Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in Meeting with the Elites and Scientific Chosen Ones of Kermanshah Province

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

This session was a very sweet, desirable, and memorable meeting, with diverse, profound, and meaningful discussions. I truly benefited from the statements made, and this session also creates a greater understanding for me regarding Kermanshah, its distinguished individuals, and the province's talent for nurturing elites. One of the gentlemen mentioned that the province is the broad chest of Iran - what a beautiful and profound expression! I would like to add that it is also the beautiful face of Iran; science, art, literature, revolutionary effort, sports, and the spirit of heroism are all, thanks be to God, gathered together in this province.

Of course, I was familiar with some of the prominent and distinguished figures of the province even before the revolution; among them was the late Yadollah Behzad, who was an old friend of ours. He frequently visited Mashhad. The late Behzad, possessing a very good poetic talent - especially in qasida and ghazal, in which he was truly outstanding in the country - also had the spirit and characteristics of Kermanshah's heroism. He had come to Mashhad once, and at that time, I was being pursued; I had left Mashhad and gone to a remote place. Suddenly, I saw Mr. Behzad and some other friends from the literary association of Mashhad came there to see us, even though this was a dangerous act. This man was not one to engage in such struggles, but friendship and camaraderie had drawn him into this realm. This is commendable.

I was also acquainted with the late Kayvan Samiei - who was truly an exceptional researcher and scholar. Besides the book he wrote about the biography of the late Sardar Kabuli - which, although it is a biography, is full of content and research - he has another book that I couldn't recall the name of... (1) Yes, that's right; it is "Literary Researches." One truly feels that this man stands alongside figures like Mohammad Qazvini in terms of research and has vast knowledge in literature, history, and everything; he was indeed a distinguished personality.

The late Mr. Najumi (may God be pleased with him) is someone we reached out to and became acquainted with from the early days of the revolution; he was truly a comprehensive man - both a jurist and a literati, as well as an artist - a rare figure among the clergy.

Of course, in the past, I was also familiar with the religious elites of this province from the Qom era; the late Mr. Haj Agha Mojtaba Haj Akhound (may God have mercy on him), the late martyr Haj Agha Bahaa Mohammadi Iraqi, and some other friends; however, I must say that the true scientific, artistic, and literary face of Kermanshah is not as well-known as it should be; and this is a cause for regret. The truth is that the country's propaganda officials and the media should help introduce Kermanshah with the assistance of the elites and distinguished individuals of this region. Now, one part relates to the past of Kermanshah, and another part relates to the present of Kermanshah. Today, fortunately, the talents are very high; and in the statements made by friends here, we observed examples of this high talent in the province. Someone like Professor Shamsipour is truly among the pride of the province. They are not only a source of pride for the province but are indeed among the pride of the country. Recognizing them is encouraging. These dear young people who spoke are each promising in their own fields; they herald a better future for the entire country.

Two days ago, when we were at the university, some young people there shared their thoughts and made suggestions that I enjoyed. Some of what is in the minds and aspirations of these young people may not align with reality, meaning it may be considered ambitious; but this is good, it is desirable that our youth are ambitious, envisioning lofty and distant horizons and moving towards them.

Today, fortunately, in the country, this determination, this motivation, and this environment exist; however, there was a time when it did not. During the reign of the tyrannical regime, the environment for the growth of various talents truly did not exist. Those who had personal motivations moved according to personal incentives; it is always like this. There is a time when a caravan sets out, a national caravan moves; this requires the necessary environment, the necessary space. Today, this environment and space exist, but it did not exist yesterday. Therefore, what we have in terms of scientific, literary, artistic, religious, and other figures from the past, we can hope that in the future, God willing, with the efforts and capabilities of our youth and our faithful men and women, and with divine grace, we will have several times more than them.

The meeting with the distinguished individuals - which I usually arrange in various provinces, and these meetings are very beneficial for me - is primarily for honoring the distinguished; honoring creativity. We want to witness this as a tradition in society, that those who possess knowledge, creativity, and have made or can make significant efforts are respected. Many of those who advance countries with their scientific efforts and thoughts do not expect material rewards; however, they do expect appreciation. We want this appreciation to take place. Not just that this humble servant appreciates - which is not a significant matter - we want this to become a tradition in our country, in our society, among our people; that if a prominent point is seen in thought, in effort, and in struggle, it should be respected. This is our primary motivation.

Fortunately, there are also these prominent points in all parts of the country. I have observed in some provinces that a scholar, a learned person, has published a book in a field of interest to me, and although I am someone who reads books and am generally aware of publications and books, I had never even heard the name of this book or the author; I was astonished. This indicates that we have abundant treasures and hidden gems; we must reveal them, we must recognize our distinguished figures, and the people must know. The very act of this information and awareness is the first step of appreciation for them. In addition, the second point we aim for arises; my second motivation for holding these sessions is to create role models.

Today, efforts are being made to create models for various communities in different fields. Truly, policies pursue this. When you see, for instance, a deviant bisexual individual suddenly gaining fame in all American media and then Western media, and reputable and high-circulation Western magazines reflect their photos, their biographies, their various ages, and their different male and female appearances, this cannot be considered a coincidence; this is deliberate. These are models being created to deviate human generations. The target of the attack is not only Iran. Observing these things confirms what was published years ago as Zionist protocols in the world and translated into various languages; one of the provisions of those protocols was that human generations should deviate from conventional human behaviors; they should fall into moral deviations. Now, what is the goal? There is much to discuss. One of the principles of the work of those who provide this deviant and dangerous Zionist thought has been this. In the early days, one might not have believed it, but gradually one comes to believe it. They want to create models; now this is the worst form, but there are various other forms as well.

We need to identify models for our youth, for our young generation, from various sectors; those who are interested in science, those who are interested in art, those who are interested in literature, those who are interested in history, those who are interested in practical work, those who are interested in agriculture or industry or technology, each should be able to find their worthy models. This is one of our necessary tasks, which holding these sessions helps us with.

Another important point is to demonstrate the innate talents of our country and nation; not to foreigners, but to ourselves. One of the things that should make us acutely aware of our positions is that for decades, it has been propagated that Iranians are ineffective; they must learn from others, they must imitate others, they must resort to others. In our youth and adolescence, this was among the common things. Whenever something was mentioned, they would say, "Here, it is impossible to build such things." If they wanted to build a bridge on a street in a city, a foreign engineer had to come; if they wanted to build a dam, several foreign companies and engineers had to come; one would build the dam wall, another would build the turbine, and another would build the rest of the equipment; it was not even imagined. Even until the early days of the revolution, this was the thought. I do not forget; there was a plan to build a gas power plant somewhere - it had been left unfinished since before the revolution - I told the officials to carry out this work; they came to me - I was the president at that time - and said, "Sir, it is absolutely impossible." They could not believe it. Well, today our engineers, our youth, are building the most advanced power plants in various forms. Today we can build a nuclear power plant. These talents were not recognized.

For many years, work was done on this issue. Since about one hundred and fifty years ago, as Western culture, Western methods, Western civilization charts, and Western technological advancements entered the country, this issue gradually took root; it was both stated and emphasized, and it became evident in practice that nothing could be done by Iranians. They forgot that our history, our past heritage is full of scientific honors. At a time when there was no news in the Western world, at a time when if a scientific advancement occurred, a scientific discovery was made, the discoverer was burned at the stake for witchcraft, at a time when absolute scientific darkness prevailed over Europe - there are discussions in this regard - at that time, our country was at the forefront of Islamic countries. These advancements belong to the Islamic world, but Iran was the forefront of Islamic countries in various scientific advancements; in philosophy, in rational sciences, even in religious sciences, in jurisprudence, in hadith. The most hadith books in those periods - both Sunni and Shia hadith - belong to Iranians; Iranian writers, Iranian narrators, Iranian jurists; and then it reaches natural sciences, in medicine, in pharmacy, in engineering, in astronomy, and in other sciences. Well, this is our past; this indicates the existence of a superior talent and a rich reservoir of talent in this region of the world's geography. Why should we forget this? We forgot. Today we want to show that it is not like this.

Well, of course, I have repeatedly said this in words, I have repeated this issue, perhaps it seemed like a slogan at first, that we said Iranian talent is above the average international human talent; we were aware of this. Some thought this was a slogan; but, thanks be to God, it is gradually being demonstrated.

This scientific advancement that has been pointed out - which I have also mentioned many times - is a reality; these are international statistics. It is true that where we have actually reached scientifically, we are behind the world in some stages and aspects; but this is due to our historical backwardness. Our movement towards the front has had a very high speed; several times the average speed of the world. If we maintain this speed, or even increase it, we will certainly reach the frontiers of science and break through these frontiers and move forward; this will happen. The youth of our country must believe this; one of the ways to believe it is this. Today, a young person comes here and speaks; they present new ideas, new points, and new suggestions with a good spirit. Distinguished and great professors in science, in art, in calligraphy, in other fields come and speak; they say new matters, new points. These must be reflected so that the youth of our country can believe.

Another point I must mention is that the distinctions of a society in these mental, intellectual, and scientific fields must serve the elevation of humanity. Today, this is not the case in the world; today, in the world, neither science serves the elevation of humanity, nor art, nor other things. Well, one example of art is cinema. The pinnacle of world cinema is Hollywood. How much do the artistic devices of the world help human ethics, human spirituality, and hope for humanity? The opposite is true; it cannot be said to be zero, but rather below zero! That is, they destroy the foundations of ethics, the foundations of thought, and the elevation of humanity. Today, in the world, art is not in the service of human elevation; science is the same. Science serves capitalism, serves the wealthy. Human knowledge today is in the service of those who own large economic companies; they start wars, they kill people, they commit mass killings; science is in their service. Science is not in the service of the deprived people of Afghanistan. The science that went to Afghanistan is the same airplane that flies over them and bombs them. The science that came to Iraq that day was the chemical weapons that brought Halabja to that state. In these regions, science is like this. Science in the Western countries is the same. Yes, it has raised the wealth of a group, a minority; that wealth has caused science to advance; but science has become a tool for discrimination and social imbalance and the regression of societies. We must turn this around.

The essence of science is not like this. Science is inherently a divine phenomenon, a divine blessing, a divine gift; art is the same, artistic talents are the same; all of these are divine gifts. It is human choice and selection that places these gifts in the right or wrong path. The materialistic, godless human of industrial civilization has placed these in the service of non-God, while the divine, spiritual human of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic world can place all of these in the service of humanity. This must be our goal, this must be our focus. We must place the distinctions of society in the service of human spirituality.

What I want to say in conclusion - as the call to prayer is approaching - is that fortunately, we witness signs of genius, distinctions, and superior talents throughout the country; we must appreciate this. The officials of the country, among their most essential tasks, must do this. Today, among the suggestions made, one was that distinguished professors should be concentrated, be given attention in certain places, and their presence should be utilized; this is completely correct. Distinguished youth should be treated the same way. The Elites Foundation - which, thanks be to God, has made good efforts - should pursue this as well. We must strengthen this innovative current of society that is genuinely engaged in creativity. God willing, this will lead to a good future for the country.

I am happy with today's meeting. I commend all of you dear brothers and sisters to God. I thank you for these books, writings, and medals (2) that you dear ones have kindly given us here. I hope, God willing, that all of you will receive the grace and favor of the Lord.

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