Sayyid Hassan Khomeini said:
Art is not only an impartial means of expressing problems within society
"A group of mature and young poets met up with Sayyid Hassan Khomeini and recited their poems for him and gave their views regarding the society. Sayyid Hassan told them of their duties as artists, and said that they should not be an impartial means of expressing problems but should also step forward and help solve them, however difficult this transition may be."
ID: 30398
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Date: 2011/11/21
Sayyid Hassan Khomeini stated that he was happy to have participated in this gathering and said: “A great man once said that if you want to know how a society will think in the future you should take a trip to the art centre. The society’s art today is the view of the society tomorrow. This may be because artists are more sensitive and they express troubles and distraught in a more organized way, or it may be that pain is first expressed through art and then the intellectuals try to cure it or recognize it and produce theories for it. Thus it is not the intellectuals and scholars who theorize, as art and theories are the consequences of one thing (i.e. feelings within the society). However art and speech are the first means of expressing feelings.”
Sayyid Hassan Khomeini continued, and said: “The key to living an immoral and unethical life is for one to see oneself as the centre of the world. Whenever one sees himself as the centre of the world, it is the start of an unethical way of living. The key to morals, however, is for one to see himself in the place of others. Whenever we get society to a place where they put themselves in the shoes of others, it is then that they will have a better understanding of their society and will live an ethical and moral life. If one knows of the feelings the person opposite him will have if he frowns, then he will frown less.”
Sayyid Hassan Khomeini also pointed out that: “The cinema and cartoons have enabled us to have a more humane attitude towards animals and has allowed us to feel that animals have an emotional relationship with one another. Children can put themselves in the place of animals and don’t look at animals as something strange or unusual. This allows children to get upset when they see an animal in pain. Literature has an effect on the manner in which we live our lives. A story or a poem can transfer a feeling to the reader, and this enables the reader to put himself in the place of others. If we cannot enter the mind frame of others and understand how our anger, rudeness and attitude affect others, we cannot improve ourselves.”
Sayyid Hassan also said: “The feeling that is transferred through art and particularly poetry, is a feeling felt within society. This feeling can be a problem, which at first may not be felt throughout the whole of society but within different groups. If many artists are warning us of a problem within society, it is a disease which is growing among the people. The first sign of a problem is the cry of the people and the second is the cry reflected by artists. Artists, who announce problems, can be looked at as both the alarm of the presence of a problem, and people who have an effect on society and can help solve the problem. The beautiful poems, which were read, warn of a problem with religion in society. Our friends should read these poems in any gathering they attend so as to warn the people. If those who need to hear this warning, hear it, then good for them, but if they do not, then they are unaware of their problem and this verse describes them well:
If one is ignorant then he does not know he is ignorant
Like a person who is asleep and does not know he is asleep.”
Sayyid Hassan Khomeini further added: “The Second point is that one should not be impartial and be more than a person, who warns of upcoming danger. Artists do not only have an impartial duty of notifying danger and problems because this is only one half of their duty. Our artists are the first to sense problems and portray them but when trying to affect society and help solve the problem they stand back, and this attitude must be changed. There have been a few artists, who have both notified us of problems and tried to help and solve them, but this should be done by all artists however difficult it may be at first.”
During this meeting Ahmad Masjid Jam’ei, who is the former minister of culture and Islamic guidance and a member of the mayoral group of Tehran, was present. Hamid Sabzivari, Sa’id Bagiri, Fatima Raki’ei, Soheil Mahmoodi, Abd al-Jabbar Kakayi, Afsheen Ala, and other poets recited their poems and expressed their views and opinion. Sayyid Hassan Khomeini also read two sections of his own poetry.