Speech [The mission and role of the press in society]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

As far as the press is concerned, all of you are well aware of the prime role it plays in every country. A country's newspapers and magazines can either lead it to progress and growth, and steer it toward welfare, or do the contrary. It is unfortunate that the press and publications during the time of the previous regime were un-Islamic without any exception. They had resorted to every possible means to deviate our youth and the press was no exception. The magazines of those days dragged our youth to corruption. And after the fall of that regime and with the advent of a new trend in publications, even though most of our magazines did not contain the deviance of the previous days, they did contain another kind of deviation. In other words, as soon as they realized that they can no longer publish what they did earlier, they started replacing their magazines with articles that served the interests of the big powers.

During the early days of the Revolution, when there was no check on the mischief-makers, they took advantage of the freedom and started indulging in affairs that you are all better informed about. The authorities suddenly realized that the magazines had turned into the means of attacking and criticizing each other; and not healthy criticism but revenge-seeking. All this was and is very unbecoming for a country that has opted for an Islamic Republic. Magazines and newspapers should be published within an Islamic environment and in the service of Islam. The contents of the publications should contain healthy criticism and guidance and they should be in favor of national interest. At times, if criticism has stemmed from ill-intention, it could worsen matters. Only well-intentioned criticism can foster peace and harmony and so all writers should keep in mind that they have been vested with a divine responsibility for which they shall be held accountable by Him. All those who pick the pen to write should bear in mind that they will be questioned for what they write. Man generally lives his life thoughtlessly and so does not know himself well. One could live for forty or fifty years, believing himself to be in the service of God, while actually being under the incitation of the Satan. It is a serious responsibility to take on the publication of a magazine, both in the eyes of God Almighty and in the eyes of the people. If the focus of a magazine is not upon serving the nation, it could quite possibly lead it to destruction. If writers work selflessly for national welfare, respecting the honor of the Muslims, magazines can prove to be beneficial and will not mislead the nation.

I cannot find the time to read each and every magazine but I do see that some of them are deviated. All those who claim to work for Islam should know that their pens are often working only in the name of Islam and not in the service of Islam. You have taken a big responsibility upon your shoulders and should know that you will be questioned for it some day. Nothing will remain hidden then. Your own heart will bear witness against you; your own hands will bear witness against you. If man has committed sins, the parts of his own body will bear witness against him. Since you publish magazines for the youth, you should bear in mind that even if you publish two thousand magazines, they are read by at least five thousand people or more. If the circulation of a newspaper is two hundred thousands, about five hundred thousand people read it and if it contains deviated matter, it leads all of them astray; and that is not a small responsibility. It is certainly different from a sin that takes place in private. Sure, that is also a sin but not as great as this one. The more the circulation of your publication, the more care you need to take about its contents. Mistaken are those who think they can write whatever they want if their circulation is larger! Their responsibility is much greater. Our people who are active everywhere, are sincere and honest and, thus, the writers should bear in mind that it was these same people who brought about the present conditions in which they have been able to start their publications.

(In the previous regime) you could not dare to write even a single line and it is because of our people that you can now publish your periodicals. Thus, you are indebted to this nation. And they, on their part, have chosen Islam and want their country be governed by the Islamic laws. People should be invited to the path of Islam and the deviant forces should be guided to the right path. Their corruption should be eliminated through reasoning and not through conflict. The press is very useful, and provided that its material is educative and those involved in this field are committed people, it can play the most important function in a country. A fair person should employ his pen in the service of the people who have given him the opportunity to work in this field. Religion, too, calls for the same. Our press should play a constructive role and we should rectify the ethical values of our society.

Great efforts have been made over the past fifty years to bring deviation among our youth. All those centers of corruption, sleazy magazines, and giving an open hand to the promotion of all kinds of vices were only in order to silence the nation. However, all their plans proved to be ineffective. And since they have seen that all their propaganda could not succeed in sidetracking Islam, they are now even more determined to remove Islam from their way. Their leaders are busy indulging in corruption outside the country and their pens, too, are filled from outside the country. You should join hands and take the affairs of this country into your hands. Do not hand over this country to America or the Soviet Union lest we are forced to spend a few hundred more years in their traps. All those who are at the top of affairs- the writers, the orators, and the intellectuals- all need to wake up and examine where we were in the past, where we are now, and where we should be in the future. Everyone should join hands and get down to work. May you be blessed with God's help in employing the trust that has been placed into your hands in His service! May divine satisfaction and success be yours!

May God's peace, mercy and the blessings be upon you.