did, we did ourselves.

Before the revolution, one of the things we always said was that we buy wheat from America and the Soviets build our silos. I went to the southern region early in the revolution and saw that the jihad construction and your engineers had built a silo with a small capacity. I think I prostrated right there; because a silo is a difficult structure; it is not very easy. When one looks at its appearance, it seems simple; but it is a complex structure. We were able to build this complex thing. Today, we are one of the reputable silo builders internationally with high capacities; we have built for many other places as well. Therefore, the wrath and discord of the Western world with us did not turn out to be detrimental to us. Some people consider this as a catastrophe and say that economic sanctions will ruin our technology. Yes, it may block the paved road in front of a person, but the paved road is not always good; sometimes the roads that a person paves themselves and travels on are much more beneficial for strengthening human muscles; sometimes it also shortcuts the way. The paved road that others have laid takes us to places that the builders of that road wanted. If we want to pave our own road, sometimes we pave a shortcut and take a shortcut. We consider the cause of our decline to be that enchantment. Today we have come out of that situation. One of the greatest services of the Islamic Republic system - as I said - in the fields of science and technology is that it has made us believe that we can. Today this belief exists, and we truly can. We have made very good progress in the fields of adaptation, part manufacturing, imitation, and in the technological models of today's world.

The third point is that these are by no means sufficient. We still have a long way to go to reach global knowledge. Of course, this distance was very great during the period of decline; but today this distance is not that much. We have been able to advance, but we still have distance. When I said producing knowledge, I did not mean that we should learn the knowledge of others - that we must learn, and there is no doubt about it - it means that we must break the boundary of knowledge, open it, and conquer new horizons; of course, this is a difficult task. We must achieve leapfrog technology; we must be able to add to the existing technologies of the world; we must be able to introduce a one hundred percent Iranian invention in the global markets. Of course, in the path we have come so far, we have come very well; there is no doubt about it. I am quite familiar with the works. For years, we have been collecting and reading various statistics from different sectors; I know we have made a lot of progress; but these advancements are not enough for the Iranian society. A society whose physician, astronomer, and social scientist from a thousand years ago has shone and sparkled centuries later in the world, these advancements are insufficient for it. Even today, although the world of medicine may not derive much benefit from the research of a thousand years ago by Ibn Sina - although I believe that today's knowledge can still benefit from them in some areas - but when it looks at these researches, it admires and praises them. The researches of Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Khwaja Nasir, Khayyam, Al-Khwarizmi, and others are the same. Our dignity is this; hence these advancements are insufficient for our nation. Just a few days ago, one of our political figures went to one of the prominent Islamic countries - which I do not want to name - the president of that country said in front of non-Iranian and non-native attendees of that country, who were from European countries - not in a private session that could be interpreted as politeness and courtesy - that we Muslims are proud of Iran; both of today's Iran and the Islamic Republic system, and of Iran in the history of Islam. He said that these Islamic advancements, Islamic knowledge, and Islamic civilization have been developed and nurtured by Iranians and have been established in a sense. We have this expectation from ourselves; we want to reach a level in knowledge and technology that befits the dignity of the Iranian nation. This is not just a nationalistic pride; this is not racism; this is even a general human perspective towards all humanity; because if we can be at the forefront of knowledge, we do not have the motivations of Western expansionism and world domination; we do not have the profit-seeking motivations from nations; our knowledge, which is beneficial for us, is also beneficial for other nations. Our president, in a recent trip to several African countries, proposed plans and programs. He reported to me and said that we can easily implement some of these plans - even in a newer and more modern way than what the Europeans are doing - but they are doing it for African countries at several times the price. These countries have no choice; they are forced to contract with a European trader, and he comes and completes it for them at several times the price. If we are there, we will not act this way; we will cooperate with countries. Not that we ignore national profit, but in the sense that we do not consider the profit arising from excess and aggression to be permissible for ourselves. If we have knowledge, we give it to others. There is now a country - perhaps several countries - that we once requested a military-related item from; however, although it was made by another country, they did not give it to us no matter what we did! They were not allowed to give it. Of course, that country was not bad to us, but they were not allowed to give it. This issue relates to the early years of the 1980s. The country that was not willing to give us the finished product then, today we give it the technology to produce it - which it could not obtain - of course, we sell it. If we progress in industry and knowledge, it will benefit the world and the backward nations, and primarily benefit the Islamic world.

Therefore, the fact that we must advance and break the boundaries of knowledge and open them is not a selfish racist perspective, that we must do this because we are Iranians. Yes, we also have national pride; we do not deny this. We look at our past and feel dignity and pride. We were those who embraced Islam with open arms; we were those who recognized the Ahl al-Bayt sooner than many others; we were those who made so many efforts to spread Islam; we were those who embraced the oppressed Ahl al-Bayt who had no safety in their homes - that is, in Medina, Mecca, and Kufa. You see how many Imams are in Iran! Who are these Imams? They were not Iranians. They are those who came to Iran, and Iranians embraced them with open arms; sometimes they even fought for them and made efforts for them. From our Mazandaran and Gilan - the northern region of the Alborz mountain range - a number of our Iranians rose and went to Yemen and established the Zaydi Shiite government there. The Yemenis are Zaydi Shiites and had a Zaydi government; this was achieved by Iranian soldiers and defenders of Islam and Shiism. Our expectations for the future stem from our national pride; we do not deny this; but it is not only this - as I said - it is a human and Islamic perspective.

Of course, research is necessary, dedicated budgets are necessary, an encouraging environment and giving space to work are necessary, connecting universities with industry is necessary; all of these are part of the requirements of the work. Of course, the responsibility lies with us, with the officials, with the government; there is no doubt about this. In recent years, fortunately, the environment has been created with repetition and insistence, thanks be to God, in the government environment; they want these works to be done, and thanks be to God, some works have been done; but the main element and the main player in this field is you; that human force interested in work that, like a plant that finds its way even in the hard rocks, emerges and flourishes. This spirit of progress and the spirit of completion must be revived in the engineering and technical environment of the country; both the assemblies like yours that are present here today, and the engineering system related to construction and civil engineering and others.

The last point relates to construction engineering, urban planning, housing construction, and similar matters. This issue is very important. We should not wait for an earthquake to think; we must learn from the past. A year and a half ago, the earthquake in Bam occurred; shortly after that, the earthquake in Belad and the northern region occurred, which also had damages, but alongside the great Bam earthquake, it did not come to the forefront; now the earthquake in the Zarand region has occurred; every hour and every day, an earthquake may occur in some point of this country. What do these events tell us? They tell us that we must pay attention to the issue of building and constructing residential environments. A house is the shelter and refuge of every human being. The family, which is the most essential and important bond of a human being, is mainly inside the house. The children of a human being, the spouse of a human being, the human being themselves are in the home environment; therefore, we must do something that they feel secure. In this regard - as has been pointed out - we also have a glorious and prideful past. In ancient times, from the construction of Persepolis and the Iwan of Madain to the great structures of the Islamic period and various other periods, which were built with various architectures; but all with the indicators of strength, beauty, good materials, suitability with the environment, and certainly economy; these are the same principles that you consider in construction engineering. I remember in my childhood, a part of our old house - which at that time was a hundred or eighty years old - was going to be repaired. I was about ten or twelve years old and helped and collaborated with the builder, and we pulled out the old bricks to put in new ones. When the builder wanted to take out the old bricks, he would hit them with a hammer and break them; he could not take them out intact; they were like stone. These bricks in our lifetime turned into the cursed hollow bricks you have seen. The period of decline is just like this; everything affects everything. New and modern materials came into the field, but the precision in constructing materials and using materials decreased; the suitability with the environment that was observed in our old construction decreased. You see that our old buildings in every point were built according to the needs of that point, with attention to Islamic directions. The building you see in the northern country or in the south is different from the building you see in the eastern region of the country - for example, Khorasan - each has its own shape and state. Even their old mosques and large buildings have these differences. According to the needs and suitability with the environment and practical use, the engineering shapes would change. They thought well, they acted well. Let it not be misunderstood; I am not advocating that we build houses like we did one hundred and fifty years ago; no, we must use innovations; we must use the new needs; we must use the new issues that have emerged today - such as environmental issues that were not raised at that time - we must use the issue of energy saving and so on; we must use the new tools and materials that have emerged and were not used at that time; there is no doubt about this; but we must also consider the motivation and precision and the foundations of work - which our ancient Iranians and our ancestors also observed - and not be negligent.

Regarding the engineering system and the law that has been established and the matters that the gentlemen mentioned, I also had and have information; these are good, but you must bring these to the stage of action and realization; do not let these be neglected; that is, an engineer must truly consider himself responsible. They said when these issues arise, the engineering community of the country feels discomfort and shame. Yes, indeed, one must consider oneself responsible. Everyone is responsible; especially those sectors that have more activity in these areas. The supervising engineer must be trustworthy; like a doctor who, when diagnosing a patient, prescribes the appropriate medicine; if he diagnosed and did not write the appropriate medicine or wrote harmful medicine or was negligent in diagnosis, he would be blamed by himself and his conscience and others. In the field of engineering, this culture must be fully established; that is, truly supervising engineers, calculating engineers, drafting engineers, and engineers who are engaged in various sectors must all consider themselves responsible. Beauty is not a luxury. Some think beauty is a ceremonial thing; no, beauty is one of the essential requirements of human life; it makes life easier and sweeter; it makes the environment bearable. The fact that a person enters a street and all the buildings with curves and suitable shapes and beautiful and eye-catching combinations appear before him, where is this; and the fact that a person enters a street and sees discordant, ugly buildings that impose themselves on the ground and the natural environment, where is this? These differ from each other. Inside homes and in public environments, it is the same. Beauty is a very important principle in construction. Observing the local indicators and especially the Islamic indicators in urban planning and housing construction is very important. I told the friends who are responsible for the important construction of Bam that they should not only settle for strength and economy - these are necessary and they have done very good works - but they should do something that when a person enters the street of Bam, they enjoy looking at the appearance of the buildings. All our cities should be like this. Of course, we must prioritize and pay special attention to urgent works, among which is the renovation of dilapidated areas. We have many like Bam. An earthquake of six and several tenths of Richter and all this slaughter makes a person's body tremble. I have traveled to most cities in Iran and have wandered there and have gone through their alleys. Some cities are such that if God forbid, such an incident occurs, the damages will be unimaginable; we must think, we must pursue these matters. Last year, after the Bam incident, I had numerous sessions with government officials and relevant authorities. Everyone was very eager for these works to be done. There were many discussions, recommendations, and emphases, and some works have been done; but I want to say that these works must be given extra attention. So far, several hundred people have died in this recent earthquake; this makes us more familiar with our great responsibility.

In any case, we hope that God willing, God will assist you. For me, meeting with you wise, elite, specialists, and scholars was a very good day. I have much to say to you, and I know you also have much to say to us; however, the opportunity was only this much. We hope that God willing, you will be among the recipients of the pure prayers of the Blessed Mahdi, and may God grant you success, and may all of us be able to fulfill the heavy responsibilities we have towards God Almighty and the people, God willing.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.