Ayatollah Khamenei Writes New Letter to Western Youth (Full Text)
News ID: 930500 Service: Society/Culture
November, 29, 2015 - 17:02
http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2015/11/29/930500/ayatollah-khamenei-writes-new-letter-to-western-youth-full-text

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed
Ali Khamenei on Sunday sent a second letter in less than a year to the youth
in the Western countries, following the recent terrorist attacks in France.

What follows is Ayatollah Khamenei’s new letter:

In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

To the Youth in Western Countries,

The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once
again, moved me to speak to you young people. For me, it is unfortunate
that such incidents would have to create the framework for a conversation,
however the truth is that if painful matters do not create the grounds for
finding solutions and mutual consultation, then the damage caused will be
multiplied.

The pain of any human being anywhere in the world causes sorrow for a fellow
human being. The sight of a child losing his life in the presence of his
loved ones, a mother whose joy for her family turns into mourning, a husband
who is rushing the lifeless body of his spouse to some place and the
spectator who does not know whether he will be seeing the final scene of
life- these are scenes that rouse the emotions and feelings of any human
being. Anyone who has benefited from affection and humanity is affected and
disturbed by witnessing these scenes- whether it occurs in France or in
Palestine or Iraq or Lebanon or Syria.

Without a doubt, the one-and-a-half billion Muslims also have these feelings
and abhor and are revolted by the perpetrators and those responsible for
these calamities. The issue, however, is that if today’s pain is not used to
build a better and safer future, then it will just turn into bitter and
fruitless memories. I genuinely believe that it is only you youth who by
learning the lessons of today’s hardship, have the power to discover new
means for building the future and who can be barriers in the misguided path
that has brought the west to its current impasse.

It is correct that today terrorism is our common worry. However it is
necessary for you to know that the insecurity and strain that you
experienced during the recent events, differs from the pain that the people
of Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan have been experiencing for many years,
in two significant ways. First, the Islamic world has been the victim of
terror and brutality to a larger extent territorially, to greater amount
quantitatively and for a longer period in terms of time. Second, that
unfortunately this violence has been supported by certain great powers
through various methods and effective means.

Today, there are very few people who are uninformed about the role of the
United States of America in creating, nurturing and arming al-Qaeda, the
Taliban and their inauspicious successors. Besides this direct support, the
overt and well-known supporters of takfiri terrorism- despite having the
most backward political systems- are standing arrayed as allies of the west
while the most pioneering, brightest and most dynamic democrats in the
region are suppressed mercilessly. The prejudiced response of the west to
the awakening movement in the Islamic world is an illustrative example of
the contradictory western policies.

The other side of these contradictory policies is seen in supporting the
state terrorism of Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine have
experienced the worst kind of terrorism for the last sixty years. If the
people of Europe have now taken refuge in their homes for a few days and
refrain from being present in busy places- it is decades that a Palestinian
family is not secure even in its own home from the Zionist regime’s death
and destruction machinery. What kind of atrocious violence today is
comparable to that of the settlement constructions of the Zionists regime?

This regime- without ever being seriously and significantly censured by its
influential allies or even by the so-called independent international
organizations- everyday demolishes the homes of Palestinians and destroys
their orchards and farms. This is done without even giving them time to
gather their belongings or agricultural products and usually it is done in
front of the terrified and tear-filled eyes of women and children who
witness the brutal beatings of their family members who in some cases are
being dragged away to gruesome torture chambers. In today’s world, do we
know of any other violence on this scale and scope and for such an extended
period of time?

Shooting down a woman in the middle of the street for the crime of
protesting against a soldier who is armed to the teeth- if this is not
terrorism, what is? This barbarism, because it is being done by the armed
forces of an occupying government, should not be called extremism? Or maybe
only because these scenes have been seen repeatedly on television screens
for sixty years, they should no longer stir our consciences.

The military invasions of the Islamic world in recent years- with countless
victims- are another example of the contradictory logic of the west. The
assaulted countries, in addition to the human damage caused, have lost their
economic and industrial infrastructure, their movement towards growth and
development has been stopped or delayed and in some cases, has been thrown
back decades. Despite all this, they are rudely being asked not to see
themselves as oppressed. How can a country be turned into ruins, have its
cities and towns covered in dust and then be told that it should please not
view itself as oppressed? Instead of enticements to not understand and to
not mention disasters, would not an honest apology be better? The pain that
the Islamic world has suffered in these years from the hypocrisy and
duplicity of the invaders is not less than the pain from the material
damage.

Dear youth! I have the hope that you- now or in the future- can change this
mentality corrupted by duplicity, a mentality whose highest skill is hiding
long-term goals and adorning malevolent objectives. In my opinion, the
first step in creating security and peace is reforming this
violence-breeding mentality. Until double-standards dominate western
policies, until terrorism- in the view of its powerful supporters- is
divided into “good” and “bad” types, and until governmental interests are
given precedence over human values and ethics, the roots of violence should
not be searched for in other places.

Unfortunately, these roots have taken hold in the depths of western
political culture over the course of many years and they have caused a soft
and silent invasion. Many countries of the world take pride in their local
and national cultures, cultures which through development and regeneration
have soundly nurtured human societies for centuries. The Islamic world is
not an exception to this. However in the current era, the western world
with the use of advanced tools is insisting on the cloning and replication
of its culture on a global scale. I consider the imposition of western
culture upon other peoples and the trivialization of independent cultures as
a form of silent violence and extreme harmfulness.

Humiliating rich cultures and insulting the most honored parts of these, is
occurring while the alternative culture being offered in no way has any
qualification for being a replacement. For example, the two elements of
“aggression” and “moral promiscuity” which unfortunately have become the
main elements of western culture, has even degraded the position and
acceptability of its source region.

So now the question is: are we “sinners” for not wanting an aggressive,
vulgar and fatuous culture? Are we to be blamed for blocking the flood of
impropriety that is directed towards our youth in the shape of various forms
of quasi-art? I do not deny the importance and value of cultural
interaction. Whenever these interactions are conducted in natural
circumstances and with respect for the receiving culture, they result in
growth, development and richness. On the contrary, inharmonious
interactions have been unsuccessful and harmful impositions.

We have to state with full regret that vile groups such as DAESH are the
spawn of such ill-fated pairings with imported cultures. If the matter was
simply theological, we would have had to witness such phenomena before the
colonialist era, yet history shows the contrary. Authoritative historical
records clearly show how colonialist confluence of extremist and rejected
thoughts in the heart of a Bedouin tribe, planted the seed of extremism in
this region. How then is it possible that such garbage as DAESH comes out
of one of the most ethical and humane religious schools who as part of its
inner core, includes the notion that taking the life of one human being is
equivalent to killing the whole humanity?

One has to ask why people who are born in Europe and who have been
intellectually and mentally nurtured in that environment are attracted to
such groups? Can we really believe that people with only one or two trips
to war zones, suddenly become so extreme that they can riddle the bodies of
their compatriots with bullets? On this matter, we certainly cannot forget
about the effects of a life nurtured in a pathologic culture in a corrupt
environment borne out of violence. On this matter, we need complete
analyses, analyses that see the hidden and apparent corruptions. Maybe a
deep hate- planted in the years of economic and industrial growth and borne
out of inequality and possibly legal and structural prejudice- created ideas
that every few years appear in a sickening manner.

In any case, you are the ones that have to uncover the apparent layers of
your own society and untie and disentangle the knots and resentments.
Fissures have to be sealed, not deepened. Hasty reactions is a major mistake
when fighting terrorism which only widens the chasms. Any rushed and
emotional reaction which would isolate, intimidate and create more anxiety
for the Muslim communities living in Europe and America- which are comprised
of millions of active and responsible human beings- and which would deprive
them of their basic rights more than has already happened and which would
drive them away from society- not only will not solve the problem but will
increase the chasms and resentments.

Superficial measures and reactions, especially if they take legal forms,
will do nothing but increase the current polarizations, open the way for
future crises and will result in nothing else. According to reports
received, some countries in Europe have issued guidelines encouraging
citizens to spy on Muslims. This behavior is unjust and we all know that
pursuing injustice has the characteristic of unwanted reversibility.
Besides, the Muslims do not deserve such ill-treatment. For centuries, the
western world has known Muslims well- the day that westerners were guests in
Islamic lands and were attracted to the riches of their hosts and on another
day when they were hosts and benefitted from the efforts and thoughts of
Muslims- they generally experienced nothing but kindness and forbearance.

Therefore I want you youth to lay the foundations for a correct and
honorable interaction with the Islamic world based on correct understanding,
deep insight and lessons learned from horrible experiences. In such a case
and in the not too distant future, you will witness the edifice built on
these firm foundations which creates a shade of confidence and trust which
cools the crown of its architect, a warmth of security and peace that it
bequests on them and a blaze of hope in a bright future which illuminates
the canvass of the earth.

Sayyid Ali Khamenei

8th of Azar, 1394 - 29th of Nov, 2015