TEHRAN -- An expert on philosophy was introduced as the new director of the Majlis Library, Museum and Documentation Center during a ceremony in Tehran on Monday evening.
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani appointed Mohammad Rajabi to the Majlis Library on December 25, 2012 after Hojjatoleslam Rasul Jafarian resigned from the post.
The ceremony began with a speech by Jafarian, who lamented on the poor living conditions of scholars in the country.
“I feel ashamed when I see that sometimes, scholars are concerned about earning their bread,” he said.
Jafarian called on officials to support the scholars and added, “The scholars are heavily encumbered by the cost of living… sometimes they are not able to pay for the cost of some copies or scans of a book.”
He warned the officials that research activities are being ruined by their dependence on the government.
He asked the officials to support the scholars, but let them work independently.
He also asked officials to show tolerance towards scholars.
“I am sorry that some deceased scholars were not allowed to be buried in the Artists and Luminaries Section (of Tehran’s Behesht Zahra Cemetery). Sometimes, there may not be a consensus about our thoughts and what the scholars think, but this should not be a reason to restrict them,” he added.
Deceased scholars such as Ehsan Naraqi, Jahed Jahanshahi and Morteza Saqebfarand were not allowed to be buried in the section over the past month.
The ceremony went on with a speech by Larijani.
He said that the country suffers from “a financial drought”, which will not ened next year.
“It is unlikely that a miracle will occur… but we will try to avoid a slowdown in research activities,” he stated.
Rajabi said that he plans to liven up the international section of the library.
The Majlis Library will also launch new initiatives to establish relations with the parliament libraries of other countries.
Rajabi was the director of the Iran National Library and Archives during the 1980s and Iran’s cultural attaché in Germany between 1999 and 2003.
MMS/YAW
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