Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a Meeting with University Professors and Heads

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

First of all, I welcome all the brothers and sisters and thank those friends who have come here and expressed their viewpoints on various issues. I also thank Mr. Dr. Larijani for managing the session well.

Although I have repeatedly mentioned in this session - in past years and similar meetings - that there is a symbolic aspect to our annual meeting; that is, we want this meeting to be a manifestation of the system's respect for professors, academics, researchers, and scholars of the country; however, one should not think that this session has a merely ceremonial aspect; on the contrary, the expectation is that the topics discussed in this session can guide the decision-makers of the system - the esteemed ministers, various officials, and ourselves who are here - towards what is worthy of scientific and academic work and progress in this area. The reason we said "I would like to hear" is for this purpose. It is assumed that the esteemed professor who is supposed to speak here has researched and has come up with a significant point regarding the current state of science and academia in the country, and he will present it here; this is what we expect from this session. Of course, good points were also made.

Why do we exert this effort and motivation regarding issues related to universities, knowledge, and research? Because we are behind; we have been held back. And because our progress, our dignity, our national and Islamic identity depend on serious work in this area. This is the reason. We are different from certain countries that, for instance, have a short-lived civilization. Some countries in our region have existed as a country for less than a hundred years; such a geographical identity has not existed in the last hundred years in this sense and by this name, and some nations in our region have no notable history. There are such countries in other parts of the world as well; in Latin America, in Europe, and in various other places. But our country and nation are deeply rooted; we have roots in history; we have a background; we have not just recently sprouted; we can also draw from our past and should have been nourished by it. If you look at the pace of scientific growth after Islam until the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries Hijri, if we had progressed at that pace, we would be at the peak today. We did not progress at that pace; why did we not? Well, this requires investigation and analysis; the governments were ineffective, the ambitions were short, and then in the last two or three hundred years, external factors have had an impact, and ultimately the reality is that: we did not move at that pace, but rather went towards decline.

Now we want to make up for it. Now the government is capable and competent; the nation is awake; the elites are knowledgeable and orchestrators; now we want to make up for it. Sometimes we put the document of the outlook as a document of pride in our pocket and occasionally take it out to show, and sometimes we consider the outlook document as a guideline and find solutions for each part of it. If we want to be inspiring, to be a scientific reference in the region, there are ways to do that. The solutions should not be determined in our outlook document; the officials in the execution region should specify them; our insistence is on this. We want this work in the field of science and research to be done correctly, well, and completely. This is the reason for this effort and motivation.

In this regard, of course, there are professions and recommendations that we usually present in these sessions; today I will mention a few points:

One point is regarding the comprehensive scientific map. I had noted this down to mention it here; fortunately, I saw that three or four of today's speakers referred to this issue of the comprehensive scientific map in their statements, and Mr. Dr. Larijani also provided an explanation indicating that efforts are underway to prepare and present this comprehensive scientific map as a guideline for future scientific planning. This is good news; however, I did not have this information before hearing it from him. I know that this work is being done in the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council; that is, it is being discussed in some committees; however, what is expected, what we believe should be done, is not for this work to be delayed and prolonged; we should not sit for a year or two until a comprehensive scientific map is finally prepared; no, this should be completed by the wise, elite, and distinguished individuals, initiated by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, and a well-cooked and complete product should emerge from it so that based on it, scientific planning for universities and the future of the country can be carried out. I also recommend this to the esteemed ministers and the respected officials of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council who are present here, that this issue should be pursued.

If we want the outlook document to be realized and the scientific authority that has been predicted for the country to come into existence and be operational, we must carry out these tasks, the most important of which is preparing the comprehensive scientific map. This means a significant step, an important gateway towards implementing the goals and slogans that have been raised and today, thanks be to God, have become a discourse in scientific environments.

Another point, particularly related to esteemed professors, is that professors should make nurturing students one of their priorities. The value of a professor, the credibility of a professor outside, is based on their students. In our seminaries, it is the same. That professor, that jurist or principlist or philosopher has more value in the eyes of others when the effects of their existence manifest in the form of distinguished students and disciples. Nurture your students. Those individuals who come to your classes - whether in undergraduate or graduate programs - and you face them as a professor should not be regarded as mere listeners to a speech or sermon; no, you should treat them as materials that you want to shape with your own hands. Of course, talents are not equal, interests are not equal, and the backgrounds and environments are not the same; however, this goal should be a serious objective for professors, in my opinion. Look and see how many students you have nurtured. A student is not just someone who attends class; they are those who are shaped by you and delivered to the world of knowledge as an effective and knowledgeable force.

Here, I would like to refer to the issue of professors' presence in universities, which has become part of university regulations, that professors must be present at the university for certain hours each week. This is very important; it should not be underestimated. One of the issues I have repeatedly mentioned in the last three or four years - I did not want to say it again because it has been repeated so much - is the issue of the professor sitting with the student; answering questions. That is, the relationship between the professor and the student should not be limited to the classroom, and the student should have the opportunity to refer to the professor, ask questions, seek explanations, and learn more from them; rather, in some cases, the professor should invite the student to their office to explain an additional and complementary point or to assign a task, a scientific and research mission to them, which all depends on the presence of professors in universities. Once we said we have a shortage of professors; today, thanks be to God, there are plenty of good professors in the country; the number of professors relative to students is, thank God, a good number, an acceptable number. This should be given importance, in my opinion. Nurturing students - which I believe is nurturing students and cultivating elites - in the classroom, partly depends on the several hours of professors' presence - the forty hours that are stipulated in the regulations - in universities. That is, professors should take this seriously and give it importance.

Another issue - which is, of course, a repetitive issue that I am mentioning, but due to its importance, I will say it again - is the issue of research and inquiry. We have also advised the government officials in the government session and said, and we have also discussed it in private sessions with some officials like the President himself; however, another part of the issue relates to the universities themselves, which should properly attract the research and inquiry budgets; use them correctly; apply them in their proper places; because research is the source of nourishment for education. If we do not take research seriously, we will have to keep our eyes on external sources for many years and wait for someone in some corner of the world to conduct research and for us to use it or its authored works based on their research to teach here. This cannot be; this is dependency; this is the same translation-oriented approach and lack of independent scientific personality for a country and for a university system. A country's university, while maintaining its scientific connections with the world, has no objection to scientific exchange, to acquiring knowledge. I have often said that we are not ashamed to be students; if a professor is found, we will be students before them; however, we are ashamed to remain students in all cases; this cannot be. For a scientific community, it is a source of disgrace to be weak in research and inquiry, which is the source and origin of scientific growth; it must be able to rely on itself scientifically. Of course, it should also benefit from others, exchange with the world, and in this case, it will find its rightful place in scientific exchanges in the world when it relies on its own knowledge, research, and scientific performance. This also has its impact in the world and in scientific exchanges. This is a repeated emphasis on research.

Since the friends related to the office of the representative of the leadership are present in the session, I would like to say a word to the gentlemen:

Gentlemen who are in universities as clerics recognized by the office of the representative of the leadership should consider themselves the main and final responsible for the religious elevation in the university. We have always advised university administrations and the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council that they have a duty and responsibility in making the university and the university environment religious; that is preserved in its place, but if all necessary arrangements are made, but the cleric who is stationed in the university is not a source and reference for a profound, original, well-reasoned, and convincing religious thought for the students, all those arrangements will be in vain. You must continuously present new and well-reasoned religious thoughts in the university environment and elevate the religious thinking of the students. Do not consider your audience only to be the devout, religious, and Hezbollah students; well, they are certainly there. Your audience includes all students in the country; even those who may not have much affinity with religion in their hearts, they are also your audience; you must attract them, and with strong logic and self-confidence, and trust in this logic, hearts can be attracted, and animosities can even be reduced or, in many cases, eliminated.

The very example that was mentioned, the example of Columbia University, is a good one. Honestly, this strong logic and self-control - that is, a good spirit, self-confidence - and trust in this logic did its work. Of course, it is clear that arrangements had been made; twenty-some television channels from America and Europe were brought there to broadcast the ceremony live, with what they did and the behavior of the president of that university, which was truly and honestly inappropriate and not the behavior of an academic personality; rather, it was not even the behavior of an honorable person. Therefore, it was evident that arrangements had been made to provoke or embarrass the other side; to make them passive and to always have this as a living document in propaganda and political controversies; but God Almighty turned it around, and what they wanted to do was, thank God, done in the opposite way, and you saw that they confirmed and approved it. And I believe that in academic environments, this issue will not disappear easily in that country, as a question, as an issue, as a matter of what the case was, it will continue.

The logic of the Islamic Republic was expressed there; the logic of religion was articulated; a good discussion regarding the Islamic perspective on science, the light of knowledge, and the fact that knowledge is in the hands of God - these are good discussions - was raised. Those who think that when they enter foreign environments - whether European or American - they must repeat the same words that they have been saying for a hundred years, two hundred years - these are not words, Islam has something to say.

Today, honestly and fairly, in the world of thought and intellect - now those who do not deal with thought and intellect, we have nothing to do with them - there is a vacuum and a question in the Western world; this vacuum cannot be filled by the responses of liberal democracy, just as socialism could not fill it. This vacuum can be filled by a human and spiritual logic, which is in the hands of Islam. One of our late friends, Dr. Zaryab, who was both a good university scholar and a good cleric - he had a good period of clerical studies and was familiar with Islamic sciences and was a student of Imam - one of our friends narrated - I did not hear it from him - that he took a study opportunity in the late years of his life and went to Europe, and when he returned, he said that today what I observed in the practical environments of European universities is a need for Mulla Sadra and Sheikh Ansari. Sheikh Ansari's work is in law, jurisprudence; Mulla Sadra is divine wisdom. He says I see today that they are thirsty for Mulla Sadra and Sheikh Ansari. This is the perception of a Western scholar who is fluent in several European languages and has lived and studied there for years and is familiar with Islamic sciences. This is his perception, which is a correct perception.

We need this strong logic within ourselves and in our universities. With academic language, with student language, this logic must be developed. Some esteemed professors who spoke here mentioned that our esteemed professors also need these issues. Professors should not consider themselves exempt from familiarity with religious knowledge. A few years ago, one of the researchers and authors in the field of Islamic issues, whose books are translated into various languages and have many customers in Europe and elsewhere, and we are aware of it - I do not want to mention names - mentioned to me that when I go to Arab countries, including the Persian Gulf countries, the intellectuals and university professors there are more familiar with the Quran and Hadith than our intellectuals and professors. This gentleman told me this about ten years ago. Of course, the reason is that the language of the Quran is their language; just as you have a proverb from Saadi, Ferdowsi, or Hafez in your mind; because you have read their books and it has been your language, it has remained in your mind, and now you see that these esteemed speakers who come, some of them start with poetry and literature. They easily understand this language because their language is one with the language of the Quran - one of their advantages is that the language of the Quran is their language - they are familiar with this language. This is a deficiency, we must make up for it. Now, making up for it fundamentally and essentially requires other planning; however, the amount that is immediately necessary regarding professors - who have spent their lives and made efforts - is that they should familiarize themselves with Islamic issues and Islamic knowledge. They should truly plan for this work; both the esteemed professors themselves and those who are in universities should plan. However, your main audience is the students.

In any case, the issue of elevating religious thought in universities must be taken very seriously, and be careful that a thought vacuum does not arise for our students and our university intellectuals. We have a lot to say; we have convincing and worthy words. We must deepen the propaganda; with new and strong words that conform to the criteria of intellectualism. I am alien and averse to the discussions about whether we have religious intellectualism or not. A new, innovative perspective on religious issues and Islamic intellectual matters is the same intellectualism and does not mean innovation in the wrong sense. Understanding and expressing the same principles with new dimensions that one recognizes thanks to the passage of time. We must not neglect this.

In any case, we hope that God Almighty grants all of you dear brothers and sisters success; may He support you. Today's session was also a good session; it was beneficial for me. We noted some characteristics, and God willing, the details of what you said will be reviewed and followed up in the centers responsible for this work; in our office and outside our office, God willing, actions will be taken regarding what is related to us, and what is related to the esteemed government officials - who the ministers themselves are also present here - will be communicated to them so that, God willing, it will be pursued.

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