Speech in Meeting with the Assembly of Representatives of Clergy and Scholars of Qom Seminary

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

Honorable gentlemen and dear brothers! Welcome. I am very grateful that in the nearly one year since our last meeting, as I have heard, good steps have been taken as preliminary organizational movements of this assembly and consequently by the students.

What I must initially state is that such collective work, which is truly auspicious and fortunate for the seminary, should never fall into stagnation, expectation, hesitation, or confusion. Time passes quickly, lives are spent, and various opportunities are lost. The esteemed scholars and students of the seminary must seize the opportunity of youth, vitality, and the favorable conditions of the seminary, and now that, thanks to the revolution and the comprehensive leadership of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), the groundwork has been laid, they should accomplish what the Shia seminary needs.

If we ask ourselves what the seminary needs that we should fulfill, we have asked the right question. The seminary has many things that are its assets. It has abundant knowledge, long scientific experience, a large number of experts in the fields related to the seminary, a considerable number of experienced and skilled teachers, a wealth of good traditions for studying and teaching, the relationship between teacher and student, and many other valuable assets. What does the seminary lack? We must think about this. In my opinion, the first urgent duty before the seminary's stakeholders, including the esteemed teachers, the management council, the students, and at the forefront, the assembly of student representatives, which you gentlemen are, is to examine this question and see what the seminary needs that we must provide.

It seems that the seminary needs several things, and I am not in a position to provide a comprehensive and complete answer to that question now; however, I will mention a summary and an outline of what might come to mind. Among the things the seminary needs is a system of teaching and learning so that time is not wasted. Today is not a day when we can allow a day or an hour of the youth's life, who is religious and ready for effort and struggle in the path of religion, to be wasted. A student is such. If a student were not religious, he would not become a student. If he were not ready for struggle in the path of religion, he would not become a student. Perhaps it can even be said that if he did not love this path passionately, he would not become a student.

Therefore, a youth with these characteristics, on a day when Islam has succeeded in presenting a system based on thought and worldview to humanity, should not waste his time. The seminary must fill his time in the best way and make the best use of his time, and make him a person who can today be an honor for the Islamic system and fulfill the goal of expanding and making Islam known. This task requires a curriculum system, and without it, it cannot be done. It is not appropriate for us to leave a large group of twenty thousand people without knowing how they study, what they study, with what goal they study, and at what level they are.

Of course, today some work has been done, there are periodic exams, there are good exams, there are specialized schools, specialized courses have recently been established, and regulations and rules have been set; however, these must reach the level of a complete curriculum system or a complete work system, including study, research, and the five missions and responsibilities I mentioned last year that the seminaries have.

The main points of those five missions and responsibilities are: occupying the position of issuing religious edicts and training righteous individuals for issuing edicts, training teachers, conducting research for scientific advancements, the issue of judiciary in society, and the issue of propagation. These five missions are tasks that are at hand. Of course, the seminary has other tasks and can and should perform many important tasks; but these five missions are immediate and certain. Therefore, a comprehensive curriculum system is necessary and one of the tasks that must be done in the seminary.

Another task that is necessary in the seminary and the seminary faces a void in it is that the officials, elders, and leaders of the seminary, such as the sources of emulation, great teachers, the management council, and the like, must ensure that within the seminary, the understanding of current world issues and the ability to analyze and comprehend these issues exist at the highest level in the country. That is, we must ensure that the seminary is capable, through most of its individuals—not all individuals—in the public space of the country, to provide correct political insight and understanding of current issues to others, guide the people, and lead them forward.

Misunderstanding, simple and superficial understanding, slow and unintelligent understanding, being unaware of current world and country issues are among the most harmful things that the seminary might face. These are the things that create the conditions for a group of ill-intentioned individuals, possibly incited by foreigners, to start moving within the seminary and raise issues; as you have seen some examples of this in recent years, which, thanks be to God, the broad chest of the revolution has struck and removed many of these examples from the path; however, it cannot be said that these things are over.

Misunderstandings and lack of understanding create danger from two sides: one from the side of incorrect and ill-intentioned guidance based on unhealthy and biased thoughts, and the other from rigidity, slow understanding, late understanding, not being in the right place at the right time. These cause a lot of harm, and the seminary today is not in a position to easily withstand harm. Today, the effort of the seminary or harm to the seminary is harm to Islam, in its brilliant global form.

The issue is the issue of the Islamic system and the view of all Muslims in the world who today look to the Islamic Republic, and in terms of Islam and Islamic teachings, it is the Islamic Republic and the seminary that must respond. If, God forbid, the seminary suffers a blow and encounters a problem; if it misunderstands current issues or does not correctly identify a position and does not understand a need in its place, or misunderstands; if it does not recognize enmity and friendship and decisions are made based on that, the blows that will come will be irreparable.

The political understanding and political guidance of the seminary must be at a very high level. Today, the students and scholars of the seminary are spread throughout the country. It is not the case that people only want them to explain issues and treatises for them—although they want that too, that is also a need of the people—but today they also ask the clergy about regional issues, various global policies, and internal issues. Even if they do not ask, he must take on the responsibility of answering.

Today, the clergy is the Friday prayer leader; that is, the intellectual and spiritual ruler over the city or province where he is the Friday prayer leader. The Friday prayer leader is not just a prayer leader. Today, the clergy is a representative in universities; that is, someone who must introduce religion in universities. You see, in the past, good clergy in universities—like the great martyr, the late Ayatollah Motahari, or other brothers and elders who were there—had a significant impact. The clergy in the university were not just these. Some of the turbaned ones were also professors, but they did not bring people closer to religion; some even distanced them from religion! Some of the turbaned ones, without consideration, would say whatever came to their mouths in class and among students, without paying attention to the impact of their words, and these would distance people from religion. The one who brought the youth closer to religion, made them love religion, and deeply acquainted them with Islamic teachings, was from among those types of clergy.

If we can send a large number of clergy with broad religious knowledge and political awareness and intelligence into universities, you will see how many blessings will arise from this work. This is expected from the seminary. This is not possible without that intellectual, political, and spiritual growth. This is missing.

Among the things that are missing in the continuation of the same curriculum system is the issue of textbooks and maintaining the spirit of enthusiasm and vitality—in a healthy manner—among the students. These are things that must be done in the seminary. You, the esteemed assembly of representatives, must sit down and examine these things; the same things whose main points and principles I saw that you have brought in this statute as the goals and duties of the assembly. These require effort and movement.

I believe in the presence of student representatives in the decision-making levels of the seminary, and I believe that the participation of student representatives in decision-making levels will help many of the good things you want to happen in the seminary, and it will revive and enliven the movement and enthusiasm of youth among the students, and this is something we need.

A student must maintain the spirit of youth with all the characteristics of youth. Of course, the youth of a student is noble youth. The innovation of youth, the audacity of youth, the initiative of youth, not accepting many restrictions—which is in the spirit of youth—is in the student and all of these are positive; but the restriction of religion and adherence to rules that are in the student, complement those previous spirits. If those youth characteristics are alone, they will lead to inappropriate audacities and some incidents that one has observed over time in universities and non-universities and sometimes even lead to deviations. But when accompanied by religiosity and respect for elders—which is a tradition in the seminary; the tradition of respecting elders, respecting the teacher, respecting the predecessor, the one who is ahead of us and started studying before us and has passed the educational stages one after another—it creates noble and righteous youth in the seminary.

This youth should not turn into old age. If our youth is young in appearance and age, but old in spirit, without enthusiasm, without initiative, and hopeless, it is a very bad thing. A student must be a source of hope, enthusiasm, and movement. If this happens, then the student will also participate in the forefront of revolutionary issues. The main condition for the seminary's righteousness is this. If the seminary reaches a point where the student feels indifferent to revolutionary issues, it is a great danger and you should not let it happen. This is one of the most important duties of any responsible group in the seminary of Qom and other seminaries.

Students must be in the forefront. If war arises, the student must be in the forefront of the war and consider it a value. This is truly a value. The one who is studying in the seminary, as soon as the call for war and jihad is raised, rushes towards jihad in the path of God, there is no conceivable price for him.

The best elements of a student are those who have this spirit in themselves and cultivate it, so as not to fall under the hadith "Whoever does not fight or does not talk to himself about fighting dies on a branch of hypocrisy." Even if an obstacle arises and he cannot practically enter the battlefield, his heart should boil for the battlefield and his spirit should be there; that is, "talk to himself about fighting." This is a very high value. This spirit must remain alive.

There are various events for the revolution; students must be present and ready. The issue of America arises, expressing hatred for the enemies and arrogant powers arises, the issues of the Persian Gulf arise, various other issues arise; the student should be the first to feel he has a responsibility and inquire about that responsibility, see what it is. When his responsibility is determined, he should be in his place of responsibility. These are compatible with being a student.

It should not be imagined that if I want to do this, then when will I study? Always study. War is not always, demonstrations are not always, presence in necessary scenes is not every hour. He must also study, and without study, research, and discussion, a student loses his meaning.

In those days of struggles, some students were immersed in the world of struggle; those struggles of those times were different and had mixtures and complexities. One stream was the intellectual stream and another stream was the struggle stream, and these sometimes intersected, and of course, in those cases, their intersection was also good, and the struggling students sometimes acquired an intellectual state. When I was in Mashhad, I was familiar with the students. The students and youth of Qom also repeatedly came to me and went and raised issues, and I saw that they were indifferent to study. I repeatedly told these students that brothers! You must study the lessons of Rasail and Makasib, you must learn this Kifayah. If you think that we are now fighters, then what are these words, what is the use of the meaning of a word, leave the meeting of command and prohibition and the prelude to obligation, you have thought wrong. No, it cannot be like this. You must learn these. This is our craft. I repeatedly said, and I still say now, that without substance, it is raw.

A student who does not delve into study and knowledge is not a student, and the subject is nullified. The discussion is about the student. A student is one who must study. Of course, some of those things we are accustomed to reading, or are excessive or lack priority; but they should be replaced by more primary or necessary things. The examples we gave—the meaning of a word, derivative, and so on—do not mean that all the discussions of these chapters are obligatory and necessary. No, these may also be among those things that some of them are excessive. In any case, the point is that the official lessons of the seminary must be studied and learned.

This is ijtihad. Ijtihad is a method and a form and a way; a behavior in understanding and a quality in the approach to truth. That quality must be known. If someone does not know the way, it is clear that he will not reach the truth. No one becomes learned and knowledgeable unless by studying these lessons. These must be studied to learn that way. That method must be learned. Without that method, nothing can be done. Therefore, with studying, one must participate in the political, social, and military battlefield and enter the field of propagation and raising awareness among the people.

I also emphasized and will emphasize that the presence of student representatives in the decision-making scenes of the seminary is necessary so that that presence in decision-making leads to the use of the active arms of these forces in the field of action. If they are not in the decision-making scene, they cannot be used in the field of action. Young people must be given a chance. Use fresh ideas—not in the sense of acceptance, but in the sense of examination and selection—so that those who have initiative take good steps.

There may be outstanding talents; these should not be lost and buried. There may be excellent opinions on how to study and textbooks and the course of fundamental and jurisprudential discussions and others; these should not be oppressed. If this happens, both the seminary will fall behind, and it is possible that enemies who oppose the essence of the seminary's existence and establishment will misuse them.

In my opinion, there is a lot of work ahead of you brothers. If we want to enter into specifics, we must say that one of the important issues in the history of our revolution is happening these days, and that is the issue related to the Persian Gulf. I believe that our entire nation, especially the seminaries, must have a clear and correct picture of these events; we must understand what is happening. In my opinion, what is happening today is noteworthy for the Iranian nation and others interested in world Islamic issues from various aspects.

The first fundamental issue facing the people today is the endless aggressive nature of superpowers and major global powers, with America at the forefront. Perhaps for the masses of people around the world, these truths have never been as clear as they are today. They have come from the other side of the world to intervene in an issue related to the region, which can certainly be resolved through regional relations, and the very act of intervention is wrong, and they carry out this intervention with the utmost cruelty and ruthlessness.

Look at what they are doing with Iraq. The issue is not about the government and regime of Iraq and the leaders who themselves are severely questioned and objected to—which we will discuss later—because they themselves are complicit in the crimes. The issue is about the nation and country of Iraq.

Why are you destroying a country like this? Why does a power, just because it can shoot, allow itself to shoot at any target it wants? On what basis?! What crime have the people of Basra, Hilla, Amara, Baghdad, and the holy shrines committed that they must lose their lives, their refineries, their factories, their airports? How many years must the Iraqi nation work after this to be able to provide again what you have taken from them? Ultimately, what crime is being committed? There is no greater crime imaginable.

If you have a war, go to the battlefield; the military forces are there, fight them. Why do you announce from the beginning that we want to wage an air war for ten days? What does air war mean? Air war means dropping bombs on cities. In my opinion, there is no crime more blatant than the one America is committing today with the help of its allies—France, England, and others—and as far as we remember, there has not been. Woe to humanity that these very criminals are also the flag bearers of human rights!

Look at what a wrong culture this cursed Western civilization is offering to the world. Where are they really? Dropping thousands of tons of bombs on cities and defenseless people and children and the sick and the elderly and the innocent and civilians is not a problem; but if one of these planes that has committed all these crimes is shot down and its pilot is captured and shown on television, it becomes a crime that the whole world makes noise and expresses regret and says it is against the Geneva Convention! What kind of culture is this?! What kind of wrong formula in understanding human truths is this?! Why do you not consider killing people a crime; but bringing one of these killers on television is considered a crime?! Everyone protests, everyone makes noise!

I do not understand, what kind of culture is this?! What kind of misery was brought to the world by these Westerners before?! They want to export this culture. They want to export this quality of understanding human interests and harms and social ethics to the whole world; everyone must accept this Western culture! This is one issue.

Today, one of the greatest crimes is being committed. Iraq, the center of one of the ancient civilizations and the center of the great Islamic civilization, is being attacked. In this country, there are schools, mosques, and sacred places. The Iraqi nation has worked hard over many years to build houses, schools, streets, airports, factories, and refineries; and a criminal hand, under the pretext of war with the Iraqi regime, while the forces of that regime are standing right there at the border in front of them, comes and destroys the people's property and kills all these innocent and pure souls. It is truly a very painful issue. On what basis do you attack Iraq? On what basis do you attack the people of Iraq?

The second point that immediately arises after this issue is that the superpower of these superpowers—as we have said many times—is based on intimidation. They had created this mythical power for themselves in people's minds, and the nations of the world thought that if they pointed to any country, it would be destroyed. In the Name of God! They gathered forces for six months, and their statements were that they would eliminate their opponent in a few short days. As far as the news is reflected in the world and we understand like others, it has not been like this. That is, the side that attacked is not happier and more successful than the side that was attacked. The attacker has also suffered as much or more damage, and as many or more of its military personnel have been killed. Of course, it has killed many civilians from the Iraqi people, which is a crime, and killing each one of them is a murder, and Mr. Bush, for the murder of the Iraqi people through the bombing of cities and so on, is a murderer and a criminal.

This power that the superpowers had created for themselves turned out to be a myth. Of course, we knew this. This truth, spoken by our great Imam (may his soul be sanctified), that "America cannot do a damn thing," has once again been revealed. This is another point that has caught the attention of the people of the world, and this point must truly be understood and properly emphasized. The first-class powers of the world gathered together; but they cannot do what they thought they could do.

Here, there is a lesson to be learned, and that is that the equipment that has been created today in front of these invading forces is the result of their own ill intentions and malice. They themselves are the ones who created these bases and these missile platforms and gave these missiles and these planes and these anti-aircraft and these modern and advanced equipment to the Iraqi regime to crush Islam with them. "They will spend it, then it will be a regret for them, then they will be defeated." It happened just like that. East and West gave money, weapons, means of propaganda, and facilities, and provided military techniques, and the very things they had given to destroy Islam are now being placed against them and used against them. Thanks be to God, they could not destroy Islam and the Islamic revolution with these equipment. This is also a truly instructive point that must be understood and God must be recognized.

Another important point is addressed to the leaders of the Iraqi regime. What are you doing? These gentlemen who have dragged Iraq under the feet of the invading aggressors today, what do they have to say to the Iraqi nation? On what basis have you dragged the Iraqi people into an unwanted war to satisfy your ambitions? Does the head of a country and its officials have the right to put all the vital and human resources of this country at risk of destruction and corruption to satisfy their ambitions? Can they do such a thing? Are you the guardians of the Iraqi people that you went and occupied Kuwait and placed this country and this oppressed nation under the blows of these malicious enemies? This action is indefensible, and no one can defend it. Anyone who defends it, anyone who justifies their position, is deceiving themselves.

What moral defense do you have for yourselves?! After all, someone who participates in a battlefield must have a goal and a sacred and presentable aspiration. When you participate in the battlefield, what do you say to yourselves? Do you say we threw ourselves and our nation into this fiery furnace to satisfy our ambition?! Does your conscience get satisfied?

At one time, a country like the Islamic Republic, we were sitting in our home, they attacked us, and we defended for eight years. This defense is sacred. Our defense was a defense of honor, dignity, religion, borders, people, revolution, Islamic government, and the Quran; but you started your work with an aggression, and your interests clashed with America's interests, and you both fell upon each other, resulting in the Iraqi nation and the people of the region being harmed in between. Who benefits from this action? The malicious Israel.

Except for those few missiles that hit that land and they tasted the taste of missiles a little and understood how these oppressed Palestinians are under pressure, it caused Israel to exploit and pursue its expansionist goals more and in this turmoil of conflict and war in the Persian Gulf, to draw the flood of migration towards the occupied Palestinian territories. What the Iraqi regime has done is certainly to the benefit of the enemies of Islam and to the benefit of Israel and against the Iraqi nation and against the Muslim nations of the region. Over ambition, two people fight; innocent people will be trampled. How can anyone say that I hold the flag of defense for you?! Is such a thing possible? This statement is a lie.

And as for the position of the Islamic Republic. This position that the officials of the Islamic Republic have announced is one hundred percent Islamic and revolutionary; because it is the rejection of aggression and the condemnation of events that have happened against the people. Some try to interpret the word neutrality in a wrong way. Since the beginning of the revolution, we have not been neutral in the war between East and West. Since the beginning of the revolution until now, we have fought against East and West. Is it not so? East and West have also united against us and fought. On the day when East and West had not yet reconciled and there was East and West in the world, our revolution's slogan was "Neither East nor West"; meaning the rejection of both and opposition to both. This does not mean neutrality. We never became enemies with the right for the sake of the left; nor did we become enemies with the left for the sake of the right.

They are two camps and two factions that fight each other for wrong and unholy goals—from our perspective and from the perspective of all realistic humans. The Islamic Republic rejects both factions; because in both sides, the motivations are material, and for this reason, they have conflicted with each other. They have conflicted because of being materialistic. It is not that one is divine and the other is materialistic. It is not a war of Islam and disbelief. This is the position of our Iranian nation.

We are deeply concerned and upset for the Iraqi nation. In these few days, whenever these news come—when they do not come, I am reminded—I am truly heartbroken for these poor, oppressed, defenseless Muslim people who are trampled because of power-seeking and ambition on one side, and aggression and savagery on the other. In these matters, the correct position must be known and understood.

In short, these are the heavy duties of the seminaries, and the role of the students is truly very important. I ask you gentlemen to value and consider important the characteristics of youth and that enthusiasm and courage and initiative and innovation of youth along with rule-basedness and religiosity and the ethical traditions of the seminary—which is respect for elders—and maintain your revolutionary presence.

Someone who has never been present in the scenes of the revolution is deprived of a great value; know this. The one who has mostly been in the battlefield during the war, even if he is now four pages behind us, has a very high value; "God has preferred the strivers over those who remain behind with a great reward." Of course, the one who did not go must have had an excuse and a reason and a direction, or was not needed—"And to each, God has promised the best"—but the one who went and became a striver certainly has a high and elevated value. In your calculations and thoughts and accounts, keep these in mind. Of course, it is clear that you also calculate these; we also emphasize.

God willing, may God grant you success and support you. God willing, may He grant all of us success to recognize our duties and perform our work.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings