Ayatollah hosseini boshehri:

The Media must be presented honestly and truthfully

Rasa- The director of the Islamic seminaries of Iran: "I am certain if the prophets had the Media in their hands; the prophet would not have ended with the victory he had done but instead would have changed the current world we are in."

News ID: 80

Date: 05 February 2013 - 01:19

Rasa News Agency Reports- Ayatollah Sayed Hashem hosseini boshehri who is the director of the Islamic seminaries in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the opening ceremony of the English website of Rasa News Agency gave a speech under the topic of "Ahlul Bayt ethical view towards media" and analyzed the history and effects the media has had on the society.

The director of the Islamic seminaries in his speech had said that media can take a society to a very great level or to a very low level, thus we cannot reject the need of using media in order to show the direction to people and emphasized: "Regardless if we want it or not, the role of the Media today is an important role and a significant reference which has great effects in shaping the public opinion.

He added: "People who are in contact with media through listening, watching and reading and through digital means fully understand the effects of the media. Unfortunately this media with all the benefits that it has, sometimes it goes to the extremes and regardless which side it excesses in, this would be harmful to the thought, opinion and the people of a society."

Ayatollah hosseini boshehri continued saying: "In the current time we are in, the effect which the media has is more than the effect of an atomic bomb and maybe today the advance industrial world does not see it necessary to mobilize their military capabilities against another country in order to follow its interests and colonization."

The Necessity of spreading divine ethics through the Islamic Seminar Media

Ayatollah hosseini boshehriin pointing out towards the effects of propaganda on political authorities said: "If the media really wants to reform and create a healthy environment for positive criticism, it can be like a mirror where it tells the people mistake to the people and of course this media becomes a guide and becomes a stepping stone for the country advancement."

He mentioned the responsibilities of a media in accordance to the view of Ahlul Bayt and highlighted that today the Islamic seminary has a greater role and that through the Media of the Islamic seminaries they should promote Islamic moral values.

The Director of the Islamic seminary in expressing that a reporter which is working for religion is different to the reporter who is not working for religion stated: "today human dignity should be our objectives, and showing those ugly faces to world who falsely claim to have human rights so the people realize there is a different between promises and actions, Rasa News Agency can be a one agency doing this and fill this thirst for humanity.”

He emphasized that the Islamic culture,the Prophet of Islam, the Holy Quran and the Ahlul Bayt should be propagated in the best way possible through these media outlets and stated: "Those Media outlets which have a religious and Quranic outlook with attention to the Islamic teaching should be after giving the glad tiding of "from them science would be overflowing to other countries".

Islamic seminary Media planning should be based on Islamic theology and belief

Ayatollah hosseini boshehri continued saying: "I am certain if the prophets had the Media in their possession; the work of the Holy Prophet would not have stopped till the victory he had received in Arabia but he would have changed the world. In this area we must not be behind and have short comings. This great opportunity is in our hands and we must spread the science of Islam properly through it."

He expressed that the Ahlul Bayt would specially propagate to people when there is large number of them and gave the Pilgrimage of hajj as an example and that they would benefit from it the same way media benefits from its propaganda and said: "Those days the Ahlul Bayt would look at quantity and look at it as a media opportunity to propagate and today the media stations which are Islamic should also do the same.”

Ayatollah hosseini boshehri who is also part of the Scholars Association (Jamea’ Modarasin) in another part of his speech talked about what the Media outlet must do and must not do and said: “The first thing that a media outlet must do and Rasa News Agency can definitely do is placing objectives and goals and another thing that must be done is to recognize your audiences.”

Media outlet should take into consideration the national interest of the public

He continue to say that the media services should pay attention towards the interest of the general public and not only think about a certain groups interest and said: “The media services should take into consideration the general people interest in their programming so people through statements and programs can relate to the media and also they can realize the great movement that has started and if people realize this great movement you would find the great support from them.”

Ayatollah hosseini boshehri continued saying: “Through the media we must comfort the people minds in different crises and show them the correct path. The role of the media is not just to inform people on news but it is to make the mind of people at peace, guiding them and opening different paths to them; which can be also very effective on the society and even on the authorities and decision making people within a system.”

He stressed on defending the truth and spreading the truth through the media and expressed: “The media should move based on truth and honesty and must have a tendency to truth. If a media in this area becomes misguided it will be the beginning of the fall of such a media and thus the CEO and owners of the media outlets should be people who are capable and worthy of such position, they should be people who work on the bases of truth.”

To make personalities look big or small through media is not correct

The director of the Islamic seminaries said that the media should encourage good traits and qualities instead of encouraging personalities, he considered it as wrong to make something look small or big, especially if it goes against religion and mentioned: “If we make someone big on the bases of religion and if we make someone small for the sake of God than it is allowed but in all other matters other then the mention case it is not allowed.”

He emphasized: “Media should be used to help the process of thought and not ignorance, and the media should help people thoughts in the society and not create the society to be ignorant. The most important objective of the media is to propagate the correct thought, awaken the society from ignorance, to create hope and show the plans and actions of the enemies.”

Ayatollah hosseini boshehri in his speech stated that we are involved in a fight and if we leave the Islamic society defenseless so the enemies can attack Islam, we have done a great sin. The Late Imam Khomeini and the great Leader of the Islamic revolution and great personalities who participated in this revolution are a successful role model for us to learn from.”

At the end of the speech the Ayatollah Bushahri said that the media should not distort the truth, should stop falsehood entering the society, to be strong against the enemy in the soft war and to stay away from creating sedition in the society and said: “Some media outlets make the society alarmed and worried and this is not what the media should be doing.”