Statements at the Meeting with Officials of the Offices of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist in Universities

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

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters! As mentioned, your visit has been delayed for some time. We thank God and also express our gratitude to Mr. Mohammadian for arranging this meeting, thanks be to God.

The presence of a group of clergy in universities is a very important issue. Like other important matters, we have become accustomed to this phenomenon and do not properly assess its significance. Consider how the foundation of universities in the country has been; the direction that was outlined for universities from the beginning; the type of courses that have a specific meaning in terms of values and ideological orientations; then compare the period before the revolution with the situation today, thanks to the Islamic Revolution and the blessings of Islam in our universities, in terms of the presence of clergy, scholars, knowledgeable individuals, and those with spiritual insight, and the connection they have with professors and students; then you will see how significant the presence of esteemed clergy and scholars among students and in the university environment is.

When we recognize this importance, the first effect it should create is that we - meaning you and I - who are connected to the university, should appreciate this situation, recognize the value of this status, and truly express gratitude for this great blessing. Gratitude means recognizing the blessing, acknowledging it as a gift from God, and utilizing it in the way that God desires; this is the practical and complete meaning of gratitude. Be grateful for this blessing; in this case, it will lead us to a list of duties, responsibilities, and reminders.

For this comparative part, I would like to mention: before the revolution, some clergy, including myself, had connections with students. These connections were not organizational, not institutional, and not intense in terms of struggle; they were intellectual and explanatory connections; that is, we would hold sessions where students would participate, or we would occasionally attend a student meeting at the university. At that time, I had a session in Mashhad that was held between the Maghrib and Isha prayers. I would stand by the board and speak for about twenty minutes or half an hour. The audience was ninety percent young; the youth were mostly students and sometimes high school students. One night, the late martyr Bahonar (may God have mercy on him) was in Mashhad and came to our mosque with me. When he saw the situation, he was astonished. Now, Mr. Bahonar was someone who was connected with youth and student gatherings in Tehran. He said that he had never seen such a large gathering of students and youth in a mosque in his life. Now, how many young people were in our mosque? At most, about three hundred and forty or fifty. Nevertheless, for an enlightened cleric connected with youth, like Mr. Bahonar, who was also a university graduate and familiar with student environments and aware of modern religious activities, the gathering of about three hundred or three hundred and fifty young people - of whom perhaps two hundred were students - was remarkable and had astonished him: two hundred students gathered in one place to listen to a cleric speak?!

Now compare this with the situation you have in the university today. The access of a young, knowledgeable cleric - like you - to the university environment, to students, to professors; compare this and see what a tremendous and precious opportunity it is. You must cherish this opportunity; this is the main point.

The significance of this event and phenomenon is also understood from the fact that many of the malice and negative propaganda is directed precisely at this university environment. You see that in the propaganda that is made, one of the things they pressure on is the issue of Islamizing universities, questioning why the Islamic Republic wants universities to become Islamic; one of the manifestations of this Islamization is precisely this.

The second point regarding our universities, our students, and our professors is that I completely agree with what Mr. Mohammadian stated about the thoughts of students and the intellectual and rational orientations of today's students. Some only look at the negative points; sometimes when we praise the university and students and youth, they say to themselves that they must be unaware of the corruption and problems that exist; no, this is not a matter of ignorance; we are not unaware of the negative aspects and the dark parts; however, the nature of the work must be considered; the nature of youth, especially students, in a collective environment, exposed to the strange propaganda that exists today; the seductions that exist, the influences on the thoughts of our knowledgeable student youth. Considering these, look at the brilliant realities that exist in the student environment in terms of religion; one understands that it is very important. The very instances that have been mentioned - these retreats, these congregational prayers, these active presences at critical times and in sensitive centers, these jihadist camps, these constructive activities - are very significant.

Our student youth today is truly unparalleled; our professors are the same. The number of faithful, religious, active professors who are concerned about the religious and Islamic fate of the country and the nation has not only never existed outside our country, but it has not even crossed anyone's mind; just as today, such a thing does not exist in the world. Our university environments are such environments; they are environments of religion, environments of Islam. Of course, we should not be satisfied to this extent; no, it is not a matter of being satisfied; however, one cannot be deeply dissatisfied and unhappy. This is a great blessing from God. So these are realities. The university environment is truly a favorable environment, truly suitable; and with the expectations that exist from this environment, it is truly prominent in terms of religion.

Expectations must be considered. The expectations from each environment are of a certain quality. The expectation that one has from the student environment differs from the expectation one has from the clerical environment. The factors that work here, the historical factors that have influenced these, all must be taken into account so that one can have a proper evaluation. Therefore, the student environment is also a very good environment; thus, it must be utilized.

What I believe is of primary importance is the thoughts and hearts of your audience; first, the mind, secondly, the heart. The mind means that you must strengthen the ideological foundation of this youth. The youth are in a state of transition and transformation, in a state of change. Influences today have a very large volume in the world. You must strengthen the intellectual foundation of the youth in such a way that they are not only affected by negative and opposing factors but can also influence their environment; they must be able to illuminate their surroundings, familiarize their environment with the principles and teachings of Islam, be pioneers in this path, and be leading forces. In terms of thought, they must achieve such a state.

Regarding the heart, we mention this because for the elevation of a person, indeed for the stability of a person on the straight path, thought alone is not sufficient. In addition to the ideological aspect, a heart and spiritual aspect is necessary; a state of submission is required, a state of humility is necessary, a state of remembrance and attention to God is essential for a person. If this exists, many shortcomings will be compensated. If this does not exist, intellectual power and the ability to reason and argue will not assist a person in many situations. With advice, with good preaching, one must soften the heart of the youth; familiarize them with humility, supplication, attention, and remembrance; properly explain prayer to them; properly explain divine remembrance to them. This becomes the support for that thought. If this happens, then that intellectual steadfastness will be everlasting. In the field of action, this softness of the heart, this attention and remembrance, will benefit a person; it is what keeps a person steadfast; this is necessary. These two things must be strengthened in the youth.

You must hold classes on religious knowledge; sound knowledge must be presented in contemporary language, suitable for the thoughts of students, compatible with the literature of students; these are necessary and unavoidable tasks. Speaking in the language of the people is one manifestation of this. One must speak in the language of students. One must communicate in a literature that is understandable to students. There are many literatures that are effective in one environment but not effective in another. This is truly like a difference in language. The difference in literature is like a difference in language; it is like a person speaking Gujarati in a Persian-speaking environment; no one will understand anything. If a person is not familiar with the literature of the youth and the student environment, does not utilize this literature, the path of intellectual communication will be closed, and the influence will be diminished. Therefore, being in the language of the people is very necessary.

In the section of good preaching - I do not use the term 'education' here because education has a broader meaning - in my opinion, in addition to the issue of language, behavior is necessary. The saying 'Be callers to the people without your tongues' is relevant here. What softens hearts, and even brings adversaries to their knees, is good behavior. Of course, good behavior includes good ethics, humility, honesty in speech, honesty in positioning, clarity in expressing the truth, and broad-mindedness regarding material and worldly matters; these are things that indicate sincerity in action; if we truly have sincerity in action, it will naturally show itself in our behavior and speech. Therefore, the second important fundamental point is this: firstly, the language of preaching and advice - brotherly, and in some cases, fatherly and compassionate - secondly, behavior and action.

One of the things that I believe will help you is what was said about the noble Prophet, the Commander of the Faithful: 'A physician who travels with his medicine has perfected his remedies and protects his seasons.' We should not be confined behind desks and in rooms. The administrative form that our clerical group and the clerical community take is not in our favor. Whatever responsibility we have in any place, we must not lose our clerical state, our clerical identity, our spiritual identity - which is being close to the people, going among the people, speaking in the language of the people, and listening to the people's grievances.

Of course, we have seen both types among the clergy. There have been those who had no official or administrative position, yet their behavior with the people they encountered was like that of a dry, inflexible, inattentive, unloving, and unsmiling administrative person. We have also seen the opposite. There have been those who had administrative responsibilities, but in the corner where they interacted with the people, they had a loving, fatherly, compassionate, and caring behavior with the people; this is good, this is correct. So this is also an issue; that is, not being confined to organizational frameworks. It is not that I am against organization; no, without organization, without structure, management is impossible, and work does not progress. No, I believe in organizational order; however, I believe that this organizational order should not take us away from our identity. We are clerics in every case. We must act with the same clerical demeanor that exists in the Shia world. Of course, this state is not entirely absent in other sects and religions; there are places where it is very good for them; but now among the Shia, there is a tradition. This state that has existed among Shia clergy - that they are familiar with the people, derive their livelihood from the people, are compassionate towards the people, and their pains are their pains - must be preserved; this is very important.

Well, they mentioned the works that have been done. These works are very good. My other recommendation - of course, this recommendation is to your management group - is that as much as possible, activities should be adjusted and organized in favor of the grassroots, as opposed to the headquarters; that is, they should focus more on the grassroots than on the headquarters; they should pay attention to the forces in the field. The headquarters is for designing and organizing thoughts and creating mid-term and long-term policies and such things. The headquarters should be maintained to this extent. If the headquarters force expands, it will create problems; it will weigh down the base.

In any case, work is very important, and your group has, thanks be to God, done good work over these years. We hope that God Almighty will assist you, and you will be able to continue this sacred effort and this jihad, God willing.

Of course, the seminaries have a heavy responsibility in providing human and scientific support for this group. The seminaries have responsibilities, just as governmental institutions have heavy responsibilities. Fortunately, in this government, the ground is prepared for you. I say this with the familiarity and knowledge I have of the decision-making bodies. In this period and in this governmental group, work is smooth for you. In some governments, it has not been this smooth; some did not accept the matter at all, some had little support. This is also one of the grounds for gratitude that must be utilized.

We hope that God Almighty will grant you all success and support, and God willing, the work you do will be accepted by the Lord and pleasing to the presence of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him), and day by day, you will present your work with better quality and at a higher level, God willing.

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