Statements in Meeting with the Minister of Health and Heads of Medical Universities Nationwide

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

First, I must extend a warm welcome to my dear brothers and thank you for organizing this gathering and meeting today. You, who are people of knowledge and among the current elite of the country, when you gather, your presence brings joy to a person. Of course, provided that all the discussion does not drift towards the material aspects of the universities. Not that it should not be mentioned—it should be mentioned, I have no objection—but let us also focus somewhat on the spiritual aspect of the matter in the universities, which you are responsible for, and God willing, give the session the color and scent of knowledge and scholarship. God willing, you will be successful. You have taken on a heavy responsibility, and God must help you, and God willing, He will help.

The opportunities are truly valuable. Today, in the Islamic Republic system, you who are the head of a university can feel and believe with deep conviction that you are helping your people and contributing to the scientific advancement of your country. Unfortunately, this characteristic has not existed in our country's scientific environment except in very few periods. When foreign domination is imposed over the entire political and social life of a country, what role do you think knowledge will play in that country? Especially medical knowledge, which naturally will not have anything to do with political issues. A person who will become a doctor and provide services is different from someone who, for example, becomes a journalist and might say, 'I am going to fight.' But a doctor, a healer, and a compassionate person towards humans seeks to heal their pain. He will provide services. At that time, in a society where the entire political flow of the country is in the hands of centers that do not think and work for the benefit of the nation, any student who studies cannot be sure that he will work for the benefit of the people. Not that no one works for the benefit of the people—do not misunderstand—but some come out with struggle and work for the benefit of the people; however, the general trend is not like this. The general trend is the denial of healthy living in a society.

After those few brief periods of Amir Kabir, who began to create a small foundation with good ideas and motivations, unfortunately, later in the environment of higher education in our country, this opportunity has not continuously arisen. The point I can say with certainty is this. When I say it has not continuously arisen, it is because sometimes the scientific figures in charge of knowledge in the country were individuals who wanted to do something, they made movements and efforts, but like a spark, they were immediately extinguished and not allowed to continue.

Today, it is not like that. Today, you may have a limited budget. Yes, Dr. Fazel mentioned it, and it is as he says. I know there are many shortages and deficits: you have admitted many students—which the country needs—but we do not have universities; you have recruited and brought in professors, but you cannot support them so that they are happy to come and teach in your universities; you raise the scientific rank, but you do not have suitable laboratories; books—as mentioned—are necessary, but you do not have them; you need scientific journals daily to be informed of the world's scientific issues, but you do not have them. It all comes back to money; otherwise, in this matter, you lack nothing else. Truly, if you have money, all these things will be solved. These shortages exist. They will also be solved, and just as we see the overall financial situation of the government better today than, for example, two or three years ago, certainly two or three years from now, it will be better than today. The country's work trend shows this, and it will get better, and these problems will be resolved.

In the country's scientific environment, especially the sensitive knowledge you are pursuing—namely medicine and its branches and derivatives—these are not real, fundamental, and structural problems. The fundamental problem is that in an academic environment, there is no faith in the work, the officials do not burn for the country, do not feel the pain, bring someone to the head of a university or the University of Tehran, and he is only thinking about his job, position, political stance, and proximity to the court of that day and filling his own pocket, and what is not in the first place for him is the environment under his control and supervision. You saw who were the heads of the University of Tehran. It was mostly a political issue. Other universities, especially the large and important ones, were more or less the same. The fundamental and structural problem is that, thanks be to God, it does not exist today. In the past, how were ministries divided? Who became ministers? On what basis did they become ministers? How much were real qualifications considered? In the selection and recruitment of individuals, how much concern was there for the people, for the country, for the future of this nation? How much did those in charge care about their work?

If you compare today with that day, you will see that today the foundation of work is a solid, pure, and clean foundation. When one truly looks, one sees that Dr. Fazel is truly a worthy and outstanding figure. I truly believe this, and I am happy that he has this responsibility. In the various tests of this country, he has given a good account. These are very important. 'In the alternation of states, the essence of men is known.' The day when, with a phone call from a center, he gets up with a briefcase and goes to eight kilometers from the front line in the war front and sets up an operating room there and stays there for a long time and continuously operates, he is neither waiting for a 'well done' from anyone, nor waiting for anyone to know, nor waiting for his name to be among those who have served the revolution and the front, and no one says anything, no one knows, no one understands, these are important and very valuable. Someone who knows the value of the revolution welcomes the revolution; it is like a fish coming into water. This is valuable. This is different from strangers and outsiders and those who work with a system out of expediency. With this scientific rank, which, thanks be to God, he possesses, and friends and foes have no disagreement in this regard and are unanimous, and with those revolutionary backgrounds—which truly revolutionary background means this—and without a shred of material motivation, they perform their service. If the issue is truly material motivation, a prominent surgeon and doctor like him and many of you, for example, what percentage of the income that might be obtained in a regular job do you get in a government job? Where is this, and where are those who sew a bag for the ministry and go and fall into government work? Now, the ministry at that time was higher than these words could be said like this. No, a director-general somewhere, a family was secured—to plunder and steal and take and raise themselves from the black soil to the highest material heavens.

Today, this foundation is the same correct foundation that exists. What I want to say to you dear brothers who are either with Dr. Fazel in the ministry or busy in the universities is this: You must know the value of this correct Islamic foundation more than anyone else. This is also from Islam. You must uphold Islam to the highest degree in your academic environment. Make it so that strangers—those who are strangers to the revolution and Islam—do not feel that the work is under their control; this is my point. Of course, I have repeatedly spoken privately with Dr. Fazel. I told him this point, and now I am telling all of you. Make the environment such that the Hezbollah faction in the country, the university, the management, meaning those who consider themselves belonging to this revolution, burn for the revolution and this nation, and have no duty for themselves other than serving this country and this revolution, feel that they are insiders here. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, strangers have shown their faces throughout these various tests. During these issues three or four years ago, a few people directed and stood a bunch of doctors under the title of that medical system and others against the system. We have not forgotten this. I remember many of its details well. At that time, it was the faithful and Hezbollah doctors, the same Hezbollah minister of that day who is one of our very good brothers—Dr. Marandi—and the likes of them who stood against that false wave. Of course, they were right, they had the means, and fortunately, the medical community was also with them; however, they wanted to seize control with claims and mouth-filling words and saying we are such and such.

We found some claimants of knowledge in this revolutionary period who did not uphold the honor of knowledge. I have seen many who claimed knowledge and did not uphold the honor of knowledge throughout my life. Being a scholar is not important; maintaining the honor of knowledge and being a scholar is important. During the period of oppression, I knew a famous high-ranking professor who fell on the shoes of the then Shah—Mohammad Reza! Professors stood in a line, and Mohammad Reza passed by them, and this person fell on his feet! They did such things, but who? Generals. But a scholar, a scientist, a researcher—who truly is a researcher. Not in your field, in a field that suits us more—learned, renowned, famous, how much research, how many books, fell on his feet! His students reproached him: 'Professor, you?!' After all, that person is illiterate. The scholarly community does not accept anyone; politics is not an issue for them; they look to see who is a scholar. For a scholar, there is no attraction and value higher than knowledge. The worst insult in the environment of scholars is the label 'ignorant.' No insult is higher than this. In all scientific environments, it is the same. At that time, that scholar fell on the feet of an ignorant and bully! His students and friends reproached him, and he had no answer. He said: 'The awe of the Sultan took me!' This phrase became famous in the university environments where our friends went and came, and scholars and scientists of that time were divided into those who were taken by the awe of the Sultan and those who were taken by nothing but the awe of knowledge! Of course, at that time, we also had scholars like that person who even endured poverty so as not to look towards them, not that they would not fall on their feet, or kiss their hands, or humble themselves; no, they considered themselves above thinking about those ignorant and unknowledgeable systems. They considered the monetary and material life far less valuable than to contaminate themselves with it.

Those who spent their lives in humiliation before the powers, now that it is the turn of the Islamic Republic, they show arrogance! This neck is not valuable. This is not pride. Raising that neck is good and honorable if it has shown that it is proud. Those who did not even uphold the dignity of knowledge, now when it is the turn of a people's system that has no claim other than being from the people, for the people, and in service to the people, and acts with the guidance of religion and is not a servant of foreigners and America and others, suddenly it is the turn of their pride and arrogance, and they stand against this system. They should be reprimanded. This is disrespect to knowledge that we give them a place among the scholars. Those who do not uphold the respect of a system based on knowledge and understanding, do not uphold the respect of a nation that is integrated and included in this system, truly recognize them.

Once, a few years ago, I said something that some people made a fuss about. I said that the presidency of universities should be a scientific presidency—I still believe this—that is, the person at the head of universities should be such that those there accept this person as the president; but knowledge with action, knowledge with belief. It should not be that a person without belief, who wants this system not to exist at all, has no belief in Islam, or mocks Islam, or mocks Hezbollahis, or mocks a faithful student, comes to the head of affairs. No, take his hand, set him aside. If he wants to come and teach in our classes, we have no problem. Any teacher can come and teach, we accept. We use the knowledge of everyone; even someone who does not accept us. Let him say his knowledge, we sit with utmost humility and use his knowledge, the system uses his knowledge; but where it is supposed to be decisive in the administration of university affairs, absolutely not. If someone looks at a chador-wearing or veiled girl with contempt, despise him; do not consider him. If someone looks at a Hezbollah youth with a beard with contempt and distances him (now if these reports that sometimes reach us from here and there are true. If not true, then nothing), despise him.

Value lies in obedience to God and faith and concern for the country and society. Value is not in being chic and that status. Someone who has not given up on sensual pleasures and food and drink and has not even looked at heavy duty, what right does he have to say I am something in this system? His knowledge is also in service to his stomach and personal life. His knowledge is not for the sake of the people. His knowledge is not valuable. The one who does not move with revolutionary orientation in your ministry and university environment, his knowledge is not valuable either. Yes, if he comes and tells his knowledge in class to our students and our students use him, we have no problem; provided he says it. I have heard that some even withhold their knowledge! I do not know, now it is up to you to see if it is really like this or not. That is, in class, they do not teach anything or do not nurture the student. Such a person is of no use at all; but the one who is willing to present his knowledge, let them take his knowledge; there is no problem. Let him teach in class; but as long as he does not believe in this system and this Islamic movement and this revolution, we should not give him much space. If you place that professor or that official who matches these criteria, everyone should respect him and truly hold him in high regard. The student should also respect him.

After the death of the late Ayatollah Boroujerdi (may God's mercy be upon him), when everything was disrupted across the country and several thousand Qom students cried bitterly, the issue of professorship in seminaries and professorship in universities, in academic environments, was raised. At that time, due to this issue, I heard a speech by the late 'Jalal Homai' delivered at the same Dar al-Fonun on Naser Khosrow Street. We had friends who said a lot of these things there. At that time, we were very young seminarians and had seen the same spiritual environment and did not know exactly how the differences between our spiritual, scientific environments and others were. At that time, I understood many points from those words. One of the things that was said at that time was that science and religion were combined for several centuries; that is, scholars were mostly people who were religious and the science of religion and the science of non-religious sciences were mixed and in the hands of a group of people. Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi or Ibn Sina were also jurists, while they were, for example, great scientists. Others were the same.

In the etiquette of learners—that is, the etiquette of student respect for the teacher—books were written. Shahid Thani has a book titled 'Muniyat al-Murid fi Adab al-Mufid wal-Mustafid'; that is, what are the etiquettes of the teacher and the student (learner) towards each other. The student must be like the servant of the teacher. Truly, we were like this in the seminaries. Truly, if a teacher allowed a student to escort him to his home, this student was happy. The student chooses the teacher. In the seminary, there is no compulsion in choosing a teacher. It is still the same. The student goes to this lesson and that lesson and finally chooses one. Then he questions in class and does not accept any word from the teacher as a matter of faith. It is still the same. Now, whoever it is, it does not matter. When I teach here, students come and question, and until they believe and accept, they do not remain silent. If they remain silent, they say we made a mistake. That is, in our scientific environments, there is no faith in the teacher's words, and the student interacts with the teacher in this way. But this same student, with the teacher he interacts with in this way, is like his servant. Now, of course, it is not as intense as before. Until our times, it really was, but it is still very different from the university environment. That is, a student passes by and does not respect his teacher, such a thing is not conceivable; let alone insulting his teacher. If he insults, they say why do you insult, do not come to his class, what compulsion do you have?

My point is the words of that gentleman who said: for several centuries—for example, twelve or thirteen centuries—science and religion were together. The student must go ahead of the teacher in the dark so that if there is a pit, he falls, not his teacher. He must be like the servant of his teacher. That day they said that for fifty years science and religion have been separated from each other. ...

If our university is an Islamic university, one of its greatest manifestations should be the respect for teachers beyond the usual level of the world; especially from the students. The student must respect the teacher unconditionally. If that teacher is bad, they must respect him. Suppose they brought an infidel teacher and placed him in a class full of Hezbollahis. Should these Hezbollahis respect this infidel, or should they insult him? No, they must respect him, honor him, and put him before themselves; because he is their teacher, no other reason is needed. This is while we said this person does not believe in their beliefs at all; let alone if the teacher is a believer and a Muslim. In any case, the respect of the teacher in the student and university environment must be very preserved.

These problems that were mentioned must be resolved. I believe they will be resolved. Now, if you do not accept this very much and are not optimistic about this issue, we have no problem, we say you must strive, so that God willing, it will be resolved. We are also ready to strive, and you will God willing cooperate. Provide your expert opinions, and we will also recommend to officials and non-officials—meaning governmental and non-governmental—whenever necessary, so that God willing, whatever needs to be done, will be done. Of course, saving is also one of the most important tasks. Whatever can be done, saving in non-essential tasks is good, so that when resources and money are scarce, God willing, more help will be given to essential and obligatory tasks.

May God preserve you. May God preserve and assist our honorable minister and dear brother Dr. Fazel, so that God willing, you can carry this heavy burden to its best destination.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings