TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) -– Today the country needs a national Basij (volunteer) force with no factional inclinations which is prepared to defend Iran’s cultural, scientific, religious, and geographic borders, and efforts should be made to create such a Basij force, said Seyed Taha Hashemi, the managing director of the Tehran daily Entekhab.

Hashemi told the Mehr News Agency that Imam Khomeini presented many initiatives, but the formation of the Basij was one of the most important. He pointed out that the role of the Basij force was obvious to everyone, saying, "The main factor behind Iran's victory in the unequal war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was the epic struggle of the Basijis. The martyrdom-seeking culture of the Basijis rejuvenated the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the military forces. The Basijis' struggle, resistance, and self-sacrifice in the imposed war are the pride of the IRGC and the military forces."

He added, “Imam Khomeini considered the Basij force to be a place for the growth and education of the youth and a center for learning love, spirituality, the spirit of martyrdom-seeking, self-sacrifice, and resistance. Today, if the Basij moves in the same direction, it will be effective in all areas.

"As the misuse of religion results in a religious crisis and the decline of the bases of faith, the misuse of the Basij will also result in aware, progressive, capable, and faithful people leaving the Basij. "The Basij is not a faction but a culture and a school from which the most sublime humanistic and divine concepts arise and the most liberated people graduate." Hashemi said, "The war has finished, but the struggle for victory and success in the fields of science, research, and culture has begun.”

He went on to say that today the Basij must be enlisted to make contributions in the fields of science and technology, adding that this time the enemy is not Saddam but a powerful hegemonic system which must be defeated. He stated, "It is humiliating for the Basij to become involved in mundane matters. This will harm the Basij, which is Imam Khomeini's great gift.”

He added that Basij officials should review their ideas in order to formulate new plans by identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Hashemi said that the Basij forces should be trained in scientific and cultural matters in order to make the Basij a culture that will never die.

However, he warned against allowing the Basij to descend into factionalism, which he said would be a perversion of the idea of the Basij.

The IRGC can help the Basij attain their true status and prevent groups from taking advantage of the Basij, he said in conclusion.