Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with the Minister and Officials of the Ministry of Culture and Members of the National Public Culture Councils

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

Dear brothers and sisters, welcome. I am very pleased that in this gathering, which is responsible for and committed to the issue of public culture in our Islamic society, thanks be to God, scholars, intellectuals, and specialists in education and cultural issues are present. When a group of elites and experts in the public culture of a society gather for its advancement, it is a source of happiness and hope.

Controlling public culture is an important and new issue that perhaps thinkers and cultural experts had previously thought less about and paid less attention to the fact that a special effort is needed to guide and manage public culture in society.

Previously, the public culture of our society was left to which voice was stronger, which hand was more dominant, and which skill and talent were more powerful in the lives of people, drawing them towards this or that cultural phenomenon and quality. The fact that today a group sits and thinks about how public culture can be directed and refined in the right direction is a new topic that has emerged in recent years and was initially raised in the 'Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution' and now, thanks be to God, a group has gathered to pursue it.

New tasks and topics, because they do not have predetermined routines and traditional forms, require their officials to keep two points in mind: first, to dedicate time to them; and second, to apply creativity, innovation, ability, and skill.

Therefore, my first request to you dear ones, brothers, and sisters is that now that you have responsibility in this area, please invest your soul, mind, thought, and time to the extent possible in managing public culture. Once this is achieved, it is time to examine which other institutions and individuals are related to managing public culture in society; for example, radio and television, the press, or major intellectual and cultural figures whose words sometimes shape a trend in the culture of society. How they cooperate with you is the next issue that needs to be examined. Therefore, you must first be correct, and once this fundamental principle is established, many other tasks will be carried out based on it.

In my opinion, public culture has two parts: one part consists of matters and issues that are prominent and visible and truly affect the fate of a nation, but they have a long-term impact. That is, they affect the path of life and future movements of a nation. For example, the style of clothing, what to wear, how to wear it, and which clothing model to use are among the prominent examples of public culture in society. Or the style of architecture in society and living in a certain type of house shapes part of the culture of society. Because our old houses brought about a certain type of family and morals (a large courtyard, a pool in the middle, and rooms around it. From this room, the grandfather comes out, from that room the uncle, and from another room the aunt. The children of the family all gather around one table, and in reality, it is this house that pulls the family along with it) and apartments create another type of family. Even the shape of doors and windows and the connection of rooms with each other inevitably have a specific impact on the mind, character, and upbringing of individuals. Therefore, today - fortunately - we see that in television and roundtables and discussions, emphasis is placed on traditional Iranian architecture. I do not know how it is in practice. But in any case, what is clear is that this ancient and great nation, before being influenced by European architectural styles, had its own specific architectural style.

Well, these are among the aspects of public culture that are abundant and their impact on the fate of this nation is long-term. Because in any case, every type of clothing, every kind of behavior, every way of sitting at the table, every way of speaking between two people in confrontation with each other, and issues of this kind have undeniable effects on shaping the personality of individuals in a society. However, not in the short term; in the long term.

The second part of public culture is that, like the first part, it affects the fate of a nation, but its effects are immediate and very noticeable. That is, the matters related to this part of public culture are not very noticeable themselves; however, their effects on society and its fate and path are very noticeable. Among these matters, and indeed the most important of them, are ethics; the individual and social ethics of the people of a society. Suppose the individuals of a society are not punctual. Well, when you enter that society, you realize their lack of punctuality through its negative effects on your own fate and the people; while it itself is not very clear.

Work conscience and punctuality in a society are very important. For example, when we have an appointment with someone at eight o'clock, whether we go at eight ten or eight thirty or before noon, or whether we are present there at eight o'clock sharp, is it the same and does it have the same effect? Work conscience is also part of public culture that is very commendable. Work conscience means that individuals in a society consider themselves committed to the work they have accepted and have a kind of conscience towards it and do not do it haphazardly and do not just fulfill their duty and complete the work fully. These are among the morals of a nation whose impact on their life and fate is very significant.

Among other examples of public culture is that the individuals of a nation should not be very comfort-seeking and pursuing their personal interests; rather, they should truly be willing to enter the field for their nation and country and take risks. That is, the sense of group and collective benefit-seeking of a nation should be more than their sense of individual benefit-seeking.

Among other examples of public culture related to personal and social ethics is that the individuals of society should be patient, hospitable, and accustomed to respecting their elders and parents. Therefore, these kinds of issues are very important and can change the fate of a nation.

When I pay attention to Islamic teachings, it becomes clear to me that most of the things that European nations have been able to advance in their material life through them are present in these Islamic teachings. Because for a nation that was in the depths of the darkness of ignorance and superstition and backwardness in its past and did not have books and libraries and did not even know the basics of science and knowledge, to suddenly emerge from the mire of that backwardness within half or a full century cannot be accidental. However, we regret that that movement in Europe was accompanied by a movement that they mistakenly call the 'intellectual movement' or 'enlightenment,' a movement whose message was the elimination of religion and turning to - supposedly - the primacy of man in their thoughts and philosophies and methods. Their mistake was this. Otherwise, if they had not set aside spirituality, undoubtedly today their life would be much better and the light of science from that area would be hundreds and thousands of times greater.

Well, in any case, they made this mistake and carried out this movement. Of course, it had its factors. In any form, the positive points that existed in their life and were able to bring them out of that mire of backwardness and ignorance - if you pay attention - are clearly evident in their past life and history. But unfortunately, with the elimination of spirituality, these positive points also gradually faded and completely disappeared.

Most of the positive morals that bring a nation out of the depths of idleness and poverty and humiliation and backwardness and lead it to the peak of material progress are strongly recommended in Islam, and anyone who refers to Islamic concepts will confirm this. In fact, these same positive characteristics and morals that we feel the lack of among our own nation today are due to this inattention to Islamic teachings; because on the day when the intellectual movement emerged in our country and some felt they should turn to the West and learn from them - unfortunately, with inattention to Islamic teachings - they did not learn these positive points. Therefore, I have repeatedly stated that intellectualism in Iran was born sick from the beginning and still the intellectuals are caught in the grip of that disease and its effects and consequences still remain; because - as we said - instead of learning and promoting positive morals, they learned and spread superficial and worthless or harmful things. Among them, sexual freedom, the mixing of men and women, disregard for spirituality, elimination of religion, speaking ill of clerics, and things like the type and shape of clothing and tables and chairs, and in general, such matters that were either very insignificant, or not important at all, or even harmful.

Of course, we have also repeatedly stated that cultures have exchanges. When we raise the issue of cultural invasion and insist on it, it does not mean that a culture should not add anything from outside itself. Unfortunately, in late Qajar Iran, when attention was paid to Western culture and especially during the cursed Pahlavi era when this attention intensified, what was truly considered cultural exchange, reception, interaction, and cultural evolution did not take place in relation to the West; rather, a kind of cultural imposition occurred.

Sometimes a wise and intelligent person chooses and accepts something voluntarily, and sometimes, conversely, something is injected and imposed on a drunk, oblivious, and unconscious person by force. Certainly, these two are not the same. In our country, they imposed cultural imposition; that is, they came and without a proper selection being in place, injected something into the culture and mentality of these people.

Therefore, it can be concluded that in Islam, the root of all these spiritualities exists; but unfortunately, they have not been paid attention to. Because for a while, despotic governments and kings and after them, the custodians of religion and court clerics and dependent clerics who spoke according to their opinion and acted like them and according to their model, weakened the foundations of good morals in our people. Although this remaining amount (that is, this revolution, this imposed war, this resistance against Western threats, and this sense of dignity and independence against the superpowers of the world is very valuable) is due to the remnants of Islamic culture that have taken a fixed color in these people. Thank God that the enemies of religion have not had the opportunity to eliminate, diminish, or destroy these and remove them. This amount is what has brought about all this dignity, progress, public movements, people's presence in the scenes, and independence against the tyranny of despots and, God willing, will bring other fruits in the future.

If we can Islamize ethics, Islamize culture, raise people with Islamic morals, and revive the qualities that made a great and powerful nation from a small community in the early days of Islam in our nation, these are the greatest achievements. It should be noted that what initially brought about progress and advancement for humans was due to this Islamic culture: they pursued knowledge and work, made efforts and tried, innovated, engaged in the knowledge of nature, humans, history, and ways of life, and accepted good and brotherly interaction. These are things that no powerful apparatus, without reforming the culture of the people and their vision, can create in a society. For example, that social justice that the communists imposed on them without paying attention to reforming the culture of the people and their voluntary acceptance, became that defective, wrong, flawed thing that is recorded in history. That is, in the name of social justice, they messed everything up and brought no benefit.

Therefore, communist countries are a great experience; especially their huge affluent classes who, in their opinion, were seeking social justice by creating governmental and state communism; but instead of this justice, they created a new tsar and a wicked, corrupt, oppressive, and ruthless Stalin! Yes, social justice that is separate from correct ethics and culture results in this.

Social justice, which is a purely social matter and related to governance, politics, and the method of ruling in society, cannot be achieved except through the blessing of a correct culture in the minds of each and every person. In principle, all successes in all fields are like this. Well, now it is you and the Iranian society. You want to return Islamic culture and those things that have been taken from the body of this Islamic society: 'And reform with Your power what has been corrupted in me.' This, which is mentioned in the prayer of 'Makarem al-Akhlaq,' is its example. You want to reform those parts of our life that have been damaged and corrupted under the influence of oppressions, despotisms, deviations, misunderstandings, foreign interventions, and the like. This is a great and very big task; to the extent that if the Ministry of Culture really does nothing but reform public culture, in my opinion, it is enough for it and it is not undertaking a small task. Well, thanks be to God, the gentlemen have high aspirations; they do this work and have a hundred other tasks alongside it. God willing, they will achieve all of them.

Reforming public culture is more important than all tasks; because this task is the axis of all other tasks. Books should be published to reform public culture. Films should be made to reform public culture. Art should be directed towards public culture. Radio and television, in all their programs - whether artistic, news, or reports - must constantly work in the service of public culture. Scholars, Friday prayer leaders, preachers, and respected and esteemed clergy should also strive to promote the correct Islamic culture in every section they are in: some should analyze, some should recite the divine verses, and some should express the words of the Imams. The main orientation of the press should be the reform of public culture. Organizations that are specifically for promotional work (such as the Islamic Propaganda Organization and the sections that are subordinate and alongside it) should strive in this direction. If, God willing, there is a coordinated, correct, and directed effort, our nation is also ready to accept it. Moreover, the characteristics of these political and genuine matters are that they become inherent to humans and, as a result, are passed down from generation to generation and, in fact, become innate, that is, part of the nature of individuals in a society and exactly like inherent matters. Even if people, at times and for reasons, separate from them, with a slight thing, they immediately return.

In my opinion, if this respected group - which, thanks be to God, has many worthy, knowledgeable, aware, intelligent, and specialized individuals among them - wants to strive in these areas and reach somewhere, they must first find the priorities and pay attention to the two types of public culture we have - and especially the second type - (of course, the first type is also important and we do not want to completely set it aside) and then find out which of the ethical matters, most of which are in the second type, is more important, more fundamental, and more essential, from which many branches stem. They should identify these and similar matters and focus on them and strive in this area. Those who are thinkers, writers, poets, and artists - that is, scholars, clergy, and government agencies - should promote it. Then, God willing, it will be reformed.

I rarely find a nation with these characteristics and great ideals. These revolutions and movements and nationalisms that have taken hold of nations and countries and brought about many transformations in them are all less than what is under the title of the Islamic system; because the set of ideals that are gathered under the title of the Islamic system is very lofty and great and includes all individual and social issues together. If, God willing, this movement takes place, this nation will reach those ideals.

We hope that Almighty God will help you to carry out this task. God willing, the officials of various sectors of the country will also provide the necessary budget, facilities, and assistance so that this work can be done in the best way.

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