RNA – In his introduction, His Eminence stated that the Islamic seminaries are a continuation of the path of the prophets, the Holy Prophet of Islam (S) and the Infallible Imams (A). He explained that during the greater occultation of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (AJ), the scholars of religion and the seminaries throughout the Islamic world have had an impact on the thinking and behaviour of society, and that this is still the case today. He added that Islamic religious leaders and students have endured many hardships throughout history and have suffered much tyranny and oppression, but that since the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini (RA), the Islamic Seminaries have been enjoying their “golden age” and that we must realize the greatness of this divine blessing.
Ayatollah Bushehri stated that for the new academic year of 2014-2015, there is a capacity for about 17,000 successful applicants to the approximately 450 Islamic seminaries throughout Iran. The applicants will have to pass the entrance examinations and participate in a special testing period where they can decide whether they want to continue on the path of seminary studies or not. This year the Islamic Seminary of Qom has a capacity for about 1,200 new seminarians, but Ayatollah Bushehri stated that this is very low in comparison to the needs of the country. The director seminaries explained that this low number is due to the Islamic Seminary facing financial constraints and infrastructural problems. Despite these problems, the seminaries are increasing services to seminarians and their families. Another contemporary problem that His Eminence mentioned is that many applicants have studied in various academic fields in the universities before joining the seminaries and their ages are much higher than in the past. Thus, changes have to be made in the seminary system to help these students be successful in the face of their special circumstances.
Ayatollah Bushehri emphasized that the new seminarians must give importance to learning and practicing Islamic moral and ethical traits. The Islamic Seminary has placed much importance on training its clergy in ethics and morality because the clergy are interacting with society and teaching them the religion of Islam. “They are role models to society,” he explained.
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