Statements of His Excellency in Meeting with Members of Religious Organizations and Student Elites

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

I wish there were more time, and I could listen to the statements of other dear young people who wished to speak. Firstly, because what you said—except for some minor points—was the voice of my heart and my acceptance, which probably if other individuals had spoken, they would have expressed the same matters that are in my mind as the objectives and worthy aspirations of the system, particularly concerning the student body. Secondly, because this session is not meant for me to speak—I do speak; I have many sessions with students, the news of which you hear; I also speak with the general public—but rather it is more for creating a space for dialogue, so that students feel the confidence to express their opinions on the major issues of the country or at least regarding the major issues of the student sector. Today, the country needs this topic—self-confidence.

Some of you dear young people asked what practical actions have been taken? It is a good question; it is necessary to seek an answer; however, the very fact that you raise this question will certainly prompt some to think and find answers to this question, whether in the realm of justice-seeking, in the field of science, or in other areas.

I want to say this: the very fact that you come here and throw this thought into the atmosphere of the country and society—which will also be reflected—is the most important issue and something we need. We want our youth to feel that they must think and must express and demand this thought. We do not want to perform a show, nor do we need to perform a show; however, we need our youth—especially the student body, which is very extensive across the country—to strengthen this feeling within themselves that they have a role and responsibility in the future of the country and must feel a commitment in this regard and strive for it.

I want to raise a fundamental point here—that I had in mind to tell you if there was an opportunity—and that is that we expect our dear youth—both girls and boys—to be serious about the fundamental issues of the country and to approach them seriously. I suggest you think about this matter of "seriousness"; then you will see that many of the actions that take place here and there stem from a lack of seriousness.

In the supplication of Kumayl, we read: "Strengthen my limbs for Your service and fortify my resolve and grant me seriousness in Your fear." Do not think that these supplications are merely for supplication and repentance. Of course, supplication and repentance are very valuable; however, within the context of this supplication, the necessary knowledge for life is embedded. These supplications are a spring of Islamic knowledge.

"Strengthen my limbs for Your service"; make me physically capable of performing the services that are upon me. "And fortify my resolve"; strengthen my will and determination. "And grant me seriousness in Your fear"; give me a state of seriousness; do not let it be superficial; do not let it be a plaything.

The issue of justice-seeking that I raise with you and the youth does not mean that I have not raised it with non-youth. Before this, a letter was mentioned by one of the friends, which I wrote to a student organization two or three years ago; I have raised the issue of justice-seeking dozens of times with officials who have executive responsibilities, and it has not been the case that nothing has been done or progressed; yes, some actions have been taken and progress has been made; however, all these movements require a backing for permanence and depth, which is your demand and desire. The meaning of demand and desire is not that one should clench their fist and want something; no, rather know that this demand and desire are necessary, and believe that this is a definite and vital need for the country and society. The very fact that you believe in this topic is the most important demand and will have its effect in your words, actions, political stances, and religious and popular movements.

When I raised the software movement or the production of science—which means moving science out of a state of imitation and translation—the issue was not alive in this way. Now, wherever I go to student and university environments, I see professors, students, researchers, and scholars talking about the software movement. This is good. When a belief arises in a community, this belief will be the backing for a lasting and stable movement. This is what we want. I say that in this matter, you must be serious; you should not treat the issues of the country and the future as a plaything.

You, the group that are present here—from the boys and girls students who are my dear children—are all religious and committed students to the foundations of religion and Islamic knowledge, and the student body is predominantly composed of committed individuals; however, I want the majority or more than the majority of the student body of the country to be a committed group with a sense of responsibility towards the student ideals. One of these ideals is the issue of science; the second is justice-seeking; and the third ideal is free-thinking and the pursuit of freedom.

The pursuit of freedom should not be confined to a limited political meaning. In political freedoms, social freedoms are among the important aspects of human freedoms. We ourselves have been beaten and imprisoned for these freedoms and understand the meaning of political freedom; however, we say that those who, under the slogan of political freedom, pursue the realization of the most anti-freedom political entities in the world—the ruling body of America; the seemingly democratic fascists in the world who are more fascist than any fascist, a fanatical and neoconservative group that has just entered the political arena—are they freedom-seekers? Is this pursuing political freedom? That slogan of freedom-seeking, which means and summarizes that America should impose its puppet government on this country, is not a slogan of freedom-seeking; even if it is adorned with a hundred decorations of freedom-seeking; this slogan is false and a slogan of bondage and treachery. With the logic I am presenting, let us understand free-thinking more deeply so that it also has its effect here. Free-thinking means thinking freely; making decisions freely; not following the propaganda loudspeakers of the West due to imitation and translation. Therefore, it includes science, knowledge, political conduct, slogans, and the conventional political and social demands and terms. If today the West speaks of democracy, we must think—free-thinking means this—whether what they say is correct and whether democracy is an absolute value, or if it is subject to challenge.

One of the dear students raised the question: "You say students should not be opportunistic. Now we are idealistic, so why do some executive bodies sometimes act opportunistically; how can these two be reconciled?" I want to say that opportunism is not bad, negative, or against value. Opportunism means pursuing an issue that is beneficial. This is not a bad subject. Know that the executive body of the country, in its very difficult interactions in the world, faces crossroads where it must consider certain interests; because managing the country and executing work is very difficult. An example of this is that when someone watches a mountain climber on television who is moving forward with effort and step by step, they say to themselves: "Take a step faster, you lazy one!" They are sitting in front of the television, not in that high altitude and situation to see how practical this work is. This example also applies to someone who watches a wrestling or football match on television. You have certainly seen that sometimes some football spectators constantly instruct their favorite players and teams: "Lazy, shoot!" In any case, managing the country is a difficult task, and of course, considering interests is not a problem; we do not criticize them for that. However, we are also aware that they should not always be immersed in opportunism, and I pay attention to this issue in light of my responsibilities.

If you young people set aside your gaze towards the peaks of ideals, a wrong outcome will arise. The outcome of your idealism and the challenge of officials with interests will yield a moderate and desirable outcome; however, if you also pursue opportunism and an opportunistic tendency—meaning completely accommodating to realities—enters the intellectual and spiritual environment of students and youth, then everything will fall apart, and some ideals will be cut off and lost from their roots. Students should not abandon idealism. My expectation from you dear ones is that you deepen and strengthen your knowledge bases in all areas.

One of the very important tasks that some friends have also pointed out is that you can theorize in three areas: science, justice-seeking, and free-thinking. You can carry out this theoretical work in the context of the movement for the production of science or in the context of justice-seeking. For example, in the area of justice-seeking, you can study the Constitution and see if we want to realize social justice with the same conventional meaning that everyone understands, what expectations we should have from which institutions.

What I believe about our universities is that our universities are very good in terms of the student and faculty body. It is not that there are no bad and corrupt individuals in universities; where is there no bad and corrupt and evil person? Rather, I want to say that most of the faculty and student body are naturally and instinctively good, faithful, and pure. Therefore, we must strengthen these positive aspects.

Another belief of mine is regarding the existence of very good talents in universities. A few days ago, right here and in the presence of officials, I said that the reports that knowledgeable individuals have brought me about the state of universities are very good reports. It is not that shortcomings and deficiencies have been overlooked; no, we know most of them and efforts are being made to address them, God willing; however, overall, the student movement is good, and the scientific and educational capacity of the country has increased tenfold in the last twenty years, while the average growth in the world over the last forty years has been sixfold. Therefore, our movement has been a good movement. However, the enemies want to bombard and destroy this movement and this caravan; be vigilant, do not let it happen. Also, know that all these ideals are attainable; provided that you are in the field, which, thanks be to God, you are. I hope God preserves you all.

The points that friends mentioned regarding trust, participation, and so on are good points. We hope that our office friends will compile these points for use.

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