Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani:
US Spreading Corruption and Misleading Youth to
Compensate its Defeat from the Revolution
Speaking among a gathering of seminary students and clerics of Banab district Grand Ayatollah Fazel said, "People are followers of healthy, educated and pious clerics."
According to RASA news reporter, in a meeting with religious students and clerics of Banab seminary Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani referred to Iraqi Shiites' being under pressure saying, "All various parties in Iraq are against Shia and they are afraid lest in the process of elections the power should fall in Shiites' hands."
He added, "Like the first Imam, the Shiites have been oppressed and are still suffering under oppression; the entire world is standing against Shia and want to inflict severe blow on it."
In reference to the global anti-Shiite policies Grand Ayatollah Fazel reiterated, "When they are working against the Shiites, who has the obligation to support them?  Surely, no one  else other than  me, you  and the seminary clerics can support them. When it is crystal clear that we have a heavy responsibility about supporting Shia, then we must prepare ourselves for the future of Shia and Islam."
About such preparations his eminence said, "We must have scientific power so as not to be submissive in front of the aliens. Rather, they should be submissive to us. Shia will be harmed greatly, if we stop our scientific progress and waste our time doing nothing.  Therefore, we should realize our heavy responsibility and come out of lethargy. We have introduced ourselves as defenders of Shia religion and we are however proud of it but the question is whether or not we have fulfilled our obligations and responsibility."
In regards to the mass media and their efforts to mislead the young generation, Grand Ayatollah Fazel said, "The mass media have been designed altogether to mislead  the youth and they want to take away their beliefs by showing licentious and offensive pictures."
In reference to the comments of a cleric from Karbalah who had said that the US is pursuing other objectives in Iraq, His Eminence said, "USA's objective of killing the women and children is to finally spread its anti-Islamic culture among Iraqi youth and change their beliefs so that they may no longer have any interest in visiting the shrines of the Infallible Imams (a.s.).
Addressing seminary students Grand Ayatollah Fazel said: "Do not pass your time idly and don't say I am a single person and I cannot do anything, because Imam Khomeini was also all alone but he obtained scientific and spiritual power and succeeded in achieving his objectives without relying on foreign powers. People followed him and the sincerity he showed had a deep influence in their hearts and he started the movement and the revolution with people's ideological support.
He added that the US was defeated by the revolution and it is trying to spread corruption and mislead the youth to compensate its defeat.
He noted, " We must admit that shortcomings and flaws exist in our jobs which have caused the youth to take a distance from the clerics. This attitude of the youth is either because of scientific or ideological matters. People want to see healthy and pious clerics and they do not abhor a thing unless they have a reason for it."
Concerning religious students' relation with the society His Eminence said, "First of all, you should acquire knowledge, then you may start working in your community.  If they realize that you have not improved in the scientific area, they will not pay attention to you.  People's like or dislike is based on certain criteria and we as religious clerics must remove the flaws from ourselves. All you should intend to do in your life is to be at Shia's service and fulfill your duties in this way."