Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution during a visit to the Royan Research Institute

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

For several years now, a blessed scientific movement has begun in the country; everyone agrees that this esteemed movement is somewhat widespread among the scholars of the country, including professors, students, researchers, universities, and research centers. I have the duty to express my gratitude and appreciation for this great movement that our scientists, researchers, and professors have created throughout the country.

My visit to this center today is, in fact, a symbolic act to appreciate the vast and significant scientific movement that has fortunately started in our country; although it is still in its early stages. We chose this place, firstly because of Royan, and secondly because of the Jihad University.

The Royan Institute is a successful institution and a complete and remarkable example of what one wishes for. The reason I had such affection for the late Saeed Kazemi and still hold him in high regard in my heart and mind is this. His movement, his way of working, his management, his persistence, was a complete set of what one desires and hopes for, which I will briefly mention. Royan has grown and developed in this way with his help and the help of other colleagues who have been involved from the beginning; I felt this from the early days of the work. My mutual friend with the late Kazemi, who discussed his work with me at the beginning - fifteen or sixteen years ago - and his requests, made me sense the signs of a correct movement in this work; therefore, I said I would support this work to the best of my ability. As time passed, that initial suspicion was strengthened; it was not disproven.

If I were to introduce this desirable model in one sentence, it would be: the combination of knowledge, faith, and effort. They took knowledge seriously, as well as faith and piety; not as a burden, but as a main element in the fabric of the organization and in the fabric of the work. They also forgot fatigue, which I believe the late Kazemi sacrificed his life and health for; that is, this persistence and these efforts and not becoming weary. Therefore, Royan is very dear and precious to me, and you young men and women of faith who work in this organization are dear to me, and I believe Royan has a great potential for work and progress.

It has been quoted from me that I said: "This stem cell is a scientific movement," and that is the truth; just as your stem cells have an endless range for research - that as you research, you progress, another field opens up that you see can be the subject of research and progress towards newer frontiers - Royan is the same; this organization of yours, the more it works and progresses, still has the capability for advancement, and each researcher, researcher who believes in knowledge and is faithful - whether in this organization or any other similar organization - has the same ruling; that is, their capabilities are endless.

As for the Jihad University, I chose it because the Jihad University is a blessed offspring of the revolution. Just as the Holy Quran compares two mosques, it says: "The mosque that was founded on piety from the first day is more deserving that you stand in it; in it are men who love to be purified," the Jihad University is the same; it is one of the few main growths of the revolution. This does not mean that Jihad has always been correct in every period of time, has thought correctly, or has acted correctly; no, sometimes we think correctly, sometimes we think incorrectly, sometimes we act correctly, sometimes we act incorrectly. The criterion for judgment is not these fluctuations and twists; the criterion for judgment is the targeting and direction and continuity in preserving this goal; even if sometimes a person makes a mistake or slips. I consider the identity of Jihad, which has had many blessings, thanks be to God. Now I will say a sentence about Jihad, and then I will say a few sentences about knowledge and research and the future of the country's work in this area.

The Jihad University consists of two words: Jihad and University; it must have Jihad in it, and it must be appropriate for the university. Acting in a Jihadi manner has a specific meaning. Not every action is Jihadi.

Jihad, in terms of its root, is one with effort and endeavor; that is, it contains the meaning of effort and endeavor; but Jihad is not just this; Jihad means struggle; struggle in the common Persian terminology of today. There are various types of struggle: we have scientific struggle, we have journalistic struggle, we have political struggle, we have economic struggle, we have military struggle, we have open struggle, we have hidden struggle; but there is a common point in all of these, and that is that it is against an adversary; it is against an obstacle. Struggling with a friend does not make sense; struggle is against an enemy.

Suppose in a period of oppression, someone reads five books every week; that was a lot of work; but it was not necessarily a struggle; it was effort, it was not Jihad. If it were to be Jihad, he should have read a book that had an impact on his movement in confronting the tyrannical regime and the regime of oppression; then it would have been Jihad. The essence of Jihad is this.

The scope of your Jihad is knowledge and technology; that is, you do not want to use swords and spears and tanks here; you want to use the brain and the intellectual capabilities within humans and thought and pen and eyes and these things.

The organization is a scientific organization; but in what direction should it be for it to be Jihad? This is important. Look and see which enemy is lurking for your country, for your revolution, for the goals that this revolution has outlined, and you must struggle against that obstinate enemy? When your work is in that path, it becomes Jihad.

Therefore, if you seek knowledge that not only does not make the enemies of those goals dissatisfied, but also makes them happy, this is not Jihad. Suppose the Jihad University or a certain institution related to the Jihad University says that in a certain year, one hundred or five hundred articles of mine have been published in "ISI"; this is not the criterion. What was this article? In what direction was it? What good did it do you? What position did those who are enemies of your ideals take regarding this article? Did they feel threatened? Of course, their politicians - the scholars look at it differently - or did they not feel threatened?

When you spoke about stem cells and cloning and such work, and I or others praised this work, American officials announced that a council of governors should be established for genetic sciences! What does this mean? The enemy is hurt by the fact that you are moving in this field. I will give clear examples; there are thousands of examples. The day you can build a radar that no living being can enter from any point in the sky of this country, that day the enemy will be hurt; that is, this is an arrow that hits the enemy directly. This is Jihad.

In Jihadi movement, in Jihadi science, in Jihadi research, this element is certainly a condition. The enemy is not just America. Now, in the course of discussion, our clear enemy is America and global arrogance. No, enemies come in various forms. Sometimes a large financial and economic cartel is upset that you can, for example, build a cement factory; it creates obstacles; it does not allow it, which is now in the reports given to me, including this issue. They want to create a council of governors for cement production, so that no one has the right to build a cement factory or produce cement.

Jihadi work must be purposeful, correctly directed towards ideals, and intelligent and wise and enemy-breaking. That is, in the same sense that we use the term struggle in the common sense: "I am struggling; this is a struggle." This is a common expression. In Jihad, this meaning exists. This is the definition of the Jihad section.

And as for university. University means that the level of this activity and movement is a high level; appropriate for students and professors and active scientific minds. This must be observed in all work. Populism and populist tendencies should not interfere in work and all activities. Of course, part of the scientific activities is good; like this research; but suppose if the activity is in the fields of human sciences and suppose in literature, the statement that comes out of here must be beyond what an ordinary literati might say. That is, the level must be a high level. Many statements in the field of human sciences - which we have a history in and are familiar with - such as history, literature, and philosophy, which are issues of our country, exist. Some of these issues are ordinary statements, conventional statements; even if Jihad University does not say them, anyone can say them. Jihad University must bring forth the selected, superior statement. For example, you have Quranic activities. Many people have Quranic activities; all of them are good - you know I am among those who have a special sense of responsibility towards Quranic activities; since before the revolution, even now, it is the same. That is, if ten young people gather in a mosque to recite the Quran, it is desirable for me; I love this - but if you want to engage in Quranic activity, your Quranic activity must differ from non-university Quranic activity. Therefore, if you also want to repeat the same tone and melody and style of a certain reciter and the beautiful voice and so on, of course, it is very good; but the Jihad University activity in the Quran is not this; it is something beyond this. See what the academic understanding in confronting the Quran is. Go and seek to understand the Quran. Your Quran reader should be such that when he recites the Quran, the audience of his recitation feels the concepts of the Quran with their hearts; senses it; and your Quran recitation session should also be a session of Quranic concepts. These require innovation; it is your domain.

Therefore, the Jihad University has these capabilities and resources, and I have firm belief in the Jihad University. They have done great works; you have done good works, and as we said: "Founded on piety from the first day." From the beginning until now that we have recognized the Jihad University, it has been based on religion and piety. Keep it based on religion and piety.

A few minutes ago, I spoke with friends here and said, try to ensure that the identity of Jihad does not change. What you see is that the identity of some individuals - their thoughts, their mental compositions - has changed one hundred and eighty degrees from the beginning of the revolution until now; this is not a natural course and trend that you can say its nature is like this; no, it is never like this. It is natural that if a person accepts a thought and a path based on logic and reasoning, he should follow it to the end of the path, and if his life does not suffice, he should die on this path. It is not natural that we say: let’s move along a path; sometimes with enthusiasm and excitement, then suddenly at one point, we make a turn! Then, these turns continue so much that they become the opposite! This is by no means natural. Some justify: well, at the beginning of the revolution, it was the beginning of the revolution; now time has influenced us, we have changed! No, time affects weak and rootless elements and beliefs based on mere feelings; or time affects with the accompaniment of greed and desires. "Indeed, those who turned back among you on the day the two armies met, it was Satan who caused them to slip because of some of what they had earned." The Quran says: those who turned back in the Battle of Uhud; they could not endure standing, their slip was due to what they had done before. When we did not build the spirit, did not strengthen ourselves, it is clear; every influence on it will affect; one, two, three, suddenly you see its shape has changed; but when the identity of a person is formed like tempered steel, strong and firm and based on correct thought and sound logic, the religious identity of a person is formed and the revolutionary identity is formed, the longer time passes, the clearer, more evident, more attractive, and more solid this identity becomes. People are like this, institutions are like this. Do not let the Jihad University institution turn into another identity; into a non-religious, non-revolutionary identity.

Once, in the presence of these dear ones of the Jihad University, I said something a few years ago, which I did not remember; they brought it to me, I read it and remembered - you must preserve this correct identity and this faith-based identity and keep it alive. Fortunately, it has been like this and has remained so far; because the structure of the Jihad University and the type of management, the type of performance, the connections between the leadership and the body, the orientations, the good demands have been good - what I said that day was that some think that being revolutionary means a movement that is disorderly, accompanied by chaos, confusion, and disorder! They say, well, they were revolutionary and it ended! This is wrong. There is absolutely no chaos and disorder in the essence of revolutionary movement. On the contrary, revolutionary discipline is one of the strongest and most powerful disciplines. A discipline that takes root from the mind of a person, from the heart of a person, from the faith of a person, has the best disciplines.

In the early revolutions, including our revolution, there are seen some disorders that arise from the beginning of the revolutionary movement; because an old, chaotic structure must be destroyed and a new structure must come in its place. This is a natural thing; but when the new structure, the new building is built on correct foundations, the movement based on that will be disciplined and good and will progress, and this is revolutionary. Therefore, revolutionary activity should not be confused with disorder and chaos and not recognizing rules and laws. In any case, the Jihad University is one of the places we have hope for the scientific future of the country.

As for the issue of knowledge and research, I would like to say this: Our country cannot reach its desired point without moving on the path of expanding knowledge and research; it is not specific to our country. The key is knowledge and research.

Becoming a scientist for a nation is not just about acquiring the knowledge of others. That is the beginning of the work. Knowledge has a vast range; it cannot be exclusive that we assume a group of countries or nations have to produce knowledge, define new frontiers for knowledge, use some for themselves, and give some to others to use. This cannot be. This ratio, this form of work means the permanent backwardness of some countries, this oppressive relationship between countries, this issue of the first world and the second world and the third world and north and south and this rhetoric that has been part of the political literature in this century and the previous century.

All humans have the capability for knowledge and scholarship. Talents are of course different, but there is no country where humans do not have the capability to find a place for themselves in this vast and immense domain of potential and talented knowledge and play a role in it. If a country whose history, experience shows that its talent and capability are high and above average - which our country certainly is - it must play a role in creating knowledge, in developing knowledge, in advancing knowledge, and if it can play this role, then this backwardness, this discrimination and injustice in all political, social, and economic fields will be eliminated, and it will have an equal share against other countries and against the powers that exist today. Then it can manage itself, stand on its own feet; give something, take something; but today it is not like this.

Today, the system of domination in the world is based on taking and giving; it is based on maximum taking and minimum giving; it sucks wealth, it sucks resources, it sucks political, economic, and social powers in countries and takes them into its own hands, and in return, sometimes gives nothing, sometimes gives something harmful, sometimes gives a little something to that opposing country. Now the political fabric of the world is this: the oppressor and the oppressed.

If this fabric is to be disrupted and countries can have a place in the world according to the capacity of their nations and the talents of their nations, the most important thing that influences this work is knowledge. Therefore, knowledge must be taken seriously; it must be advanced.

Our movement has started, but we are still at the beginning; we must help scientific and research centers; we must help scientific, research, and technological projects; we must spread this desire for knowledge and research everywhere. It should not remain specific to professors and researchers; it should spread in the student environment and student space; that is, students should develop a desire for learning and producing knowledge, which requires planning and recommendations and requests and orders and these things will not be enough. The officials of our educational sectors; whether the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, or the sectors related to cultural planning issues, have responsibilities in this regard. They should do something to make the university environment a place of knowledge-seeking. Truly, this young person should want to become knowledgeable and not just seek to obtain a degree, or now to get a name for a small job. This requires movement. This movement must continue. The support of the government and responsible institutions and the help of those who have positions that can influence the minds of their audiences in this regard is certainly necessary.

And I insist that whenever we work for the advancement of knowledge, do not forget that knowledge and religion are together. Knowledge divorced from religion and distanced from religion, even in the first step in the short term, may bring a country to a point of pride, but in the long term, it is harmful to humanity; as you see it is harmful.

Knowledge that separated from religion and did not consider itself committed to religion results in what is prevalent in the world today; knowledge is a tool of oppression, a tool of exploitation, a tool for the destruction of crops and generations, and the product of knowledge is the atomic bomb on one side; on the other side, the product of knowledge is the emergence of politicians far from all human feelings in many countries of the world. Knowledge must be considered alongside religion. Knowledge must be pursued for God and in the way of God. This must be among our primary teachings everywhere.

And the successes of this knowledge are also greater; let me tell you this. Do not say that if we sanctify knowledge and accompany it with religion and a believer does something, it will not progress; no, now this very Jihad University of yours, this very collection of your works - which has been accomplished by the faithful elements - shows that when knowledge is accompanied by faith, its successes will also be greater.

There are other things I have noted here to mention, but time has passed; it is twelve o'clock. We hope, God willing, that this meeting can convey a message to the scientific community of the country from the collection of the institution; a message of appreciation, a message of respect, a message of gratitude for the scientific movement, especially regarding the Jihad University and particularly concerning the Royan Institute. And we hope that God grants all of you rewards and that God willing, the soul of the late Kazemi is endowed with His blessings and favors, and that his esteemed family, who are present here, God willing, be granted divine patience and tranquility, and that we witness the increasing successes of you dear ones in Royan and in the Jihad University day by day.

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