Initially, during the meeting on the occasion of the Unity Week, they quoted statements from Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Javad Alavi Boroujerdi that Ayatollah Boroujerdi (may God sanctify his soul) had told Allameh Amini that he is a scholar of Rijal (Islamic biography) and Hadith, and considers the issued narrations as authentic. However, he expressed a desire to undertake a task that Seyyed Mortaza Alim Al-Huda wanted to accomplish, which is the official recognition of the Shia denomination. He emphasized that this work is so important to him that he is willing to sacrifice decades’ worth of people like Amini for its establishment.

This is a direct quote of his words. He issued a fatwa recognizing the official status of the Shia denomination, which is currently cited by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar. This means when they were asked about their children becoming Shia, he replied that there is no problem with that. Just like a Hanafi might become Maliki and another might become Shia, all of these are Islamic sects, and there’s no issue. The formal acknowledgement of the Shia denomination took hold, both as an achievement and a lasting impact on Shia Islam and Shia authority.

He noted that the timeliness of the actions of the Shia scholars and authorities is a unique feature that has contributed to the pride of the Shia world throughout history. If Shia scholars had not taken advantage of the opportunity in the Safavid era, it is uncertain what our situation would be today. In the realm of handwritten manuscripts, many documents have gone to Russia; since the time of Stalin, all manuscripts that existed in Azerbaijan or Central Asia were taken to Moscow. However, many manuscripts still exist in these countries. England and New Zealand are also notable in this regard, as even the late Ayatollah Boroujerdi sent people in search of the lost works of Sheikh Tusi there. For this reason, Spain and France are significant because they dominated North Africa. The same goes for the United States, as they have gathered everything and taken it to the Library of Congress.

Now, because it has not been possible, or due to other reasons, we have not searched and tracked down the Shia and even Iranian manuscripts that exist in those countries properly; and this effort needs to take place because we have a lot of our heritage in their hands. This is separate from the heritage held by private collectors, as the Jews have done this. So whatever documents existed have gone to those libraries; although if we make requests from American libraries, they easily provide manuscripts even without political relations. We have received manuscripts from the Library of Congress. It should also be noted that there are handwritten manuscripts in the Library of the Masjid A’zam.

Another topic related to international matters is that if we want to introduce our personalities abroad, we should consider global academic points, such as McGill University in Canada, George Washington University in the USA, Sorbonne University in Paris, Oxford University in England, and Harvard University.

At McGill University in Canada, there are qualified professors who are strong in philosophy and logic. In America, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr can assist you in this regard and is interested in this work, as he is knowledgeable and understands the significance of Molla Abdullah. At the universities of Sorbonne in Paris and Oxford in England, as well as Harvard, philosophies and logic are very strong fields. You should try to invite qualified professors from these institutions to Iran so they can become acquainted with what we have. There are people in the world who are willing to learn Persian and Arabic to understand these topics.

Twenty to thirty years ago, we traveled to the USA; some friends were with us on this trip. In San Francisco, there is the University of Berkeley, California, which invited us to speak there. I told the officials of this university that I do not speak English; what benefit is it for me to go there? They replied that those who want to attend your lecture know Persian and Arabic, so there is no need to worry about this. There, I noticed American professors whose Arabic was better than mine; they had also learned Persian and were sincerely following up. There are stories about what foundations support these efforts.

Therefore, to present ideas on an international level, you should discuss the works and thoughts of people like Molla Abdullah in these scientific centers, and explaining Molla Abdullah’s ideas in academic institutions can only be accomplished through prominent professors in this field. The works of Dr. Nasr can be of significant benefit to you, with his information being useful for the secretariat. Once, one of his friends mentioned a university in Brazil that had done well in the fields of philosophy and logic; I cannot recall its name now. Mr. Dr. Damghani Mahdavi can assist you as well. In any case, it is essential to internationalize these thoughts.

Another crucial point is that we do not engage well with logic and philosophy in the seminaries; we currently do not have a feeling of need for logic. I personally was one of those who taught the commentary (Hashieh) for several courses, as we used to teach preliminaries and then the commentary. Later, when Mantiq-e-Mazafar was introduced, we began it. The reason for the acceptance of Mantiq-e-Mazafar was due to its simple language and numerous examples. Previously, mentioning examples was not common in our writings. The late Mazafar, being an eloquent writer, effectively explained the commentary. However, the replacement of the book ‘Usul al-Fiqh’ by the late Mazafar for the book ‘Ma’alem’ was not a correct decision that should be examined in its own context.

Once, I was with the late Allameh Tabatabai, as I admired him and often approached him. We discussed various topics, and he asked what I was teaching. At that time, I was teaching Mantiq-e-Mazafar and Ma’alem, I replied that I was teaching Mantiq-e-Mazafar. He said, have you seen it? I replied yes. Then he told me, why don’t you teach the commentary? I replied, because I’ve taught the commentary. He insisted, saying the commentary develops depth. He praised the commentary highly.

In relation to my experience with the commentary, I must say that the commentary is a significant book, and understanding its terminology is very important. We have some discussions regarding the Risala (letters) of Sheikh (Shaikh), and when we refer to the Risala now, we realize that there were topics we did not understand at both stages. The commentary is such a work that occasionally one consults its commentary and realizes that they did not grasp it correctly even when they taught it.

This meaning pertains to figures who are significantly notable in writing. May God preserve our esteemed teacher, Ayatollah Agha Wahid Khorasani; he states, the character of Akhound (Mullah) lies in being the analyst of Sheikh’s words. Sheikh is the original source, the Risala is original, and the comments are original; the greatness of the author of ‘Kifaya’ is that he is the analyst of these words