Islamic Propagation Organization

Islamic Propagation Organization is one of the most important religious institutions. This organization has set up to call branch offices in all provincial capitals and towns for cultural and religious propagation.

History and legal status of the organization

The Islamic propagation organization was established on June. 21, 1981 the instruction of the late Imam Khomeini the leader o the Islamic revolution and later on the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) described the status of the organization as a public non-governmental establishment. In the letter sent by Imam Khomeini to Ayatollah Jannati instructing him to set up the organization, the main objective of Islamic propagation had been described as commending the good and prohibiting the evil.

The latest letter of association of the organization was ratified on June, 21, 1989 by the representative of the supreme leader. This letter of association lacks the approval of the parliament and its legal status is still based on the decree issued by the great leader of the Islamic Revolution and the letter of the association of the organization. Based on the said letter of association, the organization is described as a non-profitable and an independent legal entity.

Objectives, responsibilities and authority of the organization (approved by the representative of the supreme leader)

A) Letters of association

objectives of the organization:

- promotion and propagation of the realities and leaching of pure Mohammad(s) Islam)

- Enhancing people's Islamic knowledge and deepening their sacred anger against capitalism, communism, ossification and religious pretensions.

- Explanation of the objectives and ideological and political outlook of the Islamic revolution and consolidation of their basis.

- Coordination, consolidation and organization of public propagation activities.

- Countering anti Islamic and anti revolutionary ideas.

- Paving the ground for eradication of cultural and moral corruptions and commanding the good and prohibiting the evil.

- Deepings Islamic and cultural activities and clarifying the uncertainties and complications.

Responsibilities of the organization:

- Conducting meaningful studies traditions and leaching to the Iranian people and the oppressed nations throughout the world.

- Publication of books, magazines and ideological and political pamphlets in country and abroad.

- Training and dispatching Islamic lectures and propagators to places within the country and abroad where is a need for such people.

- Holding of international gatherings aimed at attracting foreign scholars and thinkers and explanation of Islamic thoughts.

- Guiding, supervising and reactivation of Islamic association in the country and abroad.

- Holding of classes for absorbing and training of devoted individuals for promotion of Islamic propagation.

- Establishing of corresponding faculties aimed at indoctrination of individual interest in becoming familiar with Islam both within the country and abroad.

- Establishing of libraries and bookshops across the country and providing assistance for completion of libraries in schools, mosques, public libraries and relevant institutions.

- Conducting activities on literature such as poetry and writing d stories and novels.

- Setting up book, photo and posters fair, festivals and art exhibitions.

- Establishing performance arts groups and training talented individual for various art and cultural activities.

- Activities concerned with film making, slides and photos.

- Organizing speeches, marches and public meeting aimed at introducing the objectives of the Islamic revolution.

- Participation in introduction Islamic conference aimed at introducing the idea logical outlooks and genuine principles of the Islamic revolution.

- Holding up special scientific conferences to review country's problems in areas such as culture and art.

- Securing public participation and cooperation in cultural and propagation activities.

- Identifying the elements and methods of cultural campaign and the mysterious and known circles who are working against Islam and the revolution.

- Identifying and employing the cultural, art and publicity means and technologies available in the world to enhance and promote the understanding and knowledge of Muslim and non-Muslim nations.

- Studying and evaluation of propagation techniques to employ them for indirect and effective propagation.

- Establishing and running publicity and cultural centers in the country.

General Policies

- Loyalty to the supreme leader and idea logical and practical commitment to such loyalty.

- Refraining from monopoly and acknowledging the right of scientifically and practically qualified individuals and institution to carry out Islamic propagation.

- Cooperation and coordination with all genuine, useful and effective propagation efforts.

- Refraining from any interference in to cal, ethnic, political, sectarian, factional and institutional conflicts which might tread to decline of spirituality, animosity, weakening of Islam and the revolution and prevailing of the enemy which are all disdained by Islam and has given the most strongest warning against them and if carried out under the name of Islam, they become more damaging.

- Engaging in current political affair as much as the obligation of each Muslim individual and any cultural, educational and Islamic guidance institution and try to know the enemies and their machinations and making the people aware of them and mobilizing the forces to the fight them.

- Safeguarding the noble dignity and status of the clergies and campaigning against and decadency and immortality in carrying out the task of propagation.

- Making efforts to become a popular institution and requesting people to assists the organization in its lofty responsibilities both in financial terms and other wise as it has been the common practice in seminaries and the habit of grand Shiite clergies.

B) Objectives and responsibilities of the organization approved by the state administration and employment organization

1- main objectives

reinvigoration and spread of pure Mohammedan(s) Islamic culture and traditions and strengthening the spirit of obedience to Almighty and promotion of morality and delivery the message of the Islamic revolution to all justice nation aimed at awakening the Muslims and oppressed people across the world.

- Defending the principles of Islam and failing the cultural and propaganda campaign launched by the world arrogance, through introducing the real image of Islam and the lofty leaching of the last prophet and his infallible household and value up held by the Islamic revolution and exposing  the fall and falsification of the heretical and deviant ideologies and fighting against and ossification by relying on Islam as the most comprehensive religion and securing the happiness of mankind both in this world and the world after.

- Improving the quality and quantity of religious propagation and inspiring the sense of public duty through promotion of Islamic outlook specially among the young generation.

2- Main tasks

- Policy-making, planning, leading, organizing backing and supervising the religious propagation by the public.

- Paving the ground for mobilization of the faithful individuals and forming of institutions, planning and coordination aimed at strengthening the Islamic societies and similar communities and continuous supervision of their activities for improving the quality of the presence of the Hizbulah forces in country's cultural and social arenas.

- Efforts aimed at invigoration and spread of Islamic teachings, culture and the history of Shiisim through all possible means by stressing on the unity of all Islamic sects and safeguarding such unity through collaboration by other institutions and concerned authorities.

- Investigation and study about the malicious propagations and cultural onslaught by the enemies and identifying and analyzing the propaganda manipulations against Islamic the revolution through collaboration of other concerned institutions and formulating proper policies to thwart such plots and enlightening of the public.

- Conducting strategies studies and applicable reviews on cultural issues and needs of various sectors of Islamic community and the youth in particular and devising plans and methods to take advantage of modern propagation and reforming the traditional ways of Islamic propagation.

- Compiling and publication of suitable books and magazines to introduce Islamic sciences, culture and civilizations and explaining the position of the Islamic revolution and conducting necessary studies specially on areas such as Islamic education, policies, economics, culture and system of government and supporting Muslim scholars.

- Efforts aimed at leading indirectly the public opinion through mass media and direct media works if needed.

- Identifying and introduction the exemplary works of cultural and art and public propagation networks, making and presentation of cultural and art works in order to introducing suitable patterns to committed and revolutionary artists and providing assistance to such artists.

- Planning, preparations and taking required measures for reactivating the influential social groups such as clergies, academics, teachers and artists to promote the Islamic culture and countering the undesirable impact of alien cultures. 

- Planning, supervising and coordinating the ceremonies and religious and revolutionary events within the country and abroad through cooperation with other public and state organizations.

- Cooperation with ministries, state and state affiliated and revolutionary of Islamic culture and teachings in governmental and revolutionary organizations.

- Establishment and running of educational institutions and academic center for educating influential propagator and devoted artists and religious educators.

- Establishment of specialized, religious and propagation information centers.

- Arrangements for dispatching clergies to all parts of the country and deprived regions in particular through collaboration of clerics and the public.

-  Arrangements for dispatching of religious instructors and clergies to other countries through cooperation with concerned authorities.

- Providing guidelines and assistance to Islamic societies and establishments outside the country and monitoring their activities.

- Cultural and publicity planning for Iranian residing in other countries who are interested in Persian culture by making emphasis and mutual contribution of Islam and Iran, through cooperation and coordination of concerned authorities.

- Holding popular conferences, festivals and international exhibitions in the country and abroad in order to depend and spreading of Islamic teachings and preparing the ground for participation of artists and popular propagation groups in the conferences, exhibitions and festivals.

- Carrying out cultural activities in collaboration with Islamic cultural and Islamic centers inside and outside the country in line with the organization objectives and making possible the contact between the individuals and local popular Islamic and cultural centers with their foreign counterparts and providing the possibilities for cultural friendship among them through cooperation with other concerned authorities.

- Supervising the translation of religious texts and setting standards and regulations for writing and translation and publication of such books outside the country.

- Supervising the printing and publication of the holy Quran and Quranic activities through educating instructors and compiling educational booklets through collaboration of educational ministries and  encouraging the public to attend Quranic centers and assisting them in expanding the education of the Almighty's holy book.

The principles of executive policies

1. Participation in decision making by holding specialized and expert meetings with other executive and professional institutions.
2. Decentralization of programs or coordination of the works of organization departments in various levels.
3. Attracting public and private participation in implementation of schemes and programs.
4. Employing the faithful and influential cultural figures in Islamic establishments, associations and organizations for contributing to their activities.
5. Making effective contact with popular institutions and establishments to secure the assistance and making use of their potentials.
6. Making efforts to increase the share of cultural budgets and credits specially for religious and cultural activities through negotiation with decision making and prominent centers and authorities.

Priorities of executive activities

1- organization, Man power, Administrative and logistics:

- Reforming the organization structure and adoption of approved organization posts.

- Improvement of the quality of the manpower, promotion of work skilled as well as the knowledge and ideological outlook of the employees.

- Recruiting qualified individual and reducing administrative and service providing activities.

- Protecting and maintenance and appropriate use of organizations properties and assets.

2- Educational. Research and publications

- Cultural and religious pathology of the society and formulating required mechanisms to counter possible threats.

- Formulating the education system and improving the knowledge , skills and spirituality among the employees.

- Conducting field studies and providing intellectual and content backing for organization's cultural activities.

- Establishing fruitful contact and relationship with committed writers and educational and research centers to make use of their potentials and capabilities in the activities of the organization.

- Reviewing ad examining the religious questions raised by the youngsters and finding proper answers to clarify their doubts and suing them in cultural and religious activities.

- Coordination of publication policies of affiliated institutions.

- Preparing educational courses to teach the basic religious and ideological issues in various levels of the audiences.

3- Construction activities:

- compiling the comprehensive construction policies and improvement of cultural and administrative facilities and environments based on requirements and priorities.

- Taking care of complete and under construction projects and preparing identity document for each one.

4- Planning procedures:

- Improvement of work procedures and institutionalization of the activities.

- Economizing the expenditures and improving the productivity of resources and potentials.

- Improvement of the quality of programs and avoiding banal pretentious activities.

- Arranging specialized and scholarly meetings to review important fundamental issues of the organization.

- Devising the decision making procedures and explaining the participatory role of employees and the experts in the activities of the organization.

- Preparing comprehensive programs and projects for the construction, planning and developmental activities of the organization.

5- propagation  and information dissemination

- Taking care of the affair of the preachers and making effective use of their potentials to boost the religious belief of people specially the young generation.

- Training young preachers and religious instructors especially those selected among clergies to forge direct ties and relationship with the youth and the youngsters.

- Holding training courses and compiling appropriate texts for the preachers and improving their preaching skills.

- Holding centralized and regional courses to inform the preachers from social and cultural developments and explaining their responsibilities and missions in present world.

- Using local preachers in propagation activities and studying the ways for expanding their activities.

- Improvement of the traditional manners of preaching and utilizing the modern and more effective methods.

6- Expansion of Quranic activities:

- Preparing the comprehensive Quran learning campaign and analyzing the needs of various regions and age groups among the different groups of audiences across the country.

- Establishing effective contact and relationship with Qruan teachers and reciters and Quranic centers and organizing their activities to implement the Quran teaching campaign.

- Training instructor and teachers in line with the needs of various regions throughout the country and using them in classes set up for teaching the holy Quran.

- Expanding the activities aimed at interpretation of Quran and training the interpreters to work with the youth and youngsters.

- Holding Quran competitions and gatherings aimed at creating Quranic atmosphere in the country.

- Supervising the activities of publishers and printing houses that publish the Holy Quran and providing required assistance and distribution of Quran in deprived regions.

- Accomplishing the responsibilities assigned to the organization for teaching Quran during the third development plan of the country.

7- Mosques and Religious centers:

- giving the central role to mosques in cities and villages for cultural and religious activities and making effective use of active elements in mosques.

- Maintaining continuous contact with prayer leasers of Mosques, making them aware of country's political and social developments and preparing them for more effective presence and participation in propagation and cultural activities.

- Identifying and recruiting the prayer leaders for mosques and prayer halls in governmental organization that do not have prayer leaders.

- Expansion and providing requires facilities to mosques in rural and deprived regions and boosting their cultural activities.

8- Communication:

- Establishing appropriate contact with decision-making bodies, concerned authorities and reviewing the areas for mutual cooperation.

- Expansion of ties with religious and popular establishments and Islamic associations to encourage them to participate in the activities of the organization.

- Identifying and making necessary arrangement to attract writers, artists and teachers and facilities their participation in cultural and propagating activities.