Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Professors and Students of Shiraz Universities

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

This is a very sweet, beautiful, and pleasant session; firstly in the university environment, especially in Shiraz. Shiraz has historically been a center of knowledge. A university in Shiraz means a center of knowledge within a center of knowledge; a base in the heart of a base. Moreover, the diverse group of students present here, along with a group of esteemed professors, have transformed this session into a truly scientific, social, and political arena. I also feel youthful and invigorated in this atmosphere of youth, especially among the student youth. All the elders feel the same; in a youthful environment, they feel young and lively. Therefore, I never tire of listening to the words of dear students—whether they are elites or representatives of organizations—nor do I tire of speaking with you. The only drawback of this session is that the space is open and the warm sun of mid-May in Shiraz is somewhat hard to bear. Although I am sitting in the shade, I feel the heat; you who are in the sun, especially the dear ladies who are wearing hijabs, I feel for your discomfort.

First, let us take a look at the points raised by these dear friends, these dear students, and the esteemed president of the university. I must address some of the points. Although many of these remarks are the same as ours and are topics I wish to share with the academic community—both students and professors and university administrators—it is necessary to elaborate on some of the points made by the friends. It was mentioned that there is a lack of support for elites. You must pay attention that in all matters, including this one, organizational and administrative mechanisms play a significant role. This does not mean getting lost in the labyrinth of bureaucracy and red tape, but rather having an organization, having a responsible person, and having a center of thought; and this, in our opinion, has been done in the best possible way in the past year or two. That is, at the level of the Vice Presidency, a prominent academic has been appointed, and as far as I have been informed and know to a large extent, good work is being done; however, I hear from your words—like in our own youth—that this work should be done quickly. This "quickly" is not always a correct stipulation. Some tasks are not naturally suited for speed. If they are rushed, they will encounter problems. We must allow work to proceed at its own pace.

One point was raised by the representative of the student Basij, which I also share. The model of Islamic-Iranian progress that we have discussed and reiterated over the past year or two raises the question of how much has been implemented? It is indeed a valid question. The proposed student research institute seems to me to be a good suggestion. It would be good for the officials of the Ministry of Higher Education to address and review it; it is a good idea. Let us allow students, if they have time and can, to engage in activities in a center called a research institute; this is a noteworthy idea and can be pursued.

It was mentioned about the ability to make decisions and to decide. Here, I would like to elaborate on this point. The ability to make decisions is very good. The ability to decide is one of the problems that, if it enters the student environment, will disrupt many desirable and correct norms; this is our experience. Let us allow students to make decisions with their own thoughts, with their open language, with their minimal attachments, with their speech and actions. Let someone who can be questioned and is responsible and accountable make the decisions. Therefore, let us not seek to make the student environment a decision-making environment for action; this is neither in the interest of the student nor in the interest of that action. Let us seek for the student environment to create decisions; that is, create discourse. You see, when I wanted to raise the issue of the software movement, I first discussed it with students at the university; about ten years ago. I had not spoken with the ministries, nor with the then President, nor even with professors; I first brought this idea up at Amir Kabir University. Today, you see this is a discourse, a public demand, a request from all universities in the country; that I hear its demand from students wherever I go; I hear its implementation from professors and administrators at another level, and it is being implemented. Many of these scientific innovations derive part of their motivation and capability from this slogan: "Create decisions," "Create discourse." This draws the executors and officials to follow this decision, and decisions will be made and actions will be taken. A point that was interesting to me in the statements of the female doctoral student was that a medical student defended the basic sciences students; and indeed, this is correct. Attention to basic sciences is among the emphatic recommendations I have repeatedly shared with officials over the past few years. We have always said that basic sciences are like a treasure; applied sciences are like money that we put in our pockets and spend. If there are no basic sciences, the backing for this spending will disappear. This point is entirely valid, and I find this lesson from this female student to be worth mentioning: students should not view issues from a sectional, university, or disciplinary perspective; they should truly consider what the country needs. This medical student herself defended the basic sciences students; this, in our opinion, was a good understanding.

In the statements of the representative of the Islamic associations of Shiraz University, many good points were made that resonate with our hearts. Here, I would like to elaborate on this statement: you say that we advocate justice; students are taken, but those who harm justice are not taken. The judiciary is like this, or the responsible agency is like that. Well, here you must be clever; do not ever relent in your demand for justice; this is your dignity. The dignity of a young, believing student is to demand justice. The backing for this thought is with all my being, and today, thanks be to God, the system is here. Of course, violations may occur; your cleverness should be: shout the discourse of justice-seeking; but do not make personal criticisms or cite specific instances. When you focus on a specific instance, firstly, you may be mistaken; I see otherwise. I observe instances—not in the university, but in various social groups—where they focus on a specific instance; either as corruption, or as political deviation, or as wrong lines. For example, I happen to know about a movement and see that it is not like this, and that the person who made this statement was not informed about the issue. Therefore, when you focus on a person and a specific instance, there is both the possibility of error, and you provide a tool for that clever lawbreaker—whom I have said are dangerous—to use against you. What grievance can you have against the prosecutor? If someone introduces a person as a slanderer and says, "Sir, he has slandered me." Well, the duty of that judge is not to go after the essence of the matter. If this slander has been made, the legal provision obliges that judge to take action; thus, we cannot complain about him. You be clever, do not name names, do not focus on specific instances; raise the flag. When you raise the flag, those who are executors, those who want to act in the execution environment, will all calculate their actions. The one who has raised the cry related to the content of this flag will feel encouraged, and work will progress. Therefore, I believe there is no problem in your work; you are believing youth, and the expectation from you is the same. Every good slogan that is raised, after relying on God the Great, who holds all hearts, tongues, and wills in His hands, relies on you youth; hope is in you youth; know this. After all, your fellow townsman, of whom you recited poetry, says:

"Let us be loyal and endure blame and be happy, For in our path, it is infidelity to be upset."

Do not be upset; go after work. I say this same matter directly to that dear brother who, as a representative of the Islamic community, expressed very composed and eloquent statements. These words are the words of our hearts; however, the difference between us and you is that we have learned through the experience of time that one must endure and be patient; you are young and newly arrived and enthusiastic and impatient! All of this is good, except for this impatience. Of course, this impatience has no remedy. Not that I want to say it has a lot of remedy; no, we ourselves have gone through your period, we know how it is; but ultimately, I want to tell you that all these things you have said and the slogans raised in this country will, with God's grace and by God's permission, come to fruition.

Regarding the complaints of this dear female student about Payame Noor University, it is worth noting that officials should pay attention to it; truly, if there are points that need assistance, help should be provided.

A point was also raised by that dear elite student from Azad University, which is a correct point; raising the executive theories of the government before entering the trial and error stage in universities and research centers is very good. However, I must tell you; government officials and the esteemed President often claim that they are doing this work; it cannot be said that they are not doing it at all. I have repeatedly mentioned this issue to officials, including our very hardworking and sincere President; he also says we have raised it, we have discussed it in universities, or a certain research group has taken action. However, in any case, it is a good idea. He mentioned the issue of discrimination and such matters regarding Azad University; another student who did not have the opportunity to speak into the microphone came here and loudly told me, and I also heard that he expressed the opposite of those statements. That is, two students from Azad University have opposing views regarding the issues related to Azad University; he expressed some grievances about the cultural situation at Azad University.

What I want to convey to you dear ones is a bit of elaboration on the matter I mentioned on the first day in front of the general public; and that is a comprehensive view and summary of the revolution. As we are on the threshold of entering the fourth decade, nearly thirty years have passed; usually, in such a period, looking at an event—like the great event of the revolution—comes with judgment and evaluation regarding its performance. Although at thirty years old, the revolution is still in its youth; there is no doubt about that—the revolutionary force, thanks be to God, is very strong, especially this revolution—but at the same time, in a thirty-year period, when one looks, a judgment regarding performance, success, and effectiveness arises. We must not make mistakes in this judgment; and this is only possible with a comprehensive view. I will present some points in this regard. Of course, I would have liked to elaborate more and in greater detail, but the weather and the sun somewhat discomfort me from elaborating. What I present, you dear youth know. You know me as well. I have often said that what we present is not the meaning of revealing verses. Not that you think that now whatever we say is divine revelation; no, I express my opinion and I wish for these matters to be discussed in academic environments. My main point is that there will be a discussion. Now, perhaps I will not provide a complete summary at the end of the session, with the intention that you will summarize it; whether in organizations, in student groups, or among yourselves.

If we take a comprehensive view of the revolution and the event of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, particularism cannot mislead us. Sometimes particularism and not looking at the continuous path from beginning to end can mislead a person; sometimes a person loses their way, loses their goal. We do not want to say do not be particularistic; why, looking at details means planning; we do not deny this. Planning, looking at various seasons and different sections means particularism. We want to say that this view of sections and parts should not make us oblivious to the view of the whole. Because the view of the whole is instructive for us.

I have considered several rings for this discussion, which I will present. The first ring is what the goal of the revolution was. The goal of the revolution was to build an Iran with the characteristics I will mention: independent, free, endowed with wealth and security, religious, and benefiting from spirituality and ethics, leading in the competition of the vast human society in science and other achievements—which has been a competition among all of humanity in human achievements, in science and in other human desires and achievements—endowed with freedom in all meanings of freedom. Freedom is not just social freedom—although social freedom is one of the important manifestations of freedom—both social freedom is considered, and freedom in the sense of being free and unencumbered and free from foreign interference and domination—which sometimes a country appears to be independent but is under influence—and also spiritual freedom, which is the salvation of man and the moral elevation of man and the spiritual ascent of man, which is the highest goal. All actions are a means for the perfection of man and the elevation of humanity. This must manifest itself in the Islamic society.

Iran with these characteristics was the desired outcome of the revolution. You may ask where these characteristics came from in the revolution? Where were they formulated? I say it comes from the word "Islamic." Islam is fundamentally all of these. Whoever imagines anything other than this regarding Islam has not understood Islam. Whoever thinks that Islam only addresses the spiritual aspects, and that too with a specific interpretation of the spiritual aspects—worship, fasting, asceticism, remembrance, and the like—does not address the worldly matters, the pleasures of people, the human desires of people; they have not understood Islam correctly; Islam is not like that. All of these things we mentioned; both what pertains to worldly matters of society—such as justice, security, welfare, enjoying wealth, enjoying freedom and independence—and also what pertains to the hereafter; such as salvation, piety, God-consciousness, moral growth, and spiritual perfection of man, are included in the word "Islamic."

The Quran tells us: "And if the people of the towns had believed and been pious, We would have opened up to them blessings from the heavens and the earth"; when there is faith and piety, the blessings of heaven and earth will flow. The blessings of heaven are the spiritual conquests, the divine mercy, the closeness to God, the intercession of the angels of heaven and the bearers of the Throne for God's servants on earth. The blessings of the earth mean all that relates to human earthly life; that is, freedom, welfare, independence, security, abundance of sustenance, health of the body, and such things. If there is faith and piety, both those blessings and these blessings exist for humanity. This is Islam. So when we say Islamic revolution, it means what has been stated.

Well, this was what was in the revolution; we wanted to build an Iran with these characteristics. This matter has an additional aspect, and that is that the issue was not only Iran; Iran was intended as a model for Islamic societies in the first place, and for all human societies in the second place. We wanted to build this society with these characteristics—we, meaning the Iranian nation, the Iranian revolution, the Iranian revolutionaries; I do not mean myself and a few others—and place it before the eyes of all humanity and the Islamic community; to say this is what is both desired by Islam and achievable by the people of this era. It should not be thought that yes, this is desirable, but not achievable; which was said during the struggles of the Islamic movement. Some people who had good intentions also said, "Why are you making an effort? It is of no use; yes, your words are correct, but it is not feasible." The revolution wanted to show all those who are in any corner of the Islamic world that this model is realizable and achievable; this is one of its examples. This was the goal of the revolution. This goal has been constant from the beginning, and I tell you that today this goal is the same, and in the future, this goal will remain the same; this goal is fixed. This is the first ring of our discussion.

The second ring of the discussion is that this goal was held by the Islamic revolution; we do not live in a vacuum; we are living in a reality; how much did these realities help or hinder reaching these goals? Certainly, if the obstacles I will now enumerate did not exist, reaching these goals would not have taken much time. Perhaps within five years, ten years, a strong organized group could have fulfilled these goals; however, there are obstacles in the way of humanity. Essentially, the existence of obstacles gives meaning and spiritual truth to human effort, and it becomes jihad; otherwise, if there were no obstacles, jihad would have no meaning. Jihad means striving and struggling along with the effort and challenges posed by obstacles.

What were these obstacles? We had two types of obstacles: one was internal obstacles, and the other was external obstacles. What are internal obstacles? They are those things that exist within us humans—whether among our decision-makers, among our people, or among observers outside the arena of struggle and revolution; these are internal obstacles. Internal obstacles are weaknesses; weaknesses of thought, weaknesses of reason, complacency, ease-seeking, and easy-mindedness; sometimes this itself is one of the obstacles to achieving that goal. We must assess and evaluate the work and the problems of the work according to reality or at least close to reality. Easy-mindedness is like ease-seeking and negligence; that is also one of the obstacles on the path. Avoiding challenges is another of our internal weaknesses. To avoid challenges, it is mistakenly called ease-seeking. Ease-seeking is a good thing. Ease is one of the greatest divine blessings; "O Lord of ease, we ask You for ease; ease in this world and the hereafter." Ease means not getting involved; it means acting correctly, stepping in the right place, striking at the right time, and retreating at the right time. Ease from calamity is like saying ease from sin. Therefore, ease-seeking is not a bad thing; but mistakenly, avoiding challenges is called ease-seeking; that is, in reality, it is the same as complacency, considering facing difficulties as ugly and undesirable, and being unprepared to face difficulties. These are our internal weaknesses.

Another internal weakness is the existing social upbringing and historical habits, which were present in us, the Iranian nation, at the beginning of the revolution. You youth may not have a correct image of the psychological states and historical upbringing we had when the revolution triumphed. Today we see that the title "We can" is present in everyone. Truly, if they say, "You can compete with the most advanced and precise industrialists in the world," you say yes; if we strive, we can. Truly, the educated Muslim youth in the Islamic Republic considers himself capable of anything; this was not the case at the beginning of the revolution. The previous upbringing was the exact opposite of this. Whenever any task was proposed, they would say, "We cannot!" If they were asked to build something, they would say, "We cannot!" If they were to confront a false slogan in the world, they would say, "We cannot!" The "We can" of today was the "We cannot" of that day. This was the moral and historical upbringing left over from the past.

Being subjugated, hearing oppression, witnessing immorality in those from whom society expects justice and fairness and purity, had become a habit. That is, if before the revolution they came to the people and said, "So-and-so, the highest official of the country—now the first person, who was the Shah—or ministers or officials committed such and such immoral acts, people would not be surprised; they would say, "Well, it is expected!" They had become accustomed to seeing officials who should be pure and chaste being tainted and impure. We were surprised that in the early Islam, how a drunk caliph led the morning prayer for the people! Both about the caliph and about one of the governors appointed by a caliph. This is in Islamic history and is well-known and certain. The morning prayer is two rakats; but because he was in a good mood, he prayed six rakats. They said, "Sir, you prayed too much for the morning prayer; he said yes, I am in a good mood; if you want, I can pray more!" This was in history. At that time, people saw that the caliph was committing such immorality, but they endured it and passed by this issue indifferently. In our time, it was the same. During the era of tyranny—when we faced tyranny before the victory of the revolution—the situation was the same. People were not surprised that the king of an Islamic country would commit immorality, indulge in debauchery, and engage in lewd acts. Perhaps I have said before that one of the great scholars of Tabriz, who was a very knowledgeable and learned man and I had seen him—he was the teacher of my father—was a very learned old man, but very simple! One time I went to Tabriz, and his students and friends who were interested in him narrated; they said that once Mohammad Reza, in his youth, came to Tabriz, went to see this man. He respected this man, went into the school where this man taught. After Mohammad Reza left, this learned man—who was learned and pious, but simple—was enchanted by the Shah and praised him. His friends said, "Sir, you are praising this man, who does such wrong acts—now acts that in the eyes of that scholar must have seemed very significant; for example, he drinks wine—he said, "Well, he is the Shah; do you want him not to drink wine?" They said, "Sir, for example, he gambles," he said, "Well, he is the Shah; what else should he do?" The norm was that because he was the Shah, because he was a minister, he should be able to commit immorality, engage in debauchery, and show impurity. This was one of the habits that existed in our society. These are the internal obstacles; these are the things that create barriers to reaching a lofty goal. Uncontrolled anger and untrained desires, attachment to inherited superstitions and customs, and misunderstanding the commands of religion are among the internal weaknesses. Some people did not understand many things. We fought; some, citing narrations that any flag raised before the flag of Imam Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will be in the fire, opposed the struggle. They said, "Sir, you want to start fighting before the appearance of the Imam of the Time (may God hasten his reappearance)? Well, the flag of struggle you raise will be in the fire." They did not understand the meaning of the hadith. Some people from the time of the Imams (peace be upon them) who had heard that the Mahdi would appear and fill the world with justice claimed to be Mahdists; some were even confused about themselves. You should know that both in the Umayyads and in the Abbasids, there were claims of Mahdism, as well as among other individuals who existed from the time of the Abbasids and later until today. Yes, whoever raises the flag of Mahdism will be in the fire. This does not mean that people should not fight against oppression, that people should not struggle and rise for the establishment of a divine and Islamic society. This is a misunderstanding of religion. You see, all of these were internal obstacles that after the revolution's victory, we, the Iranian nation, wanted to lead the country towards those goals. Well, each of these was an obstacle. Of course, these were removable, not that they were not removable; much of it was removed through clarification. Therefore, clarification plays a significant role in Islamic struggles. I mention this to you young people who feel responsible, in parentheses, that clarification is very important. In Islamic struggles, at all times, clarification—expressing reality and conveying reality; preaching, delivering—is very important and should not be overlooked; contrary to the Marxist thought that was prevalent at that time and did not believe in clarification; they said struggle is a tradition, it will be realized; whether you want it or not; whether you say it or not. That is, the dialectic they had interpreted required that this struggle did not need clarification. In 1949, a young man from among those who were from Mashhad, who was acquainted with us, was affiliated with one of those groups that had just emerged, were communists—like the Jungle group and others—met with me somewhere; he explained that we want to do these things. I said, "In this social context, it cannot be done; you should talk a little with the people, clarify, speak, and explain to the people what you want to do." With complete indifference, he said, "That is the Islamic method!" Yes, the Islamic method is just that. The Islamic method is clarification, and these clarifications caused the Islamic revolution to overcome many of these historical backgrounds and erroneous upbringings, and it did overcome. Of course, in some of them, we have not yet overcome, which has other motivations—like consumerism and wastefulness and such things that have now been mentioned—these are among the legacies we have from the past, and unfortunately, we have retained this legacy. We, the Iranian nation, must shed this ill-fitting, ugly garment. We are very consumerist; we must solve this. Everyone must join hands to resolve this issue. Of course, the media undoubtedly has a role. Well, these were the internal factors.

Then there are the external factors, which exist abundantly; all those who were harmed by the revolution or its goals stood against it. Some are harmed by security, some are harmed by justice, some are harmed by the negation of tyranny, some are harmed by the negation of foreign domination, and some are harmed by the negation of despotism. You know these; no explanation is necessary. Who is harmed by justice or independence or freedom and the like? All of these have lined up against the revolution. Until now, this lineup continues.

You youth do not remember the early days of the revolution. In the first year of the revolution, in almost every corner of the country, centers of conflict and struggle arose with the slogan of ethnicity. In Sistan and Baluchestan, in Kurdistan, in Turkmen Sahra, in various points; under the pretext of ethnicity. They pursued it and saw that none of these ethnicities had any issue with Islam and the Islamic revolution. I myself had lived in Sistan and Baluchestan. I was exiled there and knew the Baluch people. I knew that they had no issue with the revolution; but a group under the name of Baluch, using a trick, clashed with the revolution. The same issue was in Kurdistan. The same issue was in Turkmen Sahra. Then the provocations of these became clear, and it became evident from where they were being incited. Well, these were obstacles that blocked the path of the revolution. It was not that this vehicle could move correctly on the paved road.

After this issue of ethnicities, there were internal rivalries among ourselves, which also has a bitter and unpleasant story; it was a tedious affair. Then there was the imposed war; eight years. You see the concentrated force that our nation placed in confronting the enemy and was able to bring the enemy to its knees—not just Saddam, but those who were behind Saddam, they bowed before the Islamic revolution—if this force had been directed towards the goals of the construction and development of the Islamic Republic, how much progress would have been made. Of course, we benefited from the imposition of war. We turned this threat into the best opportunities. The Iranian nation transformed this threat into a great opportunity, a vast laboratory; it became a vast field of experiences, and many blessings were gained; but the reality is that the imposition of war on a country creates problems. Therefore, global monopolists on one side, internal evildoers on another side, and the conspiracies of superpowers on one side, the deceptive political and economic propaganda of that superpower whose hand has been cut off from Iran with the Islamic revolution on one side—namely, America, which continues to this day—these all stood against this great movement of the Iranian nation. You see, despite these obstacles, now come and evaluate how the movement of the Islamic revolution and the Islamic Republic has progressed towards those goals. If I were to evaluate, I would consider the performance to be very good. The Islamic Republic and the Islamic revolution have performed with a very good grade. In the face of all these problems, who can endure? During our time, power transitions in Africa and Asia and many places occurred; none of them could endure. In the period before us, great revolutions in the world—like the Great French Revolution, like the October Revolution in the Soviet Union—did not endure in the face of these various events; that is, from the very beginning, they deviated.

The characteristic of being popular, the characteristic of being Islamic, the characteristic of being idealistic, that today the revolutionary youth stands here after thirty years, presenting the ideals of the revolution as his aspirations and demands, and loudly expressing them, is a great success for the revolution. This was never the case in other revolutions. You look at the literary works of nineteenth-century France that were produced at the end of the eighteenth century during the Great French Revolution. In the early nineteenth century, Napoleon came to power, and then you look at the literary works of the mid-century—like 1830, 1840, which are abundant; both poetry and novels—you will see that they were in what condition thirty years after their revolution; an absolute despotism, an absolute corruption, a very terrifying class discrimination existed at that time; although there too, there was the slogan of justice, the slogan of equality, the slogan of negating despotism. This success of the Islamic revolution is an unparalleled success. Worse than that was the October Revolution in the Soviet Union. In our time, the events that occurred—of course, it was called a revolution; but mostly it was a coup or a group of armed individuals came to power; like Cuba and other places—most of these had the same situation I mentioned; that is, they could not endure and could not stand against these obstacles.

Well, now consider these obstacles. All of these obstacles are part of divine traditions. The existence of these obstacles is not coincidental. These are divine traditions; that is, striving and moving face obstacles, otherwise jihad would have no meaning: "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy, devils among men and jinn, inspiring some of them to others with adorned speech as a delusion." In all prophetic calls, enemies—obstacles—of jinn and men existed. In another verse: "And thus We have made in every village the great criminals of it to plot therein, and they do not plot except against themselves." Within societies, classes whose existence is a source of corruption, a source of deception; these are part of traditions. That is, the prophets never said that we will enter the field when the road is clear; no, in this very space and intensely engaged and difficult scene, they entered; like the Islamic Republic and the Islamic revolution. But conversely, the divine tradition is also that if the prophetic movement, the divine movement, which is exemplified by the Islamic revolution, continues its work and follows through, it will overcome all these obstacles; this is also a divine tradition. In the blessed Surah Al-Fath, it is stated: "And if those who disbelieve fight you, they will turn their backs, then they will not find a protector or a helper. This is the tradition of Allah that has passed on before, and you will not find any change in the tradition of Allah." If you stand firm, if you are steadfast, if you do not lose sight of the goal, if you do not stop striving, without a doubt, victory in this arena will be with you. The essence of my message to you dear youth is this.

Today, without a doubt, all those lineups that were against this revolution from the very beginning exist; some have changed shape, and some lineups have gradually been added over time. Today, unfortunately, as these youths mentioned, consumerism and the competition of materialism and the race to make money and efforts to accumulate wealth have created a new class. The Islamic system is not opposed to wealth creation; it encourages it. If there is no production, if there is no wealth creation, the survival and existence of society will be endangered, and the necessary power will not be obtained by society; this is an Islamic principle. However, the fact that people yearn for a competition of elitism, for materialism, is a very undesirable thing; this is something that unfortunately exists within us; just as I have said before: excessive wastefulness and consumerism.

And those external lineups also exist. Now you see that America, with all its power, stands against the Iranian nation today. This is all the power of America; its propaganda power, its political power, its economic power, its international influence. Some think that within America, American governments need to have an enemy outside themselves. That is why they constantly exaggerate the Islamic system; they introduce the Islamic Republic as a great danger. This is indeed correct.

One of the policies of American leaders is that in order to divert attention from internal problems, the discrimination that exists, the strange class disparities that exist, the numerous troubles that the people of America have, they always need an enemy outside. We have understood this and are aware of it; but the issue of exaggerating Iran is a fundamental issue in the thinking of the politicians of domination in America; truly, it is so. Their survival depends on aggression and domination and encroachment on this and that part of the world. They have convinced governments and silenced nations. The only flag that stands against them, the government and the nation without distinction, is where? The Islamic Republic. The masses and the government, along with them; and the President, along with them; and the officials of the country, along with them, without dissimulation, reject oppression, reject discrimination, reject encroachment; this is a great danger for that power that does not limit itself to its national barriers. Because the cry of this nation, the uprising of this nation is awakening for other nations, it is a warning, just as it has been until now; just as this awakening has occurred. Well, they feel threatened. They have put all their efforts into it, but despite all this, the Iranian nation, you youth, you students can stand against all of this and overcome all of it; but it has conditions. Today, we are much further ahead than twenty years ago, thirty years ago; our experience is greater, our management is stronger, our scientific capabilities are far ahead, our economic mobility is much greater than it was then, our perceptions of progress compared to those days are much better.

In the first decade, many revolutionaries viewed progress through the lens of the left; the left of the sixties, that is, the socialist-leaning model. Anyone who opposed it was labeled with a slander, a stain, something. Some officials, stakeholders, and activists in the Islamic Republic viewed progress from the perspective of state dominance and state ownership; well, this view was a wrong one. Viewing the progress of the country from the perspective of Eastern socialist thought was considered wrong; this was quickly understood, even those who were promoting this viewpoint suddenly turned 180 degrees! That excess turned into a deficiency.

For a period, the view of progress was a Western view; that is, the same path that a certain country—like South Korea, for example, which is a follower of America or the Western bloc—took, they too should follow; this was their perception. They did not see themselves even at the level of England, France, and Germany; they saw themselves at the level of countries like South Korea. This was also rejected. Today, in the minds and thoughts of officials and as a public discourse in the minds of elites and intellectuals, the Western model of progress has been rejected; it has proven to be wrong. The reason is that criticism of the Western model of progress is not specific to Eastern nations; it is not specific to us; even Western thinkers, even Western intellectuals, have begun to criticize it; both in economic fields, ethical fields, and political fields. What they once prided themselves on as liberal democracy is now under criticism; thus, this is not a model of progress either. Today, we know these things. Of course, what the Islamic-Iranian model of progress is; this must be formulated, must be clarified, and its dimensions and aspects must be specified; this work has not been fully done and must be done. But the very fact that we have understood that we must return to the Islamic-Iranian model is a great success. This success we have today.

Well, this is the path of progress. The path of progress is not the Western path; it is not the outdated and fallen path of the old Eastern bloc either. The crises that have occurred in the West are all before us; we know that these crises will afflict any country that follows that path. Therefore, we must take our own specific Iranian-Islamic path and move forward with it; with appropriate speed.

The solution based on these premises is a solution you must find. You must reach this conclusion, this inference, but what I can offer as general guidance and strategy is youthful effort and perseverance. You who are in the university, your activity is academic; you must study, research, and think about theorizing. Unconditional imitation of Western theorists and the method of translation is to be considered wrong and dangerous. We need to have our own theories in the field of human sciences. Many of the events in the world, even in economic and political fields, are dictated by the opinions of experts in human sciences; in sociology, in psychology, in philosophy; they are the ones who determine the indicators. In these areas, we must have our own theorizing and we must work; we must strive; students must strive. Students and the university environment must have a comprehensive view of the goals of the revolution; they must pursue them. Be careful that the enemy cannot use the university environment and the student and professor element. This is what I emphasize. You see, a small incident occurs, now in your own university, a number may be dissatisfied, they may be protesting; see how immediately in the world they interpret it, they analyze it, not in the direction that the student has taken this action for that reason, but rather exactly in the opposite direction. That is, they question the authority, the system, Islam with these means. One must be vigilant; in the university environment, this vigilance is more necessary than ever.

Another element that must be shared with the youth is the issue of religiosity. Dear youth! Religiosity, religious observance, to the extent of ability and possibility, is the source of divine attentions; it is the source of human successes; it is the source of progress; do not underestimate this. I want to say that if you discover or solve a certain mathematical formula, or a certain chemical element, or a certain invention, at the same time as your attention to God, it will help you. Firstly, God Almighty will assist you; all actions are in the hands of God. Perhaps I have mentioned that the day when our youth were pursuing and discovering the issue of stem cells—may God have mercy on him—Mr. Kazemi, the head of this Royan Institute, came with that group to report to me. He said I called to see—because for example, he had said yesterday that we would finish the work tomorrow—where they had reached, his wife, who is also a young woman, picked up the phone and said he—meaning this engineer who was pursuing this issue—has fallen into prostration, he is crying; because he has been able to find this discovery; he has been able to find that last point and has fallen into prostration, he is crying. When Mr. Kazemi mentioned this, he himself began to cry, and the young man who was present in the gathering began to cry. They began to cry. The role of spirituality should not be underestimated.

With attention to God and closeness to God, with reliance on the divine grace and under the divine attention, many difficult tasks can be accomplished. You are young. You are much ahead of us in this regard. Your hearts are pure, radiant, unattached, unblemished, like a clear mirror, immediately reflecting light; you have not been tainted; appreciate this. Establish a relationship with God Almighty. With prayer, with supererogatory prayers, with recitation of the Quran, with supplication, with the Sahifa Sajjadiyya. This Sahifa Sajjadiyya is full of religious knowledge. By doing this, you also strengthen your religious and revolutionary foundation. If our youth have a strong religious foundation, many of those who are in this city of Shiraz and in Fars province and across the country—here I also have news of it—are busy trying to divert minds in various directions, when they see that our youth is strong, they will pull back. Today, in this very city and in other places, which I do not want to elaborate on too much, perhaps you know very well; from empty, meaningless materialistic mysticism to obsolete religions, to organizations that call themselves religious, but in essence are political organizations, they are busy trying, they are struggling to reduce this massive force of Islam as much as they can. When our youth's intellectual and belief foundation is strong, they understand that they should not pursue our youth anymore. This strengthening of the belief foundation is achieved through these attentions, through this supplication, reliance on the Lord, in these supplications of the Sahifa Sajjadiyya. These supplications are not just saying "O Lord, O Lord"; they are filled with Islamic knowledge that deepens a person's belief. Reciting the Quran is the same, prayer is the same. In any case, this is my recommendation to all of you young people.

And maintain your unity, unity! At the scale of the Iranian nation, maintaining unity is a primary means; at the scale of the student body across the country, it is the same; at the scale of students in a city or province, it is the same. Do not let differences in opinions put you against each other. At one time, some found it in their interests to make universities arenas for political games and political conflicts; today, thank God, these meanings are less. Do not let student organizations and components of the student movement become enemies. A good rival is good; rivalry is positive.

One of these brothers said we are ready; give us a research institute or allow us to establish a research institute to work on a certain issue—for example, suppose solar energy or anything else. Very well, that other student group should also say very well, we will also engage in positive scientific competition in another issue with them. Positive competition means this; it means a race: "Race towards forgiveness from your Lord." A race in good deeds, a race in production, a race in acquiring and realizing that knowledge in practice and helping the living environment of the people. This competition is very good; rivalry is very good; but grappling, fighting over small things, over very trivial and insignificant matters, no. We do not approve of this; both in the university environment, and in the entire country, and in the environment of the clergy; in all environments.

Thus, science is one of these main axes; unity is one of the main axes; religiosity is one of the main axes; the economy of the country is also one of the main axes. If we operationalize and implement these in this period of time with this innovation slogan that will certainly lead to flourishing, these few axes at this stage will undoubtedly be able to bring the enemy to defeat.

Of course, economic activity and economic work and economic effort must certainly be aligned with the index and plumb line of justice. Without justice, any economic effort will lead to harm. Justice does not mean that we should not invest or prevent investors from investing. These are the wrong perceptions of those individuals who at that time introduced themselves as supporters of justice. No, entrepreneurship is also a good deed, a worship, a great task that must be done. The correct issue is managing this collection. The managements of the country, the governmental managements, whether in the legislative section, in the executive section, or in the judiciary, must manage so that there is no transgression of rights; there is no infringement of rights; there is no aggression against one another; this caravan with all its components, God willing, will move forward.

O Lord! Place what we have said and heard in Your way and for Your sake. O Lord! Grant us success in what brings You pleasure from us. O Lord! Make our country more and more prosperous and advanced day by day. O Lord! Grant these dear and pure-hearted youth success in building the future of the country in a desirable manner. O Lord! Bless these youth for this country and this nation. O Lord! Make the heart of the holy guardian of the age pleased and satisfied with us.

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