Full Text of the Supreme Leader's Statements During a Visit to Sharif University of Technology

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

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to come to your university - this renowned and prestigious university. Unfortunately, I have never had this opportunity before. Several times - both during my presidency and afterwards until today - we planned and agreed to come to this university and meet with the students; however, each time due to my commitments and the problems we faced, it did not happen. Today, I thank God that this opportunity arose and I came to your university.

I would like to say a word about Sharif University of Technology: One can observe two outstanding characteristics in the history of this university; one is its scientific characteristic, and the other is its revolutionary and religious characteristic. This means that your university is considered a leading and successful university in terms of academic scientific efforts; it is also regarded as one of the successful and leading universities in terms of revolutionary and religious activities. The university president mentioned that this university has had famous martyrs in the past; such as Martyr Abbaspour, Martyr Vezvayi, Martyr Shoorideh, and the late Martyr Sharif Vaghefi before the revolution. Each of these individuals is a martyr; however, they each have a completely distinct and brilliant personality. In the formation of the construction jihad, in the imposed war, in the initial composition of the IRGC, and in the revolutionary and political activities of the early years of the revolution, elements from the distinguished individuals of this university were present; meaning a university that received the message of religion and revolution in a very clear manner and demonstrated it among the students, among the professors, among the heads of faculties and universities, and within the university itself. Scientifically, this university is also at a high level. Statistics were provided in the presence of the esteemed professors - whom we were with a few moments ago - and of course, I was aware of many of these statistics. In global competitions, in scientific fields, and in attracting brilliant talents, this university is a successful university.

So, up to this point, let us conclude that your university and you dear students in this university and your professors are a living, prominent, and practical example of the intertwining of religion and science. Now, some may sit and give speeches and shout that science and religion do not go together! A hundred hours of speeches do not carry the weight of your one hour of scientific presence; because you are here and you are present. That is your history of robotics; that is the mathematics competition in which you became first in the world; that is your attraction of investments; that is your very distinguished scientific elements; and this is also your religious essence. Right now, in this university, the Quranic and religious centers and religious artistic activities are more prominent, more alive, and more active than many universities in the country; I am also aware of some of them. Therefore, as some say: "The best evidence for the possibility of something is its occurrence"; the best and most eloquent proof of the possibility of something is that the thing itself happens. When we discuss whether this thing is possible or not, and then we see that the very thing we are discussing the possibility of exists in reality, then the discussions come to an end. Of course, some will continue to debate; there are not few idle people in the world who pursue purely theoretical discussions. They may sit here and there and say: "Let us discuss whether revolutionary inclination, religious inclination, and religious action are compatible with scientific advancement or not!" Very well; let them sit and discuss until night! The existence of this university and the existence of this scientific community here and the existence of you very good and dear students and your very good professors render these discussions pointless, irrelevant, and unnecessary.

The truth is that when I meet with you dear students, many thoughts pass through my mind. The main audience for most of our words is you - that is, the young student generation. When I say "we", I do not mean me as a responsible person in the Islamic Republic system; no. I mean as "Ali Khamenei", as a cleric and a religious scholar, and as someone who is interested in scientific and intellectual issues in Islamic fields, in historical fields, and in political fields. Of course, responsibility itself is another story and another matter. My main audience is the youth class, and among the youth class, the wise, the elites, and those engaged in knowledge, culture, science, understanding, writing, and progressing. Of course, the veil of state responsibilities prevents many of these from being expressed; that is, we ourselves cannot remove this veil and reach the central point of the heart's speech. Therefore, there are many words to say, and as our Mashhadi poet says: "A chest full of words surges in our mouths."

Since I want our discussion to be as brief as possible, and then give you the opportunity to submit your written questions and respond to them, I thought it best to set the topic of discussion as a completely student-centered topic, which is what is today referred to as the student movement, or more accurately and eloquently, student awakening and student responsibility. This is a very important topic; it is completely student-centered. Why do we say it is completely student-centered? Because many feelings, demands, and motivations may exist within the student class, but they do not have a direct connection to their student identity; like the concern for employment. There may not be a single student who does not have concerns about employment and the future; however, this does not relate to the student identity of the student. This is related to every young person; even if they are not a student, they have this concern. Or, for example, the concern for marriage and starting a family, which of course, the audience is more pleased with! Every student - whether male or female - has this concern and this demand and desire; because it is a fundamental issue of life. But this is not a necessary condition of being a student; it is a necessity of being human and young. Even if they are not students, they have this feeling. But what I call "student awakening" and what is commonly referred to today among students and non-students as the "student movement" is specific to the student class - in terms of being a student - meaning it does not belong to all young people; it does not belong to this young person before the student environment; it does not belong to this young person after the student period. It belongs to the university environment; it belongs to this four, five, or six years; this very period that you are spending at the university. This is a reality that exists.

The student movement - or more accurately: student awakening - is not something new; it is not something specific to Iran either; because as we said, it belongs to the university environment. This awakening has characteristics; it has motivations, and results are derived from it. If we correctly identify these characteristics, it can serve as a rich and abundant source for that country and that environment and that society; but if it is not correctly identified, it may be wasted. Like a wealth that you are unaware of its existence or application. Worse than this is that wealth of which you, the owner, are unaware; but a thief and a rogue knows that under this hiding place, there is treasure; and its application is this. Therefore, he comes and uses it, and this becomes a loss beyond loss! One of the primary duties of firstly the student themselves, secondly the student and university managers, and thirdly the managers of the country is to identify this phenomenon that is inherently student-related; that is, student awakening, or the student movement, or student action. Whatever name you give it, we recognize its essence. The source of such a phenomenon is the characteristics that exist in the university and in the student body. The age, energy, and youthful strength, the knowledge and sciences that the student becomes familiar with during this period - whether scientific knowledge, political knowledge, or social knowledge - the relative freedom of students who are not burdened by life and the burdens of life, and have a relative freedom and do not have responsibilities in a particular place, the community of students in a specific environment, being influenced by the general waves of society and reflecting them - whether positively or negatively - are factors of this very important and at the same time very blessed phenomenon that if it is not utilized or is misused, it can also be very dangerous. In the student body and in the student movement or student awakening, there are characteristics that can be said are almost the same everywhere - with differences in cultures, histories, and backgrounds of each country and each nation and each human community - but there are commonalities everywhere.

What I can say about our country as the characteristics of the student movement from before the revolution to the early revolution and from here onwards are the characteristics that I will mention:

The first characteristic is idealism in contrast to pragmatism; love for ideals and being captivated by ideals. When a person is in the environment of ordinary life and work, sometimes obstacles obscure the ideals from their view; they make the ideals seem distant and unattainable, and this is a great danger. Sometimes ideals are forgotten. In the youthful environment, ideals are tangible, palpable, alive, and accessible; therefore, efforts are made for them. This very effort becomes a blessed endeavor.

The second characteristic is sincerity, purity, and devotion. In the student movement, deceit, trickery, and inhumane methods that are usually employed in ordinary life are diminished or are not present by nature. In the ordinary life environment, in politics, in commerce, and in social exchanges, everyone is careful about what they say, to see what they gain from it and what they lose. Now, it depends on how clever, how cunning, and how wise they are - or whether they are in the opposite position - to see if they lose something or gain something. But in the environment of the student movement, no; they pursue and follow the truth for its goodness, for its correctness, for its attractiveness to themselves and for the truth. I do not want to generalize and say that every individual among the students is like this; no, but this is the prevailing color.

The third characteristic is freedom and liberation from various dependencies of party, political, racial, and the like. In this student movement, one can observe this characteristic, which is also a branch of the same pragmatism. Often, there is no news of the constraints that various political and non-political groups usually impose on their members, and the youth do not have the patience for these constraints. Therefore, in the past before the revolution, there were parties and they did things; but when they reached the university, the rules slipped from their hands! They might recruit four members, but they could not properly enforce the party discipline that was very strict and common in the world in the student environment; because the student ultimately reaches a point of independent reasoning. In those days, the Tudeh Party was an active party; it had a very extensive organization; it was connected to the Soviets and was actually working for them; but when it came to the university, it had to hide many of its party truths from the students!

The fourth characteristic of this movement is that it is not based on individuals. This movement exists at Sharif University today, it existed ten years ago, and it will exist ten years later; but neither you were here ten years ago, nor will you be here ten years later. This movement exists, but it is not based on individuals; it belongs to the atmosphere and the present community.

The fifth very important characteristic is that it has a negative sensitivity to manifestations that are ugly from the perspective of human nature - such as oppression, bullying, discrimination, injustice, deceit, duplicity, and hypocrisy - and it repels them. Once, at the beginning of the revolution, the same group of Mojahedin managed to gain influence among the youth and students by taking advantage of the revolutionary opportunity; but when it became clear that the members of this group were hypocrites, most turned away from them. Why were they called hypocrites? Because their claim was that they had an organization based on religious ideology, they were striving, and they were determining the future; but in practice, it became clear that no, there was no news of religious ideology; their thoughts were a mix of Marxist ideas; and not even a coherent Marxism; it was eclectic, mixed, and chaotic; and in practice, what dominated most of their activities was the quest for power. The effort to gain power; a power in which they played no significant role in its emergence; rather, as a group, they played no role at all; although some individuals among them might have played a role among the people. Therefore, when their hypocrisy became evident - it became clear that their appearance was not in line with their essence; their words were not in line with their hearts; their claims were not in line with what they were truly pursuing - the entire student youth turned away from them.

The sixth characteristic of this student movement and this inherent phenomenon of university environments is that this movement is not governed solely by emotions; rather, while there are emotions, logic, thought, insight, and a desire to understand and scrutinize also exist within it. Of course, there are degrees of intensity and weakness; sometimes it is low and sometimes it is high. From our perspective, these are the characteristics that exist in this collection known as the student movement or student awakening. Of course, those who are engaged in such analyses and scrutinies should look for other characteristics as well; which certainly exist, and I do not want to discuss them in this manner now.

My dear ones! Know this; this student movement has greatly served this revolution. Before the revolution, in the great struggles of the people, students were prominent; they were present and active. My most notable observations in this regard are related to Mashhad. In the student environment of Mashhad, I was active; when I came to Tehran, it was the same. I would come and go to various universities; students were in contact with me, and I saw firsthand what was happening. Some of the current officials of the country are from those students who were in contact with us. From the beginning of the revolution onwards, this role did not cease. Perhaps if there were individuals in various responsibilities related to student affairs who were interested in this issue, more blessings would have been bestowed upon it; but even without that, blessings arose from this movement and feeling and student awakening, of which I will mention a few examples:

One example is the events at Tehran University, where the anti-religious groups took over Tehran University and used its rooms, halls, and centers as war rooms, weapons depots, and centers for plotting against the revolution and against the system! They created an atmosphere of terror; meaning a state of intimidation not only among the officials of that day - the officials of that day were a temporary government that had no spirit, ability, or heart to enter these fields; they were nothing! - but even among many revolutionary individuals. In the environment of Tehran University itself, they created the most terror. I do not forget that on one of the hardest days, I happened to be at the university and had a weekly program. On that day, as usual, it was program day at the university mosque. I came and saw that the university was extremely empty. I went to the mosque; there were perhaps twenty or thirty people in the mosque at most. When I entered the mosque, a few people came and said: "Sir! Quickly leave this place!" I said, "What has happened?!" It became clear that yes, they had taken over the university and had no shame about beating and killing! Who stood against them? The students themselves. One of the first signs of the emergence of very effective student activism was in this very incident. The university was semi-closed, but the students - that is, a purely revolutionary group - all came alive and active and poured into the university and cleansed it. This incident is related to the year fifty-eight, which I mention. This is one of the examples.

If we did not have the student connections and student communications - which had been strengthened by the revolution - this work would not have been possible so well and so clearly. Of course, on that day, students also went and became active in the essential parts of the revolution - in the IRGC, in the construction jihad, in various sectors of the country - then the war began, and these martyrs whose names we mentioned were all students, scholars, and learners. Some of them had very good talents and high ranks; but their existence was dedicated to the needs and desires of the revolution. I have always repeated this sentence to my friends; I now say it to you that every human being must strive to recognize the needs of the moment and fulfill them. If you do not recognize the needs of this moment in history and do not fulfill them, and tomorrow you realize it, the opportunity has passed and it is too late; like a production line that keeps moving and technicians, workers, engineers, and specialists are in their places. When this tool comes before you, if you do not do what you should do, it is lost; the next tool is something else. History and time and the needs of society are like this; and this is what the youth - especially the student - can handle; they can know it and they can act; because they have energy; they are active; their eyes are open; their minds are open; the future belongs to them; they work for themselves.

The future belongs to you. Today, among those youths, there are individuals in positions of responsibility who are serving in the government and in various sectors and carry a valuable burden of fruitful and active years of this student effort and student awakening. These are its blessings. I want to say that you who are students today, if in this environment, you act with this phenomenon with the characteristics I mentioned - otherwise, if these characteristics were not present, it would be something else and these blessings would not be derived from it - your existence will create blessings for your country, for your revolution, for your future, for your history, and in fact for yourselves - both for yourselves in this world and for yourselves in the presence of divine justice - and you will have accomplished a great and significant task. I am fond of this phenomenon as a positive and blessed phenomenon; I have also identified its sources closely and I know that the sources are pure sources. The characteristics are the same characteristics that have been mentioned. If idealism turns into aversion to ideals, it will no longer be that; it will be something else; now if its form is new, its essence will be retrogression, decay, and antiquity. This movement must pursue ideals; that is, pursue justice, pursue equality, pursue spiritual freedom, pursue social freedom, pursue social dignity, and pursue national excellence in the world. If that state of purity and sincerity turns into a state of transactionalism and into the usual political games - which people who have aged know these games; but that young person who has just entered the field thinks that these are new works and no one understands; no, these are old, worn-out, and shabby works of power-seeking parties - it will no longer be that.

I have often told many student groups that come to me that my love and affection for students largely stems from the sincerity and honesty of students. This sincerity and purity must be preserved in each student; but if we assume that it is not practical for each student to maintain this sincerity, honesty, and purity of spirit and heart, at least in the collective student movement, this must be preserved. This student movement and student awakening have never been universal among all students, neither in the past nor today. Ultimately, in the university environment, not everyone is the same; some do not have the patience for movement; they say let us do our work, let us study; let us quickly get this piece of paper and go after a job! These do not fall under my words. These may also be very good youths - I do not want to dismiss them at all - but I want to say that they do not fall under this discussion - this awakening, this uprising, this movement that has a student title - they are not part of it. Some are also in the student environment who are more engaged in youth activities than in student activities and are pursuing youthful activities as a common job; and not as "except for the few". "Lamm" which is in the Quran means that sometimes a person does something accidentally and without attention. Who is the one who has not sinned or made mistakes? Except for very exalted individuals. Therefore, sometimes an action occurs accidentally; at other times, a person may act inappropriately based on error, negligence, and ignorance. That has another ruling; but some are those whose inappropriate actions become their job and occupation; as if their concern is this! These also fall outside the scope of my words. Of course, in the past and before the revolution, there were many such individuals; but after the revolution, there are not many of these. I discuss the group that has a goal, ideal, and feeling, which the student movement also belongs to; otherwise, their presence, even if they participate in a demonstration, is an artificial, false, and unreal presence! It has been seen that some of those individuals who have no concern other than these things have also participated in a gathering; meaning yes, we are here too! It is clear that the serious work and idealistic work is not something that such individuals can play a significant role in.

So see; the characteristics of a student movement must exist in this student movement. I do not concern myself with the various organizations of universities. Each of these has its own ruling and state. My words go beyond the issue of organizations; it belongs to all those who have feelings; that feeling which I first defined that belongs to this environment and arises from very valuable elements; such as youth, purity, honesty, energy, and idealism. They must preserve these characteristics. Of course, the student movement also has pitfalls; they must truly avoid these pitfalls and be wary.

One of the pitfalls of the student movement is that - as I said - unworthy elements and groups covet it and seek to exploit it. In a period - which we ourselves witnessed and were aware of their actions - there were some who wished that the student movement would not exist! Wherever there was a movement of youth, especially students, they would frown and could not bear it! When they see that there is a field and ultimately the student and the youth generation in the country speak and are decisive, they begin first by crawling, then gradually half-crawling, and then slowly with their heads held high they come and say yes, we are here too! If the dangerous power-seeking political groups come to the student movement and attach themselves to it and lay their hands on it, this becomes a pitfall. Sometimes from these gatherings and student organizations that come to me, I have explicitly told them who these dangerous groups are. Because this discussion may spread, I will not mention names here in front of you; but I have named them for them. There are times when a bad person and a corrupt intention want to exploit a good intention, a good person, a good movement, which makes one’s heart ache, and if possible, one does not want such a thing to happen. This is also one of those cases. Students must be vigilant. It cannot be said that someone else should watch over the students; this would defeat the purpose. The students themselves must be vigilant that bad-intentioned individuals, bad-intentioned gatherings, bad-intentioned organizations, and bad-intentioned and notorious groups do not come close. If they want to do good, let them go do good themselves; they should not interfere with the student community.

Another pitfall of the student movement - as I said - is turning away from ideals. My dear ones! See; years before the revolution, a heinous incident occurred on the sixteenth of Azar. From the beginning of the revolution, it could have been arranged that the sixteenth of Azar would be completely forgotten; because we had so many events! But no, the officials of the country and those interested in the issues of the country want the memory of this day to remain alive. Why? Because that day, due to a true word, an event occurred at the university that later the forces of the oppressors confronted because of the lofty goal that the youth had - and it was a lofty goal - which led to the killing of three individuals. What was the issue that day? Opposition to America. When? At a time when the policy of America and the American government and regime and the intelligence and military elements of America were dominant in all affairs of this country. In this country, both openly and secretly, everything was in the hands of the Americans. Today, when you see that the Americans are writhing because the Islamic Iran does not turn towards them, it is reminiscent of that day; because this was a place where they stood and sold their pride and superiority to the entire region - Arab countries and Turkey, etc. - and exerted influence; because they considered this place their own! Also, keep this in mind: your country is located in a very sensitive geographical position, which of course was more sensitive for the Americans at that time due to the presence of the Soviet Union. Today, the Soviet Union is gone, but firstly, the Central Asian countries are very important; secondly, Russia is very important for the West and especially for America. Russia is currently in a state of between life and death, a semi-conscious state. They know that if Russia - one of the largest countries in the world - can stand on its own feet in one of the most sensitive regions of the world and have power and not be under American influence, how dangerous it is for America and for the unipolarity of the world; meaning it would be like the former Soviet Union for the Americans. Therefore, Russia is also important. So, today, even though the Soviet Union is not there, because of Central Asia, because of Russia, because of countries like Iraq and Syria that were once under Soviet influence and today the Americans covet to seize them; thus, the geographical and political geography of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a very important and unique position in this region.

The Americans look and see that they have no foothold here; not even a modest embassy; not even an interests office! Today, not even one American agent is employed in this country. Their interests office is in the hands of the Swiss. The Americans have no place here. They have also made efforts; for a while, they have been putting pressure; but our officials have resisted from this side and have not allowed it. They say that people should come as an interests office and be stationed in Tehran. They actually want to create an information-political site in the middle of Tehran for communication with their treacherous elements; this is their intention! Today, one of the reasons for their anger is the situation they had here before the revolution. In such circumstances, students became angry at the visit of the then Vice President of the United States to Iran and expressed their anger in such a way that the sixteenth of Azar took shape. Now, almost forty years have passed since that incident, but the sixteenth of Azar still exists.

The Islamic revolution came and completely changed the political geography of the country. Compared to the past, the political direction has completely changed and is different from the past. An independent system, a religious and Islamic system, a completely popular system has emerged. Iran has become a focal point for all those who have a repressed grudge against American domination. There are many nations - and they are not few - who today are pleased with the anti-American slogans of Iran. If I could, I would mention names that would astonish you. There are large, well-known countries that are excited and happy that there is a nation here that speaks out against the American greed with all its power. In such circumstances, now a number of individuals come as students and raise the opposite of the movement of the sixteenth of Azar; that is, a tendency towards America under very empty, weak, and illogical titles. This is turning away from the student movement; this is not the student movement at all; it is entirely something else; it is the opposite. They place the issue of opposition to America within very small, weak, and unfounded frameworks of factionalism and the like, in order to eliminate the essence of the matter. This cannot happen. This is one of the pitfalls of the student movement. Therefore, one of the pitfalls of the student movement is turning away from ideals, forgetting ideals, and losing sight of ideals.

Another important pitfall of the student movement is superficiality. My dear ones! Avoid superficial thinking severely. The characteristic of a student is depth and scrutiny. Every word you hear, think and scrutinize it. Why is it in Islam that: "One hour of thinking is better than seventy years of worship"; because if you think, your worship also gains meaning; your constructive efforts also gain meaning; your struggle also gains meaning; you recognize your friend, and you also recognize your enemy. Imagine that in a battlefield, there are people who cannot distinguish between their own side and the enemy - they wander around confused and lost - sometimes shooting here, sometimes shooting there; sometimes shooting up, sometimes shooting themselves! See, when there is no thought, a person becomes like this. Some want to lead the student community towards this direction amidst the noise of slogans and the false colors and decorations; this is a danger for the student movement and movement. Thought must be present. With thought, the choice will be a correct choice. Even if a mistake is made in the choice, if a person is thoughtful, it will be easier to talk to them. The person who is not thoughtful, whatever choice they make, if there is a slight error in it, it is impossible to talk to them logically; they are subject to their own prejudices, ignorance, and ignorance; but when they are thoughtful and scrutinizing, if a mistake has occurred, a well-meaning person can talk to them and say that for this reason, this action is wrong. One must not be superficial. One cannot trust every slogan, every warm word, every warm mouth, and every narration; one must think. The essence of the matter is thought. This is the main expectation from wise and intelligent individuals.

Another pitfall is falling into the traps of parties and groups; which I have mentioned before. Be careful, the dangerous octopus of various parties and groups does not come to you and ensnare you. From that free-thinking group, they will take most of the positive characteristics; if this happens, then a person will be in the service of the enemies of the revolution and it becomes something dangerous, and the life, wealth, and future of a person will truly be wasted and they will be filled with regret. The discussion has become somewhat lengthy. I just want to conclude this section of my speech by recommending that you dear ones become familiar with Nahj al-Balagha. Nahj al-Balagha is very awakening and alerting and very worthy of contemplation. In your sessions, become familiar with Nahj al-Balagha and the words of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). If God Almighty grants you success and you take a step forward, then become familiar with Sahifa Sajjadiyya - which apparently is just a book of supplication; but it is also like Nahj al-Balagha, a book of lessons, a book of wisdom, a book of lessons, and a book of guidance for a prosperous human life - as well. Of course, there are many unspoken and speakable words; however, since there is not much time left until noon and I want to answer your questions, I will conclude this section.

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