Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with officials and elites of Hamadan Province

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

If in such a meeting the hearts of various groups are to be expressed, the best form is to convey the points in short and meaningful sentences, so that I can benefit, and the senior officials of the country can hear them and utilize them for planning. Most of the issues that the gentlemen discussed regarding the province—whether industrial issues, agricultural issues, tourism issues, or particularly the issue of handicrafts—were things that we had read in detailed reports before coming on this trip; and then when we arrived here, we saw and heard many of the things we had heard at yesterday's exhibition; at the same time, there were points that were new to me. In the agricultural sector, for the attention of the governor and others, the issue of silos and storage is important. This issue was not raised in our discussions last night with the esteemed ministers. The establishment of agricultural training high schools is a very interesting point. Of course, there is an agricultural college here; however, training diploma holders who have an understanding and enthusiasm for agriculture during their studies is very important; because one of the essential axes of development in this province—alongside or at the forefront of two or three other axes—is certainly agriculture. The issue of creating sports facilities in this youth-rich province is entirely correct; I had read this in reports before; however, in the discussions we had here with the ministers and the decisions they made and told me, or what I added, this issue was not included. The governor and relevant officials must definitely follow up on this matter. There are other points that must also be taken into account. The development document of each province—which some gentlemen pointed out—has been prepared in the management and planning organization, and it is clear what the development axis of Hamadan province and other provinces is. Planning is carried out based on these. Of course, the planning may be correct or incorrect, complete or incomplete; but the development document has been drafted. It is good for the governor and friends to inform the gentlemen about this so that they are aware and the information that is published is accurate.

As for this meeting, our current session is actually two sessions. I have always separated these two sessions during trips; however, in two or three trips, it has happened that these two sessions have merged; and this has created a problem. One session is for officials of various levels in the province who gather during my trips, and I present to them what I think is necessary to convey; I recommend, I emphasize, and I am obliged to act according to that. The second session is for the elites of the province. Each province has a collection of elite, skilled, and distinguished individuals who are worth meeting, hearing from, utilizing, and appreciating. This is not due to considerations; it is my heartfelt desire to meet this group of individuals in every province we are in.

Hamadan province is indeed a nurturing ground for elites. In these few days, I have faced elites in various sessions—at the scholars' meeting, at the university meeting, and other sessions—however, our usual practice has been to have a special session for elites during trips. Of course, we have never managed the elites' session this way. I was committed to standing and having each elite from that province come to shake hands and greet; I would say a few words to them and hear a few words from them. Sometimes it would take three hours, and I would be standing; however, for a year or two, standing has become difficult for me, and doctors have advised me not to stand too much due to my back, so this session has taken this form. Friends and dear brothers and sisters present in the session should know; I have no desire to sit among a group of elites and say things for them to hear; I prefer to hear from them, which naturally could not be achieved in such a session. Therefore, since we actually have two sessions now, I will share a few sentences on each occasion.

As for the mission of the officials in this province. Some of you are officials who are working at various levels in this province. From the highest level to the middle and lower levels, pay attention to this point: you are representatives of a system in the eyes of your visitors; rather, you are representatives of Islam. Any outstanding work and any beautiful action from you will honor Islam and the Islamic system; it will please the people to live under the shadow of this system. I saw someone who, because a responsible person had made a beautiful move, said, "I am proud to live in a system where such a responsible person said this or did that." The speaker of this statement was himself one of the distinguished elites. You are agents of the Islamic Republic—from the governor to the mayor, to the general managers of various sectors, to the heads of departments, to employees—whether in the executive sector, the judiciary, or the armed forces, your situation is like this; if, God forbid, you deviate, shirk your duty, and an action occurs from you that is unworthy of an agent, know that the people understand. We must not make mistakes and think that if we create a facade, the people will not understand; no, the people will eventually understand; even if they do not express it for the sake of getting by, or because they see no benefit in speaking up; but they feel it. This feeling of theirs is not a grievance against you personally; rather, it is against the system; it is against Islam; and against many of the servants who are working sincerely and devotedly in this system and should be appreciated; however, any mistake that I, in any level of executive, judicial, or other ranks, commit that is erroneous, will undermine all these efforts. In my opinion, the most important point that every official must pay attention to is this. The people consider officials at all levels of this system as representatives of the system, leadership, and government, and indeed Islam. Any good work of theirs will be accounted for all of them and will be a source of pride and honor for them; the opposite is also true.

The second point is that I have insisted on combating economic corruption in governmental and state institutions in the past two or three years. I want you dear brothers and sisters who are responsible to pay attention to this point: if economic corruption and misconduct in financial matters are not addressed in governmental institutions, all the things that have been raised, even if we fulfill them one by one, will be of no benefit; in addition to the fact that many of these things are simply impossible with corruption. I do not expect all the officials of our system to be angels or angelic; no, after all, we all know ourselves; we are weak people, we are vulnerable human beings, who must seek refuge in God; but we must pay attention to this point that wherever corruption arises, it is like a contagious wound. You who are managers, you who are responsible, you who have a collection entrusted to you, must seriously confront corruption in your subordinates and show sensitivity; without this, work will not progress, and the situation will not improve. I gave examples to friends and senior officials of the country and said, "You have drilled several deep wells with several-inch thick pipes and are continuously pouring water into a pool, but it does not fill up; then when you pay attention, you see several deep cracks in the walls and bottom of the pool that whatever you pour in from here, it flows out from there. Corruption is like this. All this work and effort is being done—today at the level of officials, the amount and volume of sincere work being done is very high—yet we still see that some sectors are facing serious problems. We must see where this wound is; where this crack in the walls or bottom of the pool is. Corruption must be fought. The fight against corruption is very serious. I have complained and still have complaints from some institutions that when we raised the issue of combating corruption a few years ago, instead of standing up and coming to the field and taking the flag in hand, they put political justifications and wrong adjustments and political maneuvers on this issue and did not do what they should have done. Now let the representatives of the parliament do this; let the government officials do this; you officials of various sectors and government managers do this. The people cannot fight corruption. The fight against corruption is the work of governmental institutions. The mind should not only go towards the judiciary; the judiciary is the last resort. I said some sectors should conduct deep studies on corruption. Several collections have been compiled in this regard and brought to me that a study had been conducted on the issue of corruption, methods of corruption, and infiltration points of corruption. We saw that the most important sector that can combat corruption is the government. The government itself acknowledges this and has pursued it. Important works have been done in the government to address the choke points of corruption. The choke points of corruption must be addressed. The fact that you see a product that should not be imported, yet it is imported; that someone should not be given a privilege, yet it is given; the first thing that comes to mind must be the suspicion of corruption and corrupt intent. Therefore, in governmental institutions, choke points must be addressed. If there is a case that has passed through these filters and under the hands of government officials, then it is the turn of the judiciary. Of course, both the judiciary and the relevant government officials must keep their hands completely clean. I said that day; the cloth must be cleaned so that the glass can be cleaned with it.

The third point to government officials: appreciate these people. This scene is repeating everywhere. I have been traveling in this country for years. I traveled to provinces during my presidency and before my presidency and faced the people; it is still the same now. In Hamadan, I sat and spoke with individuals from various segments of the people without any title and established direct communication; apart from the indirect communications that are abundantly present. These people are very good people. Truly, the Iranian nation is at the peak in terms of personality, dignity, and values; noble-minded, forgiving, faithful, determined, courageous, and ready for sacrifice. Before the revolution, no one understood these qualities of the people as well as Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). The first person who recognized these characteristics in our people among prominent figures and relied on them was our great Imam. At that time, I contacted some of the elders and said something; however, they blamed the people: the people do not come, the people do not do, leave these people alone. Imam, in contrast to them, recognized these people; he trusted these people; he spoke sincerely with these people; he did not wait for the people to start; he started first; a leader is like this. The difference between leadership like Imam and an ordinary guide is that the guide points and says if you want to go to such and such place, go this way; then turn right, then turn left; but the leader sets off and goes towards the destination himself; he says whoever wants to come, come with me; Imam was like this. He was also confident that the people would come, and the people came with him. First, he discovered these characteristics, and we, as shortsighted individuals—I say this about myself—naive and as someone who does not know the people well, watched the great movement of the people with astonishment and admiration and were captivated by him. We first experienced this during the revolution. We did not think many would come to the field like this; but they did; they sacrificed their lives, gave their youth, gave their existence, and stood wherever needed for the revolution. A vast majority of the people were like this. Then the war broke out, and they came to the field like that. And today, after many years of holding various and heavy responsibilities, when I reflect and pay attention, I see these people are the same people of the revolution. Some advertise against reality; some condemn our youth and young society blindly; why? Because a young person has opened his hair from the middle, or has let his hair down here, or has put oil on his hair; they consider these enough to condemn our young generation. You look at how the youthful presence of the people has been in these few days; which is not specific to these few days. I am nobody. These people do not do these things for me; these people do these things for the revolution and the greatness of the country and the dignity of this nation and for the Islamic system. Appreciate these people; consider serving these people a blessing from God; work for the people; consider God present and observing, and know that every step you take is a good deed. Last night, I told the ministers and the vice presidents who were here and had a meeting with me, that every step you take to serve these people is a good deed, a continuous charity, and a God-pleasing action.

As for the second session, which is the session of elites. Regarding you dear elites who are present in this gathering, I have no other words to say except that I feel respect and sincerity towards all the distinguished and elite individuals who have shown talent and genius in knowledge, understanding, skill, action, sports, and art, and have made efforts and diligence. We appreciate the elites. We may not be able to express practical appreciation—as is worthy of the elites—but we are sincerely grateful to the elites. The province is indeed a nurturing ground for elites. The other day, in two or three speeches, I mentioned the prominent figures of this province in various fields and sciences and in art and various types of knowledge. The elites who have emerged from this province over time and in our time—political elites, scientific elites, artistic elites—have done outstanding works. Of course, my intention here is not just the city of Hamadan; rather, the current province of Hamadan, which includes Hamadan, Malayer, Nahavand, Toyserkan, Asadabad, Bahar, Kabudarahang, Razan, and many other cities. Truly, this province has exported elites to the entire country, of which I shared some examples in other sessions and do not want to repeat.

Firstly, the nurturing of elites in the province is a sign of a natural talent. Now whether this talent is related to geographical factors or climatic and historical characteristics, I do not care; whatever the reason, this region is a nurturing ground for elites and spills its elites to other places. Perhaps the reason that Hamadan is one of the few cities in the world that has remained standing with such an ancient history—Rome, which is one of the oldest cities in the world, has a history of two thousand seven hundred years; but your Hamadan has a known history of three thousand one hundred years, which is likely even more, and it has been said—may be the existence of these talents and geniuses. Of course, there have been older cities, but today there is no name or sign of them in the world; but a city that has such a historical background—today's Hamadan is much more vibrant than Hamadan a hundred years ago and perhaps from Hamadan centuries ago—indicates a natural talent. Of course, I do not take pride in the fact that this was the capital of the Medes or the summer capital of the Achaemenids. The histories that the governor explained in detail are all debatable; they are not definitive. It is not clear whether the Median government at that time was the only centralized government in Iran; these are matters of dispute among scholars and specialists in this field. During the Median period, we likely had several powerful governments throughout Iran. Of course, Westerners insisted on elevating the Achaemenids and presenting Cyrus and Darius as the beginning of history; they have even forgotten the Medes. The work of European Orientalists in this regard has not been very honest, but excavations and various signs of civilization show us that throughout our current Iran, there are very ancient civilizations—some perhaps older than Egyptian civilization—existing; six-thousand-year-old, seven-thousand-year-old civilizations; including in Hamadan, in Sistan, and in other regions of this country. Therefore, it cannot be definitively said that this was the only centralized government or the first centralized government; these are conjectures. What is certain is that this place has been alive for three thousand years; it has been engaged in building and producing civilization, science, and life for three thousand years; this is very important.

What good is this historical past? If we just keep this past as a family tree in our pocket and take pride in it, like some who only tie a green shawl around their waist or keep a family tree in their pocket and use it as a means of livelihood; this is not right. The importance of this family tree is that it shows that this region—whether due to climatic, geographical, or historical reasons—is a region where talent is nurtured; meaning that today's youth of Hamadan, Malayer, Nahavand, Kabudarahang, and other parts of this province can have the hope of becoming Ibn Sina, becoming Rashid al-Din Fazlullah, becoming Mir Sayyid Ali, becoming Akhund Mullah Hossein Quli, becoming Akhund Mullah Ali Masoumi.

The fact that we see today that the youth generation in our country is moving towards scientific dynamism is because this hope has arisen in our youth generation. We must increase this hope day by day; it is also the duty of our elites. Our elites, when speaking to the youth and providing them with information, should not speak in a way that makes the youth despair about the future. The policy of some is this. This action is calculated. Of course, some do this out of negligence and ignorance, while some do it deliberately to make the youth despair about the future and present a dark, vague, and cloudy outlook for the future. I say to you dear elites of this province, in a province that has the highest ratio of youth among the provinces of the country, act contrary to this; strive to give hope to the youth in your words, demeanor, and actions. Your artist should be a source of hope; your poet should be a source of hope; your writer should be a source of hope; your farmer should be a source of hope; your industrialist should be a source of hope. This hope is not a false hope; it is a sincere hope. I am not in favor of giving false hopes; I see that this hope is sincere. Let your youth move forward with optimism and confidence in the future, and let the great transformation that turns a simple and natural human into an Ibn Sina arise within them. Today, this is our issue, and in my opinion, the primary issue for the elites should also be this. The youth generation must be encouraged and hopeful to move. Despair is a great pain, and to destroy a nation, nothing is more effective than making that nation hopeless. Make a nation hopeless, and it will be destroyed. When there is no hope, there is no movement and vitality. When there is no movement and vitality, there is no future. We have no reason for despair; we have a hundred reasons for hope.

Today, thanks to Islam, thanks to the Quran, and thanks to the inspiration that was given to our Prophet—who is the pinnacle of possible knowledge for a human being, and to whom it was revealed: "And say, My Lord, increase me in knowledge," and he was asked to seek knowledge more from God—today our country is moving towards a great transformation. Why should we be hopeless about the future? Because others hit us? Yes, it is clear that the enemy strikes at our goods. To bring a human under their control and make them captive, the best way is to instill in them a sense of helplessness; to tell them you are helpless, it is of no use, there is no solution; so that they are forced to come under the umbrella of this power. For the past one hundred and fifty years, they have done this to us; they have belittled our Islam, our past, our cultural heritage, our religious and national values, and everything; the Westerners who wanted to dominate the world belittled all civilizations and destroyed many of them. During my presidency, the President of Peru told me that we have recently discovered a sign of a very deep civilization in our country; while for several centuries we thought we had no past at all! Since the Americans took control of the United States—in its various forms—they decided from the beginning that South America would be their backyard and that no one had the right to interfere or take possession of South America; they have explicitly stated this, and they still say it today. A large country like Brazil or other South American countries has the capacity to move to be under the umbrella of America; if they want to deviate politically or in terms of orientations, they become like today's Venezuela. You see what calamities the Americans bring upon "Chavez"; because he slightly opposes their line. From the beginning, the Americans considered South America their backyard and opposed any movement there. One of the ways they did this was to instill and convey to South American countries that you have no past and history; you have always been a bunch of savages! Is this not real oppression that the Americans have committed? The Americans are very oppressive. The ruling system in America is a manifestation of oppression. Oppressions such as the Abu Ghraib prison and the massacres in Fallujah, Kufa, and other places are manifestations of a very deep and widespread oppression; like pimples that appear on a body that has a deep illness. Of course, the fundamental oppression of these people is something else; they have belittled humanity. Most of those who migrated from Europe to America were either condemned by European courts, or were wicked, or were bankrupt by fault, or were beggars and poor people who had no means of living and were forced to cross the Atlantic Ocean—which you know is the most turbulent ocean in the world; no sea or ocean is as turbulent and stormy as the Atlantic Ocean; that too with the old means of travel—risking their lives to come and live in America. Since the beginning of this migration, about three hundred years have passed. They reached this point because of their audacity and courage and because of the knowledge they acquired. See how much knowledge is a means of power. With the knowledge they acquired, they wanted to dominate the whole world. Today they talk about a greater Middle East; this is part of the story; they want the whole world; they are not even willing to tolerate Europe. A few years ago, one of the famous editorial writers in America wrote an article in one of the magazines of that country; the essence of his words was that today we have the right to dominate the world if we want. He also provided reasons for his claim. At that time, I said in Friday prayers that what the Americans call a global village, they want the world to be a village where they are the village chief and everyone is under their influence. This is their fundamental oppression. They have belittled humanity in various ways; supporting the Zionist regime is one way, occupying Iraq is another way, bombing the people of Afghanistan is another way, their behavior towards Muslims in Europe is another way, supporting the oppressive regime of Pahlavi and some other oppressive regimes is another way.

Thanks to the revolution and Islam, our youth have found the path of movement and the hope of movement; this hope must be strengthened in them. Contrary to the arrogant policies of the world that sow seeds of despair among nations, seeds of hope must be planted and watered. In my opinion, this is the main duty of the elites. Of course, speaking with the elites and distinguished individuals of a collection cannot be done this way. One of the reasons I oppose the idea of a global village is this. Even if you look at a small village, there is a huge collection of people. Every human being is a world. If a person is elite, knowledgeable, and an artist with high value, naturally their world is sweeter, more attractive, and larger, and there is room for a person to sit next to them and benefit from them; hence, we do not consider this amount sufficient for meeting the elites of this province; however, more than this has not been possible for us, and we hope, God willing, that the Almighty God will allow all of society to benefit from the blessings of the elites.

O God! Help us to move in the way that pleases You, and grant all of us steadfastness, perseverance, awareness, and hope.

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