TEHRAN -- Iranian author of religious works Mehdi Shojaei has reproved the current cultural situation of the country, believing it is in danger of collapse.

Shojaei spoke at a session held in his honor at Tehran’s Book City here on Tuesday that was attended by authors Reza Amirkhani, Saber Emami and filmmaker Majid Majidi, the Persian service of MNA reported on Wednesday.

“What bothers me the most is the current situation of culture. This is a great blessing for me to be honored here at this session, but we cannot easily forget the tragedy we see in the field of culture these days,” he said.

“If we look back at our culture over the last fifty years, we would find out how downgraded it has become especially in recent years. I wish the culture I am talking about here is culture in its specific meaning, but unfortunately, a tragedy has occurred in our ideology, thought, behavior and customs. These are what the body of a nation is made of and I am worried this movement will lead to a cultural decline someday,” he added.

“We have been under the delusion of conjuring up an imaginary enemy over the years and blaming him for everything and claiming that this is the main cause of our cultural decline and erosion, but we have ruined ourselves more than any imaginary enemy could. The enemy forced us to lie, which has led us to isolation and poverty.”

He pinpointed that when a high executive official can tell a lie easily and accuse others, the results would be what we see today.

He continued, “It seems to be naive to define the enemy with simple and primitive formulas. Imam Khomeini once put forth the issue of enemy and the idea of getting to know the enemy, but we should not forget that the definition of enemy does not always the same. The enemy is standing beside our managers and is making decisions with them. Therefore, the catastrophe we create for ourselves is much worse than what is said to be caused by the enemy.”

“The enemy is guiding us to tell lies and to change our values, and the result is to see the inept figures working in high positions,” Shojaei said.

He next pointed out that Islam has turned into an instrument pushing us run away from religion, adding, “Our definition of religion and not acting according to its real meaning will push the youth to believe that if this is religion, they should pursue something else to discover the truth.”

Shojaei continued that what is being presented as religion is not actually what religion is, and added, “The major duty of artists and authors is to introduce the identity of religion.

“This is not proper for an official active in the field of music to say that I have not liked the voice of (traditional singer Mohammadreza) Shajarian since I was a child. These are not mere incidents. These are indications of movement toward collapse and each one of us should have a share in preventing from collapsing,” he concluded.

The ceremony was brought to an end by brief speeches delivered by Majidi and Amirkhani.

“Another Storm Is on the Way”, “Father, Love, Son” and “Docked Ship” are among the noteworthy credits of Shojaei.

RM/YAW

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