Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Basij Students

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

This is a very engaging, attractive, and inspiring session; a session formed by wise and Basij youth. The wisdom of students and the characteristics of youth, combined with the spirit of Basij culture, create a unique and highly inspiring combination. You represent this culture, this collection, this human face, and this model.

There are many thoughts in the mind and heart regarding Basij students, and if we articulate these as the virtues of Basij students, the enthusiasm of those relying on logic and reasoning to become Basijis in universities will be multiplied. Basij is a culture, and if we want to define this culture in one sentence, we must say it is being a pioneer in all fundamental areas of life. It is true that some insist on misinterpreting Basij in and out of universities; however, we do not expect much from those who repeat the slogans of the enemy's propaganda.

The issue is that we ourselves must understand what Basij means. Basij means coming to the scene and entering the field. What field? The field of vital and fundamental challenges. What are the fundamental fields and challenges of life? Is it only when a country is attacked and its people come to the scene to defend their borders? Certainly not; this is just one instance of coming to the field. It is also when the national and political identity of a nation is contested, that is a time to come to the field. It is when the culture, beliefs, and deep-rooted convictions of a nation are insulted and belittled, that is a time to come to the field. It is when the chosen generation of a nation feels they have fallen behind in the caravan of knowledge and must remedy this, that is a time to come to the field. It is when it is felt that the foundations of a desirable and just life in the country need effort to be repaired or established, that is a time to come to the field. It is when the intellectual and cultural fronts of the world come with ultra-modern tools to separate a nation from its history, culture, and roots and easily take it under their control, that is a time to come to the field. All of these require individuals who feel the need; confused, oblivious, and distracted individuals do not feel these needs at all. On the day when our borders were threatened by thousands of booted soldiers, there were those in our country who, if told that they were trampling on our soil, homeland, nation, dignity, and honor, would say, "Go away, are you happy?" They were not aware of this need and did not feel that such a need existed. Therefore, first, there is the feeling of need.

After feeling the need, there is readiness. Not everyone is ready to give up comfort and the presence of a warm heater in winter or a cool air conditioner in summer; not everyone is willing to create an enemy for themselves; not everyone is willing to sweat in a difficult path and overcome obstacles; it requires a person of determination and will. Thus, the resolve and will to work and to sacrifice comfort and ease is also a condition.

Another condition is that in the face of this movement and work, one should not expect a reward from anyone. Reward is related to a situation where someone from outside motivates us - "do this, take this money" - when we derive motivation from within, from the depths of our souls and from our love, from whom should we expect a reward? Giving a reward is degrading; it is degrading to a person who is bubbling from within. These are the characteristics of a Basij person; this is what Basij culture means. No honorable nation can be without a Basij organization within itself.

In addition to all of this, a Basij organization must also have capability. It is true that our Basij during the war and after the war included seventy-year-old men; however, the capability, vitality, and power to traverse these difficult paths are mostly specific to the youth. Therefore, a Basij organization is a youthful organization and has a youthful face.

These fields are the fields of thought, knowledge, and scientific production; they are the fields of various challenges to compensate for scientific backwardness. Someone comes and presents a thought, doubt, or intellectual proposal; if we want to choose correctly, we must be able to recognize it, understand it, analyze it, and discard its incorrect points and sections; and if it has a correct part, we should take it and blend it with our correct parts to present our own creation. If it has no correct element, we should throw it all in the trash.

Before the revolution, when we encountered believing student youth - who at that time were in contact with us, came to our mosque, visited our home, and participated in our gatherings - we saw that thanks to the blessing of advanced Islamic enlightenment, these individuals spoke the superior discourse in the university environment. The leftist activists of that day were left behind in the face of these individuals; this was a reality. You know that at that time, leftist and Marxist thoughts were promoted in milder forms in environments like our country as new ideas. Of course, they were not new, but they were promoted as new ideas. They came to universities and explained dialectical materialism and other Marxist discussions to the students. The religious students, whose thoughts were rooted in strong Quranic and interpretative foundations, stood like a dam against them in universities and penetrated like steel into their enclosure. This is also one of our challenging fields. Thus, in these challenges, there are challenges of knowledge and science; challenges of producing thought; challenges of construction and service to the people; political defense challenges; political offensive challenges; military defense challenges. Who can enter these diverse scenes? If someone enters these scenes, then they are wise, efficient, capable, and advanced.

A few years ago, I said in one of the universities that enlightenment in Iran was born sick. If you look at the history of enlightenment, you will confirm this. Enlightenment in our country was born sick and dependent on foreigners from the very beginning. I also say now that the concept of modernity was born sick and defective in our country. What did modernity mean in our country? What I am saying relates to the late Qajar period; then during the time of Reza Shah and the rest of the Pahlavi period, there was a peak of the movement I am talking about. In the vocabulary of modernists in our country, "modernity" meant imitation of the West. What does imitation mean? It means you go buy someone’s old clothes and wear them as new clothes on the day of Eid. The 19th-century thoughts of France, England, and other parts of Europe entered Iran. A hundred years had passed since the emergence of these thoughts, and many problems, flaws, and rejections had been introduced to them; yet the Iranian modernists of that day went after those thoughts, those methods, and even those superficial personality traits; that is, dressing, growing a beard, mustache, and hair. A name called Douglas had appeared in a corner of the West and had styled his mustache in a special way; in Iran, this mustache became a trend! In our youth, the Beatles wore their mustaches in a crooked way; our youth, after many years had passed since the emergence of such a phenomenon, imitated them! Is this modernity?! This is regression and backwardness; this is not modernity.

Of course, the opposition to these modernities was also superficial; let me tell you this. The type of opposition that arose against modernity and the wave of modernism in Iran - whether in the late Qajar period or during the Pahlavi era - I do not approve of; I have never approved of such reactions; because they dealt with it superficially. They excessively imitated the Westerners, while these opposed them. In our youth, there were famous popular poems. They said:

"With knife and fork, they mock the water, All the clerics are doing this."

Because they believed that at that time, for example, the clergy opposed eating with knife and fork; these people wanted to eat water with knife and fork out of spite! Neither that modernity was modernity, nor that confrontation with modernity was correct, deep, and logical.

What is modernity? Modernity is being a pioneer. Look and see what you lack, where you have gaps, and how this gap can be filled in the best way; engage your creative mind and fill that gap; this is progress. This statement applies to clothing; it applies to outward demeanor; it applies to thought; it applies to the way of managing society; it applies to various social issues; it applies to political issues; it is applicable everywhere where human reason can judge and decide. Where reason has no domain - the domain of worship and law - one must remain obedient to the law. Interestingly, those who remained committed and obedient to the law later, when their reason became more active, understood why the law made that ruling. There was a time when the issue of purity and impurity, the issue of the lawful and unlawful, the issue of worship and prayer and humility were questioned; later, as thoughts advanced, they understood that these also have natural philosophies and wisdoms; above that, they have human wisdoms.

A person without humility, a person disconnected from God, and a person without spirituality becomes that identity-less person you observe today in Europe and America; they have everything except justice, comfort, humanity, and respect for human rights; that is, a jungle civilization. They explicitly say that because you have power, you must act; because you have a gun, you must shoot; morality has no meaning. Of course, this is just the beginning of their work; they have not yet reached the steep point of decline; but they will reach it; I tell you this. You will see the day when the West, Europe, and America reach that steep point of decline and can no longer control themselves; thus, they will fall.

True modernity and genuine innovation, and opening new fields of life, are desired by Islam; Islam has asked this from humanity; this is achieved through contemplation, deep thinking, correct work, intellectual effort, striving, welcoming work and danger in all fields, and raising ambitions. Whose work is this? It pertains to Basij. If we correctly define Basij, this is it. Basij also means a person of determination who has religious zeal, intellectual knowledge, need recognition, creativity, and mental stimulation and enters the field.

Basij students are naturally the complete embodiment of these concepts. Your determination should be to secure this fundamental arena. You should not be afraid of anything. Not that you should not consider - consideration means using reason; this is always necessary - but what you determine to be right, you must demand. Not just wanting with words and slogans - of course, sometimes slogans are necessary, and sometimes they are not - but work and effort must also be made.

I strongly advise you, dear brothers and sisters - who are my children - to pay attention to the depths and seek them; do not abandon the appearances either. It is a mistake for someone to think or imagine that they must correct the inner self, and the outer appearance is not important; no, this very appearance leads a person to various valleys. Religious appearance, Islamic appearance, adherence to religious obedience, these prayer gatherings, these gatherings of intercession to the Imams (peace be upon them) are necessary; however, all of these must be accompanied by knowledge. In the gathering of mourning and chest-beating of Basij, when poetry is recited, it must be meaningful, with content, directional, and accompanied by lessons. When speeches are made there, they must aim to deepen thought and reflection. When you perform congregational prayers, your prayer must be accompanied by attention to the Lord and humility before Him. When you engage in spiritual retreat, when you fast, when you hold religious gatherings, they must be accompanied by attention to God Almighty and with sincerity. This is the key to success. If this is not the case, the same fate will befall a person as you saw befell some. Some were very fervent and passionate at the beginning of the revolution, but unfortunately, their religious thought lacked depth; with the first cold wind from the enemy's propaganda, their revolutionary leaves fell, and their revolutionary fervor ended! Some rolled one hundred eighty degrees in the opposite direction. I once told one of these gentlemen that you were far-left in economic matters at the beginning of the revolution, and we prevented you from your leftist extremism; but now you have gone to the farthest opposite direction and have become far-right! We have remained where we were before, and we are still preventing you from your rightist extremism! This is due to a lack of depth; it is because there is no foundational belief and thought.

A person who has foundational belief acts based on their belief and stands in various fields. If it is a front, they go and become a martyr or a disabled veteran and endure the constant physical suffering and reproaches. If they return from the front, they maintain their faith amidst various tempests; this person is profound. We do not lack such deep-rooted individuals. Some, however, were not deep-rooted. Therefore, we must deepen Islamic thought and Basij thought.

A Basij person seeks justice. Seeking justice is not just about shouting for justice; no, one must truly desire it. Seeking justice is not about standing face to face with someone and saying you are not seeking justice; no, this has a mechanism. Society must reach a point where justice-seeking policies are designed, and the executive apparatus must be such that justice-seeking policies have the opportunity to be operationalized and implemented; otherwise, many justice-seeking policies are proposed; however, the mechanisms, people, signatories, and those who have the pen either do not care, do not believe, do not have the will, do not have the patience, or are of the type "go away, are you happy?"; thus, works remain halted and stagnant; therefore, those areas must be corrected.

To achieve any great aspiration and any lofty goal, there is a mechanism; this mechanism must be found by the wise, discerning student youth. The discussion of the software movement is of this kind; the discussion of free thinking is of this kind; various discussions that occur in different social fields are of this kind.

Our logic is strong. We do not fall short in logic against anyone; others fall short against us. The realities of society have also demonstrated the validity of that logic. Despite the sabotage over many years, the war, external obstacles, the infiltration of unworthy individuals into the apparatus, and the lethargy and apathy of some, nonetheless, wherever we have advanced with the same principles and original revolutionary thoughts, we have truly progressed; examples of this are the industrial and scientific advancements and various openings that have occurred in works. Wherever a prominent work was done, when one went, they saw a believing individual had a decisive responsibility there; I have observed this through experience in various places. Wherever works are stagnant, it is because of the presence of these unfaithful and rootless individuals that lead to self-interest, corruption, discrimination, favoritism, and the like.

Therefore, in the field of action, we have also tested this thought.

You are young. The future of this country belongs to you. The management belongs to you. The vast executive machinery belongs to you. You must choose and cast your alloy in such a way that this piece and this screw in this large apparatus do not wear out and do not become a worthless screw and piece. You must strengthen that thought. Thought alone is not enough; you must also enter the field of action.

Now the issue of the presidential elections is also on the table; this itself is a vast and very good field. The first issue is participation. In terms of people's participation, work on your families and friends in any way you can. Participation is one of the most fundamental issues. The presence of the people is necessary for the advancement and protection of the country. Not that if a large number do not participate, they have said "no" to the system; this is not the case at all. Those who do not come because they want to say "no" to the system are a very small percentage. Some do not come due to lethargy; some do not come due to impatience; some have other things to do on Friday and do not come; you should motivate these people. Otherwise, those who do not believe in the system and the constitution and whose hearts beat for foreigners and their infiltration and are waiting for foreigners to come, are a very small percentage. Many may not come to the polls because they do not have the patience, do not have the time, do not understand the importance of the issue, do not realize the impact of their vote, or have not found someone they trust; or they have recognized someone but do not like them; thus, they do not come. Your effort should be to maximize participation in the true sense of the word. You are students, you are wise, you are enlightened, and you know the criteria; therefore, look and see who among the electoral candidates has the necessary competence, vitality, and capability according to the criteria of the Islamic Republic and can enter this field and grapple with various challenges and is not influenced by the enemy and whose coming does not please the enemy.

The Americans - like their usual nonsense - have started again saying that so-and-so must come, so-and-so must not come; what do you ignorant people know?! They do not realize that whatever they say, the people act in the opposite way. They say: why is there oversight? Why could a certain group not come? Why could a certain person not come? In their own countries, there are all kinds of thick oversight mechanisms in complex forms. In Western countries, there are numerous eliminatory obstacles everywhere. Now in America, show me someone who has come to power outside of the two famous parties in the last two hundred years and has become president. What does this mean?

In all European countries - as far as we know - there is no legal opposition that opposes the system and the constitution and the overall movement and policies of the system and at the same time has the right to operate. I told the students in Kerman that the disagreement is whether to collect a certain tax or not; one says to collect it, the other says not to collect it; whether to go to the Iraq war or not. Those who are in the field are all united in principles and foundations; while certainly, some are opposed. They do not give the opposition any opportunity to come; however, the propaganda is in the hands of those whose fields belong to them. Newspapers, televisions, and radios are at their disposal, and they say and write whatever they want. They have all these eliminatory obstacles and all this inequality in various political fields, yet they say why do you even have a Guardian Council?!

Certainly, the entrants to the political field must be controlled. This is the field of governing and managing the country; is it a joke? They want to hand over a country to someone; thus, the entrants to this field must be controlled, and it must be determined who is coming, whether they have the capability for this work or not; then, whether they believe in this work or not; then, do they even understand what must be done in the country or not.

There are criteria; there must be those who see and evaluate these criteria; the constitution has predicted this. You know the criteria. Fortunately, our country is a young country; thus, the youthful face of the country necessitates that there be a good, strong, and youthful vitality in the entire executive apparatus. Look and see who truly supports the revolution, supports religion, supports justice, and supports the absence of discrimination between the rich and the poor; who has the necessary competence and follow-through; find such a person.

I also said the day before yesterday that one should not be anxious and hesitant. Some people are very hesitant - is this one, is that one? Is this one, is that one? - In the end, they either have to resort to divination and prayer or completely give up voting. No, a person thinks; they reach someone and say: O God! The result of my research is this. I vote according to my inner evidence - which is reason and thought - and based on the consultation I have had with others. God Almighty accepts; even if this determination is not correct. Therefore, one should not hesitate. The criteria are clear criteria. The atmosphere of propaganda and false, shiny, and colorful advertisements should not divert a person from recognizing the truth.

Of course, one of the criteria is that whatever the enemies of this nation want, the opposite must be acted upon. What they want is not in the interest of the nation. They pursue their own interests. The arrogant loudspeakers of the world who protest against the Seventh Majlis are the same people who accepted the completely dictated royal assemblies of the Shah's era. Now they also accept regimes where there is no voting in the true sense of the word; however, they protest against this Majlis! Why? Because that serves their interests; but this does not serve their interests. They pursue their own interests. If they show a direction and have a tendency towards something, it is clear that their interests lie there; which is exactly opposite to the interests of the nation and the Islamic Republic system and must be opposed; the same criterion that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) told us.

God willing, all of you will be successful and safe. May God protect all of you and forgive your parents. God willing, you will have a good end and be chosen elements for this country and the future of the country.

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