A society which allows a blemish on human dignity is not Islamic

Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Imam Khomeini, has said that humans realize the importance of health and security only when these two blessings are nonexistent and that in their absence people would find nothing helpful even if they are given the best of everything.

Hassan Khomeini was addressing a ceremony at Imam Khomeini mausoleum where police commanders and personnel pledged allegiance to the ideals of the founding father of the Islamic Republic. The following is the translation of his remarks as reported by Astaan official website:

“Many problems in society are of secondary importance. In other words, health and calm should be in place so that people could think about secondary issues. Health is the biggest blessing God has bestowed upon man. God forbid, if man comes down with pain and illness, he fails to make use of [divine] blessings. So is the case when security is conspicuous by its absence.

“Health and security are definable in terms of individual and social needs. A society which is completely devoid of health and security has lost two real blessings.

“The one who grants security is a divine name. As a blessing, health is of profound significance, but at times it is taken for granted. Sometimes one thing slips through the cracks only because it is all too clear to be seen.

“Security is a manifestation of divine favors and we need to look at the security situation in the surrounding countries. Iran serves as a point of support in many aspects and its security is satisfactory from a political perspective, although we are still far from a desirable level. Certainly, ideals are not totally achievable; if they were, they would no longer have been called ideals. But we have to set foot on the path toward ideals.

“Society owes much of its security to the police whose efforts are appreciated by the people. However, this is not all the perfection a society needs. An Islamic society should enjoy health over and above security. A society is healthy if and when its ills – both on the inside and on the outside – are removed. The word ‘Islamic’ is used for a society which has no outward and inward illnesses.

“Islamic practices should be protected in society because societies in which such practices are not observed are nowhere near desirable. Also, a society in which individuals have easy access to drugs is far from flawless. A society which is gripped by grinding poverty sustains losses from inside and this, in turn, gives rise to insecurity. A society where people have to grapple with discrimination, injustice, nepotism or cronyism and double-standards is not something [the late] Imam and Islam would approve of and a society where human dignity is tainted is not Islamic.

“In an Islamic society, man has mental calm; in this society – as history shows – if a 14-year-old girl set out from Merv to Rey with a trayful of gold coins, her journey would not be marred by any problem or insecurity. For some time the situation was like this in Iran. The non-violent culture of the Iranian nation is one thing that ensures security. Thank God violence has no place in the culture of the Iranians. The violence we witness flaring up among other tribes [in the region] has never existed in Iranian history.

“In the Muslim society where Islamic practices should be observed, [our] children should be assured of mental security. Today as the world has made progress, the tools for committing delinquency have changed too, and this calls on the police to equip themselves with the tools to encounter criminality.

“The patient [a delinquent and wrongdoer are like a patient] should receive treatment in an Islamic society. As it is mentioned in the Islamic Punishment Code, laws are set down to tackle and uproot crimes, not to spoil the wrongdoer’s good mood. Wrongdoers are the children of this society who have gone astray, so Islamic society needs to act as a father to guide offenders and establish mental calm among people.

“Thanks to tireless efforts, today desirable security is in place in this part of the world. Extra efforts should be made to fill the existing gaps, especially in the area of social security. We all know that poverty and greed are the root causes of many crimes.

“Societies which are hit by immoralities are very much prone to unlawfulness and this has been echoed by the Muslim Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) who said, ‘Poverty leads one closer to atheism.’ In other words, if an individual receives proper training and their upbringing is good, he would not go for atheism and injustice even if he is poor. Also we should not ignore the fact that greed lies at the very root of many crimes. There would be a drop in crime rate if society can get rid of human greed.

“The bottom line here is that society’s teachers should correct their behaviors. Our children would clean up their act if they see us behave properly. If a parent does not show good manners, the result would be reverse. I prefer to keep silent on that. Therefore, to promote ethical conduct or practices in society, the greats and religious people should dry up the roots of unethical behaviors and unlawfulness in themselves.