The higher intuition

Intuition of the supreme leader about lifestyle, is the higher.

Exclusive conversation with “Dr. Freshte Rooh Afza”

Professor of the University of Manchester, having electronic Ph.D., a scholar with a high level of knowledge and deputy sociocultural of women’s sociocultural council.
In March 2102, one of the last days of Iranian calendar, we attended her work office to start a conversation about the question of lifestyle.
Despite of her being busy, having a lot of works but not much in time, she showed up with a happy face and answered our questions in a friendly way. Words out of concern and compassion with high scientific backing which dates back to the years of experience and investigations of this distinguished professor inside and outside of the country.
What you see ahead is the explanation of the exclusive conversation with “Dr. Freshte Rooh Afza” about “Islamic lifestyle”.

We start the debate with the implication of lifestyle:

Lifestyle is an implication which has been a lot discussed and “Anthony Giddens”, the Britain sociologist, is the one who is in charge of this field.
He believes that the way a person lives describes his or her personal identity. The important point that he brings up is that the lifestyle of each person and society, is the index and a sign of the social and personal identity of that society. These are the main discussions that possibly can be talked about for dozens of hours. Also soft warfare commanders try to go into other’s lives by changing this lifestyle in order to this society’s believes. Some changes in Dressing, Architecting and so forth. These provide changes in people’s valances and believes. In other words, style, changes the intuition.
What explanation contains our today’s social lifestyle? Does the intuition create the style or the reverse is true? Lifestyle containing Dressing, make upping, etc. creates nature in Islam. The dress you choose affects on your believes. Sociologists such as Giddens suggest that the style creates the intuition, because they’re not deep, and such ways causing to Secular intuition; because of not being deep. However, Islam lets it comes by thought and research instead of the base of the style. In basic matters, Islam, like the main matters of the religion does not allow to act based on style, but must research and also nobody has the right to force these principles on humans. Islam imports the style where human’s brain has not grown enough; for instance, recommends prayers and Quran and the right dressing in young ages until that human’s brain has grown enough to decide in these matters. However, in basic matters never lets the style comes in; the intuition must be ripened. Because Islam's sight is deep, it values a different value for the intuition.
Western sociologists believe that the lifestyle, is the outer circle that we see. As regards, we believe that lifestyle has a core which is intuition and a cover which is the style and these two work together. Has influence and sorrow. The more the intuition is stronger and also its conformity with the fact, the more the style will work.
Supreme leader’s talks about lifestyle is also talks full of knowledge. I studied these statements for a couple of times. These statements are not just a statement, maybe we can name it wisdom. In SCCR (Supreme council of Cultural Revolution), we discussed on lifestyle for 5 years and also had some achievements. But, the supreme leader’s subject matters were deeper than the group containing scientific elites worked on for 5 years. “All-round development in lifestyle means modern Islamic civilization.” Said supreme leader. He manages for a world that has the rise of millenarianism.

Which description describes our today’s society? The Islamic or the Western?

We can’t accept what we now have as lifestyle. Our today’s lifestyle is exactly the Western one what we call it Islamic.
I have compared Islamic and Western lifestyle factors in different dimensions; individual, social, and even political in order to determine what that is in society retrieved from Islamic or Western sight. For instance, what is the Islamic sight in prayers and what do we do? Does Islam accept our today’s pilgrims in society which is merged with innovations and forbidden music and marriage?
In the debate of Scriptures, we face falsification of books in Western sight. In today’s community life that changes laws such as inheritance and blood money in the name of women’s rights, isn’t it the distorting measures of sight? If we accept Islam, we should accept all its sentences.
Also in the debate of personality characteristics such as contentment, politeness, living simple and humility, what that is being more accepted in today’s life and accepted as social personality e.g. new luxury cars and how long is the distance between the two? But isn’t it that in Islam, superiority of people is based on their virtue? So why in today’s community life, values are defined consistently with social position and the one who doesn’t have it is less valuable?
Besides, ethical standards like forgiveness, respecting to elders, and adornment that are changed with make-up. How contradict with Islam criteria is the observance of modesty which is slightly disappeared in today’s life! Choosing feed, dress, habitation, architectural style, and identity i.e. mere imitation of Western model. Insouciance, promiscuity, makeup, backbite, aggression, etc, these are all western lifestyle factors that are visible with a compare overview in our today’s lives. So, this life is western.
Furthermore, we regress in topics including recreation and leisure, respect to cultural heritage of the past, family and number of children, children and women rights and interaction of couples.
In the debate of devotion to relatives that is converted into mixed meetings (both men and women in a meeting) and emulation, neighborly relations which are too much ordered by Islam and nowadays this is substituted by civil laws of apartment living, our sports that has turned from athleticism into heroism, our funeral ahle-bait that makes us of foreign carnivals, culture of sacrifice and martyrdom which is faded out, banking system, healthy financial system like Khoums, Zakat, and so forth which are merged with tax, etc. ; all are Western living factors.
In the debate of Islamic state, the issue of acceptance of Velayat is raised. We have to accept that the man has come with Velayat and when the prophet and innocent Vali (leader) is not present at the moment, someone must take the position and if we do not accept, we will have thrown down all the issue of Velayat. Now, see how this issue is being questioned in today’s community. With a comparing, we clearly understand that although we want our lives to be Islamic, it is Western and said in the case, Imam Ali (Peace be upon him) “the man in late ages limits himself with the shell of religion.” Now, we only have the shell but the principle of our lives is Western. We revoluted to bring our lives into Islamic life and be the deliverer of this life all over the world, but, what happened that stuck us in this situation?
Of course, I agree that we were the deliverer especially in the issues of the concepts. For instance, trampling flag of the United States while the flag was valuable for the whole universe, formed and created in Iran and now more than a hundred countries in the world trample the flag and burn it. We had very well progress in some fields and this soft war is the effect of the war (the war between Iraq and Iran in 1979), not the revolution. Because we gained victory in the war, they are hitting the mutual ball (refers to the countries that supported Iraq in the war). If there were no war, the enemy wouldn’t stand our way. When we defended the attack, we gained victorious. We formed and created the culture of martyrdom-seeking and jihad. Now, people of the universe know Islam and the Islam teachings are being known in the universe. These effects beat enemy and because they get the hit, they beat. However, we need to build strong trenches to defend them.
Declaring this war and the enemy attack to people and the community is not too hard. Just, our comparable situation and the nearness of our community to western model show the attack of the enemy.
Don’t you think that we have practically made mistakes in declaring the Islam to the world?
In fact, we’ve stuck to the shell (the shell of religion i.e. its superficial properties). Islam in new to the world and its words are new. European Muslims and western scientists and thinkers are for Islam thoughts and even cry for it. Also our people admit it. But because we change people’s interest and taste by artistic and elegant methods, they do not believe. Or relish is changed and this change is accepting enemy attacks otherwise the base of the religion is still the same. People like religion but it is not declared to them truly.
We have not explained lifestyle in details to people. We have taken some distance from Quran which made our community move towards western life.
How should we perform to change lifestyle?
We should perform directly in some occasions. For instance we should admit in the debate of Hijab. But in some cases like principle of theology, monotheism, resurrection, etc. we should explain throw. To illuminate Islam and Islamic lifestyle, we have to pay attention from all the available dimensions. We just should illuminate non-Muslims about Islam rightly and the way it is, even without any art form, it is much more effective for any Muslim, Iranian and non-Iranian, and if it gets illuminated with art forms, the whole world could be Muslim in one day.
The world needs these debates hardly. We even took a bit for ourselves and also excluded the world from this gift.
What factors involve the lack of introducing Islam rightly?
We have been intimidated in the cultural debate and have transmitted this intimidation to the country. Not only people but also government and authorities are highly intimidated. For instance, in the debate of population rein, supreme leader emphasizes how our governments follow up, in comparison with what they follow up from the United Nations. It’s obvious that our governments are highly intimidated. However, imitation is not always bad; like technology which we benefit from. But in the debate of humanities and lifestyle there’s not permissible error and effort and can’t be others’ mice. When leadership engages in the debate of population policy change, actually he not only helps Iranian people but the rest of the world. In humanism, we demand an inspiration intuition. The man can only rely on God and the wisdom has proven it.
In institutionalizing Islamic lifestyle, what institutions should get into action?
Islamization concerns should be the concern of all human beings, not a specific intuition. Our intuitions should involve in Islam and should be Islamic. Broadcasting, education, higher education, offices and employees, all should be Islamic. Is it possible to have good results where Islam is not dominant? There is a solution for all of these. These won’t get affected unless we wish. Through revolution’s leader (Imam Khomeini) orders there should be some built discourses.
You, as the one who has the experience of both Iranian and western life, what description does you have for a lifestyle?
Many asked me this question. I have accepted supreme leader’s intuitions because I’ve been working on them a lot. If we follow the modern Islamic civilization that he has considered, we face this principle that lifestyle and its red line is Quran. We face this “does Islam have any words in all the dimensions?” I have experimented in this field and the result was that Islam is reach in meanings and concepts and also it is reliable. According to a very basic principle you cannot trust anyone, we cannot rely on human intellect, but because prophet’s words are revelation, we do trust. We accept inspiration intuition plus Velayat. Islam is far ahead from modernity and has words to say. The disadvantage of our work is that we have not explained it rightly. I think Islam says the last word and if we want to make our children a community, that should be completely Islamic without any of these excrement and accessories that we have added to it.