According to the Public Relations of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, on the occasion of the 28th demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him), the third international conference of "An Introduction to Mystical Ideas of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him)" was held in the conference room of Hotel Moskva Sofia with the contribution of the Cultural Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bulgaria.
In this conference in which a large number of the lovers of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him), Islamologists, Bulgarian scholars, teachers and university professors, translators and writers were present, the thoughts and ideas of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) were reviewed in various political, literary, historical, mystical and philosophical aspects by Hassan Dotaghi, the temporary charge dAffaires in Bulgaria, and Mohammad Ali Kiani, the Iranian cultural attaché in Bulgaria, Hristova Paunov, the professor of history and international relations at the University of Sofia, Nabi Masoomi, the Iranian poet and literary figure living in Bulgaria, Radostina Atamian, translator and the professor of Persian language.
The Islamic System in Iran Challenged the International System
In this conference, Mohammad Ali Kiani, the Iranian cultural attaché in Bulgaria, in his speech stated: "The unique personality of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and his influence on the contemporary world have always been considered by many prominent international scholars and figures; his specific individual, social and political characteristics made him a charismatic leader who managed to give a new life to Iran and the Muslim world".
The Iranian cultural attaché added: "Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) was a theologian and Islamologist who was familiar with all human schools and divine religions. Reviving spirituality in the contemporary world and emphasizing on different dimensions of human beings he attempted to revive human identity and make people familiar with the reality of their existence".
He continued: "These ideas and ideals of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) not only awakened and attracted the hearts and spirit of liberals in the world, but also challenged the conditions of the international system and changed equations in the international system and established the Islamic system in Iran".
Kiani added: "As friends and foes acknowledge, Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) had moral virtues such as kindness and compassion, intelligence and acumen, integrity and confidentiality, forgiveness, generosity, dignity, humility, and he was away from the trappings and formalities, he was indifferent to worldly attachments, he paid attention to the problems of the deprived and solving the problems of needy, and he had an indescribable courage in dealing with problems and expressing his clear positions, he always was considered as the symbol of authority, strength, fighting oppression and seeking justice".
The Rights of Women in the View of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him)
In this meeting, Hassan Dotaghi, the temporary charge dAffaires in Bulgaria talked about the reasons for the persistence of thought and heritage of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and stated: "Understanding the thoughts characteristics of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him), the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, determines the reasons of the persistence and the influence of his action. Over the past four decades, the evolution of thoughts of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) especially in political context has been exploring widely by the Iranian and foreign researchers".
He continued: "An efficient political thought in addition to having fixed principles should be flexible as well. The most important fixed principles in the political thought of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) were the principle of best interest of Islam and Muslims, rejection of foreign domination, the principle of justice, the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih, etc. The evolution from debate over reform to the revolutionary discourse was one of the strengths of thoughts of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and led him to properly manage his political behavior".
Hassan Dotaghi added "Conducting a careful analysis of the recent developments in a century of Iran, the region and even the world, Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) could establish a government based on religious values. The Islamic government is the legacy of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and the proof of the unity of religion and politics. The importance of the heritage of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) was that it was not copied and for this reason it was an inspiration for the revolutionary movements and the people of the region as well as many parts of the world".
The temporary charge dAffaires in Bulgaria also emphasized: "Localization of Iranian culture and civilization was one of the most important measures taken by Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him). In the international system, each political thought is measured by two criteria including effectiveness and acceptability. Over four decades, the legacy of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) has been able to move so that its acceptability and effectiveness were preserved. Although there were ups and downs and many have tried to create a variety of crises, pressures and sanctions to affect these two criteria; the framework of this heritage is so stable that they have not been successful".
He also stated: "In this regard the view of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) to women is also noticeable. According to him the rights of women and men are equal and he believed that the participation of women in social developments is crucial. For this reason, women have had a strong presence in all social developments over the past four decades of the Islamic Revolution, including war, restoration, academic activities, etc".
Political and Governmental Ideology of Imam Khomeini
In this meeting, Hristova Paunov, the professor of history and international relations at the University of Sofia talked about the base of the Islamic civilization and stated: "The discovery of vital connection between Islam and the formation and function of Islamic civilization in the area of integrated space-time in the history of world has always been a subject of research; but in the modern era it has found a special meaning that is often mixed with political and ideological dimensions. Fiery events of recent decades which is replete with wars, revolutionary upheavals, violence and terror, opposition of ideas, world hegemony, etc., again put the issue of the parallel existence of great civilization universes in our world on the agenda whose foundations are based on the great philosophical and religious knowledge".
The professor of history and international relations at the University of Sofia continued: "Within this complex area, the hypotheses and ideas of Imam Khomeini have the necessary current meaning and their special innovation. They cover a significant part of his vast and varied theoretical heritage which has been reflected in the general and specialized literature".
He added: "The final methodological view of Imam Khomeini whose theories are based on them is an understanding of the invincible relationship and unity between religion and the Islamic civilization whose core is the concept of politics as a part of religion in the unity between religion and government. This is determined by the feature of the Islamic tradition which is directed toward the calm being of human being and it emerges in the context of daily history".
Hristova Paunov continued: "According to Imam Khomeini, as in the past, today Islam proves its civilizational capabilities. Imam Khomeini noted that Islam has a system and program for all separate phenomena of society: the form of governmental and administrative management, the regulation of relations between human beings, the relations between the state and the nation, relations with other countries and all economic and social issues".
In this meeting, Nabi Masoomi, the Iranian poet and literary figure living in Bulgaria, was the last speaker who talked about the sonnets of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and read the last sonnet of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) and interpreted it.
On the sidelines of the conference, a movie about the life of Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) was screened for the audience and an exhibition of the works and translated books about Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) in Bulgarian and English languages and a photo exhibition were established. In addition, a number of books written by Imam Khomeini (Mercy of Allah be upon him) translated in different languages and the message of the Supreme Leader to European and American Youth were distributed among participants.