Message [Place and role of university in the country]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Gentlemen, you know that if the university in a country is reformed, that country will be reformed. Universities lie on top of the executive affairs. By reforming university, the country's affairs will be reformed; by corrupting the university, the country will be corrupted. Even one corrupt professor might have a big effect on a country, because he/ she can influence a group of students in a bad way. In their turn, they will develop into a big evil in the long run. Therefore, when reforming the university and in the cultural revolution of the university the most important thing is the professors of the university, teachers, students and so on from bottom to top. These young students should receive training by committed and responsible teachers. When they promoted to higher levels, again they should undergo training by committed teachers. When they go to university, they should be refined.

All the damages we have suffered so far have been due to universities, because they were not responsible and committed. The university did not nurture any Islamic or national thought. Those who wanted to eliminate countries like ours worked to corrupt the university. They were active everywhere, especially in university, because they knew that if university served the West, the country would follow suit. Therefore, a thing that is more necessary than anything else is that we should study the university, professors, teachers and students and what they were like in the past and what they are like now, and in which ways they have changed? Universities should be entrusted to committed individuals. Of course, universities should be opened, but with these considerations in mind. They should not think that by opening the university every problem would be resolved. Well, university can resolve problems. A bad university is better than no university. In the absence of university, people would remain ignorant, but when a corrupt university is there, it would produce students hostile to Islam and the nation.

I hope that the blessings of university will reform all strata including the deviants. The deviants are obstinate, hostile people who are difficult to rectify. They are like cancerous tumors that must be removed in a surgery. Another group may not be hostile, but devious; they should be shown the right way. The upright ones must reform the university so that this country and people would shout," We want neither America nor the Soviet to interfere in this country. We want to be ourselves and to endure with our poverty; an honorable man is prepared to live a poor life but with honor".

Sometimes back I saw a photo in which Muhammad-Rida Pahalavi was standing next to an American president whose name I do not remember now «1». I saw him standing like a helpless slave before a powerful one; he took off his glasses and was not looking at Muhammad-Rida; he was looking at something else while Muhammad-Rida was standing like a child before his master. I got very upset because the person who was ruling us was standing in that humble manner be fore an alien who needed this country and its resources. Muhammad-Rida thought he needed the American president but actually he did not need him. In fact, that president needed this country and its resources. Those whose intention is to remain servant of America, must go. But people are not generally like this although they might have some intellectual deviation. We must not be enslaved to America; we must not be dominated by America. It should not be let build our universities and army. We do not need America to do anything for us. We must stand up on our feet. Everybody must feel like this. We must come to believe that we have a rich country and that others need us. So, do your best to make this rich country stand on its feet. Do not think it is not possible. Well, they instilled this notion in the hearts and minds of many of us that without dependence on the West or the East you cannot survive. This notion was incessantly propagated. But it is possible to rebuild this country that this son and father prevented from moving forward for so many years.

We must think that we can do whatever we want. We must put our ideas into practice. You know in this short period since the onset of the war many have put these ideas into practice and made things. We must make efforts to be self-sufficient and to make our youths self-sufficient in the long run. We must all join hands to get rid of dependence on the outside world. Aliens rule over us through massive propaganda. The foreigners rule through their propaganda and heir propaganda concern such issues. Perhaps many of these professors, who were inclined toward the West or the East, propagated that we should be dependent and that we cannot lead a life without dependence". No, it is not like that.

God has willed that these two superpowers confront each other and out of fear they avoid attacking each other. They have understood that this nation has risen up and does not want to be dominated. They do not want to eliminate the whole nation; they just want to take advantage of it. They do not want universities to be abolished; they want to use the university; they want agriculture and industry to be there. They want us to provide market for their industry. Moreover, they want to take our resources and turn us to a market for them. This way, they use us. For this reason, when they feel that a nation has stood up against them like today. Muhammad-Rida thought that if he left Iran, Iran would fall apart. Well, he went and Iran did not fall apart. These two superpowers never have a genuine understanding between them. They always remain like two wolves that want to eat each other. Therefore, we must move forward with the conviction that we are powerful, that they cannot do anything and that we can do our own jobs. And as you know at the beginning of the war many assumed that in case of American involvement in the war, things would go wrong and we could do nothing. They attacked us unawareness through conspiracy and treason of some people at that time, and were able to capture some places. But when the youths stood up against them, they could not take one step further. Now they are stepping backward because they have felt that our youths, army, the revolutionary guards, Basij and others can put a halt to their progress. The nation too felt that it must check their progress; they joined the war fronts from all strata. Even from universities the students rushed to the war fronts. They were inspired by the ideas that they must check the enemy. We must move ahead and stay alive; we must have an independent life and freedom or else we will be agents to aliens. We do not want to live as slaves of the aliens. Now for Saddam life is meaningless. Do not think that Saddam is relaxed. He is confused and acts out of madness, because he sees that he is losing everything; he had been cheated into attacking Iran and now he is restively heading for hell now he is already there.

Universities, in whatever form, must have the role of preserving Iran and Islam, that is, they must impart Islamic-human education and culture. If universities are reformed, our independence and everything will be preserved. Surely, you know that in the long run we will not need anyone else in anything. Try to help with this cultural revolution, because to help with the cultural revolution is to help with your independence and freedom, because this way country will get out of the shackles of dependence. Of course, I must thank those who are committed and who always think about these issues, make efforts for Islam and for their country as they know that today the country is theirs. They did not have such a feeling before. They thought they had to work for others or that it was not possible to do anything. Today, the country is yours; it is the nation's and no power can interfere with it. We do not have any adviser in the army or the university to do anything wrong. We ourselves must preserve this country. The entire nation, especially the universities, should feel responsible in this regard. They must equip the universities so that they can build the youths. You must lay the ground for the future of this country. We should not just think about ourselves, we should think about the future of the country. Islam and the future Islam must be preserved. The future of the country must be preserved. The future generation must understand that preserving Islam and the country has started from here.

Therefore, a point that no longer needs admonishing and that you, and people in remote areas and I have felt is that America is our enemy and that this enemy should not be here. They should farm to do away with this enemy. People come and say that they are engaged in farming to get rid of the bandage of the U.S This is a feeling God has cultivated in the heart of this nation; the entire nation has felt that we must get out of this dependence. We must run our own affairs; we can do that. The main point is that will come about with the sense of capability. We should feel that we are capable. For the last three or four years the nation has been able to resolve the problems created for this nation. The nation resolved the war that was a problem; the nation will also settle other problems.

You can see that nowhere in the world has there ever been such a revolution that has borne lots of fruits with little loss. The revolution did away with foreign domination of the West and the East. This is not a simple feat. Up to now whenever the enemies have been stopped from interfering in our affairs, they have found other ways to come back and join others. Thank God, here, there is no longer any attachment. Their hands have been cut off from all things. A big change has happened to this nation and this country. The great accomplishment is that an oppressive regime was replaced with a regime that will establish justice. This is an important thing that has happened, something for which prophets offered their lives. The Prophets of Islam and our Imams did their utmost to cut short the hands of tyrants from the oppressed people. Thank God, there is a sense of harmony in Iran now, which has urged the superpowers to organize their conspiracies. God willing, however, these plots will fall flat. Hopefully, we will sit at our tablecloth to eat our own bread and cheese. We do not have to bow down to the superpowers in order to have a so and so park or a building.