Khaminei: Thinking, speaking and making decisions freely is man's right

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khaminei has given a speech defending freedom of the press and said such freedom is at the basis of Islam.

"Freedom is an intrinsic need of man. The freedom in our press is an auspicious phenomenon which is needed to deepen the culture of our (1979 Islamic) revolution," Khameneni told students at Tehran University.

Thinking, speaking and making decisions freely is man's right, he said. His comments were in agreement with President Mohammed Khatami's reformist agenda, which has greatly opened up Iranian society since the president took office a year ago. President Khatami, opposed by some conservative elements, has sought to make fundamental reform at many levels of the Iranian society and government, and has resulted in a vibrant debate about which direction the country should take.

Among other liberalization measures, President Khatami has eased press censorship, allowing the liberal opposition to express opinions and discuss subjects long considered taboo.

But Supreme Leader Khamenei warned Iranians to develop their own concept of freedom and avoid "borrowing" the concept of liberty developed under the Western liberation tradition.

Khaminei stressed that personal freedom brings with it reponsiblities that go hand in hand with that freedom and warned that freedom does not include the ability of some to create political and intellectual corruption. "We have our own words and logic and liberalism cannot show the way to us," the Iranian leader said, quoted by the state news agency.

The Iranian leader expressed that Islam and the Koran are the root source of personal freedom, and their is no need to rely on western philosophers for such a reference. Khaminei was quoted by the Tehran times as saying "With our rich human and material resources, vast geographical expanse, brilliant scientific and cultural heritage, today we are lagging behind in the realm of the sciences and industry. However, in post-revolution period a miracle has been worked out, and that is self-reliance, with that inferiority complex having been eliminated."

Khaminei was qouted by the Tehran Times as saying "In my opinion, there are two groups who are working together against Islamization and localization of the concept of freedom. The first group consist of those who constantly quote Western philosophers in their definitions of freedom. The second group are those who are immediately intimidated as soon as talk of freedom is made, crying that religion is being threatened." He added "Why should religion be lost? Religion is the greatest harbinger of freedom. Correct and rational freedom is the most important gift of religion to a nation. Ideas flourish thanks to freedom. Despotism cracks down on flourishing of talents. However, Islam calls for flourishing of people's talents, and minus freedom it will not be possible for talents to flourish."