(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Commander of the Basij force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, made the above statements in the closing ceremony of the first Resistance Book of the Year Award (Martyr Avini Award) held on Monday (April 9, 2012).
The ceremony was arranged at the Research Center of Culture, Arts and Architecture in Tehran in the presence of officials like Bahman Dorri, Cultural Deputy of Guidance Ministry, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, Commander Ali Fazli (deputy commander of Basij), and a number of writers and literati.
In his opening speech, Behruz Esbati, the ceremony's scientific secretary, highlighted the days of Hazrat Fatima's martyrdom. (Hazrat Fatima is the daughter of prophet Mohammad who is believed by Shias to be killed a few days after her father's demise). He also honored the 13th anniversary of Sayyad Shirazi's martyrdom.
"The idea of Martyr Avini Award was initiated 2 years ago at Resistance Poetry Congress," said Esbati. "At that time, the Islamic awakening was not what it is now and the literati were heralding the growth of a new literary genre."
As he stated, 350 works were selected from among over 2,000 submitted works to the secretariat of the award. The works were classified into the 6 categories of documented literature, fiction literature, research literature, poetry, soft war, and arts.
He further expressed hope that the festival will be held internationally in the future.
Later in the ceremony, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi delivered a speech in which he stated, "As Islam's miracle is a book, and the Islamic Revolution's miracle is revolutionary thinking, speaking and books. A pen is a weapon that puts behind all frontiers, strongholds and castles."
Those who think that the Islamic Revolution is in pursuit of nuclear bombs should be informed that the Islamic Revolution needs no such things, he added, "because the Islamic thinking guarantees eternal victory for its adherents."
Weapons of the revolution are thought and messages, added Naqdi. The weapons should be revered and made the best use of.
He further stated that the works of resistance literature are a legacy of all humans and that "we are responsible for their dissemination to the world. The legacy is the enemy's weak point because it is the truth about wars which is against western lies."
/smh
