Journalist: Salam. I hope you are well. In addition to the outstanding attention that you have given to economic issues, you are visiting the 34th Tehran Book Fair in a move that is both a real action and symbolic, just as you had in previous periods. Could you please tell us what position books hold in our culture and in what manner they can help improve our culture?

Imam Khamenei: In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

I am very happy that I have had the opportunity to take part in this book fair this year. This exhibition, that is, the Book Fair, which is held every year is a great public gathering. The dominant feature of this gathering is culture, and this is truly something to be happy about. This exhibition is truly thrilling. What I have seen in this book fair this year has been pleasing. First of all, a large crowd can be seen. According to the statistics that were given to me, a large number of people have come here during the past few days. This is very good. The number of books that have been purchased is very good. After visiting several booths myself, a person can see that the work of publishing books is making progress, despite some unfavorable conditions.

When I say “unfavorable conditions,” what I am mainly referring to is the high cost of paper, and in some cases, poor paper quality. Now, the honorable Minister [of Cultural and Islamic Guidance] has informed me that good efforts have started for the production of high-quality paper. Of course, I stressed this issue a few years ago, but no efforts were made to pursue this. Praise God, they have started working on this now. We hope that this will help start a decrease in the high price of books because it is very hard to purchase books at these prices. And hopefully, the situation will improve once paper becomes cheaper and we have high-quality domestically-manufactured paper.

Anyway, these are unfavorable conditions. But despite these, one can see that the number of book titles has increased. For example, let’s say that the number of books published in 1401 AHS [2022 AD] alone was more than the total number of books that had been published during the several years before the Revolution. This is a very important matter. Even though there are all these problems now, in terms of the economy and such things, at the same time the number of titles of published books has increased. Of course, the number of books printed in each edition is not very high. They are relatively low numbers or they are low in some cases, but the number of editions published is high. Some books have been printed 10, 15, 20, or 30 times. Just now, I was told about a book that has been published about 200 times. If, for example, 1,000 copies were printed each time, this amount is a good, significant number. So this is something to be pleased about.

The issue of books is very important. The culture of the country and creating social norms are always in need of books. Although there are many other facilities today, such as the social media and such things, books still hold a very lofty, important place. All artistic, media, and cultural activities such as the theater, the cinema, and even painting and audio-visual work, require books. In other words, the person who reads books is the one who is able to produce good artwork or do good work for the media. Therefore, even though I recommend that everyone read books – I have always recommended this, especially to young people – what I would like to emphasize today is that those whose job is making TV or radio programs, or those who make programs for the press, or those who are involved in the arts, in drama, or in the audiovisual arts in any shape or form, these individuals in particular need to read many books. And praise God, we have books that have been written inside the country on all subjects these days. This is one issue.

Another issue is the issue of translation. Long ago when I was young, most of the books that were available were books that had been translated from other languages and printed here. Today, a person sees that the books written and composed inside Iran constitute a large part of the books available in the country. These should be translated. I mean, I have no problem whatsoever with foreign books being translated. Of course, these [foreign books] need to be good with a correct orientation, and they shouldn’t be misleading. But at the same time, the translation of Iranian books into other languages must also be emphasized. And the translator’s native language should preferably be the language that we want [the book] to be translated into. For example, if we want to translate a Farsi book into Arabic, an Arab person whose mother tongue is Arabic should do the translating, and the same in English and other languages ​​as well.

I would also like to stress the issue of books for children and teenagers. Fortunately, I have seen in several booths that work has been done on this issue. Again, I insist that they prepare books for children and teenagers as much as they can so that we have no need for foreign books and so that we can, God willing, present our teenagers with books that are based on our own culture, orientations, and goals. This is another issue.

The issue of publishing is also one of the important issues. Now, when I was talking with some friends here, they gave me some good news about publications. I would like to emphasize once again that publishing is responsible for an important part of the reading that takes place in the country. The publishing process needs to be smooth, good, everywhere, and easy to do.

Anyway, praise God, it was a good exhibition today. I am wholeheartedly pleased with the few hours I spent here. One can see things here that are glad tidings, as they say. Good effort, a good workforce, good young people, and good motivation, praise God, can be seen in this exhibition.

Journalist: Thank you. There is another question that I wanted to ask you. Considering that you mentioned that you have been here at the exhibition for three hours, from 8:30 am to 11:30 am, where did your interest in books and reading originate? And along with the specialized studies that you have, what other books are you interested in? Which books would you recommend for young people?

Imam Khamenei: Where it started and its history isn’t very important. I read all sorts of books. I read a lot. I read specialized, technical books. I read scientific books. I read novels, especially memoirs which are related to the Sacred Defense and those who defended the Holy Shrines. These books that are published are very valuable. This is a new way to create and produce books, and women are also very active in this field. Our female authors write very well, and I read many of their works. 

Journalist: Thank you very much. Very kind of you.

Imam Khamenei: May you be successful, God willing. May God protect you.