President of AhlulBayt University: Following example of successful countries isn’t Westernization

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Two decades ago, scientific diplomacy in Iran has started. But in recent years it has been taken more seriously, and part of the responsibility for advancing the goals of scientific diplomacy rests with the country’s international universities.

The International University of AhlulBayt (a.s.), as one of the international universities in Iran, along with teaching theoretical sciences to foreign students, has set up the Yas Innovation Center, in cooperation with the Office for Science and Technology of the president, and scientific, research and educational centers of the Islamic world, move in line with the goals of the Statement of the Second Phase of the Revolution. Regarding scientific diplomacy, IRNA news agency interviewed Saeed Jazari Mamoui, president of AhlulBayt (a.s.) University, which you can read below.

Regarding the importance of science diplomacy in the country, Saeed Jazari Maamoui, who has executive backgrounds such as deputy director of education at the Marvi seminary, and director of the Department of Religions of the Islamic Academy of Germany, said, “The debate we face today in the 21st century and in developing countries is the competition for scientific diplomacy. Why did we use the term developing countries here? Because this path was formed in the mid-nineteenth century in many developed countries. It is clear that there was no “developing” term at that time. But if we look at our activities today, we see that we have begun the path of development, and we have institutionalized scientific diplomacy.”

“The result of these activities is the situation we observe. In many African and Asian countries, educated people and university graduates are in charge. We, in developing countries, take the issue of scientific diplomacy seriously, and according to the Statement of the Second Phase of the Revolution mentioned by the Supreme Leader, Iran is paying special attention to scientific diplomacy,” he added.

“Previously, and in the first decade of the Islamic Revolution, Iran thought about scientific diplomacy, and had definitions of it. However, due to the circumstances that arose and prevailed in the country, this path faced many ups and downs. If we want to deal with this issue fairly, with the civilization of several thousand years, and with the rich culture taken from the AhlulBayt, we should say that we have not reached the position that Iran deserves, and we are not on the path that we deserve,” the professor of the Sorbonne University said, referring to the background of scientific diplomacy in Iran.

“Many countries that do not have our talents are advancing rapidly in the field of scientific diplomacy. The number of foreign students in the country is not proportionate with the country’s facilities. According to the Ministry of Science, there are just 42,000 foreign students in Iran. This means that with this capacity and infrastructure, we have only 42,000 foreign students in the country. Does Iran just deserve this number of students? Can we only provide the accommodations for hosting this number of students in the country? Or no, we can accept more students? For my part, I am trying to make achievements in the field of scientific diplomacy through this university (AhlulBayt (a.s.) University), and with the help of my colleagues, who are elite and compassionate young people for Iran. Of course, as much as our ability,” he continued.

“In this path, some flows have been formed in Iran. An example is the trend of writing essays in recent years, which have been published in many magazines around the world. Of course, some experts may have criticized the fact that this flow is superficial and is not appropriate for us, and we rather must fundamentally seek science. But my point is that this flow has its own values. This flow in the country, and the fact that experts are trying to write the articles and the publishing them, is valuable. This view is less common in other countries. This issue can be an element for the scientific future of the country, so that it can lead the country in the direction of increasing competition. Eventually, these are the details that we pay attention to in the field of scientific diplomacy, and with this view, we try to activate the university better than before,” said the president of AhlulBayt (a.s.) University.

In response to the question whether the advancement of the goals of scientific diplomacy is possible only with theoretical sciences or not, Jazari explained, “First of all, also in the humanities we are not in the position we should be. We criticize the West for some of the ideas and theories of the humanities. But in spite of our criticisms, we see that they have their own theories in the field of humanities and on this basis, they advance their technical sciences and technology.”

“When we see academic centers in various fields, even in the technical sciences, in countries such as Germany, France or Switzerland, we find that there has been a favorable humanities foundation,” he added.

“We have some theories in Iran that are not compatible in some cases. I do not want to use terms such as opposition, contradiction or paradox, but we can only say that they are not compatible,” stated the university professor.

“Frankly, we can certainly say that we have a weakness in the humanities, and our claims in this regard have exacerbated this growing weakness. I think that in the field of scientific diplomacy, we should have technical sciences and humanities together. Because in Iran, the ground is ready for both,” he continued.

“We have matured and knowledgeable thinkers in the humanities, many of whom may be unknown. Iran has also trained skilled thinkers in the field of technical sciences. Now the effective selection process must be presented to these people. Also, successful countries can be modeled on this choice. If we follow the model of others, some should not think that we are Westernized, or oriented to the East,” said Jazari, emphasizing the need to use all the potentials of the country.

“To better illustrate this point, let me give you a simple example: Western theologians came into being in the context of sociology and anthropology. That is, there is a concept there called “Orientalism”. Many Orientalists in early 20th and late 19th century, such as Henri Lammens, were sociologists before orientalists, and they were very successful in this area. In the fields of science and academia, we have neglected to consider, first of all, the context of sociology in these sciences. Without taking to the account the context of sociology and anthropology, we intended to enter theology. This is where the concept of religious sociology turns into an empty space for us. So, when we want to step into this empty space, we get worried,” he continued, referring to an example.

“If we want to enter the scientific diplomacy, we must know that we have a series of challenges that we ourselves have created, and we must solve them. We must therefore assess the needs in the field of humanities. There are prominent people in the religious field of humanities, who are not familiar with sociology. But they want to become theologians. A religion that is not recognized in the context of society, cannot have an effective academic effect. So, we have to work in the humanities, take models, and put aside the wrong experiences,” Jazari pointed out.

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