Khatami’s Address to University Students: Radical Groups Hamper the Transition from Violence to Calm

Source: Khatami.ir
Date: Monday, March 1, 2010

The public relations division of former president Mohammad Khatami’s office reports of his meeting with a group from the youth and student association of the Imam’s Line, in commemoration of the beloved prophet [Mohammad]’s birthday (peace be upon him).

Seyyed Mohammad Khatami praised those who attended the ceremony  for the prophet (peace be upon him) and the sixth [Shi’a Imam], Ja’far Sadegh. He made the following statement:

“During these blessed days of Unity Week [1], I am happy to be among you young people, who are concerned both about religion and the fate of your country.
I applaud this [joyous] occasion – [joyous both for] the Iranian people and Muslims around the world. I hope that God will give us the privilege to better understand the path of these honorable figures so that we can follow it to the greatest possible degree. When the great Revolution took place and a government based on Islam and the [teachings of the] prophet was established, it became essential to understand the realities and the potential to act upon [the elements of Islam]. This is [crucial], for understanding our duties, sustaining the achievements of the great Iranian Islamic Revolution and ridding the people of any deviations from its course.

However, there are occasional diversions from this process. In particular, when the emotions of other people are affected, they may be lead to cause even greater problems and deepen the crisis. If these digressions are not corrected, they may result in reactions that can – God forbid – damage everything.

I think this is a point in time when we should be very alert. Our society is experiencing great problems, there have been immense diversions [from the right path], and we must be alert and realistic in reacting to them. [We must] keep our ultimate goals in mind. That is why it is important to have a clear understanding [of the circumstances.]

Reform is a broad concept; it is flexible and elastic. It may be interpreted differently by different people who have their own opinions. But the reform that we have in mind – we, as people inside the Islamic Republic who support [the principles that gave way to] our Revolution – is within a framework derived from the values and guidelines of the Revolution, Islam, and the people’s will.

If there are diversions from Islam and Imam Khomeini’s path, it is our duty to warn [others] and, if possible, take legal action. It is crucial to clarify the principles of the Islamic Republic, our beliefs, and the framework for our [proposed] reforms. I have done this in my own right [whenever possible].

You are intelligent and responsible youth who strive for beliefs that are based on religious principles; beliefs that are based on our best interests. You have insight into the times that we are living in. You also want to act in the service of your people and in line with our society’s best interests. This is your motivation for gathering together.

You are a civil organization. In our times, an organization is defined by [the degree to which] it represents the people. Nowadays, referring to the “people” has become very fashionable. Everybody wants to talk on behalf of the people and present their own opinions as those of “the people’s.” But in a modern, integrated society that has an identity, civil organizations should represent the people and diverse social groups. It is important that we talk about the people and not say whatever we wish on their behalf. We should also have a better relationship with our youth, particularly on an intellectual level; we should exchange ideas and opinions with them.

Unfortunately, so far, we have been dealing with practical, day-to-day issues, and our reactions have been somewhat emotional. Instead, we should reflect on the current situation and act in a thoughtful manner.

We have powerful enemies. The Islamic Republic, too, has enemies. Iran has enemies. Iran, whose people revolted against foreign forces which used its soil as a base to expand their influence and power over the region, toppled the puppet regime, and brought in a government they themselves desired.

The Iranian Islamic Revolution and the people who made it happen, changed Iran from a safe haven for foreign powers pursuing their interests, to an influential country with slogans of “Independence” and “Freedom.”

The Islamic Republic dismantled this safe haven for expansionist powers and escaped their circle of control. It is natural that it would have many enemies. Enemies have attempted, and will continue to attempt different tricks to sabotage our government, such as the Imposed War, terrorism, and scheming a coup. These possibilities have been there before, are here today, and I think will continue to exist in the future. This is of course not to suggest that we should aggravate the situation with belligerent action. As a thoughtful and tactful nation, we must act wisely and avoid creating situations that our enemies can take advantage of.

The Islamic Republic must act in moderation. The fact that we have enemies should not compel us to act belligerently or says things that contradict Islam and the values of our Revolution. We should not act in a way that incurs a great social cost.

Security and intelligence services have done an impressive job with arresting a person who has committed great crimes [2] I hope that this arrest will lead to the discovery of our hidden problems and eradicate them. Terror and Terrorism is absolutely wrong in any [way], shape or form. A terrorist must be held responsible for his/her actions. This arrest was a great gift to the Iranian nation and all those who whole-heartedly love Iran.

We must be smart in dealing with our enemies.[ We must] be sure that the enemy doesn’t pity us. If we have problems, we ourselves should solve them. We will not wait for others to make decisions about our situation.

The art of self-governance is to carefully deflect problems and obstacles while holding onto our status and protecting our interests. It is easy to create tension, but difficult to diffuse it. The removal of tension requires intellect, wisdom, and courage; the government needs to take steps to act accordingly.

This all refers to external enemies. But we must also remain vigilant towards internal ones. It is vital to remain mindful of the enemy that drives people away from the government. We [know that we] love the Islamic Republic. [We need to consider] some of the characteristics, values, and principles of the Islamic Republic. Are we all striving to live by these principles? Indeed, reform becomes meaningful here. Protecting and loving the Islamic Republic dictates that if it were to experience any problems, we should work towards identifying and solving them in good will.

As students who follow the path that Imam [Khomeini] lay out, you must [exercise criticism]. Criticism is different from scurrility. Unfortunately, these days, some think that it is not. They are not, in fact, the same. Useful criticism consists of being able to see both sides – of removing the bad, while leaving the good to maintain the overall framework of achievements and values, the system and the Revolution. Of course, this is what reform is all about.

Go and ask those who the old system [of the Shah] resented; those who were loyal to the Imam. Clear your conscience and ask yourself: did we [actually strive for] what is going on right now, or is there a problem with the picture we see today? Ask whether these detainments and insults; this accumulated hatred; this increase in social cost and all other methodologies currently adopted are what the soldiers and leaders of the Revolution had actually hoped for. If our current situation is not what they hoped for, then we must all put our hands together to improve it and return to our old procedures.

The Revolution offered an ‘Islamic Republic,’ and people voted for it. This Islamic Republic consists of features that it must pay attention to. One of these features stipulates that the people’s opinion and consent is the basis and foundation of this system.

These days, everyone knows that every  institution must be based on the people’s consent. As such, we take pride in the fact that this consent, as a fundamental feature of governance, is clearly visible in our religion, especially in the methods of governance undertaken by the great prophet and the first Shi’a Imam, Imam Ali.

There is a term in Islamic Jurisprudence called “expansion of hand”, which means that if the immaculate does not have the mean to exercise power, he has the right to exercise it. In other words he is entitled to it [right to power], but under what conditions? ‘The expansion of hand’ is not merely having material, military and security power. It must equal the contentment of the people. Imam Ali with all his qualifications would exercise his right to power only if people gave him a mandate. If they did not, he would step aside and would not impose his rule on them. This is while he is the most competent person to rule, according to God and his prophet.

When mending the constitution, Imam [Khomeini] clearly stated that “it is not necessary for the [supreme] leader to be a jurist [or a source of immolation/Marja.] He further added that it will suffice if the leader is a religious expert, who is just, resourceful and with aptitude. A religious expert who has all those features does not have to be a jurist, since he is going to be elected by the ‘Assembly of Experts’ who are in turn elected by the people. As a result, the elected leader has the consent of the people and is approved by them and his rule is legitimate and this is very clear.”

Consent of people is an actual act that plays a crucial rule In the Islamic Republic. If people do not give their consent ‘the expansion of hand’ [to provide a legitimate mean to exercise power] does not exist. If decisions are made without public consent and the will of the civil society is besieged, then we must intervene in order to regain their trust.

If we commit to tasks that not only constrain the public’s consent, but also increase distrust and pessimism and create division in society, then we have ignored the foundations of the Islam in our Islamic republic. Being ethical is one of the most important aspects of Islamic Republic, the absense of which has created problems in the world governance.

In Islam morality is one of the most essential criteria [for a government]. It is important to look into this criterion and see whether the behavior and politics of the system is based on morality. Imam Ali says: “The one who wins by committing a sin, by deviation [from god’s path], and by immorality is not victorious. In fact he is defeated.”

In today’s world all political systems seek to justify themselves ethically. Non-followers cannot therefore be called the enemy and disposed of. This is not what the Islamic Republic sought to bring to this nation. This method is wrong. This is a departure from the methods of Islamic Republic.

In order to prevent these problems, there should be freedom of expression and freedom of speech.
What is the criterion for criticism? Who respects the rules set by Amir-al-Mo’menin [Imam Ali] nowadays: the State Media? other Media? Government supporters? or Government oppositions? Do they measure the truth based on who says what or do they measure people’s words and behavior based on truth?

The [Islamic] system should be a symbol of morality. The authorities interpret Islam continuously in ways that justifies their suppression of innocent citizens of this nation. Is it something that Islam would approve of? Is it something that we expect from an Islamic system? We should criticize these issues and the system should provide the opportunity for such active criticism.

This criticism should be [freely] presented to people and they in turn must decide on the future. That means people’s judgment should be respected. The option [to criticize] should not be taken away from a certain sector [just because they are in opposition.] Meanwhile it so happens that this sector is considerate and sympathetic [toward the Islamic Republic, making the suppression even worse]. If they [the authorities] don’t pay attention to the issues that have caused the crisis and [subsequent] protests, the dissatisfaction and distrust among people will only increase and a larger sector of the population will distance itself from the establishment. This will strengthen the presence of those who are against the foundation [of Islamic republic.]

If on the other hand the voices of the protestors are heard, then we can discuss whether our economic decisions, the current atmosphere [of fear] created due to political intimidation, and our foreign policy have served the nation’s best interests or not. Open dialogue will lead to sounder decisions without which the current crisis will only intensify to create evermore problems.

The acceptable framework for us [, reformists,] is the constitution: we want all the articles of the constitution to be executed fully and properly. Imam [Khomeini], the constitution, and our own reason all point to the same important issue that the ‘criteria is the vote of people.’ This phrase of Imam [Khomeini] means that the elections should be fair and there shouldn’t be concerns left about the way the elections were conducted and their results produced.

We should create an atmosphere where we all think of country’s interest, society’s betterment, and Iran’s honor. A place where we can focus on the real enemies: our internal enemies such as ill will, immorality, and deviation of principles as well as external enemies who want to hurt the country and the establishment.

Today, we must stand together in support of Iran, Islam, our Revolution, our people and their rights. We must ask ourselves fundamental questions, such as how are our people coping given the current political climate? How does it affect their lives? How are our resources being utilized? What is our country’s standing on the world stage?

Everything we have – whether it is our power, our economic, scientific, marketing, military or national security capabilities – have been afforded to us by our people. We are our citizens’ safe keepers and must therefore make sure that these resources are used in their best interests; not against them.

Why does the IRIB, our national broadcasting company, only instil and promote a limited perspective? I believe that many of the current challenges facing our country are a direct result of this mentality, behavior and policy. Why are we deprived of the basic freedoms that are so eloquently stated in our Constitution?

They insult reformist – those who are the face of the Revolution and sympathetic to our cause – without even giving them the ability to defend themselves against these baseless accusations and insults. What would have been right course of action would be for the national media to provide a platform for every [possible] point of view within the framework of the law.

We have always maintained and continue to assert the importance of designing a framework for our government. Of course, this framework must be in accordance with Islam and must revolve around our people and be representative of their votes. A government’s identity, in essence, is that it is derived from the people’s vote and, as such, is responsible to the people it serves. [We need] a structure that, in addition to providing freedom, respect for people’s dignity and justice for all, also abides by God’s standards of ethics and justice.

Our Republic is an Islamic one. This means that our desire is to have spirituality, ethics and justice together, elements that are all missing in this world; a fact that has caused many problems for mankind – [acting] alongside Republicanism and Islamic ideals. If our behavior and our actions have lead to the perception that the people’s vote is unimportant or that [certain] standards have been disrespected, then as guardians of our Republic and our Islamic ideals, we have the right to state that both have been tarnished.

Despite the attacks directed at us, neither we, nor our country’s youth, should cave in when it comes to these issues. We must do everything in our power to make sure that these deviations are corrected and that we return to the Islamic Republic our Revolution was founded on.

Unfortunately, there are a number of radical groups constraining any form of understanding [to be reached] that would lead to a transition of violence to calm, they further hinder the coming together of different factions.

I strongly believe that the current national climate will change for the better and many of the challenges facing our nation will be resolved if the following criteria are met: we must ensure that existing pressures are eliminated; that those who are in prison are freed; that actions [of the judiciary] are based on legal and religious criteria; that our people are provided with basic freedoms as well as their constitutional rights; and, finally, that the martial environment we currently live in is replaced with an unrestricted one, politically-speaking. Most importantly, our people must feel that there is sensitivity towards important issues such as open, free and healthy elections as well as other pertinent matters.

[1] Officially dedicated to the unity between Iranian Shi’as and Sunnis

[2] Referring to Abdolmalek Rigi’s arrest on February 23^th 2010