“The seminary schools (hawzas), as well as the clergymen should be familiar with cyberspace, in order to grasp this opportunity to elaborate on Islamic knowledge and concepts.”
At the start of his Dars-e Kharij of Fiqh speech, as the new school year for the Hawzas commenced, Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, reflected upon multiple expansive plots to deviate the minds and hearts of the young, and the people from the essence of religion; he noted the key responsibility of the clergy was in "confronting plots that aim to remove religious orientations and modesty”. The Supreme leader stressed: “The seminary schools (hawzas), as well as the clergymen should be familiar with cyberspace, in order to grasp this opportunity to elaborate on Islamic knowledge and concepts.”
Ayatollah Khamenei put emphasis on the significance of “knowing one’s duty”, as well as “knowing the situation” in promoting religion and expressing religious issues. He added: “If one does not know their duty properly, their knowledge, piety or even courage would not be efficient or bear the expected outcome.”
The Leader of the Revolution described “insight” as understanding the society’s requirements and realities, stating that: “Insight means we should know what the young individuals of our time need and what has been or should be embedded in his/her keen and enthusiastic heart.”
Tapping upon the excessive expenses, as well as the many plots against the people’s faith and beliefs, his Eminence said: “By producing and promoting skepticism towards religion, and producing anti-modesty and anti-decency contents, the enemy seeks to deviate decent, believing, young individuals from religion; thus, causing them to transgress the boundaries of modesty. Today this is done through cyberspace.”
Ayatollah Khamenei called confronting such plots as the primary and most important responsibility of the clergy. He held that “hawzas and those knowledgeable in religion should develop capabilities for confronting the enemy’s massive army".
The Supreme Leader expressed discontentment over certain promoters of religion, who lack knowledge of new digital facilities, as well as some officials--who lack proper understanding of the significance surrounding the issue of cyberspace. In regards to his concerns, he added: "Cyberspace, simultaneously, has both countless advantages and numerous disadvantages; the opportunities that it offers should be taken up, in order to widely promote Islamic concepts; and in this regard, the High Council of Cyberspace has been established, aimed at focusing on thought, decision and other measures.”
Ayatollah Khamenei allocated identifying doubts and suspicions of our time as key task to be carried out by the Hawzas, further adding: "This task does not contradict jurisprudence (fiqh) in any way or by any means; as jurisprudence is not limited to rules of performance. In fact, the Islamic jurisprudence is about Islamic teachings and the measures that should be taken--just like accurate and precise investigations of fiqh--on doubts and suspicions regarding religion.