TEHRAN, Jun. 18 (MNA) � Leader of the Islamic Revolution has received and addressed a group of academicians and university communities on the occasion of holy month of Ramadan.


Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed the meeting on Saturday evening after breaking fast where he touched upon important issues regarding the role of universities and the academic community in advancing status of the country through attending their roles of promoting justice, production of wealth, and no less important function realization of indigenous capabilities in the path to full development of the country.

�For these very facts, my emphasis rests primarily on universities; Resistance Economy, for example is a national honor and should be realized so that it could guarantee our national sovereignty along with meeting our national needs; in the road to development, we should rely on our domestic capacities; we should accelerate the pace of scientific progress undeservedly kept backward during recent 60 or 70 years by neglect and systematic manipulation and denigration by vassal regimes who did not cared for national glory,� the Leader emphasized.

�Universities are the basis for a powerful, sovereign, prosperous and glorious Iran with a popular and morally integrated government; scientific progress, revolutionary-minded universities and students, being proud of Iranian-Islamic identity and truly acting soft war commanders are the required elements to turn Iran into a significant scientific power and a role model of democratic governance with an Islamic moral spirit in the world,� the Leader told the meeting.

�Once we ignore these factors in universities, we will have a dependent Iran in future; a country disintegrated socially, ethnically and politically with an aristocratic government; the result would be a country with heights of prosperity alongside precipice of misfortune and deprivation an obvious example of which is the American society or American Wall Street,� reiterated the Leader.

Ayatollah Khamenei then noted the significance of students and universities in shaping the future of the country; �the students today are those who would run the country in near future; this fact indicates the importance of academicians and instructors in the universities.�

�Students should always feel proud of their Iranian, Muslim and revolutionary identity; it would be considered betrayal to inculcate in them a sense of denigration and humiliation; Iran�s scientific progress, as reported by credited international journals and citation bases, is notable and this fact should be understood by our young generation as well,� underlined the Leader.
Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that university should provide room for discussion, challenge and a ground where different political affiliations would prosper; however, he believed that �the academic centers have the responsibility to channel debates towards Revolutionary objectives and not to let the opportunity be grasped by circles of dubious integrity against Islamic and revolutionary ideals,� he recommended.

Scientific diplomacy was among the issues touched upon by Leader of the Islamic Revolution; �scientific diplomacy and relations are necessary; yet we should be alert not to let this field turn into an infiltration loophole,� said Leader.

By Mehr News Agency