Statements in Meeting with a Group of Students and Student Organizations

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and infallible progeny, especially the remainder of God on the earth.

It brings me great joy and happiness to meet with you in person — a session after two years of deprivation from this sweet and sincere gathering — and also the speeches that took place. Of course, I must say that some of the gentlemen spoke very quickly — except for the last speaker, Mr. Panahi, who spoke a bit more calmly, and I understood his words better; the other friends spoke very quickly — I understood some points, and some I did not; you must definitely give me your written notes so that I can look at them later.

What I want to say regarding this matter is just a brief word, and then we will enter our discussion. The essence of all the points you raised is heartfelt; these are heartfelt words, and a person likes to hear them. However, many of these questions have convincing answers; many of these criticisms have problem-solving responses; it is not the case that the issues that have come to your mind or your group and you expressed here are truly a dead end; no, many of these have answers. Of course, in your discussions, there were also suggestions that some of those suggestions may indeed be practical and feasible, but the main focus was on criticism. In many of the criticisms — I do not say all — our problem is that you do not have dialogue with the relevant officials; this must be resolved.

Well, I — the discussion is not about the present, it is about forty years ago — used to go to Tehran University one day a week — without exception — and students would gather to raise their questions, and I would answer them; many knots would be untied, many grievances would be resolved. There were also places where the issue had no answer; we understood that we had to go do something. This needs to be addressed somehow. I have advised the officials; both ministers should come and talk to you, and the officials of various agencies — for example, the General Staff was mentioned, the IRGC was mentioned — they should come and speak, they should come and explain. Many of these discussions can be explained. Yes, there may be places that cannot be explained, well, the other side understands that they must go do something, take action. This was a point I wanted to mention for you to pay attention to.

And also, now that the discussion has turned to the parliament and the objection to the parliament and the request from me to withdraw the title of revolutionary from this parliament. Well, the representatives of this parliament, many of them are the same young people of yesterday in your position; that is, many of them are young people who a few years ago, like you, would come and stand, criticize, speak, and raise issues; they are revolutionary, it is not that they are not revolutionary. Of course, I do not know each one individually, but I judge based on the collective; the collective is not bad, it is good; both in the government and in the parliament and in some other sectors, the collective is good. Now, there may be some criticisms of some.

In any case, I enjoyed your words today, know this; that you sit, think, study the aspects of the issues, reach a conclusion, and express it here with clarity, this is something desirable and useful for me.

And now, the topics I want to present; the first point is a word of admonition, I want to give you dear ones an admonition. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) wrote in a letter to his dear son Imam Hasan (peace be upon him), "Revive your heart with admonition!" This is what Amir al-Mu'minin says, especially to someone like Imam Hasan, his beloved son; and it is interesting to note that Amir al-Mu'minin wrote this letter on his way back from Siffin amidst various issues that were piling up on him; a letter that is in Nahj al-Balagha, it is not bad to refer to it, look at it and read it. Revive your heart with admonition; now admonition is necessary.

The admonition I want to present today is this verse from Surah Maryam, which is one of the striking verses of the Quran that truly every time a person remembers this verse, it shakes them. It says: "And warn them of the Day of Regret when the matter has been decided while they are in heedlessness;" that is, our Prophet! To those who have fallen into heedlessness, tell them and warn them about the "Day of Regret"; the Day of Regret is the Day of Resurrection, which is described as the Day of Regret. "When the matter has been decided" means when it is too late and nothing can be done; "the matter has been decided" means this. [It says] warn them of that day, make them fearful. A person on the Day of Resurrection sees that sometimes they could have gained a great reward here with a small action; a small movement in this world could have had great, lasting, profitable effects here, and they did not do that; a person feels regret. [Or] in this world, they could have avoided a painful punishment by refraining from a movement, avoiding a word, and avoiding an action; they did not do it, they did not strive. Let us decide to act correctly, let us decide to speak correctly, let us decide to plan correctly; let us decide; the Day of Regret is a day of hardship. And these actions, these decisions can be made in youth; it is easier than the lifetime of my age and the lives of people like me. We sometimes see examples of that great regret in the world; something slips away from us, it dies, we regret why we did it this way, why we did not do it that way; of course, this is much smaller compared to the regret of the Day of Resurrection, thousands of times smaller than that regret, but nonetheless, it is regret. Fortunately, you today do not have this regret because you are young; this pertains to people like us who have passed through youth and middle age, we had things to do, we did not do them; we had things we should not have done, we did them.

You should appreciate this opportunity that is before you; at your age, you may have sixty or seventy years of life ahead of you; appreciate this opportunity that is in service to you and before you; this is our admonition today.

And now, the topic I have prepared revolves around the university and university issues. Now, in your discussions, one of the gentlemen had a brief criticism regarding the university or perhaps the students; I have something to say regarding university issues; I have both opinions and suggestions that I will now mention: firstly, the role of the university and the necessity of this role in the near future, secondly, some of the opportunities that exist, some of the threats that exist, and then a few practical points for students. This is our discussion today, and if God willing, you have the patience and I can express it, I will present these.

From the very beginning of the revolution, the issue of the university was raised as a fundamental issue; that is, when the revolution was formed, it had goals, it had great goals: transforming individual and dictatorial rule into popular governance; transforming dependence in the policies of the country and abroad into independence and the important goals that the revolution had; but in addition to these goals, it had several immediate operational programs ahead; the issue of the university was one of these programs. Now, for example, another issue was the security of the country, the security of the borders, internal security, which were fundamental and important issues that were at the forefront of the revolution and the revolution dealt with; one of them was the issue of the university.

The issue of the university was important in that it was a reality and a reality that was also needed; however, there were two perspectives on the university: one perspective was the revolutionary perspective and the other was the perspective of the regressive anti-revolutionary current towards the university. That second perspective had to be transformed into the revolutionary perspective; hence, it was a challenge; the issue of the university has been one of the challenging issues since the very first days of the revolution; thus, you see that Imam established the Cultural Revolution Headquarters in those early days.

Now, one of the gentlemen referred to the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution; well, this council was formed based on a study, it was not that they wanted to create a council without reason. Before this council, the predecessor of this council was the Cultural Revolution Headquarters that Imam himself established; of course, the Supreme Council was also established by Imam, but after the Headquarters. In those early days, Imam established a Cultural Revolution Headquarters to manage the universities. You see, this indicates the importance of the university from Imam's perspective. Imam (may God’s peace be upon him) also made important statements about the university that indicate that the issue of the university was a top-tier challenging issue of the revolution.

Well, what is the contradiction between the two perspectives I mentioned? One is that the revolution viewed the university as a place for nurturing elites for the advancement of the country and solving the country's problems; the revolutionary view of the university is this; nurturing elites to solve the country's problems, to advance the country, to compensate for the two or three hundred years of backwardness of the country; this is how the revolution viewed the university. While the regressive and anti-revolutionary current did not have this view of the university at all; they established and managed the university in the country for the purpose of creating pawns, so that individuals from within the nation and from the nation would do what they wanted to do from outside. This is a lengthy story, this is a very long issue; a neo-colonial policy.

Unfortunately, young people read few books. I do not know how many books you have read about colonialism and neo-colonialism and such matters, how much you know. Well, Europeans at one point in time — from the seventeenth century — first the Portuguese, then the Spanish, and then others — were busy colonizing the world; that is, they were seizing countries and administering the weak countries with bloodshed and violence and were plundering their interests. In the twentieth century, after about three or four centuries of colonization, they reached the conclusion that direct colonization no longer works; a new policy emerged, and that policy was to train individuals in the target countries so that those individuals would do the same things that the colonizers intended to do, say the same things that they intended to say, and carry out the same actions in the country that the colonizers intended to carry out; this is the goal. So the view of the university and nurturing elites and recognizing elites in the target countries for the Westerners was what I am saying; this is called neo-colonialism. In this regard, books have been written, many research materials have been produced that it is good to look at. The regressive and anti-revolutionary view of the university was this; well, this is completely in contradiction with the revolutionary view.

Another challenge regarding the universities was that the revolution viewed the university as a center for producing knowledge, a center for growing knowledge, so that they could advance knowledge — first learn, then produce and advance — to secure national power with knowledge. Because knowledge and science give power to a nation and a country; this was the view of the revolution. The view of that regressive and anti-revolutionary current was absolutely not such; they did not expect the universities — not just our universities; the universities of the target countries — to produce knowledge; no, they wanted our universities to absorb the remnants of Western knowledge and, in fact, to learn that obsolete or less useful commodity and to be deprived of producing knowledge. That is, truly, knowledge, in the true sense of the word, would not progress and develop in these countries; this was their goal. Every innovative scientific movement in any field in these countries has been suppressed. These are realities, these are not claims, these are events that have occurred. Well, this was another challenge. They wanted to produce "consumptive scientists" and a "consumptive society" with the university. A "consumptive scientist" means someone who consumes Western knowledge, and not advanced knowledge, but backward knowledge, obsolete knowledge. A "consumptive society" means that when this consumptive educated scientist comes into society, when they take on management, they create a consumptive society, producing a market for the consumption of Western products. This was the goal of the university; this was the view of the university.

Another challenging issue regarding the universities was that the goal of the revolution was to create a religious university, so that when the youth of the country come to the university and stay there for a few years and then come out, they should come out more religious than when they entered the university; however, their goal was exactly the opposite; they wanted to secularize the university and they did. Of course, they were not very successful in this goal, but they did everything they could. The reason I say "they were not successful" is that in that university built by the tyrant and planned by the West, people like Hassan Baqeri emerged, a prominent martyr who was a student of the same law school at Tehran University; or several of these nuclear martyrs were students of that time; many of the martyrs of the Sacred Defense, those commanders and prominent figures, were students of the universities before the revolution. Therefore, in this goal of secularization, they were not completely successful, but nonetheless, they did everything they could, and there are bitter memories that some of them are not even worth mentioning, and some are not suitable for this session and this short time we have. Therefore, the issue of the university has been a challenging issue between the revolutionary current and the anti-revolutionary current since the very first day.

Well, what did the revolution do for the university? The great work that the revolution did for the university was to give identity to the university, and consequently, to give identity to the Iranian nation. The revolution gave the nation a sense of identity, ideals, a sense of personality and independence, and a clear vision; these are the things that the revolution did for the Iranian nation. Naturally, when a national movement, national identity-building, and national ideal-building takes place regarding the nation, the ones who benefit the most are the university youth and the student youth, with the feelings they have, with the awareness they have, with the purity and cleanliness they have. The university felt a sense of identity, and this sense of identity led to the university and the student body not feeling weakness and humiliation in front of the Western powers; exactly the opposite of what it was before the revolution; that is, the student of Tehran University, even though they knew that those who had come and fortified themselves in this university were receiving help from the Soviet embassy and were relying on Soviet policies, boldly confronted them, stood up to them, and cleansed Tehran University. Or those students who went to seize the American embassy as a center of conspiracy against the Islamic system understood what they were doing; they were grappling with the power of America. They did not feel weak; they felt powerful; this is the identity; this is the sense of identity, the sense of independence, the sense of personality; this was given to the university.

Then, I think the students were among the most who joined the IRGC; that is, in the early days, students came and became members of the IRGC. The IRGC at that time was considered a center of national and revolutionary power, which was indeed true and still is. They went and became members, and being someone who joined the IRGC meant that we are ready to confront, to struggle, to stand against the great powers of the world; this was identity-building for the university. It was a sense of independence, a humiliation of the first-rate powers of the world.

That day, the young student felt the sweetness of independence; today, you do not feel that sweetness of independence; you have lived your entire life in a country that is perhaps one of the most independent countries in terms of politics; that is, [not] following and obeying [the great powers]. You have not tasted that humiliation of subservience at all, you have not felt it, hence you young people today do not know independence; the youth of that day did feel it; those of us who were in the field of struggle felt it very much; the student youth also understood, they saw the behaviors of the court and the government and the officials and such in front of America one way, in front of Europe another way; they saw these things; they had seen that humiliation, hence they truly accepted independence as a sweet phenomenon.

Well, therefore, at first, the revolution achieved great successes in the challenges related to the university. We do not say that the university was completely transformed into the university desired by the revolution and Islam; no, no one makes such a claim, but it was able to carry out a correct, firm, and commendable movement regarding the university in the face of the anti-revolutionary current; it gave identity to the university, it gave personality to the university. A number of students at that time coordinated with a group in Qom, held extensive sessions to arrange books related to the humanities, which of course was not very successful, but it required courage; they did this; professors from Tehran and a number of students and some Islamic thinkers in Qom prepared a comprehensive collection of books. Such works were carried out in those early days.

Then, Islamic associations were formed in the universities of the country, and then the student and professor mobilizations were formed, which were the flags of the revolution; the Islamic associations, in the true sense of the word, were considered the flags of the revolution at that time; and good discussions took place, deep discussions took place. I was connected; that is, the Islamic associations had referred to Imam, and Imam had introduced me to contact with them; I was in constant contact with the group of associations and the youth related to them. We had numerous sessions in this Amir Kabir University, we had various discussions; we had good deep theoretical discussions. Well, this was the first step, but it did not mean that the confrontation was over; no, it was not that now with this success of the revolutionary current, the anti-revolutionary current had retreated and abandoned the university and the challenge was over; no, it was not like that. The challenge continued, the confrontation continued, and thus over these many years — [these] several decades — there have been ups and downs in the university, there have been rises and falls that are a lengthy story. This, in my opinion, could be the subject of research; one of the essential research works could be the history of the universities of the country after the revolution; their ups and downs, their rises and falls, the transformation of their people, who they were, where they went, what their fate was, who replaced them. These are important matters that could be the subject of a detailed and good research work.

Now, what I want to conclude from these points and express is that today the Islamic Republic can, first of all, be proud of its university; secondly, it is obliged to have concerns about the university. Now, I will explain both a little. However, [that] the Islamic Republic can be proud of the university is because today’s university is truly incomparable to the university of the early revolution. Yes, that day was more enthusiastic [and] there were more enthusiastic movements — well, it was the early revolution — but today’s universities in our country are truly incomparable to the universities we had at the beginning of the revolution.

[Firstly] in terms of the number of students; at that time, the number of students in all the universities of the country was about 150,000; today the number of students is in the millions; now, apart from the graduates and those who have graduated, the actual number of students is several million. In terms of quantity, it is truly incomparable; the state and non-state universities.

Secondly, in terms of professors; [according to] the report that was given to us at that time, all the professors of the universities of Tehran at the beginning of the revolution were about five thousand; today we have tens of thousands of professors, among whom there are prominent and distinguished professors; that is, it is truly commendable, the number of professors is like the number of students.

Then, significant scientific progress; at that time, we had nothing commendable in the universities in terms of scientific work; it is truly like this; now, there may have been a time when a talented young person had done something in a corner that we may not have known about, but the university as a whole, as a collection, had no significant and noteworthy scientific movement; today, thanks to God, by divine grace, significant and great scientific works are being carried out in the university, and it continues to be done by professors, by workshops, by talented students.

The training of distinguished elites; how many elites do we have in the country today? Now, some of the elites leave the country, some also mourn that [they] have left the country; well, yes, we wish that the elites stay in the country, but the number of elites who are in the country is several times more than those who have left; fortunately, our universities are very good in these respects.

The presence of university graduates in government management; this is very important. We have had good managers in various periods; we have had good managers; that now you protest against a certain government and its officials does not mean that there were no prominent and good managers and responsible people in that government; why; there have been very good managers [and] there are still; now there are those who still, in colloquial terms, have the smell of milk from the university, present in the government and in the parliament and such; this is one of the honors of the university of the country.

Then, the presence of outstanding Islamic and religious figures; it is not that I am unaware of the intellectual and religious and behavioral problems of today’s universities; I am not completely uninformed, but the presence of religion in the universities of the country is a completely prominent, remarkable, and inspiring presence; certainly in the Islamic world, we do not have this many young people who are devoted, who are engaged in i'tikaf, who perform recommended prayers, who attend congregational prayers, who are engaged in supplication, who hold the Quran in the universities; we do not have such a thing in any part of the Islamic world, and here, thanks be to God, it exists. Therefore, today the Islamic Republic can truly be proud of its universities. I said this does not mean that today’s university is the same university that the revolution wanted; no, but this university is a university that can be truly proud of.

And now the necessity of concern; why should we have concerns about the university? Because that dependent regressive anti-revolutionary current had connections to foreign roots, and those roots still exist and support it, and that current is being supported from within; that current still exists and is active. The colonial policies of the West have not given up; that neo-colonial policy that I briefly mentioned is still in place and is working; think tanks and, as they say, "think tanks" are thinking, budgeting, and working on our university; therefore, we must have concerns; the challenge still exists.

Well, now you compare this university and the impact of this university on the country and on the issues of the country with the impact of the 150,000-student universities of the early revolution; well, this impact is many times greater. Therefore, if the enemy can cause destruction within the university, its effects and harms and damages will be several times greater than those of the early revolution; because the university is vast, it is large, it has many young people, it has eloquent individuals, it has active student movements, it has artists, and so on. Therefore, we must now have concerns.

What should we be concerned about? What point is more deserving of concern from the officials, the university community, and you students? In my opinion, first and foremost, it is the identity-erasure from the university and the ideal-erasure from the university; that is what should be the primary concern and what we should be worried about; we must think about this; everyone must think about this; both university managers, and scientific activists in the university like professors and researchers, and you students and the officials of the country must think about this.

Today, you hear in many statements that are circulated in newspapers and in the virtual space, the issue of ideology-erasure is presented as a necessary task; this is the same as identity-erasure. Ideology, thought, values, the identity of a nation. Today, the qibla of these people is America, and the Americans constantly emphasize American values that American values say this, American values want this — American values mean the same ideology — [but] they are not willing to learn this from America. That it is said that ideology-erasure must take place within, means that the intellectual identity of society, of which the university and the student are the most important manifestations, must be erased; identity-erasure means that the ideological foundations and historical and national approaches of a country are belittled, the past of a country is belittled, the past of the revolution is belittled, the great works that have been done are minimized; and of course, there are flaws, and these flaws are magnified tenfold; identity-erasure means this. Then, instead of this identity, the ideological system of the West should be replaced; one example of this is the American 2030 document, which is a manifestation of Western neo-colonial domination in our time; that is one of its examples.

Well, thanks to the revolution, the great legacy of thought and culture in the country was revived; this must be erased or diminished; [this is the enemy's goal]. Today, we have tens of millions of young people in the country who are ready to ascend to the peaks; that is, truly today, the young people of our country are ready — now some with religious and revolutionary motivations, some not, they may not have revolutionary and religious motivations, but they are ready, ready for scientific movement and ascent to the peaks of honor and national dignity — these must be stopped, they must be discouraged, they must turn their backs on the peaks, they must be ungrateful for the path they have walked, they must blow cold and poisonous breaths into the trumpet of despair and discourage the entire youth community. Today, this work is being done; we must stand against it; we must stand against it. You who come here and speak with this courage, with this power [it truly brings joy to a person; I truly enjoy it; a person likes this ability to speak and good logic] — [they want] to cool this down with temptation, to discourage it, to inject a sense of deadlock into it so that it feels that nothing can be done, that it is a dead end, that it is useless; this is what is being done. This was identity-erasure.

Ideal-erasure [also] means making individuals indifferent to poverty, corruption, and discrimination; regarding these three great devils and three vile elements in the deviant society — poverty, corruption, and discrimination — that must be eliminated, must be fought against; these must be made indifferent; indifference to the dominance of Western culture, becoming less motivated regarding the indicators of the Islamic revolution. Well, the revolution has certain indicators that have shaken the world, that have aroused the resistance of countries; the indicator of standing against oppression, the indicator of not submitting to bullying, the indicator of not paying tribute; these are the indicators of the Islamic revolution, these are the indicators of Islamic Iran, these have shaken the world and the Islamic countries, have made nations aware of Iran. Every president of ours in these years with various tendencies — some of their tendencies in terms of policies and thoughts have been opposite to each other — when they appeared in a foreign country among the people, the people shouted slogans for them and expressed their affection for them; what is the reason? Why does the flag of the Islamic Republic get raised in various countries, while the flag of America is burned? These indicators have shaken the world, and then [they want] to diminish these indicators inside the country and make individuals indifferent to them. The indicator of returning to pure Islam and rejecting backwardness and regression, the indicator of standing in the Palestinian issue, which I will hopefully say a word about Palestine at the end of my speech.

Well, these are the main concerns; that is, this concern must be had. Now [that] those who erase identity, those who erase ideals, those who erase independence, who are they, how many are they, how successful are they, is another discussion; this discussion is up to you; sit in your sessions and discuss these, investigate, find out, but know that such a thing exists, which of course you should already know. These are the concerns.

Perhaps, for example, this concern existed ten years ago, [but] today this concern is greater; why? Let me tell you this: today the world is on the verge of a new order; a new international order is ahead for the world, in contrast to the bipolar order that existed twenty-some years ago — America and the Soviet Union; the West and the East — and in contrast to the unipolar order that Bush Sr. announced twenty-some years ago. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Marxist system of the world and the socialist governments, Bush said today the world is a world of a new global order, the unipolar order of America; that is, America is at the head of the world. Of course, he was mistaken; he misunderstood. From that twenty years ago, twenty-some years ago until today, America has become weaker day by day; it has become weaker day by day; both in itself and in its domestic policies, and in its foreign policies, and in its economy, and in its security, in all things, America has become weaker from twenty years ago until today, but nonetheless, today the world is on the verge of a new order. This Ukraine war, in my opinion, should be viewed with a deeper perspective; this war is not merely a military attack on a country. The roots of this movement that a person observes today in Europe are deep-rooted, and complex and difficult futures are anticipated to exist.

Well, if we assume that this assumption of ours is correct and the world is on the verge of a new order, then all countries, including our Islamic country, have a duty to participate in this new order — both in terms of hard presence and soft presence — so that they can secure the security of the country, and the interests of the country and the nation, and not be sidelined, not lag behind. Well, if it is decided that the country wants to carry out such a great task, that is, to have a hard and soft presence in the formation of the new global order, who bears the greatest responsibility? Who are the front lines? The students, the university community; that is, you must be ahead of everyone; you must be the most influential class. Well, if the concern I mentioned — that identity-erasure and ideal-erasure — is a reality regarding the university, then this concern will be greater in this era because of the situation that exists.

Well, now this is an analysis, an explanation regarding university issues; of course, there is much to say in this regard, it cannot be discussed in one session; time is limited, and as you said, some friends said, multiple student sessions are necessary, which if I have the opportunity, in the conditions of Corona, it is no longer possible. God willing, Corona will end, and we will see, perhaps we can have multiple sessions in this regard. Others must also hold sessions; that is, thinkers of the country, experts of the country — we have experts; thinkers and theorists, contrary to what some friends said, exist in the country; it is not that they do not exist — must sit, hold sessions, and talk. In these areas, much needs to be discussed, and there are many things to say; we also have many things to say that I will now skip.

I have a few recommendations; my first recommendation to you students is to avoid passivity and despair; be careful; that is, take care of yourselves, take care of your hearts, be careful not to fall into passivity, not to fall into despair. You must be the center of injecting hope into other sectors. Yes, there are disarray in various sectors, but are these disarray unresolvable? Absolutely not; these are resolvable. There are good managers, they exist, God willing, they can, they do, as many great works have been done until now. Fifteen years ago, a scientific movement was raised; who would have believed that it would reach this point; thanks be to God, this movement has progressed, great works have been done; in technology, in health and treatment, in health, in many areas, great works have been done, and great works can be done in other areas as well. Therefore, the first issue I recommend is that you exercise piety; piety in the same sense that I mentioned in the meeting with the officials; piety means constantly taking care of oneself and being vigilant. Take care of yourselves so that you do not fall into despair and hopelessness and [that] it cannot be done and it is useless and such statements. This is our first recommendation. If you ignore this recommendation, not only will the role of the student diminish, but the other engines of movement forward will also slow down; that is, it will have a negative impact on them as well.

Young people of your age saved the country during the Sacred Defense; they truly saved the country; the children of your age. At that time, many said it cannot be done; I was in the middle of the field, that is, not in the battlefield, but in the middle of military operations and military decision-making and such, we were present, we saw; some said: "Sir! It is useless, it cannot be done, it is impossible, nothing can be done"; that is, let the Saddam forces that came to within ten kilometers of Ahvaz stay there, nothing can be done; there were those who said this at that time. Young people like you came to the middle of the field and did what astonished the whole world. Here, after Khorramshahr had been liberated, a delegation of several heads of Islamic countries, led by that Mr. Sekoutoure, who was the president of Guinea — a group of seven or eight heads of Islamic countries — came here for mediation; after the liberation of Khorramshahr, they came here. Once or twice before that, they had come, and I was the president and met with them. This time they came, Sekoutoure said this time that we came, Iran's situation is different from the past. Why? Because Khorramshahr had been liberated, Khorramshahr had been recaptured. This is how it is; the impact of advancements in the world is like this. Young people of your age were able to do this; you can too.

Of course, some of the previous generations of you fell short here, they fell short in this regard; that is, where they should not have despaired, they should not have lost hope, they despaired, and this despair took them out of the field, and some of them exited badly! Now, some just exited, but some, in addition to exiting from the field of revolutionary struggle, became the same voice as others. Well, this is the first recommendation: be careful not to turn your back on the horizon, not to turn your back on the peaks, always move towards the peak and towards the bright horizon.

The next recommendation is to engage in intellectual work. You see, two things are necessary in the university: knowledge and thought. Knowledge without thought becomes problematic; knowledge that is without thought goes wrong; it becomes weapons of mass destruction and atomic weapons and chemical weapons and some other scientific phenomena that are making humanity miserable; knowledge that does not have correct thought accompanying it, and moves without thought or with wrong thought becomes this. Our recommendation regarding knowledge, the universities have indeed performed well and made progress. I have recommended thought a lot, it seems that this is harder; it seems that not much work has been done in this area.

One of the important tasks is intellectual work; my recommendation is this: sit and think. You are talented, you are good thinkers, you can think; sit and think. Of course, thinking also requires guidance, a teacher of thought is also necessary. If we move without thought, movements will zigzag and will cause stagnation and will cause regression and such things; we must think in all areas, which of course some of you mentioned in your discussions. In the level of managing the country as well, thought plays a significant role. Now, I recommend to you students — now the discussion of managers is separate — sit down and work on the issue of thought.

Thought determines the "musts" and "must nots"; knowledge tells us the "realities"; thought tells us the "musts", tells us the "must nots"; this is very sensitive. This thought must be placed in the right direction; if you do not manage the thought correctly, it may go astray. Now, of course, I mention fewer names, [but] the late Mr. Misbah (may God’s peace be upon him) was a teacher of thought; of course, he also did political work and had political thoughts, I have no discussion about them, [but] regarding intellectual matters, he was a guide and mentor who could be a reference and refuge. Such people are needed to be teachers of thought; just as knowledge requires a teacher, thought also requires a teacher; this is one of these [issues]. Now, I have noted two or three other points regarding thought, [but since] time is passing, I will skip them.

The next recommendation is to engage with the issues of the country. When a person looks at the issues of the country from afar, it is one way, [but] when they come into contact with the issues, it is another way; sometimes it makes a difference. Now, for example, the issue of water was raised by one of the friends; well, the issue of water is one that when you enter, make contact, investigate, and research, you reach conclusions that may differ from the conclusions that were stated here. Engage with the issues of the country, see the issues up close, understand them, work on them, focus on them. It is not necessary that now, for example, your population and the organization you are in reach all the issues of the country; no, focus on one issue, two issues, think about those issues, work on them, follow them, research them; the results of your research will be utilized.

We now have young student groups whose research results are utilized in the agencies; we have them. Of course, I do not want to name names; there are those whose research results are even considered in places and in those matters where there was little attention and consideration for the work of young people; [there are] some cases where recommendations were made and support was given, and the results of the young people's research were taken into account and worked on.

Now, for example, regarding this year’s slogan, [the issue] of knowledge-based companies; now one of the friends did not consider the increase of knowledge-based companies beneficial. Now, because they spoke quickly, a person did not understand their words correctly; I think they considered the increase [of them] harmful; no, think about this, work on this issue of knowledge-based companies. One of the areas where you can think, work, and make contact is this issue of knowledge-based companies and enterprises, with its wide scope; which, well, naturally has a close relationship with the university. What can you do regarding knowledge-based companies? Now, those who can, form knowledge-based groups; my discussion is not that, my discussion is the student discussion; students can create discourse; discourse can be created regarding knowledge-based companies. When a topic becomes discourse within the country and becomes a commonly understood public topic, it naturally flows; this is discourse creation.

Or create a movement intellectually; create a movement against the disruptive elements of knowledge-based companies, for example, like raw selling, that is, selling materials without added value — let’s say it this way — which unfortunately exists in our country and is very common; work on this issue to produce a discourse against this. Or consumptive imports, non-productive imports; part of our imports is imports that must be carried out, it is necessary, but some imports are consumptive imports. Some, of course, are necessary, there are some cases that must be carried out, I believe in expert views in these areas, whatever the expert says, but generally, consumptive imports that have domestic counterparts are harmful to the country, disruptive; they are among the elements that are opposed to and, so to speak, contradictory to the formation of a knowledge-based movement in the country. Or, for example, consider smuggling. This is also something that students can do.

[The recommendation] after that is to demand; the nature of a student is to demand; demand and ask the officials to do serious work; one of the things you can do is to warn the officials against performative actions; ask them to do serious and real work; this is one of the correct and rightful demands of students that they can ask for.

Of course, there is no need to be harsh and aggressive! Some think that the way to remind is to enter harshly, criticize, fight, make noise; no, there is no need — of course, we also did some of these things in our youth; when I see sometimes some of the harshness of the youth, I remember my own youth, we have memories — one can enter the field of demanding logically and intelligently and completely seriously, and when it becomes that way, the student is no longer accused of whining; when you speak harshly, you are accused, they say, "Sir! The student comes and just complains"; no, when you demand logically and seriously and with reasoning, you are not accused of whining. Moreover, this demanding will prevent some from saying, "Well, since, for example, the management structure of the government is revolutionary — the parliament is revolutionary, the government is revolutionary, and so on — what is the role of revolutionary students?" No, on the contrary, it can be said that their role is sometimes greater, because their opportunity for presence, their opportunity for activity is greater today. One of the areas is this demanding that you can carry out.

Now, I used the example of this year’s slogan that production should be knowledge-based; there are many other examples where demanding can be done, such as the issue of economic justice, the issue of culture, the issue of lifestyle; these are all issues where demanding can truly be done and serious action can be requested; one can ask the officials, but I said with logic and correct reasoning.

One point that exists in demanding and in all student actions, in my opinion, is important, is that students must strengthen their ideological foundations; students must strengthen their ideological foundations, their faith foundations, which also has its own specific paths, [including] studying and associating with scholars. In the supplication of Abu Hamzeh, when it is said to God Almighty, why do I not find the state of supplication in some cases, why do I not find the state of attention, one of the things that is mentioned as a reason from Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) is that "Or perhaps you have distanced me from the gatherings of scholars." Now, the meaning of "scholars" is not necessarily the clergy; [that is] a scholar of ethics, a scholar of religion; one must participate in the gatherings of these, must be present, must benefit from them. Therefore, strengthening ideological foundations, deepening intellectual work, delving into the issues of the country, examining solutions and experiences. Examine the solutions. Now, you here, for example, criticize something, then you say, for example, these works must be done, as a suggestion and solution; well, how much have you examined this solution? How much have you experienced it? How much have you assessed its surroundings? These are important. If these works have been done, well, it is very valuable, and naturally, its value increases.

This also that I say "do not act harshly and aggressively," do not take it to mean that I say compromise and engage in flattery; no, I have never given such recommendations to the youth and students and will not say to flatter this and that; no, absolutely not; that is not the meaning; the meaning is that one must move and speak with logic. Without logic, with harsh and aggressive words, with sarcasm — which unfortunately has become common in the virtual space, these sarcastic remarks and such things are very harmful — [it cannot be done;] if you act this way, then some of the weak performances will not be attributed to the Islamic Republic and the revolution; that is, a distinction will be made between the ideals of the revolution, what the revolution wanted, and, for example, my weak performance as a manager; this distinction is also one of the necessary things.

Another recommendation I want to make is that in demanding — which I recommend to you — be careful that the enemy cannot exploit your rightful demands; both in the framing of the issue and in the solutions you present, try not to find common ground with the enemy; do not find a common denominator with the enemy; [because] they also present the issues, they also present the problems, they also present the framing of the issue, and they also present the so-called remedy and conclusions. Your framing of the issue must differ from theirs, and your conclusions must be completely different from theirs, because they are the enemy, they are biased, and they do not do the work out of goodwill.

Another recommendation regarding international activities. Of course, I have previously recommended this; I have recommended once or twice that our students, our organizations, have international activities. Now, there are many young student groups and non-student groups in the world that are actively working against the policies of global arrogance, against America, against European and Western policies; they exist in Europe, there may be some in America [I do not know much about America, but there are many groups in Europe]; there are many Islamic groups in Islamic countries; if you can establish healthy connections with them, it has two benefits: the first benefit is that you give them strength and help them; the second benefit is that you introduce the Islamic Republic to them; that is, you as a student introduce the Islamic Republic to that French or Austrian or English student that this is the Islamic Republic; if you carry out this movement, it is good. Of course, I have spoken about this before, and this work of yours, in addition to introducing the Islamic Republic, also serves as a defensive shield for the Islamic Republic; because against the Islamic Republic, the news empire is very active; this is actually considered a response to that as well. However, I want to emphasize a few neighboring countries; strengthen your connections with student groups in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan as much as you can. They have a lot of heart and spiritual readiness with you, and establish connections.

My last recommendation pertains to the young people who were like you until a few years ago, and today, thanks be to God, have entered managerial ranks, whether in the parliament, which you — one of the friends — thoroughly washed them, or in government management, they exist. Well, this is very valuable; certainly, without the young, motivated, and capable believers, the heavy burden of the Islamic Republic will not move forward; without a doubt. The reason I said in this session of yours a few years ago "young Hezbollah managers" is that without young, motivated, and faithful management, work will not progress, young people must be there. However, my recommendation to these dear young people who have now entered the field of work — whether in the legislative, judicial, or executive branches — is that they should not consider their current responsibility as a stepping stone for higher responsibilities; this is my first recommendation and my more important recommendation. It should not be that we say: "Well, this creates a background for us for higher responsibilities"; no, stick to this work. Work for God, focus on the issue that has been assigned to you; whether in the economic sector, the political sector, the cultural sector; various sectors. Focus on the issue and pursue the solution to the issue that has been assigned to you; this is necessary. Our expectation from the young people who have taken on responsibilities is that you should make solving the issue your goal. This is also this [matter].

Well, our discussions regarding student issues have concluded, I just want to say one sentence: Quds Day is approaching; I think this year Quds Day is different from other years. The Palestinians, both in the past Ramadan and in this Ramadan, are showing great sacrifices, and the Zionist regime is truly committing the utmost in wickedness and crime; it is hardly conceivable that anything worse than this could happen. They do whatever they can; America supports them, Europe supports them. Palestine is both oppressed and powerful; a powerful oppressed. I once said years ago regarding the Islamic Republic that like Amir al-Mu'minin, it was both powerful and truly oppressed. Today, Palestine is like this: it is truly powerful; that is, the Palestinian youth do not allow the issue of Palestine to be forgotten; they stand against the enemy's aggression, against the enemy's crime.

Quds Day is a good opportunity for solidarity and unity with the oppressed people of Palestine and to give them spirit and strength so that they can truly be present in these fields. Of course, unfortunately, the Islamic governments have acted very poorly in this regard; they should have done much more for Palestine and worked and spoken. Now, many of them do not even act, and some are not even willing to speak correctly in favor of the Palestinian people. That we think the way to help the Palestinians is to establish relations with the Zionist regime is one of the very big mistakes. Forty years ago, the Egyptians made this mistake; Egypt and Jordan established relations with the Zionist regime; did the crimes of the Zionist regime decrease in these forty years? No, it increased tenfold. The actions that the settlers are taking today, the attacks that are taking place today on Al-Aqsa Mosque, were not there in those days; today they are committing more oppression. Now, a number of people want to repeat the experience of Anwar Sadat's Egypt forty years ago today! It is neither beneficial for themselves nor for the Palestinians, [but] it is harmful for both themselves and the Palestinians. Of course, it will not benefit the Zionist regime either; that is, they will not gain any advantage from this. We hope that God Almighty will bring the end of the matter regarding Palestine to goodness and happiness and soon empower the Palestinians.

O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, in these last days of this blessed month, encompass all the people of Iran with Your mercy and grace; the hands that have been raised in supplication during these nights, especially the dear youth, return these hands full and increase Your blessings upon our youth; encompass the Islamic world, the Shia world, with Your special favors. O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make the dear martyrs and the pure soul of the Imam pleased with us; place us in their path and in their way. O Lord! Also make this session for Yourself and accept it sincerely and purely, and make it beneficial for the speaker and the listener and the future listeners, God willing.

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